L&L Brigade Newsletter May 2, 1999
Brigaders,
I have a question for all of you? Just how deep do you think GH wants to twist that knife into us? AAAHHHH! Every time I think the worst is over, my heart breaks a little more. Seeing Lucky watch Liz at his own memorial..... my poor, tortured blue-eyed-boy! I honestly don't know when a story has continued to flood my emotions day after day as this onr has. Despite the sadness, I have to say, "Awesome job, GH!"....... but how much more can we take?
R.A.I.N.N. FUNDRAISER: OK, Brigaders, here is the big news!!! Our final tabulation for our R.A.I.N.N. fundraiser is in. Thanks to all of you and other Internet fans we raised $1,000...yes, ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS to be donated to R.A.I.N.N. in JJ and Becky's name for their birthday's. Captain LL1998 (Vic) would like to thank the R.A.I.N.N. committee (Lidia, LCiam, MizV, Sunnyside, and Lexi) for their help in marketing this fundraiser and helping her in organizing it. An extra big thanks to MizVamp who raised more than half of the donation on her own in sales from her SSW3 tape. - THANKS SO MUCH MIZV. and to all of you for your support in such a wonderful organization. Vic bought their birthday cards and they will be mailed next week in hopes they will receive them, with a message explaining their gift, before their birthdays (May 11th and 12th). Again , thanks so much to everyone who participated in this, and I want to thank Vic more than I can say for heading this very time consuming project for me. $1,000!!!!! I'm so unbelievably proud of this group!!!
MESSAGE BOARDS: For those of you who haven't heard, the new Brigade GH message boards are up and they are fantastic!!! It's like the good old days on ABC boards that started the Brigade in the first place. If you haven't checked them out, even if you think you don't like message boards, I can't encourage you enough to just go there once. The link is set up at HQ. It's such a fun way to keep up with your fellow Brigaders and other GH obsessed fans throughout the day, and get more laughs than you can imagine in the process! Thanks so much to everyone who helped set these boards up and helped get the word out. I really want to encourage each of your to keep spreading the word continually. New people often wander to ABC.com or PCO, but they won't know where to find us unless we tell them. So, please, those of you who actually can get on the new ABC boards and those of you who post at PCO, put the Brigade url up there every once and awhile to spread the word. Don't be obnoxious or anything :) We don't want to badger people to come to our boards. Just let the GH community know there's a new place to go too. Also, we want to work at keeping these boards clean, but the Officers can't police them 24 hours a day. If any of you see a post that you think is offensive at all, please email as many of the officers as you can. The first one of us who gets the message will be able to take care of it.
UPDATING HQ: There are going to be some major renovations of HQ.... and I know how overdo it is. I am even considering moving our sites location, but if that happens there will be a link kept at the old one for a long time so that everyone can still find us. I was so pleased with all the people who volunteered to help with the keepership page that I'm going to ask for some help on another page too. I'd like to have a page devoted to the Brigade missions, past and present. Our newer members don't have an easy way to find out about all the things we have done as a group. Is there someone who would be willing to go through the old newsletters and write up a simple, very concise chart of the missions we've completely (like the wreath, complete with pictures) and the ongoing missions were might be in the middle of. if anyone is interested, let me know and I'll go into more detail of what I have in mind. You don't have to create the page for this, unless you want to. I'm just looking for help gathering and organizeing all the information. Thanks!
KEEPERSHIP PAGE: Just a reminder, Pvt JonoSRFan is collecting all of your keeperships for the new page at HQ. This page is to help people stake their claim and know what someone else already has. For that reason, if you don't make sure your keeperships are on this page, there is a chance they might get stolen. Knowing how serious Brigaders tend to take their keeperships (no one's stealing my window kiss!), I suggest you emails yours to JoonSRFan, ASAP! Remember, we are limiting it to three a piece but, please, you don't have to have that many :).
DAYTIME EMMYS: Do you all remember that contest at ABC.com to win a trip to the Daytime Emmys? Well, guess what - a Brigader won it!!! How cool is that?! Congratulations to Pvt Lidia of the Liberty Regiment for her big win! I tell you what, guys, the Brigade is everywhere :). Have a great time in NYC, Lidia! We know you will represent us well and we'll be listening for your screams on our TVs!
