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Heath Ledger: Taking Advantage of a Tragedy

I don't know if any of you have been following this, but listen to what Fox's John Gibson said immediately following our friend Heath Ledger's passing (courtesy of ThinkProgress.org).

Then, like a kid with his dirty hand in the cookie jar, this is what he said the following day on Fox TV.

How long are we going to tolerate those who make their livings being intolerant? They push the envelope and step on people who can't or won't defend themselves...and then if they get in trouble they come clean, or at least as clean as someone like this is able.

Are you disgusted? Well tell those who count:

Please contact:

Mr. Mitch Davis
Vice President
Fox News Radio Network
1211 Avenue Of The Americas
18th Floor
New York, NY 10036-8701
Direct Phone: *212-301-5800
Outlet Fax: *212-301-5455
Outlet Phone: 212-301-3000
Email: mitch.davis@foxnews.com

Mr. Robert Finnerty
Senior Vice President
Fox News Radio Network
1211 Avenue Of The Americas
18th Floor
New York, NY 10036-8701
Direct Phone: *212-301-5800
Outlet Fax: *212-301-5455
Outlet Phone: 212-301-3000
Email: robert.finnerty@foxnews.com

Ms. Irena Briganti
Vice President of Public Relations
FOX News Channel
1211 Avenue Of The Americas
Lowr C1
New York, NY 10036
Direct Phone : *212-301-3608
Outlet Fax : *212-382-1411
Outlet Phone : 212-301-3000
Email: irena.briganti@foxnews.com
Contact by: E-mail

Ms. Suzanne Scott
Vice President, Programming
FOX News Channel
1211 Avenue Of The Americas
Lowr C1
New York, NY 10036
Direct Phone : *212-301-8558
Outlet Fax : *212-382-1411
Outlet Phone : 212-301-3000
Email: suzanne.scott@foxnews.com

foxnewsradio@foxnews.com
gibsonradio@foxnews.com

JOHN GIBSON
john.gibson@foxnews.com
212-301-3000

His "apology" is the equivalent of a death row conversion--too little, too late. Let's give him something to really feel bad about...

Heath Ledger in Brooklyn

I was excited and proud when I heard that Heath Ledger and Michelle Wililams moved to Brooklyn not longer after the acclaim they both recieved after Brokeback Mountain. Fame from the film had made their L.A. home a have for paparazzi and in order to have a sane life for themeselves and their child they made the move East.

One of the plusses for celebs living here is that, for a variety of reason, no one, save the rare tourist or star-fucker, bothers them when they are out. While that can be a hendrence for the lives of us everyday folk (i.e. no one talks to people they don't know), it makes life for the famous fairly blissful.

I never saw them, but knew of them as they became heavily involved in opposing the Atlantic Yards project, a monumental gentrification project that I fully supported. So I heard about Heath in particular, who was quite active in attempting to stop the project.

Then in the summer of 2006, I met, and briefly dated a man who is one of my classic types--the California beach bum. Early thrities, thight body, bushy blonde hair (yeah, I know, Surfin' U.S.A.).

And he told me a wonderful story about a guy in his neighborhood. Being a surfer type, the closest he can get to the waves is skateboarding along the many miles of concrete that make up the City. So he hung out in the park in Boerum Hill, and being a regular began to have a nodding accqaintence with several guys who also spent time there. He mentioned one guy in particular, really nice, great smile, who was there a lot talking all things surfing and skateboarding.

No surprise to you that he was describing Heath Ledger. He, the guy I was seeing, told me that it was about the fifth or sixth time that they spoke that it dawned on him who he was speaking to. Eventually they were introduced and he always told me how warm, funny and unprentitious this new mega-actor was to everyone he met.

I rememberd thinking how I would have loved to head down there with him one Saturday and meet Heath, and thank him for a performance I shall never forget. I did not, as it fell into my stack of good ideas that never came to fruitition. Of course I regret that, as now I never will.

One other thing; if you love Ledger as I do, read A.O. Scott's warm tribute in the Times, "Prince of Intensity With a Lightness of Touch."

How Was Heath Ledger as a Neighbor?

I just finished my post on Heath and failed to mention the tidbits I know of him from when he lived in Brooklyn with Michelle Williams and the daughter.

So tomorrow I will post that...

Heath Ledger: We Lost a Friend

The death of an actor I never met has effected me far more than I thought it would.

My six o'clock client came in with the news and I was stunned. How old was he? How did it happen? How could someone seemingly on the top of his game slip away? I guess these are the hows that are always asked when someone so gifted and so young passes.

