boxing clever

Last Thursday I marched in Dublin as party of the International Writers Day of Support for the WGA strike in the USA. There was a strong turn-out of members from the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild, and other supporters such as Conor Kostick who represented the Irish Writers Union. After we donned t-shirts and mustered placards we marched through the Dublin streets. Several motorists honked in support, and lots of people took photos.

We picketed the Fox Studio office first, and continued down to the Sony office, where we picketed some more. Our protest drew two cop cars at that point, and an assortment of bemused gardaí – it must have been a slow day for our affable gang to attract their attention. Afterwards we adjourned to the IFI for a couple of drinks, and a bit of hot food courtesy of the Guild, which was much appreciated.

The next day I spent time in the Guild office, and uploaded the short video that documented the event, which was shot and edited by Alessandro Molatore. It was fun to watch all the videos from around the world arrive on YouTube. It ended up being good timing because later that evening the writers found out that despite four days of negotiation the AMPTP are not offering anything of substance. So, the WGA must continue its strike in December, and probably into the New Year. This has got to be difficult for the writers to contemplate (especially at this time of the year), but it’s necessary that they continue to hold out for proper compensation for their work.

I’ll be in New York for a few days at the end of this month. If the strike is still on-going, and if I can squeeze in the time, I’ll visit one of the pickets to show my support.

I spent a couple of days with good friends, which was lovely. I got to try the Wii for the first time, and as expected I enjoyed it. I realised that boxing on the Wii would be the perfect antidote for editorial rejection.

Imagine: you get the dreaded “I’m sorry” email or letter. You fire up the Wii, and pummel your opponent with the speed and strength of your frustration. Afterwards, your foe is on the floor, and you are performing the hip-swagger of victory.

It turns the whole event around.