LETTER CAMPAIGN: Thank you everyone who so promptly sent or emailed your letters for me to deliver to TPTB at GH. There were a little over 50 letters total and they were all so well written with just the right amount of tact and force. I think they will appreciate your comments while getting the idea that we won't take certain things lying down. I really think this was a good way to get our point across as a group. Now I encourage each of you, when you have some time, to continue voicing your opinions in letters and, especially, to the soap magazines. We want to keep L&L in the press! Just remember, especially when you mention the Brigade, to try to stay away from directly attacking people or the show. A well thought out idea gets a lot more respect than any amount of venting or complaining. That's what the message boards are for :) Which reminds me, I put the url to our new boards on the cover letter I included with the stack of your letters. So, maybe TPTB will be stopping by some day soon.
GIFTS: Just a quick update on JJ's "Going away for now" gift and Becky's "We're still here for you" gift. I'll be getting JJ's engraved clock on Monday so I'll be able to take them both down to the Studio. As I said before, JJ's will be forwarded to him even though he isn't taping any more, so don't worry. I do realize that a lot of our projects are coming to a head at the same time, but that's just how it goes. The R.A.I.N.N. project was started for their birthdays long before we even knew JJ would be leaving, so the overlap of gifts just happened. However, because of that, the Brigade won't be doing anything extravagant for JJ and Becky for the Emmys this year. You can all feel free to send your own cards, though, especially after they win (notice how positive I am of that).
SPEAKING OF CARDS: I thought I'd share something kind of neat with all of you that Pvt. Andrea of Boxcar Regiment was sweet enough to share with me. A while back she sent Becky a unique gift she had made and she included the Brigade salute with her signature on the card. When Becky wrote her back to thank her, she included this in her message:
"Tell all the other Brigaders thank you for the brownies, the wreath etc.. They're very appreciated. You should see out dressing rooms - of course now Jon's is empty (Becky put a sad little unhappy face with little tears saying sniff sniff)Thanks for your support , love, patients and thoughtful gift."
Although it was very sad to hear of JJ's dressing room being empty, it's pretty cool that we've left our mark! Thanks again, Andrea, for letting me share this.
Before I sign off, I want to send out a personal thanks to all of you who have helped me and been so supportive in getting my online magazine, SoapFan, off and running. I never imagined I'd get the kind of response that I have this quickly. I couldn't have done it without all of you! You're the best..... you know the rest :)
|_ _| FOREVER..... and the day after that
****************************************************
L&L Brigade Newsletter May 9, 1999
Brigaders,
Happy Mother's Day to all of our Brigade moms out there. I hope your families are giving you the special treatment you deserve this day. My mom asked me to build her a web site for her Mother's Day gift. Can you believe my family actually asked me to spend MORE time on the computer?
GIFTS DELIVERED: I know you have all been anxious
to hear if JJ's "going away, but not good - bye" and
Becky's "we're still here for you" gifts got
delivered, and I'm happy to tell you they finally
did on Tuesday. The clock for JJ turned out so
beautiful and I want to give a huge thank you to
Pvt. randjluvr for getting her mom to do the
engraving for us. Tell her she did a fabulous
job, Cris! I felt that Becky's gift needed a
little more, so I arranged it in a basket with
cookies and brownies from Snookies Cookies.
Again, it's hard to explain Becky's gift. I glued
one of the "Boris" bears left over from the wreaths
into a little "keepsake" box with the lid open.
Next to the bear was a pin cushion in a flower pot
so the pins looked like the flowers, (I know it
sounds strange, but it looked cute). On the
front of the box I glued wooden letters that said
"L&L." Trust me, guys, it was adorable. Also, when
I delivered your letters to TPTB, I wrapped the
stack in red tissue paper and rolled the cover
letter from me so it could be tied on top with
ribbon. I put the letters in a basket with
Snookies cookies too, so it looked very impressive
and won't be ignored. I took pictures, but I
couldn't really get close enough to show all the
detail without it being blurry. They will give you
an idea, though. Rather than slowing your email down
by attaching the pics here, I put them on the
newsletter page at HQ. Speaking of which, you may
not have realized that the newsletter page has been
redone to include archives of old newsletters. If
you take a look, keep in mind I didn't always do the
best job of editing the early newsletters…
especially when I was finishing them at 3 am.
