Mewsings from Lowecat (aka Indianacat)

My rants, ravings, and overall 'mewsings' on life, the universe, and everything.

Saturday, December 03, 2011

The SOA S4 Viewin' Pawtee





Havin' been asked to get our refreshments, Mark Mitteer, Katherine Miller, Robert (aka the DH), and myself found ourselves ensconced in these sumptuous leather seats, right down front. The large movie screen was in front of us, and Kurt Sutter, Katey Sagel, and their talented daughter were seated directly behind us. The other members of the cast and crew in attendance were scattered throughout the theatre behind us.



(headin' to our seats. Me, Kat, Mark and Robert)



The lights are still up, so I turned in my seat to remark on somethin' media related to Mr. Sutter, expressing my views on why I left the genre as an employer. Then suddenly, on the giant screen, the opening scene starts up - no previews or anything like that - and the words 'Previously, on Sons of Anarchy' draw our attention like moths to a flame. I turned my back on the Great Man, and was immediately entranced by the episode! All conscious attention of my surroundings went right out the window. Which led to a few embarrasin' moments for me later on down the line.



(the four of us in the front row, Kurt and Katey's daughter is behind Kat)


Now that 'Call to Duty' has successfully aired, I can share my thoughts and feelings that came out durin' the viewin'. I certainly wished from time to time to have been the weapons and explosives vendor for that ep! We'd be on easy street as far as income is concerned. It was definitely a 'booming' episode!

Mr. Sutter's portrayal of Otto Delaney has grown since S1. Mr. Sutter made me cry when Potter placed all the pics of LuAnn Delaney's dead, battered body on Otto's prone, post - suicidal form and let a lone tear ooze from his eye during an earlier episode this season. Otto was scary in tellin' Potter two times, 'No talking!' without raisin' his voice. I murmured, "Don't make him tell ya a third time, Potter, forgettin' for a moment that 'Otto' was sittin' right behind me. I suspect Mr. Sutter enjoyed that comment.


The first surprise came to us when Potter and Otto were talkin'. Kat and I both gasped 'What the Hell?' when Otto tells Potter to move up his (Otto's) execution date. I believe one of us also said 'NO!' very loudly.

Then came the next 'OMG' moment, Kozik gettin' blown up. No one expected that, though I did comment aloud that Kenny Johnson's tweet (on Twitter) earlier in the week made sense. Though the thought crossed my mind at the time, I didn't turn to Mr. Sutter and cry 'You killed Kenny, you bastard!' because the husband would've been shocked and appalled.


So, all y'all are wonderin', did I behave myself when a larger than life Tig appeared on the screen, or did I recreate my IMAX theatre moment in '300' and reach out to squeeze Tig's buns? I behaved. However, the line 'I'm terrifed, and totally erect' is one for the record books after he fondled the life size sex doll. The little tweak he gave to the front of his jeans was classic! Yes, I was tempted to squeeze, but behaved myself.


When Gemma and Wendy faced off in the boys' bedroom, I had my next 'OMG, floor, please open up and take me away!' moment. The camera had zoomed in for a close up of Gemma, and as the fade to black for commercial came, I murmured, "That woman can say so much with just a look." I heard Ms. Sagal giggle behind me. I totally forgot she was there! (She told me later that she whispered to Kurt that my attention to the show then must be how I watch at home).


My chagrin at commentin' on Ms. Sagal's eyes was quickly forgotten as the episode continued and my attention was riveted again to the screen. I remained that way until the end of the episode. I can tell y'all, seein' it without commercials on a very large screen is an incredible experience. Seein' an episode with the creator and cast and crew in the same room is priceless.


The lights came back up, and the Fox Home Entertainment people set up the chairs and lightin' for the Q/A (I'm not sure when it ran, or if it's for the DVD). I got out my trusty leather notebook with the WTFSutter questions printed before we left Indiana, just in case they asked us to join in.


And this brought about my next "OMG, floor open me up' moment. I have an app on my Iphone called Quick Memo. One of the recordin's was from off the car radio so I could locate it later on YouTube. While intiating the app to record the Q/A (and the reception later), I accidentally hit the 'play' button for the recordin', and T'Pau's 'Heart and Soul' starts blarin' right at the start of the Q/A! I turned it off as quickly as possible while gettin' very red faced and mutterin' 'Sorry! Sorry!' I just wanted to die from embarrassment! Fortunately, no one seemed to be upset or mind, and the Q/A went on.