When I awoke this morning I wanted to go down to Lafayette and Broome and pay my respects. After confirming the address I went to a Soho flower shop and bought a beautiful potted tulip. I carried it to the address he last called home and placed it next to a slowly growing pile of flowers, candles and even a cowboy hat with his face etched on the front.

There was a small mob of TV reporters and journalists camped out front, and I saw more than one camera recording me leaving a token of my affection for the actor as I walked away. A television reporter asked me to comment and I did, feeling myself becoming increasingly emotional as I told him how indebted I felt to Ledger for being brave enough to play Ennis Del Mar. Many would have, and I am sure did, turn down the role for fear of what it would do to their careers. Ledger took it and of course it made him an A-list performer, where formerly he had been little more than a coverboy.  I felt tears welling in my eyes, and when I got to the corner, I paused and caught my breath.

Two more reporters approached me, one from the Post and I am not sure where the other was from. I expounded on what I told the man with the camera, telling them what a loss this is to everyone, but especially sexual minorities.

Ledger, along with the rest of the cast and crew created a work of art. But beyond that, they set people free. From the time the film came out I heard stories of men who saw the film and soon after told their girlfriends, their families, their wives the truth about who they were. Brokeback Mountain brought the gay struggle into the homes of people who had never given it a thought. It made people think, it made them reconsider who they were, and few of us will ever have that sort of impact on others.

Thank-you so much Heath for giving me, and the rest of us, that gift. I feel the tears in my eyes again...

Brokeback was such a powerful film and I think I saw it in the theater three times. I never saw it on DVD as I did not want to trivialize its effect and message. But I think this weekend I am going to call a friend or two and have a screening...and talk about the man who is no longer with us.

I Just Didn't Know...

On September 11th, 2001, I just didn't know what was going to happen to me, to us, to everyone.

My boyfriend and I were at home having a good time. Just typing that, knowing what was about to happen, makes me feel ill at ease. But how was I supposed to know what was coming? We were being silly that morning, the way young lovers are. We had not been living together long and every day was fun...even when we were arguing. We had made breakfast and taken a shower and were laughing. We laughed a great deal that morning.

I was supposed to take New Jersey transit to the World Trade Center, and then walk to my office. I had done it a few times before, no big deal. Sometime before the train Brad looked at me and told me he wanted us to take our time. Why not skip taking the New Jersey route and he would take me across the Hudson so I could take the New York route into Manhattan? Grand Central to the 4 or 5 to Fulton Street.

So we lallygagged around and laughed. And then we go in our car to go be "professionals"--him a doctor, me a dot com/Wall Street guy, trying to make spreadsheets and profit/loss statements a part of my life.
We both got calls at the same time. The hospital called him about a patient while my old college roommate, staying in my apartment in downtown Brooklyn, called to say he had been awakened by an "explosion." He turned on the TV...a plane, what I imagined to be a small passenger plane, had hit one of the towers.

"I have to go Mike," I told him. We had an agreement. When Brad got a call about a patient, I could not talk on the phone as he might miss a detail. So Brad kept talking and Mike called again. And again. And once again I think. I did not pick up but wondered why he kept calling.

Brad hung up and I told him what Mike had said. We put the radio on WCBS and the newscaster was talking about the plane. What a horrible thing.

We turned onto the Tappan Zee to cross the Hudson. Little did we know that about 30 seconds prior to that the second plane, filled with people undoubtedly crying and praying or in shock, passed over our heads. From there we saw it all unfold as it was a crystal clear day that day and lower Manhattan was immediately to our right.

I did not make it in that day. The mayor stopped the trains. So I went home and experienced the start of a downward slide that would not stop for a long time. On that day so many of us changed and are still changing. The aftermath no one could have predicted.   

So six years later I am up after a less than perfect nights sleep. I am getting out my 9/11 ribbon that is in a glass box in my hall. I am going to go there again and roam the streets, see the people, attend a service at Trinity. And then begin my day of helping people make their lives better.

Here's to all of us. On this day, the 6th anniversary, let's all reflect on where we were and where we are. And let's marvel at the opportunity for change and renewal and healing.

One of the Reasons We Love New York

I admit my love/hate relationship with New York is long-lived. but we do love it for several reasons. One I rarely hear is the surprise of living here.

What do I mean? I am at a cafe blogging and the man next to me appears to be a homeless Rastafarian, about 50. He is here having some tea and recharging his phone. A moment after I plug in, a lady, mid-fifties, approaches him.

"Remember me? I'm the one who gave you one of my favorite Hendrix tapes a few years ago when we were at Strawberry Fields?"