Now that they are on the web, I wish I had, but
you can chalk all the typos and misspelled words
up to just being "Booisms" :).
JJ's CLOCK
The black
part has the inscription in gold letter,
"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead, I press on
toward the goal to win the prize for which God
has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Php. 3:13-14
BECKY'S GIFT
LETTER TO TPTB
EMMY GIFT: After last week's newsletter, a lot of you emailed me that you still wanted to do something for JJ and Becky for the Emmys. I agree that they have probably come to expect stuff from us so we shouldn't completely ignore such an important achievement of their's. However, I still maintain that we have just showered them with gifts lately and need to keep it simple this time. The extra cookies and stuff used up the rest of the Brigade funds, so I will leave it up to you guys. If you'd like them to get a small thing of flowers or pretzels, etc. with their card from us, then let me know by sending a contribution to the PO box. If you feel that just a big card from all of us is enough, then I'll take care of that. I do think it says a lot for there to be one general "Congratulations" from the Brigade, but you are all encouraged to send your own cards, as well.
BLOOPERS SPECIAL: There is going to be a "Bloopers" special on ABC that will include out-takes from GH. It will air May 22 at 10:00pm. Set your VCRs, because we don't get a chance to see this sort of thing very often! Thank you to Pvt. CurlyQgrl for bringing this to my attention.
SSW4: As many of you have been reminding me, it's not too early to make plans for SSW4 in September. I know several of you already have your hotel reservations, (and can I just say I'm in awe of your planning ahead?). A lot of you have been asking where I'll be staying and you've forced me to confess that, knowing me, I probably won't know that until July. However, I will be there! At this point, I am thinking there will be two scheduled Brigade gatherings during the weekend. Aside from that, I'm sure all of us will end up attending many of the same events. It's going to be a lot different from last year because there are A LOT more people from the Brigade going. In fact, I'm thrilled at how many it looks like will be there! Some of you might be interested in going, but don't have someone to share a hotel room with. I'd like to help match those people into groups. I understand if you don't like the idea of sharing a room with someone you don't know, but this way you have time to get to know each other a little online and decide. Is there someone who would be willing to help me with this on the chance we get a lot of people interested?
REDOING HQ: We are still working on updating HQ. The Mess Hall has a new look and, as I mentioned, the newsletters have been archived. We have plans for a lot more, though, so keep checking. If anyone has any ideas of what you'd like to see, now would be the time to let me know. Also, anyone wanting to help with the renovations, we would welcome it so please email me! Thanks!
SUMMER PROJECTS: Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm working on a new summer project for us. It's going to be a surprise, so you'll have to wait a couple more weeks, but don't go thinking the Brigade is going to get boring in the near future……. J
Everyone have a great week!!!
|_ _| Forever…. And the day after that
***********************************
L&L Brigade Newsletter May 16, 1999
Brigaders,
This is a very full week coming up! Friday is, of course, the Daytime Emmys in NYC. But, before that, some of us will be anxiously awaiting the opening of Episode One: The Phantom Menace. I've been a massive Star Wars fan even longer than I've been a GH fan... which is almost hard to believe. So, if I don't respond to your emails right away on Tuesday and Wednesday, it's because I will be in line on Hollywood Blvd. with my ticket for the first showing at the Mann Chinese Theater at 12:01 AM Wednesday morning. Can you tell I'm just a little psyched for this movie?!!!
THANK YOU FROM JJ: We got a postcard from JJ this week thanking us for the donation to R.A.I.N.N. for his birthday. The postcard had a color picture of him on the front. On the back was handwritten, "Thanks for the donation to R.A.I.N.N. on my behalf, Jonathan Jackson." LOL! He's a man of few words :). Captain LL1998 (Vic) of Boxcar Regiment headed up the committee for the fund raiser and received the post card for the Brigade. Thanks again, Vic, for all your hard work. And thanks to EVERYONE who contributed to this project. I'm sure we'll be hearing from Becky soon too.
GOD CANDY: For those of you who haven't already ordered your copies of JJ's new CD, God Candy, you can get an autographed copy from his official web site at www.creativityzone.com/jonathan&richard/official.htm. These copies won't be delivered until late June, but they will be signed! I can't wait to hear these new songs!
