Whoa. I'm getting serious or something.Re: Arts Funding

From: joeyostrander@gmail.com
Subject: Re: Economic Recovery Package Must Include Arts
Date: March 27, 2009 4:59:08 PM GMT-04:00
To: senator@stabenow.senate.gov

Really!?!

Thanks, for the cookie cutter response. It makes me feel like you really care. No response at all could have made me feel less neglected.

I fail to see how any of your attached email relates to continued annual loss of support for Art.

American Culture and Art are dying, Senator Stabenow, particularly in Michigan. The only self-sustaining visual art form in our country any longer is filmmaking. We cannot rely solely on a consumer public, nor especially on a capitalist economy to revive us. Sustenance for Art has always needed support from government.

Today is little different from days when men painted Roman chapels, or carved the physiques of great leaders from stone, from days when photographers documented for and future playwrights were employed by Roosevelt's WPA. Grecian sculptors, Michaelangelo, Dorothea Lange, Arthur Miller, each were supported and funded by their governments. Without such state-sponsored efforts, these historic artists could not have achieved such historic works.

American government has begun to decreasingly offer financial aid toward our Art education, production, and appreciation. The NEA has grown progressively weaker, more overlooked, and grossly underfunded relative to the evolution of the rest of our economy. A continued neglect of Art in America's future will foster the bankruptcy of our culture, and likewise the morale of our society.

This is not an argument. This is a warning, of inevitability.

Joey Ostrander
Photographer & Filmmaker
SE Michigan



On Mar 27, 2009, at 1:27 PM, Senator Debbie Stabenow wrote:

Joseph Ostrander
413 Ballard St, Apartment 1
Ypsilanti, MI 48197

Thank you ...

... for contacting me to express your concerns about the economic recovery plan recently passed by Congress. I supported this legislation because ... (click for full letter) ...

... ... [ blah , blah , senate intern , or computer drone , sent this ] ... ...

... Thank you again for contacting me. As always, please continue to keep me informed about issues of concern to you and your family.

Sincerely,
Debbie Stabenow
United States Senator

"PUSHING DAISIES"

that is, Pushing Daisies, the television series.
mm. yes, good.

http://abc.go.com/primetime/pushingdaisies/
http://www.youtube.com/user/47alias47?ob=4




ps.
oh yeah, did i mention: PUSHING DAISIES!

i feel good about helping

tonight an old woman almost passed out on my front steps trying to carry a box of penny banks half way across downtown Ypsi to a coffee shop.

i helped her carry that change - it was heavy - and we had a nice little discussion about our optimism on our country turning around after the upcoming election. (Go Blue)

i dropped her and her change off at the coffee shop where the late night waitress graciously began to count here pennies for her, and serve her a fresh tasty cup o' ... joe.

hurray, Robin Hood.
*cheerful sigh*

Earth v. The Earth

Often we call our planet "The Earth" as if it is an object, much like we may refer to the man, or the clock, or the home, creating some personal detachment from it.

But sometimes we call our planet "Earth" giving her a name, like an artwork, or a beloved ship, or a pet, or a friend, creating a relationship between ourselves and Earth.

Semantics? Perhaps.
But it is not the way we say it that concerns me, rather the way we think about our planet...
as a place, as a home, as a rock, as a friend... ???

The EFEX Project on the radio

Here is a Michigan Public Radio news story about one filmmaking project I have been involved in in the past. You can listen to an .mp3 of the radio broadcast which aired June 3rd, 2008.

Clearly it, and we filmmakers, are gaining some recognition for the hard work we are doing in this state.


((( I hope the very few people who actually see this post will be interested in listening. It's a well composed news story. Thanks to Jennifer Guerra, et al.)))

"Bilal's Stand" Trailer One

This film premieres at the Michigan Theatre in April.
I helped make it.
Providing the light including the sun. (among other things)



It will be stellar.

If i ruled the world,

I would decree sundaes be eaten on Sunday,

dressing up would be encouraged,

driving cars would be discouraged,

more movies and music and theatre and art would be produced,

everyone would plant at least one tree every year,

the world would be more colorful,

people would smile at strangers when they pass on the street,

and leaving the bathroom without washing your hands would be criminal.

change & stay the same

i'm tired of pretending that i'm happy all the time

from now on i will say what's on mind
the truth
and act on what i feel

but i'll still be nice to everyone. i can't help that

doubts of selflessness

My motivation has always been bred by the doubt of others. If I am told I cannot do something, naturally I find a way to do it.
But at times I question whether this M.O. will help me reach the most ambitious goals I see for my future.
Will constantly swimming upstream prove my worth? Will I earn accolades if I always defy what is expected of me, though I only want what's best? Will earning what I believe is best set me apart and away from the people I long to have near me?

Why can I not have everything I want? Why must I sacrifice one joy for opportunity, pleasure for responsibility, myself for others? Why do I feel I ought to? Why do I feel this way?

And does this make me a good person? an ignorant man? selfrighteous?
Does or will what I do matter... ever?

Did I tell you that I biked 17 miles from Westland to Ann Arbor last Wednesday?

I did.
Seventeen (17) miles.
Half of it down a dirt road.
(Often the gears would lock up. I walked the bike up five hills.)
The ride was a difficult, up-(and sporadically down)-hill, two hour fight.
But I made it.

I stopped for ten minutes on the dirt roadside to eat an apple and stretch.
I took a short nap on the grass when I made it.
I stretched again.
I took a cowboy shower.
Then I worked for seven more hours... on my feet.

