All posts by Amok

blog, diversity, movies, news, race

Updates: HBO’s “Luck,” PETA, Dharun Ravi

If you saw the latest “Luck,” on HBO, it’s curious how the American Humane Association logo, and the “No Animals were harmed” disclaimer still appears in the credits. Maybe none were harmed in that episode, but with the record of the show of at least 3 deaths, who can say?

The phrase “no animals harmed…” has become such a cliche that it’s unclear what it really means anymore. And now we know what it’s meant on “Luck.”

The reaction to my piece about my wife and luck at http://blog.sfgate.com/eguillermo
 has been interesting.

A few took me as bragging about my wife’s work as a PETA VP.

But I was merely sharing an insider’s perspective of how real modern day activism works. It’s not just picket signs and demos. It’s practically investigative journalism. And in this case there is a symbiotic relationship between the activist and the media that most people don’t realize.

The other thing I’m amazed about is the reaction from the horse racing industry to the cancellation of “Luck.” The industry should be happy the show was cancelled. “Luck” focused on a “Sopranos” goes to Santa Anita story line that made the whole enterprise of racing look sleazy, dishonest and populated by degenerate low-lifes. I know that can make for good TV, but it doesn’t breed public trust in an industry that is dying. No one was calling for the abolition of horse racing. But wouldn’t it be nice if the game were fair and humane? As it was, “Luck” depicted the industry as just the opposite, and yet people are angry at PETA for uncovering the deaths of the horses which led to the canceling of the show. “Luck” defenders like to shrug off the horse deaths by saying accidents happen. Yeah, sure, in real races. I go back to the basic issue: Real horses shouldn’t die in fake races.

“Luck” had no real defense. Its cancellation was humane, considering the production wasn’t.

RAVI, TYLER CLEMENTI, AND THE RUTGERS CASE

If you haven’t seen my post go to www.aaldef.org/blog

It’s funny how hate crimes and cyber-bullying have all been rolled up into one blobby mess of intolerance. That’s good, but the broader definition will mean less clarity on hate crimes than ever, more and harsher punishment, and a whole lot less freedom in general.

Is that really what we want? Isn’t there a better way to demand we all show a little kindness, civility and mutual respect to each other?

blog, movies, news

HBO cancels “Luck” as horse deaths on set forces network to do the right thing

6 Comments

Responding to pressure from PETA over the deaths of three thoroughbreds, HBO has cancelled the series on horse racing, “Luck.”

It’s too bad for the cast and crew, as shooting had begun on a second season meaning at least another eight months of work. Production staffers reportedly just learned about the cancellation around 4:30 PDT from journalists.

But any blame should be put squarely on the producers for the cancellation.  If they were serious about animal welfare, they shouldn’t have used old, out-of-shape horses in the race sequences. And they should have had more attentive  oversight from the group hired by SAG and producers to make sure that indeed “no animals were harmed” during the production.

Inspite of the participation of some heralded names in show biz (Dustin Hoffman, David Milch, Michael Mann), mixed in with racing notables like Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, “Luck” never seemed to live up to its hype.

It was a mixed first season with a  brooding story of racing degenerates and shadowy corporate characters blended with the real life drama of Indian gaming and slot machine placements in racetracks. 

“Luck” had none of the uplift of “Secretariat,” nor the heart of “Sea Biscuit.” Instead, it was a nasty, gritty depiction of the race world.  It wanted to be “The Sopranos” with horses.

Maybe it was too real.

Ironically, a recent episode featured a horse breaking down. In fact, the real life story of  unsound horses racing when they shouldn’t, was  a subtheme in the series.

In the end, that’s what ends up sinking the whole enterprise.

Art and real life were too close.

When real horses end up dying in the filming of fake races, that’s just too ironic for words.

blog, news, politics

What was so super about Super Tuesday? Nothing except for Romney’s “passion deficit”

1 Comment

I kept waiting for Super Tuesday to live up to its hype. But it never quite did. Super Tuesday? From a not-so super Wednesday perspective, Tuesday was simply the same dreadful Republican candidates going after a larger number of states and electoral votes. But not really enough to make a difference by driving out pretenders, never mind coronating a presumptive winner.

Was it really that thrilling to see Romney nose out Santorum in Ohio? The fact that Romney wasn’t able to cream Santorum in that state only highlighted Romney’s weak candidacy. Ohio is a state of bread and butter Republicans, the kind like my wife’s Uncle Joe. They are the traditional soul of the party. Hard-working, upper-middle-class to affluent, God-fearing conservatives. White shoe, white belt, country club types who are pro-business. That was Uncle Joe. He died several years ago. A new generation is more small business than big business; blue collar, not white. More radically religious than even a nice protestant. (Interesting that exit polls show Romney winning Catholics, but not evangelicals).

It all means problems for Romney leading up to the convention, no matter how many delegates he has. The majority has a problem liking him. He’s too middle-of-the-road. Not bad enough to outright ignore. Not good enough to wildly support.

In the end, Romney may simply be the candidate with the winning look, stuck in neutral.

He needs a push. Super Tuesday wasn’t it. Maybe he should change his name and get a new political brand.

Is Lincoln taken?

Or instead of trying to please all the people, all ot the time, Romney should let people know what he really stands for.

Right now, I don’t know what he stands for. Look at that tepid response to the Rush Limbaugh situation. He’s for not pissing off Rush, that’s for sure.

Romney has a passion deficit. And it works both ways, back and forth from candidate to electorate. There’s no love connection, folks here.