NEW CHAT ROOM: We've created another chat room to handle the overflow from our Yahoo Room. It's at Delphi, like our new message boards, and can be accessed from the boards. Unlike our Yahoo room, which is accessible only to Brigaders, this room will be open to the public. Just something to keep in mind when sharing information. If you have any questions about using this new room, ask Lt. Galor5 NNN Regiment. Thanks for setting this up for us, Gayla!
NEW LOOK FOR HQ: Have you all been to HQ lately? Lt. Kris95, Liberty Regiment, helped us clean up some things this week. Thanks Kris! We still have more to do, but we are getting there. Someone, not a Brigader, emailed me this week requesting a list of explanations for the Internet abbreviations we use. A lot of different people read our boards, even if they don't post, and this would be a big help to have these listed for them. Is there someone who is familiar with the language of our boards who could come up with a list for me to put up at HQ - including universal, Internet words like LOL, and Brigade words like TK. I think there are new ones out there I don't even know! This would be a big help and I'd really appreciate it.
ARTICLE AT MINING CO: The GH Gazette at Mining Co. is going to run an article about the Brigade and the results of our R.A.I.N.N. fund raiser in their next issue. Wow, guys! We're getting famous! Take a look at http://generalhospital.miningco.com/mbody.htm
SMALL FAVOR: I have a small favor to ask all of you. When you send me emails, could you please remember to include your regiment along with your name. I think I do a pretty good job of keeping track of everyone, when I know the regiment. However, if you just sign your name, it can take me a while to track you down in my notes. Especially if your name is Karen, Jen, or Jackie because we seem to have more of those than any other names :). It would just be a big help to me. Thanks!
DAYTIME EMMYS: As I said, don't forget the Daytime Emmys are this Friday! Oh, I want JJ and Becky to win so badly, I can hardly stand the wait! The Awards show is televised on CBS at 9:00 PM. Unfortunately, it's tape delayed on the West Coast. I'll have to avoid the Internet that evening so the results aren't spoiled. Make sure to catch the Emmy preshows too. E! usually does the best one. All you lucky people who get to attend the actual show in New York, if you'd like to get together with some fellow Brigaders afterwards, email Laura. And, of course, I will expect you to send me your detailed reports so the whole Brigade can hear about it. Someone sent me the following list of scenes submitted to the Emmy judges. It came out of one of the magazines, so it should be accurate. I thought you all might be interested in reading it before the winners are announced.
Tony Geary: Luke tells Lucky about the rape. Luke meets Tammy for the first time.
Stuart Damon: When Alan loses it at the Nurses Ball. This also includes when AJ takes him to the hotel to dry out and the day after that when the Q's confront him about his addiction for the first time.
Jonathan Jackson: The post-rape show when Lucky finds Liz. When Lucky confront Laura upon her return to town, after he finds out about Luke raping her.
Sarah Brown: Carly suffering from postpartum depression, tells Tony off and leaves town. Carly acting crazy at Ferncliff while she's rocking her pillow thinking that it's Michael.
Becky Herbst: Liz's rape. This includes when Lucky finds her and when Bobbie is taking care of her. Liz holding a gun to Tom, the rapist/photographer.
GH Outstanding writing: Luke recounts the story of Laura's rape for Lucky. Laura confronts Luke about his confession to Lucky.
GH Outstanding Drama Series: Liz's rape. Luke tells Lucky about the night he raped Laura.
SOW also did a pro and con list for each nominee. Look what they had to say about JJ and Becky:
BH: Pro - She came into her own during her rape episodes. Com - Competition from Sarah Brown and Heather Tom.
JJ: Pro - Quoting: ''The best younger actor around, period.'' Con - They couldn't come up with a con for him!!
Before I sign off this week, I just have to ask, did you all absolutely love the "flash-forwards" of L&L on Friday's episode as much as I did? Oh, weren't they just beautiful?!!! Of course, I was crying the whole time, but I'm thrilled GH chose to give them to us!