The group went down the line to introduce themselves and their characters. Then
Kurt talked about the body count, and about the decision to kill off Kozik. For those of you not in the know, Kenny Johnson was offered a recurring role in NBC's 'Prime Suspect' and was also appearin' as Kozik in 'SOA'. It also seemed that 'Prime Suspect' was goin' to take off, and because Mr. Johnson was an alum of 'The Sheild' with Kurt, he thought of payin' homage to 'Lem', the character Mr. Johnson played on 'The Shield', and have him go out with a 'bang' (pardon the pun). Unfortunately, 'Prime Suspect' got the axe after production was shut down by NBC. We fans are hopin' maybe Kozik's mentioned brother is a twin and there might be a comeback (well, one can wish and hope)!
Ms. Sagal was asked about her role as Gemma, and about the graphically brutal beating she received at the hands of the Clay character. All of us agreed that the scene was very disturbing. Ms. Sagal fielded that question well, IMO. She indicated that as the season progressed, Gemma was both in love with and hated her husband as well as feared him so that she would eventually go from defending Clay to planning his downfall. She also stated that while she is the EP/Creator's wife, she is on a need to know basis just the same as the rest of the cast.
Tom Arnold was asked about his demise in the show and shared his real life fear of being enclosed in the trunk of a car (and yes, as we saw on tee vee, a full grown man can indeed fit in the trunk of a Mercedes). As it turns out, as a child, Mr. Arnold had been locked in a trunk for several hours, so he had a bit of a fear of such. Lo and behold, he gets locked in the car trunk for his demise. He complimented Mark Boone Jr., Kim Coates, and Ryan Hurst, along with members of the crew and Kurt, for makin' the experience one that he could be comfortable with
Then Michael Marisi Ornstein was asked about 'Chuckie's Chili'. He stated that the head, though a prop, was very real looking, and how a bean had settled right on the head's eyeball. Mr. Ornstein expressed how sympathetic he felt towards the character's original tic from Season 1, and he'd be stayin' around for awhile. It came out that Mr. Ornstein and Mr. Sutter have been friends for years. The mutual affection and respect they have for each other really shows.
During the Q/A session, Mr. Sutter was asked about the presence of the fans. He gave us a shout out and explained how the event came about in the first place (If all y'all don't already know, check out his blog on the matter):
includin' how he determined which fans to pick. When he mentioned that my reportage of bootleg DVD sellers on Ebay, the cast and crew behind us burst into applause which made me blush (Yeah, eternally 49 and I still blush!). Now that Season 4 has ended, I've been scourin' Ebay for bootleg DVDs of the season, and already reported one. Also sent FHE a link to a whole page of SOA cuts, complete with three piece rockers.
Unfortunately, the Q/A session only lasted 15 minutes, and there wasn't any opportunity for Niko Nicotera, Emilio Rivera, Christopher D Reed, and Kristen Renton to say anything. I wish they could've had the opportunity to say somethin' about the Season.
So the Q/A ended, and my questions weren't included. But, I had Twitter messaged @SAMCRO_BLOGGER about the possibility of Mark and I doin' a WTFSutter durin' the fan event, to which this elusive individual messaged back that it was a great idea. While he was still followin' me, I Twitter messaged Mr. Sutter on the idea as well. So the seed was planted.
We started gatherin' our things in order to move from the theatre to the West End Tavern for the reception. Mr. Sutter was asked by the film crew to stay behind so he could film somethin' for them - and then they would get Mark and myself for an interview.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ornstein came over to me, gave me another hug, and we talked briefly about Robert's and my successful return from the Perri Ink Cartel party. He'd called for a cab for us to return to the hotel. I assured him no troubles occurred, as per my tweet to let him know we were safely back. I showed him that the package of swag was with me, and we agreed I'd give it to him at the reception.
One of the FHE staffers announced it was time to move to the West End Tavern for the reception. Poor Robert got turned into a pack mule, bringin' the two bags o'swag from the theatre to the tavern.
We walked out of the theatre and I got an opportunity to speak with Niko Nicotera, who plays Ratboy, one of the season's prospects. This is one of my regrets of the evening, that I just didn't get enough time/opportunity to speak with him, and had not prepared a small bit o'swag for him (I've at least sent the pic of me and Tig with one of the IN quarters attached to the studio where SOA is filmed, so that Mr. Sutter's assistant can get it to him). I did get to wax poetic on the way he handled the enforced 'Russian Roulette' earlier in the season, during the episode 'Brick'. Just wish that there had been more time than en route to the elevator to speak with him.
Le sigh.
So, it's been a month since the event, and despite the rigors and demands of every day life, I still have a warm feelin' from the trip and the event. In the meantime, Mr. Sutter is no longer followin' me and Mark on Twitter, and while I regret and mourn losin' him as a follower, understand the reason for it. If he continued to follow us, every fan on the twitters would expect the same. I managed to copy/paste his Twitter messages to me, and have those to cherish.
So next up, once I get the third anniversary of my 49th birthday out of the way, I plan to share thoughts, feelin's, and memories of the reception with all y'all.












