Hot Plate

Whew!
Ok- let's just healthily skirt the protesting for a moment and get back to some basics:

Can we just talk about the new bear meat on this season of Top Chef?

Just so you know his name is Richard and yes, I'm totally bananas for him. He's sweet and fun and funny as well. Is he killing you, too? Shall I get the coffin ready?

According to his Bravo bio:
"Richard is the Executive Sous Chef at Confidential Restaurant & Loft in the Gaslamp District of downtown San Diego. Richard grew up in food service. His father has served as a restaurant manager for years and his mother and stepfather have owned several bagel businesses in Long Island where Richard spent many summers during his youth. He's been trained by world traveled chefs in classic French techniques and their modern applications. His motto in the kitchen is, "Keep it simple (stupid)" - and he likes to do just that by keeping his plates simple and infused with natural harmony versus chaotic noise. At Confidential, Richard likes to "play" with his food through the small plates style of dining, which allows him to create many new dishes for his guests to combine. On the side, he also works at the San Diego bar, Pecs."

Well Richard, consider this an open invite for you to come over, take your shirt off and cook dinner for me any time.
Grrrrruf!

Happy Friday!: WTF Edition!

Vomiting Kibbles and Bits

What do you get when you cross the latest in Reality Competition trends like Project Runway/Shear Genius and Animal Planet? The latest in absurdity! Yup, that's right! In a desperate attempt for ratings and/or, er, new hardly creative ideas Animal Planet decided to go ahead and green light a show where "professional" dog groomers blow-and-dry it out in a competition-reality to see who is America's best Dog Groomer. Uh, yeah- I'm not kidding.

The show is called Groomer Has It and, no joke, it's a real show. The icing on the cake is that it's hosted by the Queer Eye's most unnecessary cast member, Jai Rodriguez. You know him- he was the Fab 5 guy who used to give such stellar advice as: "Girls like music. You should think about buying her a CD. That'd really score points." Great. Thanks Jai.

Ugh. I'd rather watch the Lie Detector shit over this one...

The Sanctity of Marriage

Ha!
How about a ban on this?! From TV's reality/lie Detector game show, "Moment of Truth."

Viacom Listens to MTV Freelancers

MTV Freelancers Protesting outside MTV/Viacom building

Photo- (ugh.) Perezhilton.com

In a wonderful display of a megacorporation listening to their employee's needs and demands, Viacom has changed their original benefit cut plan which would have affected freelancers and "perma-"lancers alike.

Viacom/MTV plans to turn many long term freelance positions into staff jobs and offers freelancers a choice between their old healthcare plan and an entirely new one. Also, the deadline to decide on the plan has been extended from this later this month until February '08. Way to take a stand freelancers.

"We've implemented a process for evaluating freelance and temporary employee positions for possible conversion to staff positions," reads the announcement from JoAnne Griffith, MTVN's executive vice president for HR. "This process is currently underway." Freelancers will now have the choice to continue with their current health plan—including dental!—or sign on to MTV's Aetna plan. Either way, they won't have to make the decision until February of next year, nearly three months after the original deadline set by the company last week.

MTV Freelancers Walk Out!

I work in television and I am also a freelancer. In the freelance world there are two types of freelancers. Freelancers and perma-lancers. Perma-lancers are people who have held the same "freelance" job for a long time, if not, several years. For whatever reasons, (healthcare benefits, 401K plans, taxes) companies like Viacom and many other production companies keep employees as "freelancers" opposed to making them staff. This is something I've come to accept years ago and have managed to get benefits through other, often overwhelmingly bureaucratic means. Those at MTV who have been perma-lancers for a long time are suddenly getting their health care providers switched and changes to their 401K plan. From what I hear there is still a lot to be explained both by Viacom (owner of MTV) and the payroll company MTV deals with. Many of the perma-lancers I know over at MTV are upset this bad or head-achey news is coming right before the Holidays and right before the New Year, a time when the production world is notoriously slow or frozen.

It would be nice if a company were to offer me benefits, but I'm a freelancer and in television one can only work from project to project. Once that project ends, whether it's a week, month, or a few years, there is no more work- you must find the next project.

However, had I been with MTV for a long time- if I were a perma-lancer this would directly affect me, the benefits and 401K plan I've been acquiring and yes, I'd be upset and have a feeling of employer disloyalty. The people affected by this have a right to walk out. I guess we'll have to see what new deals and plans Viacom can come up with. In the mean time this should be a lesson to all freelancers. Don't depend on anyone but yourself. Cover your own ass. You never know when or if the job you've been hired for will fall out from under you.

Check out freelancersunion.org for freelancer health insurance information.
For more information read this Gawker.com article. Photos also courtesy of Gawker.

Emmy Awards Diss Bravo

I am a huge fan of Bravo reality TV. Highly respecting their "coastal-minded," 25-45 year old, demographics, I believe Bravo has set the bar for all shows focused on design, food, fashion and comedy. Much of their hits, Project Runway, Top Chef, and the oh so steamy, Workout embody a sense of urban hot-pop and features a broad spectrum of both straight and queer cast members. Project Runway was the first hit reality show that actually used its cast members to utilize their talents in order to create a real product.
In last night's Emmy Award show both Project Runway and Top Chef lost out to ABC's The Amazing Race. Working in Reality TV I know and respect the tremendous feat it is to successfully execute a global scale reality production. But in it's 11th season Amazing Race is something we have all seen before and the cast members aren't expected to design or create, rather they just run around in foreign countries acting out the American stereotype by frantically screaming at each other, yelling at non-English speaking cabbies to "hurry! hurry! hurry!" or "follow that cab!" and complete outrageously absurd tasks like the novelty-thinning bug eating.
The award should go to shows which employ innovation and cast produced creativity not the been-there-done-that cast produced stupidity.
All I have to say is: Bravo, Bravo!

Bashed

Openly gay ex "Top Chef" contestant, Josie Smith-Malave, was leaving a Sea Cliff, NY bar with friends when she was apparently chased down by thugs screaming anti-gay slurs and eventually spit and beat on her. Click here to read the small (go figs) article.

You may remember Smith-Malave for her fierce hair and if you're a Brooklyn diner she used to work as a sous-chef at Brooklyn's Marlow and Sons restaurant.

Adventures in Employment...?

That's right! After 50 some-odd days off I've finally landed my next hot and spicy gig back in the world of bubblelicious pop-reality TV. Now that I'm into my first week of working I already regret spending my two months of free time moping around being all, "woe is me" and shit. Dammit! I should have taken those P-Town trip offers opposed to staying in town and telling myself to put priorities first. What a moron. Youth truly is wasted on the young. I am ecstatic to be back at work though and to regain a sense of purpose. I was adrift for too long!