Everyone enjoy the Emmys, and GOOD LUCK to JJ and Becky!
|_ _| Keep the faith
************************************
L&L Brigade Newsletter May 23, 1999
Brigaders,
I have really mixed feelings about the Emmys. Of course I am thrilled that JJ won again! And what a double treat to see Tony and Stuart get such over-due awards! I wasn't expecting us to win for best show, so I was ecstatic! To be perfectly honest (and this is just my own personal opinion), I haven't been too happy with Bob Guza's work as head writer, but I was glad to see Michele Val Jean be part of the winning writing team for the year she wrote the very personal rape story. However, someone please tell me how the show, the writing, and the co-star can all get awards for their contribution to one, powerful story - and the lead actress who brought it all to life is overlooked? Can someone please explain that to me? I was so completely crushed when Becky lost that I couldn't really enjoy the rest of the evening. I wanted her to win more than anything!!! It was her year and she deserved it. But, Becky is just getting better and better. I believe in her and I believe she will get another chance. It sure would have been nice to see both portrayers of L&L win this year, though. Of course, NO ONE could have beaten JJ! And he deserved his award 100%!!! Wasn't it nice to see our blue-eyed-boy back with his GH family? Oh, and for you girls who are wondering, that was his SISTER sitting beside him... so you can all relax :).
Before I get to the newsletter, I just have to say --- Go Susan Lucci!!!!!!!
………….ok, now we'll get down to business…..
EMMY COVERAGE: As you know, several of our Brigaders attended the Emmys in person, and we are all anxiously awaiting their reports. I will be emailing out and posting a Brigade Emmy Report either in a separate email or in next week's newsletter, depending on how soon they get them written up for all of us.... hint, hint :). However, I am going to be doing the majority of my coverage of the event in the new issue of SoapFan Magazine, so that more people have a chance to read about it and see the pictures. The new issue will be posted on Wednesday at www.angelfire.com/or/soapfanmag. I hope you all enjoy!
EMMY CARDS: Thank you to those who sent contributions for JJ and Becky's Emmy cards. I got them both huge cards! The kind that are about 18 inches high. Those won't get lost in the mail! I just told JJ, "Congratulations on your Emmy win from The L&L Brigade!" For Becky, I said, "We are so proud of you! You looked beautiful at the Emmys, and we can't wait to see you there again next year! The L&L Brigade."
KEEPERSHIP PAGE: Just a reminder, Pvt JonoSRFan is collecting all of your keeperships for the new page at HQ. This page is to help people stake their claim and know what someone else already has. For that reason, if you don't make sure your keeperships are on this page, there is a chance they might get stolen. Knowing how serious Brigaders tend to take their keeperships (no one's stealing my window kiss!), I suggest you emails yours to JoonSRFan ASAP! Remember, we are limiting it to three a piece but, please, you don't have to have that many. I think you should know that a lot of the newer Brigaders are beating you old timers at this, so you'd better get yours in fast! You snooze you lose!
WEDNESDAY NIGHT REUNIONS: Pvt. Jen, TK Trauma Unit Regiment, is starting up a great new Brigade activity for us every week! Here is her invitation to all of you:
VOLUNTEER CONTEST: I want to go ahead and tell you all about one of our summer projects, even though it's not starting yet. Several Brigaders got inspired by our RAINN fundraiser and have started volunteering at local rape crises centers in their areas. I was asked if they Brigade could have a contest to see who could log the most volunteer hours for period of time over the summer. I love how inspired you guys are! You just amaze me! I don't want to limit this to just volunteering at a rape crises centers, though. Anyone who wants to participate can do any kind of volunteer work. This doesn't even have to be with a specific organization. It can be free babysitting or yard work for someone. As long as you are out there, spending some summer hours, doing something for someone else. You will need to report your hours every week and we are on the honor system here. You will also need to write a little something about what you are doing or where you are volunteering. We will share some of these "reports" weekly in the newsletter. Now, here is the fun part - there will be a prize! I'm not going to tell you guys what it is, but I will say this. #1 It's really cool! #2 It's something from the GH set! If you want to see for yourself, you will just have to be a part of the project :). Like I said, this isn't starting yet. We will probably start the second or third week of June and go for 4 or 5 weeks. I'll have all the details soon, but I wanted to let you know now so that you could be thinking about it. If you think you might want to participate, could you please let me know so I can get an idea of numbers? Also, if anyone wants to help with the running of this, let me know. I've got a committee head, but she could use some help. Thanks!
LETTER RESPONSE: Pvt jnelmom of Liberty Regiment wrote to People magazine to thank them for including JJ in their 50 Most Beautiful People story. Well, guess what - People wrote her back and thanked her for letting them know how much she appreciated it. Way to go, Mel!!! So, to all of you who have been writing letters to the magazines and TPTB, they do get read! Keep up the good work.
