A blog about random things, some of them involving Bo.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

The High Cost of Low Price

An article I came across on the internet today (from imdb.com):

Wal-Mart Hit by 'Brokeback' Protest:

Wal-Mart has turned aside a massive letter-writing campaign by the American Family Association urging the retailer to refuse to stock Brokeback Mountain, being distributed by Universal Home Entertainment. The group, which has successfully campaigned against what it considers to be broadcast indecency launched the campaign last week after ads for the film began being displayed prominently in the retailer's 3,900 stores. In an interview with today's (Tuesday) Los Angeles Times, the AFA's Randy Sharp, accused Wal-Mart of helping to push the "gay agenda" by "trying to help normalize homosexuality in society." He added, "But how many copies are they going to have to sell to [recoup] the losses of customers who they've offended and will no longer shop at Wal-Mart?" But a Wal-Mart spokeswoman replied, "The fact that we are offering the movie is not an endorsement of the content of the movie or any specific belief. ...We simply offer the latest titles that consumers want."

This got me thinking... Instead of expending considerable time, energy and resources getting up in arms over the content of a film (one I would gather many of these protestors haven't even seen), why not start holding Wal-Mart accountable for its countless crimes against the American Family? Such as...

1. State studies are revealing that Wal-Mart employees are the top recipients of taxpayer-paid health care. Because Wal-Mart does not offer their full-time employees (and by Wal-Mart standards, "full time" is 28 hours a week) affordable, effective health care, they are forced to turn to taxpayer-funded programs like Medicare. These employees alone are costing the American Family over $100,000,000... EVERY YEAR. Why not protest a multi-billion dollar corporation that refuses to care for the basic human rights of its nearly 1.2 million American employees?

2. In the largest class-action lawsuit in human history, 1.6 million current and former female employees are suing Wal-Mart for gender discrimination. Women comprise 92% of Wal-Mart's cashiers, but only 14% of store managers. Overall, women earn $5,200 less than men in the Wal-Mart corporation, and about $14,500 less among management employees. Wal-Mart has pulled from its shelves "offensive" T-shirts that read "Someday a Woman Could be President," because it didn't reflect the company's "family values." Why not protest a company that blatantly practices a new caste system? Why not write letters demanding equal rights for female employees? Doesn't discrimination based on race or gender violate basic Christian principles?

3. What about "to whom much is given, much will be required?" Last year, the Walton family -- founders of Wal-Mart -- were collectively worth 100 billion dollars, and they gave only 1% of that money to charities. As a comparison, Bill Gates has donated 56% of his earnings. Additionally, Wal-Mart employees donated over $5,000,000 last year to the company's emergency relief fund, set up to help employees in times of unexpected crisis. The Walton family donated only $6,000. This is clearly a family that expects its employees to sacrifice, but refuses to practice good citizenship themselves. Why not protest a multi-billion dollar empire that refuses to help even its own employees, let alone humanity in general?

4. More than 1,000,000 jobs have been outsourced to China since the early 1990's, leaving numbers of American Families and communities devastated. Wal-Mart imports between $20 and $30 billion dollars worth of Chinese goods every year. If it were an independent nation, the company would be China's eighth largest trading partner. You pay less for socks and bicycles because the Wal-Mart corporation pays workers in China $3 a day to work 14 hours. This is not hyperbole: This is documented fact. Wal-Mart forces these workers to live in ghetto-like "dorms," and if they decide to live on their own, their rent is STILL taken out of their paychecks. They are told to lie when factory inspectors visit, telling them that they only work 6 days a week, when they actually work 7. If they lie, they are beaten or worse. These conditions exist because American Families refuse to spend a few extra cents on American made products and services. The degradation of human life for personal gain is as anti-Christian as they come. Why are we not protesting the loss of American jobs? The mistreatment of foreign workers?