Friday, December 02, 2011

Who Needs Soapnet when Real Life is like an Episode of Jerry Springer?

(With apologies of sorts to Mr. Springer).
The happenings on Facebook in the last 24 hours has all the makings of a Jerry Springer cum soap opera all tied together without benefit of the bleep button.
While I was at work, the events occurring with the SOA.Net page and admins, of which I am a part, continued to boil and bubble like the three sisters cauldron in Shakespeare. During my wee break, I was tryin' to play catch up and keep a few people informed of what was goin' on.
This included a marathon telephone call after work (marathon in my lexicon is anything more than 10 minutes, so no offense meant to anyone and should not be inferred) en route home with one person of the persons inadvertantly cast in this very weird passion play.
I have come across evidence that the person originally thought to be behind the assault on this FB page, it's creator and admins is NOT the person bein' blamed. Granted, there has been a major misunderstandin' and considerable hurt feelin's on both sides of the fence. However, in this instance, the person bein' blamed is, indeed, innocent.
In the meantime, the person behind the assault is sitting back like a bloated spider in it's sticky, dust filled web, rubbin' its' hairy little limbs together in anticipation of a feast.
Well, I have news for y'all, spidey. Your cobweb is about to be taken down and cleaned up.
The spider in this instance claims that FX is intendin' to sue the SOA.Net creator and all the admins for copyright infringement, and that is why the spider has enlisted the friends it has to report us to FB admin. Hence, the warnin' letters we received today, and hence the blockin' of the page creator in almost all her names.
The idea that FX is suin' any of us holds about as much water as a very leaky sieve. First of all, there is the fact that Kurt Sutter, himself, chose both the creator of the page and myself for his Season 4 challenge. If FX, his employer, were intendin' to sue me, he would not have selected me to come to LA on his dime to meet me! Nor would he send the page creator any kind of rewards for the work she has done for the show, the cast, and the crew.
It makes as much sense as those 'twee' dollar bills that used to be available in gum ball machines (OK, I'm datin' myself, but you get the idea). I have sent the evidence to the SOA.Net creator, though the source has been kept confidential. Reporters, even former reporters, protect their sources. The page creator deserves to know who is instigating the attack and stirring more shit. The person bein' wrongfully blamed for the latest poo sling deserves to be cleared of wrong doing.
The instigator of this latest bit of Facebook drama went a step further in their attempt to make life 'interestin'.' The spider decided to post a video to my wall (it has since been removed by me) that I found quite tellin' and a wee bit threatenin'. It was a video clip of Jack Nicolson's 'You can't handle the truth' diatribe from the movie 'A Few Good Men'. Another attempt to sling poo? Possibly. A veiled threat? Given the evidence in my possession, definitely.
This is not the first time the spider has attempted to bash the page creator. The last time an accusation was made, I directly demanded proof of the alledged crime be sent in private mail to me. I'm still waitin'. The spider is big on words and makin' blanket statements, but is not willin' or able to back up said claims when confronted. Instead, the spider flees to its' dusty cobweb, spinnin' more filaments in an attempt to strength the fragile strands of its' deceit.
So, the purpose of this post is to openly say to the instigator that the persons who need to know, including at FX, have been alerted to your latest load of viscious brown substance to fall out of the southern end of a north bound bull. While you may feel that y'all have the upper hand, the reality is really quite different.
To the other admins of SOA.Net FB page, if you wish to see the same evidence, I will make it available to you. The source of the proof will continue to redacted. The blame game needs to stop. It's not fair, it's not right, and it's hurtin' everyone.
Now, maybe I can concentrate on writin' on my fanfic, and writin' the next installment of the FUN! The SOA Season Four Challenge Winning Event. Watchin' an episode of SOA before it aired with the Creator and Great Bird of the SOA galaxy himself!
I'm sure all y'all are waitin' with baited breath for it.
Besides, it's time to go back to the FUN!!!
And let Springer have his show back. Complete with body guards and bleep button.
End of line.

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Facebook Wars Goin' Too Far!



