JMS: Don't you get tired?
JBONETATI
You've shed a lot of light on the process of television and writing and
producing in the last few years. In the process a lot of the 'politics' of the
industry has shown through the chinks even though you've always acted in a
professional manner.
Don't you get tired of the 'I can't discuss it yet' and the 'I can neither
confirm or deny that' and the showing of a neutral or optimistic face for the
sake of the project even though it's gone to hell in a handbasket? The
political crap seems that it would grind you down and sand off your integrity.
How do you deal with it?
Thanks,
Jan
Jms at B5
>confirm or deny that' and the showing of a neutral or optimistic face for the
>sake of the project even though it's gone to hell in a handbasket? The
>political crap seems that it would grind you down and sand off your
>integrity.
>How do you deal with it?
I don't, basically, as the whole TNT situation makes fairly evident. I'm
simply not a political creature. My life would be eminently simpler and less
stressful if I *were*, but I ain't. I go for the philosophy of "Be sand, not
oil, in the machinery of the world."
The peculiar thing about it is...by all rights I should be hard-core
unemployable. But any time I become available, the phone rings...people who
work with me invariably come back to work with me again,fully knowing that I'm
a major-league pain in the ass. I think the reason they do so is because they
know that I'm *not* political, that whatever some might say the truth is that
when I show up at the office in the morning, I check my ego at the door and
everything I do, I do if I sincerely believe it's the best thing for the show,
and the story.
Somehow, it works. Damned if I understand it.
jms
(jms...@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com
Mac Breck
unless "the world" is a bunch of slackers that just go along, playing the
game (and getting ahead) and taking the less stressful route, rather than
striving to make something that's *not* full of mistakes, and that has
quality.
You try your best to do what's right, not what's easy. You don't go along
(play the game) when it'd result in something that is wrong. You fight
against stupidity, rather than give up and let it happen. Agreed, it's be
less stressful to work this way, but your gut wouldn't let you do it any
other way. It's against your grain.
Mac - It's against my grain too, and the suits know it and take *full*
advantage of it. However, I can work no other way. In other words, no good
deed goes unpunished.
Jms at B5 wrote in message <19990919031009...@ng-cm1.aol.com>...
>>The
>>The political crap seems that it would grind you down and sand off your
>>How do you deal with it?
snipped to avoid the 80% rule
>I don't, basically, as the whole TNT situation makes fairly evident. I'm
>simply not a political creature. My life would be eminently simpler and
less
>stressful if I *were*, but I ain't. I go for the philosophy of "Be sand,
not
>oil, in the machinery of the world."
snipped to avoid the 80% rule
Bryan Campbell
>Date: 19 Sep 1999
[snip]
>I go for the philosophy of "Be sand, not oil, in the machinery of the world."
>The peculiar thing about it is...by all rights I should be hard-core
>unemployable. But any time I become available, the phone rings...people who
>work with me invariably come back to work with me again,fully knowing that I'm
>a major-league pain in the ass. I think the reason they do so is because they
>know that I'm *not* political, that whatever some might say the truth is that
>when I show up at the office in the morning, I check my ego at the door and
>everything I do, I do if I sincerely believe it's the best thing for the show,
>and the story.
>Somehow, it works. Damned if I understand it.
Hi Joe,
This seems understandable. Writing the program you want, although you can be
wrong as 'Racing the Night' would have been a confusing start for Crusade
which needed more details between it & ACtA, means the story has focus
making it much more interesting than ideas pushed to together for marketing
formulas. Folks that know good products have quality built-in realize "a
major-league pain" is necessary.
> jms
BTW if you let us see the original Babylon 5 outline you shopped-around some
critics should have a more difficult time taking pot-shots.
Regards,
Bryan
"I don't need to stand to talk, to advise, & to generally make a pain in the
ass out of myself." Dr. Stephen Franklin, "Babylon 5": 'Shadow Dancing'
JBONETATI
work with me invariably come back to work with me again,fully knowing that I'm
a major-league pain in the ass. I think the reason they do so is because they
know that I'm *not* political, that whatever some might say the truth is that
when I show up at the office in the morning, I check my ego at the door and
everything I do, I do if I sincerely believe it's the best thing for the show,
and the story.
Somehow, it works. Damned if I understand it.
jms>>
Ah. I think I do. I've been lucky enough to have a boss that is like that in
a different industry. The way I describe him to people is that I've never
worked harder and never enjoyed it more.
Major nosey questions: Have you ever been personality typed? what were the
results? What did you think of them?
Thanks,
Jan
Mac Breck
Bryan Campbell wrote in message
<2.2.32.19990919...@mail.pathcom.com>...
be
>wrong as 'Racing the Night' would have been a confusing start for Crusade
>which needed more details between it & ACtA, means the story has focus
>making it much more interesting than ideas pushed to together for marketing
>formulas.
If TNT had shown A Call to Arms as the lead in to Racing the Night, *what*
would have been confusing? *What* would have needed more explanation? I
think it would have worked perfectly that way. I think I'll show it that
way to some people who have never watched B5, and (separately) some B5'ers
who have never seen Crusade (because they refused to get cable). I won't
say anything and then see if they're confused.
Mac
Galens' Lady
call a spade a spade, and have done with it. Not try to convince them
that the spade is a shovel or a fork. I think thats; why they keep
wanting to work with you.
--
"I have NO surviving enemies - none at all"
Galen
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Jms at B5
>results? What did you think of them?
The one time I took a career-oriented personality inventory, it said I was best
suited to be an officer in the Army. I think running a production company
comes in right about there.
Other than that, pretty much stayed clear of them...once had an IQ test that
put me in the genius category (was in Mensa for about a year before I ran
screaming out the door)...other than that, frankly, I think I'd rather not
know.