5. For every new superstore that Wal-Mart opens, two local supermarkets close. Wal-Mart has received more than $1 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies from state and local communities in order to build their stores, while local businesses typically receive nothing. One study in Iowa indicated that in the ten years following Wal-Mart's opening in that state, 7,326 local businesses had closed due to a sudden lack of business. Honestly, locally owned business cannot compete with Wal-Mart's buying power, and thus they are forced to close their doors. Local businesses support local economies by reinvesting about 78% of their gross earnings back into the communities they serve, whereas Wal-Mart's profits are siphoned into global bank accounts, only returning again in the form of more merchandise. Soon, we'll have nothing in America aside from Wal-Mart supercenters and fast food restaurants, and no one to blame but ourselves. Why don't we protest this flagrant disregard for local communities? Protest the American jobs lost and family businesses closed?

The only real way to reverse these trends is to simply stop shopping at Wal-Mart altogether. I encourage all of you to do just that: Stop shopping at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. Start spending your dollars locally, in locally owned grocery stores like the Mustard Seed or Krieger's. Buy American made clothing like American Apparel, or support the Salvation Army. Buy your coffee at Angel Falls or Momus instead of Starbucks. Isn't it time we started giving back to our communities in very real, very Christian ways? If you think you'll be spending more money, think of the burden we currently pay every year in government programs because of Wal-Mart. Only by not supporting their company will we reverse the negative effects, and hopefully force them to reverse their own harmful practices in the process.

In closing, for the first time in years, Wal-Mart has fallen from the number one spot atop America's richest companies. They are now number two to Exxon Mobil. This means that they are losing money, and this means that the process of change is already in motion. Please join millions of your fellow American Families in saying no to Wal-Mart.

posted by Bo Bishop at 10:05 PM | 1 comments

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Snakes & Martyrs

Hi, all.

I've really resolved to try to update this blog more often. Hence the new look and three posts. It's not that I don't think about posting... It's just hard to find time.

Things in NYC have been pretty great. School is a lot less frantic this semester, and I find myself much more invested in my projects. I'm really only working on three things: a feature length screenplay entitled "Pilkington," rewriting my script that Kat is directing this summer, and starting on preproduction for my own film, "Miles Wynberry of Glendale Lane." I feel like I've streamlined my work this semester, and it's helped overall with my feelings of malise and that I'm maybe wasting $50,000 dollars. (I've kind of decided I'm not?)

Sarah is wonderful. We both have our hands buried in wedding planning -- she a bit more than I, sad to say. She's visited twice thus far this semester, and I'm going home for Spring Break (I know... I have no idea where the time has gone) on March 10th to stay for a few weeks. We visited the Coney Island Aquarium last weekend, and it was fantastic. I mean, where else are you gonna see two walruses (walri?) having sex? That was worth the price of admission alone.

This weekend, Shane and Dave are visiting and we're gonna go see one of our favorite bands, Mogwai, on Monday night at the Avalon. The show's sold out, and I'm really looking foward to it. I think we're gonna do some touristy things, like eat pizza and maybe visit the Statue of Liberty. It'll be nice to have some friends from home get a real glimpse of my life out here.

Well, I'm off to class. Until next time.

PS / The new TV on the Radio album is an instant classic. I worked on their new video shoot a few weeks ago, and let me warn you... This record is going to take over the world. I wasn't a huge fan of their debut, but this one... Wow. It's better than 90% of anything that's come out in the last 6 years. No joke.

posted by Bo Bishop at 10:22 AM | 0 comments

My Favorite Films of 2005!

here are my favorite films of the past year, in proper order...

20. last days
19. crash
18. thumbsucker
17. oliver twist
16. 2046
15. good night, and good luck
14. walk the line
13. murderball
12. the constant gardener
11. brokeback mountain
10. match point
09. batman begins
08. the beat that my heart skipped
07. charlie and the chocolate factory
06. me and you and everyone we know
05. junebug
04. capote
03. grizzly man
02. the new world
01. syriana

honorable mentions: king kong, forty shades of blue, the first 2/3rds of munich, brick (which i just saw last week, but was pretty great)

best revival of 2006: elevator to the gallows (at the film forum... soon to be released on dvd by the good folks at criterion)

worst films of 2006...

05. sin city
04. harry potter and the goblet of fire
03. the squid and the whale
02. a history of violence
01. elizabethtown

biggest letdown: jarhead

most anticipated of 2006...