Before I sign off, I just have to make one last Emmy comment: Wasn't Becky's dress to die for?!!! But I do believe JJ and Tony Geary went tie shopping together :).
Have a great week! Keep the faith!
***********************
L&L Brigade Newsletter May 30, 1999
Brigaders,
I have heard your cries!!! Wow! Judging from some of the emails and posts I've read this week, I'm glad we are all on the same side. You guys mean business when you get mad, and the Brigade is definitely ticked off!!! With good reason! The way that the character of Liz is being written is an insult to us fans. She wasn't allowed to grieve for Lucky and now GH wants us to quickly accept a summer romance with her and Lucky's brother. A lot of you have been asking me what we can do. Well, I guess we have another summer project because we are NOT going to let this go on!
First of all, keep writing those letters! That is the most important thing you can do. I want to say I am really impressed and awed by some of the initiative many of you have already taken. I've read all about the letters you have written and things you have sent the studio in protest. You guys are very creative. One of the things I'd like to suggest you consider is that GH would get JJ back if they could, so just demanding his return probably won't get us what we want. Also, we want our opinions heard and respected as fans who help keep GH on the air, but we don't need to be vicious or attacking, especially if we single out a certain person.
It is a good idea to address your letters to a specific person. Most of them to Wendy Riche and Bob Guza, as well as the ones just to GH, get read by the interns. The individual members of the writing team, though, don't get much mail and would read their own. Here are a list of their names for you:
GH writing team: Michele Val Jean (of course!); Meg Bennett; Mary Ryan; Patrick Mulcahey; Elizabeth Korte; Garin Wolf; David Rupel.
General Hospital
It's also a very good idea to write to the Soap Magazines. They all get read by the people at GH, and seeing something printed in a magazine always gets attention. Here are some snail mail and email addresses:
SOAPS IN DEPTH:
Email: Soapsid@compuserve.com
SOAP OPERA DIGEST
Email: SODsound@aol.com
SOAP OPERA WEEKLY:
Email:
SPWpubop@aol.com
KEEP GH CHARMING: Some of you might remember a few years ago there was a very popular fan campaign to keep Ned and Lois together. Their fans flooded the studio with bottles of nail polish and called it the "Polish up Port Charles" campaign. The Brigade is going to lead GH fans in a similar campaign in protest of the disrespectful way the L&L Story is being treated. It's called the "Keep GH Charming" campaign and we are going to flood the studio with boxes of Lucky Charms! Now, we all have our own ideas and opinions of what we want the writers to do. For a big campaign like this, though, we need to have to keep our goal general. Since we know JJ is gone, at least for now, we want the integrity of L&L's story maintained. We are the L "and" L Brigade and we love Liz as much as Lucky. We want to see Liz remembering Lucky and holding on to what they had, regardless of what she does in the future. We don't want to see her tossing it off or replacing it with someone else, which is what has been happening. So, on your boxes of Lucky Charms, add this slogan:
KEEP GH "CHARMING"
Send a letter with your boxes, if you like. You may want to take the cereal bag out first.... or not :). This is open to all L&L fans, so I hope you will help me spread the word on other web sites and message boards. Remember, our goal is for GH to allow Liz to grieve and remember Lucky. We want to see their story treated as the true love story it is.
BRIGADE LETTERS IN SID: The new issue of Soaps In Depth has a section where JJ answers letters written in by fans. Well, guess what! 3 of the 9 letters answered were written by Brigaders: Jnlemom of Liberty, MizVamp of NNN, and Tara in our Reserves. Way to go you guys! Here are copies of the letters, and JJ's answers, for those who haven't seen them yet.