Sham Gardner
<snip>
: once had an IQ test that put me in the genius category (was in Mensa for
: about a year before I ran screaming out the door)
Now this is interesting... When I read a Mensa leaflet it was as if it were
*screaming* "Psi Corps" at me. Is it possible that, consciously or otherwise,
the Psi Corps is in part a result of your experiences with Mensa?
Mark Alexander
describing the experience. He seems to pretty much capture why you ran out of there
screaming:
http://members.aol.com/hu4wahz/ug/gift/gift5.html
Mark Alexander
Jms at B5 wrote:
> Other than that, pretty much stayed clear of them...once had an IQ test that
> put me in the genius category (was in Mensa for about a year before I ran
Angela Hays
>put me in the genius category
Anyone here surprised??? It didn't take me long watching B5 to realize that
about ya Joe.
I'm glad you've used it for good. Thanks for everything.
Justin Bacon
at B5) writes:
>I don't, basically, as the whole TNT situation makes fairly evident. I'm
>simply not a political creature. My life would be eminently simpler and less
>stressful if I *were*, but I ain't. I go for the philosophy of "Be sand, not
>oil, in the machinery of the world."
I see why you and Harlan get along so well. ;-)
Justin Bacon
tr...@prairie.lakes.com
Tammy Smith
6th-grade, I was tested for a school-group that was for the smart
students. I didn't make it because I have never been good in math.
They did put me in a special class for the intelligent students in the
6th-grade, though. I was surprised to see every bully who made life a
living Hell for me in the same class! They couldn't understand why I
was there, & I couldn't understand why they were there. The teacher had
quite a time trying to find a spelling-book for me because I was such a
good speller. Finally, she put me in a spelling-bee book. As for
reading, I read at at least a 10th or 11th-grade level at that time. I
constantly read books, & it really helped me in spelling & reading. But
math baffled me, & it still does.
Tammy
Justin Bacon
at B5) writes:
>Other than that, pretty much stayed clear of them...once had an IQ test that
>put me in the genius category (was in Mensa for about a year before I ran
>screaming out the door)...other than that, frankly, I think I'd rather not
>know.
You, too? Although, personally, I kept my distance from the Very Scary Mensa
People(TM) after reading the brochure they sent me. ;-)
Now that I've let my egotism go for a moment, let me rein it back in and say
that I find personality tests to be bunk. I have very calmly manipulated them
multiple times to feedback any personality I felt like having for that day.
Tests of this nature are best at telling the tester how effective the
test-taker is at guessing what the tester wants the test-taker to be.
Justin Bacon
tr...@prairie.lakes.com
Jms at B5
>about ya Joe.
>I'm glad you've used it for good. Thanks for everything.
>
Except, of course, that I don't believe it *means* anything. At the very most,
it may be some kind of indicator for potential or intuitive thinking, but at
the end of the day it really doesn't mean anything; it's what you do with your
potential that matters, and person A with less potential can do 100 times more
than person B who had more potential but less *will*.
Tammy Smith
How exactly is it like a cult? I did hear once that the members of
Mensa have smug, superior attitudes because of how smart they are.
Tammy
M.E.Tonkin
Though I am sure there are exceptions from local group to group, I
don't think Mensa is any more cult like than, say, any group
with a similar outlook or trait or strong interest - B5 fandom, for
example could be called a cult by some, and so could the devoted fans
of ST, or the X-Files. <gr> And, as to smug, superior attitudes,
sure, some Mensa members exhibit that unfortunate quality, but
aren't we seeing a bit of that on this news group, as some of
us sneer at wrestling fans, to give one example?
For a fun book about Mensa, see "The Mensa Murders", by
Lee Martin. Some relevant quotes from that novel:
"Sure, Mensa is an organization for the superintelligent...but
that doesn't mean it doesn't have a goodly sprinkling of nuts
and flakes...The overwhelming omnipresent constant among Mensa
members...is _loneliness_...If you're superintelligent,
sure, you may well be happy with television and a six-pack,
and baseball in the summer and football in the fall, just like
everybody else, but you always want - you always _need_ - something
else, too. And, you may not even know what it is. All you know is
you're constantly, achingly, lonely....what [Mensa] is, is a
refuge. It's a place to go where you won't be lonely. Where
nobody is going to laugh at these wild leaps of thinking you make."
MET
Trev
Jms at B5 <jms...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19990925002135...@ng-fu1.aol.com...
> >Anyone here surprised??? It didn't take me long watching B5 to realize
that
> >about ya Joe.
> >I'm glad you've used it for good. Thanks for everything.
> >
>
> Except, of course, that I don't believe it *means* anything. At the very
most,
> it may be some kind of indicator for potential or intuitive thinking, but
at
> the end of the day it really doesn't mean anything; it's what you do with
your
> potential that matters, and person A with less potential can do 100 times
more
> than person B who had more potential but less *will*.
>
> jms
>
I couldn't agree more. However, when one possesses both potential AND will,
it is possible to create works of unprecedented brilliance.
Like Babylon 5.
Thanks jms.
Trev.
son...@jaguarsystems.com
jms...@aol.com (Jms at B5) wrote:
> Other than that, pretty much stayed clear of them...once had an IQ
test that
> put me in the genius category (was in Mensa for about a year before I
ran
> screaming out the door)...other than that, frankly, I think I'd
rather not
> know.
I decided mensa was not my thing when the local mensa group spent a
weekend in a cottage at the shore, and not a single person went to the
beach. They all stayed inside playing Scrabble and things like that.
Hey, Scabble can be a lot of fun, but a sunrise over the ocean really
is much more awe inspiring. And there's a lot that can be said for
building sand castles, too!
Sondra Ball
http://www.sondra.net
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