10. little children - tom perrotta novel gets the todd field (in the bedroom) treatment.
09. a scanner darkly - richard linklater directs philip k. dick in rotoscope.
08. the departed - scorsese remakes the stellar asian film, infernal affairs.
07. for your consideration - the new film from the folks behind a mighty wind & spinal tap.
06. borat - an entire film devoted to ali g's hilarious, culturally inept alter ego.
05. a prairie home companion - altman (and pt anderson) adapt garrison keillor.
04. marie antoinette - sofia coppolla (hopefully) reinvents the period piece.
03. southland tales - a sprawling, screwed up ensemble pic from richard kelly (donnie darko).
02. the fountain - after six years, aronofsky's sci-fi epic finally sees the light of day.
01. zodiac - david fincher returns to the serial killer genre with a stellar cast.

posted by Bo Bishop at 9:27 AM | 0 comments

Pray for Flannery

My cat, Flannery, has officially been missing for a week now. Please pray that she's okay and that she'll come home soon. I know it may seem dumb, but I've had her for almost two years, and I raised her from scratch, so she's like a little sister to me. Thanks.


posted by Bo Bishop at 9:27 AM | 0 comments

Friday, January 20, 2006

Okay...

Here it is:

I haven't posted on this thing in almost two months (aside from my music list), and for that I am ashamed. Trust me, though, the time off has been well earned.

I'll return with a much longer post later, but I just wanted to let this particular cat out of the bag for those of you still checking this thing out and still interested in my life...

I am getting married!

Sarah officially accepted my proposal of marriage on December 13th, and we couldn't be happier. The date is this July 8th, exactly one year after we began dating. Honestly, we've known from the start that this is what we wanted, so it's great to finally have the ring on the finger, as they say. Over the coming months, I'll be posting a lot about the wedding as things develop, so check back often for pictures and lurid details.

That's my big news. Now, I'm back at Columbia, trying to edit a film I shot over break, and getting back into the swing of things with classes. This semester, I'm writing a feature-length script, so I'll be doing much more writing, which is right up my alley. Less busy work. All signs point toward the film I'm shooting this summer, "Miles Wynberry of Glendale Lane," and much of my work this semester in some way builds up to that 12 minute film. Like before, I'll be talking about this one a lot too, so check back and let me know what you think.

Gotta run to class now. Just wanted to share with you my fantastic news. Hope all is well and that you've had time to rest over the holidays. Here's to aught 6.

posted by Bo Bishop at 9:21 AM | 2 comments

Sunday, January 08, 2006

YEAR END MUSIC LIST :: 2005

TOP 45 (or so) ALBUMS OF 2005

45/44. FOUR TET :: "Everything Ecstatic" & CARIBOU :: "The Milk of Human Kindness"
43. SAM PREKOP :: "Who's Your New Professor"
42/41. JOHN VANDERSLICE :: "Pixel Revolt" & FIELD MUSIC :: "Field Music"
40. FRANZ FERDINAND :: "You Could Have It So Much Better"
39. THE SHINING :: "In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will be a Monster"
38. THE WHITE STRIPES :: "Get Behind Me Satan"
37. GORILLAZ :: "Demon Days"
36. BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE :: "Broken Social Scene"
35. THE PERCEPTIONISTS :: "Black Dialogue"
34. MY MORNING JACKET :: "Z"
33. WOLF PARADE :: "Apologies to the Queen Mary"
32. HOOD :: "Outside Closer"
31/30. SUPERWOLF :: "Superwolf" & JASON MOLINA :: "Magnolia Electric Co. Home Demos"
29. THE CLIENTELE :: "Strange Geometry"
28. FROM MONUMENT TO MASSES :: "Schools of Thought Contend"
27. DANGERDOOM :: "The Mouse & the Mask"
26. ANIMAL COLLECTIVE :: "Feels"
25. SAXON SHORE :: "The Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore" & "Luck Will Not Save Us from a Jackpot of Nothing EP"
24. ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS :: "I am a Bird Now"
23. BECK :: "Guero"
22. OF MONTREAL :: "The Sunlandic Twins"
21. FIONA APPLE :: "Extraordinary Machine" (Both Versions)
20. PATRICK WOLF :: "Wind in the Wires"
19. ...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD :: "Worlds Apart"
18/17. NADA SURF :: "The Weight is a Gift" & YOUTH GROUP :: "Skeleton Jar"
16. SPOON :: "Gimme Fiction"
15. MIKE DOUGHTY :: "Haughty Melodic"
14. M83 :: "Before the Dawn Heals Us"
13. SAGE FRANCIS :: "A Healthy Distrust"
12. THE DECEMBERISTS :: "Picaresque"
11. BRIGHT EYES :: "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" & "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning"
10. SIGUR ROS :: "Takk..."
09/08. KANYE WEST :: "Late Registration" & COMMON :: "Be"
07. THRICE :: "Vheissu"
06. AESOP ROCK :: "Fast Cars, Danger, Fire & Knives"
05. FEIST :: "Let It Die"
04. SUFJAN STEVENS :: "Illinois"
03. DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE :: "Plans"
02. THE BOOKS :: "Lost & Safe"
01. BLOC PARTY :: "Silent Alarm" & "Silent Alarm Remixed"