Dear Jonathan,
Dear Tara
Dear Jonathan,
Dear Karen,
Dear Jonathan,
Dear Melanie,
HQ HAS MOVED! Brigade Head Quarters has moved to a new url and all the pages have been updated. In my humble opinion, I think everything is looking great and I hope you will all check it out. You can now find HQ at www.angelfire.com/or/LandLBrigade. A link to the new site will be up at the old url for a long time (if it's not there now, it will be very soon). Here is a link right now:
WEDNESDAY NIGHT REUNION: Our first Wednesday Night Reunion had a great turn out last week! Here are Jen's plans for us this coming week:
<<< Hey, Brigaders! Disgruntled with the recent events on GH? Need to
take a break from writing all of that hate-mail to Guza and Company at
ABC? :) Join the Wednesday Night Reunion Group, re-live all of the
great L&L moments, and stay positive! Those of us who showed up last week
had a blast, and we'd love to see even more people this week. We'll be
picking up right where we left off last time, so watch from just after
Liz's drawing of the L&L heart through the night Sarah cancels her date
with Nikolas because Liz told her that the Cassadines were responsible for
Steve Hardy's death. The night ends with Sarah coming home after going to
Kelly's and running into Lucky -- I think the final shot is of Liz
sitting in the living room in the dark. On CurlyQgrl's tapes, this chunk
of scenes is just about 1 1/2 hours. There is a lot of great early L&L
banter in these scenes, and as an extra, added bonus, we get lots of Liz
and Lucky hating Nikolas (hmmm, who can tell that I'm a little bitter by
the new SOD???)! The memory food for this week will be chili, in honor of
Lucky's lunch with Bobbie at Kelly's (and lucky me, I still have one last
batch of chili in the freezer -- woo hoo!). For those you who don't have
any chili, you can partake of the pies Lucky took out of the oven for Ruby
when he was filling in at Kelly's or the blueberry muffin Liz dropped in
Sarah's lap -- hope it doesn't stain! :) Hope to see everyone Wed. (6/2)
in the Brigade's Yahoo Chat at 9:00 EST/6:00 PST. For questions or
concerns, contact me, pvt_jen, Ph.D. Dork, TK Trauma Unit >>>
Those of you who can't make the Wednesday night chat, you can still discuss those classic episodes on our message boards under the thread "Keeping the faith."
GOD CANDY REVIEWS: I know that some of you already have your copies of JJ's new CD, "God Candy." I am going to be writing a review of it for SoapFan Magazine and I'd like to include as many of your reactions as I can. So, those of you who have heard it, let me know what you think. If any of you have something you'd like to write about for SoapFan, please let me know. I'd love to hear it!
VOLUNTEER PROJECT: As I mentioned last week, we are going to have a contest to see who can log the most volunteer hours over a period of time this summer. This does not necessarily have to be with an organization, but it very well might be. To give you all a better idea of this project, we have our first "report" this week from the Brigader who had the idea in the first place, Pvt. Jocelyn of Boxcar. I hope you will all be as touched by it as I was.
LETTER FROM BECKY: I thought you all might be interested in this little bit of information. One of our Brigaders, Andrea of Boxcar, got a letter and a new head shot from Becky. On the picture Becky actually wrote out salute, "|_ _| ." LOL! I thought that was great! What do you all say we make Becky an honorary Brigader?
Everyone have a great Memorial Day, and send those boxes of Lucky Charms!!!
|_ _| Forever.... and the day after that!
*********************************************
VOLUNTEER REPORT: Jocelyn, Boxcar Regiment
I know that the story of Liz's rape has received a lot of praise for
the support and hope it's offered real-life rape victims, and I do
think that's an incredible thing for writers and actors on a TV show
to be able to do. What's almost more incredible to me, though, is
that the story of Liz's rape was able to make someone like me, who's
never been through anything like that, feel, as much as it's
possible without actually having the experience, what it's like to be
raped. I think rape is something every woman kind of has an innate fear
of, but I never stopped to think before about what it would really be
LIKE, how I would feel if it happened to ME. Because of the writing and
the acting of this storyline, though, I almost feel like I HAVE lived
this experience, through Liz.
Even though I was watching in the summer, so I saw a lot of
Liz's attempting to heal and get past her rape, I don't think I really
had the backdrop to understand how profound that was without having seen
those catastrophic post-rape scenes--the episode that first affected me
really deeply and got me thinking about everything the rape had done to
Liz was the one where Liz was locked in Tom's darkroom (I'm sure most of
you have endured me waxing poetic about this episode on at least one
occasion :) ). That day was just devastating for me, because it was the
first time I really got inside Liz's head and understood the whole
array of things this was about for her.