Needless to say, I did not bike home.
I was tired, but surprisingly not sore.
I felt good,,, healthy,,, and accomplished.

Jason Kendall Ray

It took me an hour and a half to read this article...

____Ray of Hope____
about Jason Kendall Ray
aka Rameses, the UNC mascot,
aka youth leader,
aka front man for Nine PM Traffic,
aka etc, etc, etc...

Recently,
as we were discussing how I believe some people I am close to look to me expecting to see pride or strength or success,
a friend asked me who it is that I look up to.

While one may expect some obvious well-known professionals,
directors or artists or writers,
I had never deeply considered the individuals that inspire me to be who I am.

I have never truly kept track of the people and their stories whom,
when I hear of or read of or meet or get to know them,
I am affected, moved, shaped, changed.

I think this record begins today
with Jason Kendall Ray.

Save Joey

Like most people, I am motivated when what I do is seen and encouraged.
Unlike most people , I need this motivation.
For some recent time, I (namely, my imagination, which is more important to my survival and personality than my brain and heart) has felt like a dead puppy.

Your mission - whether you choose to accept it or not - is to help bring me puppy back from the dead.
This is not a one person job; it is a community effort...
for all those who care about me, I challenge you to tell me what I could/should/(hell, what you would) do.

Joey needs your help.

Accidental Hero Vs. Accidental Villian

Today I did some yard work at my friend's house. (When you are poor and struggling for work, friends hire you to help out a bit... and this helps you out a bit.) So I did quite a bit of magifying some bushes and grasses.

Among the taller-than-me bushes I found grapevines abundant. They were covering - no, blanketing the brush, which was fighting just to earn some light. Oh, but the grapes were young and not quite ripe. This posed a dilemma. I did not have trouble deciding... the baby grapes and choking vines must go. So I cut them away - most of them - and tore them from their deadly grasp on the branches. I saved the bushes, but..!!

While I was recklessly and aggressively tearing away vines, I failed to recognize a bird's nest in the tall branches... until I had gone and knocked two infant barely-feathered sparrows from the nest. I noticed them lying on the ground after they began chirping. They could not fly. Their eyes barely opened. They could only but thrust their legs about and cry for help.

I was afraid to touch them, but had to return to them to their nest or they would die. I went to the garage. I gloved my hands up, and found a small nest-sized garden shovel. The birds were lying in some pile of dead leaves. Hopefully this broke their fall and not their fragility. I delicately scooped each up sliding one then the other into their crib overhead.I hope my non-skin interference in the rescue didn't taint their motherbird away from them.

I think I saved these birdlings today, though I also almost killed them. I hope I did not. This could make me a bad person... a little bit.... or at least careless.

I Love to Make Movies

I just got home from the first of four days of reshooting/additional shooting for a movie I've been helping make for some time. Obviously - or not so much - it is the middle of the night. I still am amidst my fourth wind of the day, so I chose to exclaim about how I loved being on a set again today.

I love being creative. I love to solve the problem of how to make the story look best. I love to make pictures especially when they move.
I love the camaraderie of friends working together on something we enjoy and share a passion for. I love that we do it when many doubt that we can. I love that we do it here and now, in Michigan, as young adults, without hesitation, and because we believe that we've earned the right to do what we do.

I love making movies.
(and i love you.)

This Is Where I Go

Good People Want to Do Good...No Matter How Much They Must Sacrifice

I am afraid I am a good person.
Does being a good person hurt me?
At what point is the sacrifice too much?
Am I taken advantage of on account of my kindness?
Should I ever stop being a good person,
 even for a moment,
   and help myself?

Underappreciated Lifesavers in Seoul

Drinkers in Korea Dial for Designated Drivers nytimes.com
Chronically fatigued, underpaid, and overworked overnight, I have a great respect for someone who has the courage to perform such a job. I would hope they realize the that they not only provide a transportation service, but a lifesaving service. When this business picks up more world-wide, and statistics are readily available on these designated drivers for hire, I expect the numbers of lives they save (i.e. the decline in drunk driving accidents) to be comparable to the lives that firefighters or policeman save.

Great public service. Kudos, South Koreans.

Not All Good People Are Sane & Not All Sane People Are Good

I think this is a general rule that could apply to any set of terms.
Not the rule of 'good' vs. 'sane,' but the rule defined as:
Not all of us who are this are also that, and not all of us who are that are also this. While some people are A and B, being A doesn't make you B, and vice versa.

An obvious example:
Not all parents are responsible (as opposed to what we may expect.) Likewise, and obviously, not all who are responsible are parents, or will be parents, or could be, or in some opinions should be...

What even surprises me is the peculiar accuracy behind this claim. Could you find truth in any pair of labels that you plug into this definition?
Try it.
Think of two groups/types/labels of people. Some may seem obvious; some silly; some outrageous or completely absurd. But for any pair of labels, I'd bet that I can justify your claim, or question your doubt.

Will it be a good day?

You can always tell if it'll be a good day when you wake up and look at the sky in the morning.

Today's sky was deep blue. The sun shone warm, but not too bright. The air was temperate and a gentle cool breeze washed about.
Though most importantly, the clouds were those small spotty yet thick clouds like good quality whip cream - Cool Whip - or handfuls of bleached cotton balls. They littered the sky as far and as densely as could be seen.

Today was one of those Sundays for which you work all summer... so you can chill outside, even if it's just one time this year.