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

ANDREW BIRD :: "The Mysterious Production of Eggs"
DAEDELUS :: "Exquisite Corpse"
BRITISH SEA POWER :: "Open Season"
PORTASTATIC :: "Bright Ideas"
THE BOY LEAST LIKELY TO :: "The Best Party Ever"
TOM VEK :: "We Have Sound"
JASON FOREST :: "Shamelessly Exciting"
BOARDS OF CANADA :: "The Campfire Headphase"
EDAN :: "Beauty and the Beat"
13 & GOD :: "13 & God"
BELL ORCHESTRE :: "Recording a Tape the Colour of Light"
THE CONSTANTINES :: "Tournament of Hearts"
PELICAN :: "The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw"
CRITERIA :: "When We Break"
IRON & WINE :: "Woman King EP"

BEST SOUNDTRACK OF 2005: "Me & You & Everyone We Know" or "The New World" (Tie)

BEST COMPILATION OF 2005: "Run the Road: UK Grime Compilation"

MOST OVERRATED ALBUM OF 2005: CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH :: "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah" or COLDPLAY :: "X & Y" (Tie)

BEST SINGLE OF 2005: "Banquet" by BLOC PARTY or "Feel Good, Inc." by Gorillaz (Tie)

MOST ANTICIPATED OF 2006: MOGWAI :: "Mr. Beast" (March 6)

posted by Bo Bishop at 2:27 PM | 0 comments

Sunday, November 13, 2005

They Fit Together Like a Puzzle

Hi!

Wow. It's been a really long time since I posted, and if you've been checking this thing, please accept my apologies for the lack of content. I know I always yap about how busy I've been, but this time it's really really true! I swear!

Anyway, feeble forgiveness aside, things have been crazy here in the NYC.

Sarah flew in last Friday for our usual seeing-each-other-every-two-weeks thing, only this time, instead of just hanging out for the weekend, she threw caution to the wind and stayed until Wednesday night, so we had the pleasure of spending a whole six days together in a row, which is pretty much unheard of in our relationship (and probably equal to, say, one month in a normal romance). Every time she walks down that ramp from her gate in LaGuardia, I get these huge butterflies and feel like a little kid waiting in line for a rollercoaster that I'm just tall enough to ride. (Wow... and the award for worst analogy goes to...) Needless to say, we were both really happy to see one another, and we made the most of our time here in New York.

Actually, I think the best part about having Sarah here for almost a week was the chance for us just to settle in a bit and kind of experience some semblance of normal life. I mean, this time there was less pressure to get out and "sell" New York or show her all the sights. Instead, we spent a lot of time walking down Broadway, reading in the park, watching episodes of Lost, talking in my apartment... Normal things we miss when we only have three days to cram in two weeks' worth of excitement. Saturday night, we were supposed to catch March of the Penguins (which I still have not seen) with my friend Michael, but something came up and he couldn't make it, so Sarah and I decided to skip the movie too and do something outrageous that we've never done together...

Cook dinner!