So I log into Facebook today, expectin' to just see what's goin' on in my favorite sites, say hi, poke people, and all manner of fun things, and find this 'friendly' little item on my own page:




Hello,We have removed or disabled access to the following content that you
have posted on Facebook because we received a notice from a third party that the
content infringes or otherwise violates their rights:

[DESCRIPTION
Group:"Sons-Of-Anarchy.Net"]

We strongly encourage you to review the content you have posted to Facebook to make sure that you have not posted any other infringing content, as it is our policy to terminate the accounts of
repeat infringers when appropriate.

If you believe that we have made a mistake in removing this content, then you can submit an appeal by filling out our automated form at http://www.facebook.com/legal/copyright.php?howto_appeal.The
Facebook Team



My first reaction was "What the Fuck?! I'm an administrator on that frackin' page!" So I go to that page and find out I am not the only one targeted. Not only that, but the CREATOR/OWNER of the page has been summarily removed from Facebook!



I have suspicions that this involves a spat that has been goin' on in the FB/Sons of Anarchy fan community for some time now and went on to another social network site. I commented upon the behavior in very graphic terms right here in this blog. Though it seemed like the fuss and furor had died down, and I was able to concentrate on other matters, the fit has hit the shan again, hence the receipt of the copy/pasted email and this blog.


What's most interesting is that this move was not brought about by the show's creator and executive producer, who would be the FIRST person with the right to fuss about copyright infringement. Nor did this come from Fox Corp, FX Network, The Linson Corp, or Sutterink. Hell, Mr. Sutter himself already tweeted about the situation, so we KNOW he had nothin' to do with the FB idiots in charge shuttin' Tina completely out.


No, this has come from a group of angry childish people who are out to hurt other people who have bene lucky enough to have their hard work and dedication recoginized by Mr. Sutter and/or other individuals. It's rediculous that grown adults cannot and/or will not (and I think it's a combination of both) behave like grown adults on the social networks. It's hard not to be envious of someone for gettin' recognized, that's human nature. It's something else to go out on a smear/hate campaign and have a person removed from a social network under false pretences!


From what I've gleaned from research - and anyone who knows me knows I don't just take whatever intel is spoonfed to me and go off with it - Friends/followers of the people who are out to cause Miss Tina pain on FB are sendin' multiple reports about her page, SOA.Net and about her, accusin' her of usin' her pages for business purposes and for violatin' copyrights. Yet, this same camp has pages of their own that post pictures, links, and all manner of things related to the same show.


Hello, McFly! Anyone home?


Yes, I threw an iron into the fire on this very blog, but that was due to the unladylike behavior of one of the campers bringin' the fight to two of the cast on Twitter. She believes, and continues to believe, that because the actors have not blocked her on either social network site that they must support her. @@

Puh - leeze. The men have multitudes of followers, numbering in the thousands! They don't have the time to go through every follower to weed out someone unless they've pulled somethin' extremely heinous. Hell, they hardly have time to respond to the posts directed to them by the people they follow, much less one or two random posts bashing/defaming another fan, even one who as dedicated as Tina.


Or myself.


Or @TwistedShadow.


Or anyone else that Mr. Sutter and his people care to recoginize/thank.



This kind of bullshit is the type of thing that shouldn't exist in ANY fan community. As an admin on Miss Tina's FB SOA appreciation pages, I am now gettin' a little leery about approvin' anyone to join the sites, in case of more childish behavior like this. That this kind of BS playground behavior exists at all, and has escalated to the point where people are maliciously having a person removed from a social network makes me completely sick.


I love Sons of Anarchy. That's a given. I was lucky, blessed, or whatever word you want to use to have been chosen to visit LA and meet Mr. Sutter. I don't regret it. He choose Miss Tina as an international fan to receive a basket of goodies (aka swag) because of her own hard work and dedication. Some of the actors have taken the time to recognize her for her dedication in keeping the fans informed of the straight stuff, and not rumor/gossip.


You'd think people would be happy for her. You'd think if people had issues with her, they would work it out privately (private FB mail works pretty well) instead of takin' it public. It's like the old prairie wagon days of circlin' the wagons against the possibility that the Native Americans comin' around are gonna scalp first, ask questions later.


Well, it's gone too far when every single admin on her SOA.Net page has been reported to Facebook, just because we're on her page. It's gone too far when people report other people for something that the owner of the intellectual property has no problem with us postin' in the first place!


I responded to the warnin', and told the idiots in charge that they should take a look at the complainers. To quote the Bard, 'Methinks the complainers doth protest too much'.


And this time, they've made it VERY personal with me.


Revenge, said Kahn Noonian Singh to Admiral Kirk, is a dish best served cold. Y'all are about to find out how cold it is gonna get if all y'all are gonna continue to behave like spoiled brats.


Count on it.