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

Did I mention I made (shot/edited) this?

A video of interviews and images reflecting on the difference that the students of Michigan both experience at the University and make in the world.



These people are each very happy with their trajectories, and appreciative of their education.
I like all of them.
And they are nice.

Michigan Film Tax Incentive Endangered

Over the past couple days I've drafted a statement opposing a Michigan Senate Bill 1535 that would put a constricting cap on Michigan's current film tax incentive.

The cap would limit the state's support of the film/arts industry, turn away production companies from outside Michigan, and eliminate jobs.

I've attached the statement here
-- http://JoeyOstrander.googlepages.com/StAgFilmIncentCap.pdf --

Please feel free (i.e. compelled) to read, and call your Senator to tell them to vote against SB 1535.

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... ???

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.

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.

Recent Infrequency of Me

.woh...
When I actually get a regular job, keeping up with this all-too-frequent-ness of this story is going to be hard. I take a week("-ish") to mourn the loss of my Buick - which will become a part of this Detroit Dream Project. Then this week I am working on prep and reshooting of some scenes for a film. I am having trouble making time to tell the world about my adventures and thoughts,,, or thoughts and adventures,,, one or the other.
If my life, in fact, becomes all too frequent, I'm afraid this blog will... un-become... it... (all too frequent, that is.)

Will yous miss me more then?

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.

If Westland had a water tower...

we could paint 'Save Joey' on it. We could spread the word that I am terminally ill. We could collect donations at school. We could advertise in the newspapers. We could start social action groups. We could foil every effort of our meddling principal to spoil our fun. We could have messenger - particularly a singing nurse - visit my home to wish me well. And we could throw a benefit concert... to save Joey.

And by we could, I mean everyone else I know could do all of these great things, while I took my best friend and a special lady out on the town on such a nice day.
I could borrow a rich man's under-appreciated 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California. I could dine at a fine restaurant posing as a local business baron . I could sing in a parade while regular citizens break out into choreographed song and dance; Danke Schoen and Twist and Shout are perfect options. I could visit a museum and consider my place in the world. I could catch a homerun at a baseball game, and be on TV. I could - and by I could, I mean we could - accomplish all of this in one "day off" from the typical mundanity of our everyday lives. Because it's just too nice too go to school today. Then when all is said and done, and I am so close to getting caught in my independent and people-loving ways of spreading joy throughout the world, fate would make everything OK, because what I(we) do will be good.
(And Rooney is an old confused man, whose outlook on life will hopefully improve.)

Hey. They could even make a movie about our adventures.
...
Wait. Ann Arbor has a water tower.