Yes, that's right. We went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of veggies and tofu and came back to my apartment and made an amazing stir fry, replete with candles and music. Actually, not only was this the first time we've cooked dinner together, but I'm fairly certain it was also the first time the dining room was used in my apartment. Whatever the case, it was a beautiful evening and probably my favorite of the entire week. This is proof that when living in New York City, just staying in and cooking dinner can trump the view from the Empire State.

So us first-years here at Columbia are in the throes of our third Directing assignments, and Sarah was kind enough to act in two of these while she was in town. The exercise is based on a short story by Chekhov called "The Kiss," and involves a) a party, b) a young man leaving the party for some reason, and c) said young man being kissed by a mysterious young lady in a mysterious location. This is the most involved project we've had to shoot yet, and getting a lot of people together for a shoot can be difficult, but it was nice having Sarah here to experience the process. On Sunday night, we went to a restaurant in the West Village called Cowgirl for my friend Lauren's shoot that involved her Grandparents, and Monday night we walked down the block to 540 and played "partiers" in Michael's epic. Sarah had a rather meaty supporting role in the latter as "Party Girl #2," and let me tell you... for those 45 minutes... she was that girl.

Tuesday evening, we took the 1 down to Ground Zero. This was the first time I actually stopped and looked at the sight since arriving in the city... at those giant, gaping holes in the concrete. Sarah and I wondered if the jumpers landed where we were standing as we tried to imagine the entire block choked with rubble and ash. A Polish woman asked me to take her picture.

Later on, we wandered into Chinatown and then Little Italy, where we had an incredible dinner of salmon in a tomato-cream sauce, and $10 shrimp cocktail that included... let me finish... four shrimp. (The best $5 worth of crawfish I've ever had.) The evening was cool and clear as we walked down Canal Street, and for a little while at least, New York seemed small and private and ours.

I shot my directing project Friday night, opting to forego the whole party thing for something more ambitious. I grabbed Michael and Nick's friend Laura (also an actor in the program here), and we headed out to a bar called Mona's here on Amsterdam. After bribing the bartender, I shot my opening scene: Michael drinks alone, sad. Eyes alluring woman across the bar. She eyes him back. Looks escalate until Michael gathers the courage to talk to her. Poof. She's gone. He runs out of the bar, intent on finding her.

Cut to a lot of "Cops" style sprinting through NYC with me trying to keep up with Mike.

Laura enters the subway at 110th. Michael follows and we cut to him just making the train as it pulls away from the platform. Here's where the fun began: I decided to shoot the "kiss" section of my exercise in the subway, which I understand now to be a sign of my mental deterioration, as it is both illegal and impossible. At this point, though, I was in filmmaker mode and I didn't care at all about those odds. I was barking orders, swinging my camera through the crowd, asking people not to look at me, "directing" as the car cut a sharp swath through downtown. Amazingly, two hours and countless stops later, I got all the footage I needed. The whole process was really exciting and I'm so glad I decided to try something different. At the very least, even if the film doesn't ultimately work, I learned something about shooting on the fly.

So, today I'm editing. All day. And then I'm writing and doing script breakdowns and blah blah blah. I have so much work to do before Thanksgiving, I almost want to throw my hands up and just surrender to the firing squad. Oh well. Like sharks, we keep moving.

That's about it for now. But, as usual, I'll leave you with some photos from my week with Sarah. I hope everyone is well and please continue to pray for me as I'm really under a lot of stress out here, and I'll do the same for you. God bless...





posted by Bo Bishop at 10:15 AM | 2 comments

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Invisible Chidren

If you would, please take a moment to visit...

www.invisiblechildren.com

I went to the Thrice show last night at the Roseland Ballroom, and received some really interesting information about this organization. It would be great if you could all check out the good work they're doing. Maybe we could each donate a little as well.

posted by Bo Bishop at 9:30 AM | 1 comments

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Wow! Somebody Give This Guy an Oscar Already!

If I haven't said it before, Orlando Bloom is an incredible actor and a treasure to our profession.

I tip my fedora to you, sir. May you live forever!

Sincerely Yours,

Bo Bishop
President, Young Men for the Promotion of a Bloomian Utopia

posted by Bo Bishop at 9:48 PM | 0 comments