This would not happen in most places. But it happens here. Two people who, in many/most  places would never say a word together, are having a HEATED discussion about the intellectual content of Paul McCartney's music post-Beatles. Wow...I have been here eight years and I still am awed by the level of surprise I find here.

I wish I had my camera (gotta get a camera phone), so I could capture this. She just sat down with him. In my old part of the world, this would be the buzz of the town. But here? Not a soul blinks. We live our lives and have the freedom to be who we are. What a gift that sort of liberty is.

The other day I was walking in Brooklyn and saw a similar sight. A heavy-set African American woman, dressed in conventional male garb, chatting with a woman in a berka. From head to toe, all I saw were her eyes. But I heard her laughter and saw the body language of someone laughing. Where else? Few places. But it is here.

Missing Manners

I know New York City got very high marks across the board from tourists, shocked that the people who worked the front desk at the Manhattan HoJo were just so darn nice. Well, for $350 per bed per night, somebody had better smile.

But the case, I am sad to say, for those of us who reside in the Grande Apple, is not so sweet. New York City suffers from an extreme case of bad manners. No one, with few exceptions, says please, thank-you, excuse me or any other of the social courtesies that make life a tad easier to live.

This is fueled by many things. First, I think it is the anonymity of the City. When you live in Clearwater, Florida or Decatur, Illinois, people know people. If you steal Mrs. Marchman's parking spot, your mother will probably know about it in a few hours. But here, there is very little of that sort of structure. You can shove your way down the street, act like a total ass every step of the way and likely never see any of the people you offended ever again.

There is also a belief most New Yorkers have that they don't have time for such niceties. "This is the big city," they say, "and everyone just goes about their business. We ain't got time for all that stuff." I disagree. I think because there are far more people living here than there is space, we need the social lubrication of manners more than anyone.

And I have seen New Yorkers be polite. In those dark days after 9/11, people talked, made eye contact, and helped one another. I have never seen so many disparate people pull together as I did in the weeks that followed. But once the smoke clear and that burnt plastic smell finally faded away, so did most people's good behavior.

I know we can do it. Why we don't is the question that is bugging me.

Deutsche Bank, the EPA and Ground Zero

The Deutsche Bank Building at Ground Zero continues to bring problems for the City of New York. The building, the only standing wreckage from 9/11, has been a continual source of aggravation, and danger, to the citizens of our city for over five years.

And it continues to be so, as the fire this weekend broke out and killed two more of our City's fire fighters. As a result of this latest tragedy, blogs, the media and everyone in town have been questioning the quality of the air after the fire broke out. Asbestos, along with other unknown toxic chemicals, may have been launched into the wind putting our citizens at risk.

In my opinion, the bigger problem is that we have no authority to turn to in order to reassure us about our safety. Why? Because the Bush Administration Environmental Protection Agency is a joke. They are the ones who lied to people like me and told us to go back to work after 9/11. At the time I was working in the financial district, less than a quarter of a mile from the towers. And even though the streets were clogged with gray dust, in places 4 to 6 inches high, we were told it's okay. Trust us. We did. And as a result, questions about contamination and our exposure to it continue to mount  as people start getting sick and some die.

Bush crony Christie Todd Whitman told us the air was safe, even though they knew that simply was not true. They were willing to sacrifice the name of the Environmental Protection Agency to keep Wall Street up and running. And they were willing to sacrifice all of us to keep the Bush rhetoric machine humming along as well.

So now we have no one to turn to in this case. Sadly, that is what happens when reality is sacrificed in the name of spin.

RightRides: Safe Transport for Women and Sexual Minorities

As we found out last week, the subway can be a very unsafe place for women. In a press conference , Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer reported the findings of a sexual harassment survey for NYC's subways. The results were chilling, with 63 percent reporting being sexually harassed on the subway, and an additional 10 per cent reporting similar assaults in the station. I took statistics three times, so I know that means almost 3 out of 4 people who participated had been made to feel violated on the MTA. Ridiculous and sickening.

Of course many, if not most were women. But others in the survey were strangely not mentioned on New York One, or it seems anywhere else. I am talking about gay men, lesbians and the transgendered, who are all easy targets for trouble makers.

That is why I am so happy to report a service with which I had not previously known, called RightRides. It is an extrodinary service that will pick up anyone who feels unsafe travelling by themselves on Saturday night, typically the night where most violence of this sort occurs. Co-founded by Oraia Reid in 2004, RightRides gives rides to anyone who calls on Saturday evenings between midnight and 3 am. For all the information on how to get a ride, or better how to volunteer to this brillant program, the link is below.

Thanks RightRides!

Link to the report of subway harassment
Link to RightRides