Once I'd had a glimpse of that, it became something I just
couldn't let go, and I started feeling like I needed to do something
REAL for her, even though she's just a fictional character (does that
sound nuts?). The closest thing I could think of was to do something
for real women who have been raped and who are going through
the same process Liz went through, so I started looking into where
I might be able to volunteer to help rape victims in my town. I came
across an organization called R-SACC, the Rape and Spousal Abuse
Crisis Center, and was very impressed with it, so in March I started
helping out there. I was ultimately interested in doing something
where I could actually interact with the people the Center is
helping, but of course, those positions that have the most contact
with clients require that you know the organization pretty well and
have received a bit of training, so to start with, I've just been doing
some clerical work. Even this has been such an amazing experience,
though--the staff at the Center is so knowledgeable and dedicated, and
they've seen a lot happen, so just having the chance to talk with them
about the issues they're addressing and the people they're helping has
taught me so much. One of the things that's stunned me the most is
how really right on so much of the portrayal of Liz's process of
recovering from her rape was--I mean, I knew GH had made a big effort
to show it accurately, with Michele Val Jean's help, but hearing stories
of so many women who felt so many of the same things and went through so
much of the same process really impressed upon me again what an
amazing amount of care was taken with this storyline. Now that I've
been volunteering for a few months, and since I have more time to put
into it in the summer, I'm actually just beginning the training to answer
calls on the crisis line--I'm really excited about this, because it'll be
a chance for me to help more directly, and I'm sure I'll learn so much
more from working with and talking with actual victims.
People I work with at the Center are consistently surprised by
how strongly I feel about the issues surrounding rape, especially since
they know I've never been through anything like it myself. It's kind of funny,
because I've been asked on more than one occasion if I have a friend
who got raped or something--I always answer "yes," because that's
honestly how I feel about Liz. I guess that means the story of Liz's
rape is actually helping real-life rape victims twice over--I know
it's helped those who've watched the show to get through the
experience themselves, but if it also inspires some of us to volunteer
our time to help, then it's touching even people who have never seen
the show. I know so many of you have been just as moved by Liz's
experience as I have been, and I hope you'll find volunteering as
rewarding as I have, wherever you end up doing it!!
*****************************************************************
|_ _| KEEP THE FAITH!
Boo
The L&L Brigade
Boo
Boo
****
Attention Brigaders! Are you going through L&L withdrawal already? Do you long for the good old days when our favorite couple was falling in love, being in love, and actually *together* (death to Faison, and I'll take care of Helena myself!)? Why not re-watch all of those epic L&L moments again together, eat appropriate "memory food", and then chat about them? Tell us what your favorite moments are and why. Every week, we'll be watching certain scenes from L&L's past and discussing them in that way that only Brigaders can! Come and share your love of L&L every Wednesday night at 9:00 EST/6:00 PST in the Brigade's Yahoo Chat Room. On the agenda for this week (Wed., 5/26): Let's all watch the scenes from Liz's first arrival in Port Charles through Liz and Lucky's first meeting at Kelly's (concluding with the "Lizzie + Lucky" heart-drawing!). In honor of Liz's first day in PC, I propose that the menu include pizza (one with everything and another with just pepperoni -- it's okay, just put it on Audrey's credit card -- you've got the number, right?), and, of course, the first meeting would not be complete without root beer! Check out these scenes sometime between now and Wednesday and then come chat on Wednesday night. Even if you don't have these particular scenes on tape, please feel free to stop by and bond -- all are welcome! If you need to get in touch with me with questions or concerns, your hostess with the
mostest is Pvt Jen, Ph.D. Dork, TK Trauma Unit. Updates on future scheduling will be found here in the newsletter and on the message boards under the "Keeping the Faith" folder. Hope to see you on Wednesday -- |_ _| forever!
****
This sounds great, doesn't it? Remember, if you are missing any L&L episodes you decide you just can't live without, tapes are available from our fellow Brigader, CurlyQgrl@aol.com.
|_ _| Forever.... and the day after that.
Boo
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Don't make Liz forget "LUCKY"
Can you give me some information on your new CD? Tara
Scarlet Road's new CD is called GOD Candy. There are 16 original songs on the album. I write the songs, sing, and play the guitar. My brother, Richard, sings and plays drums. My dad, Rick, did bass, and my uncle Gary, did guitar. (SID then gives info on how to order the CD from his fan club).
I admire you for speaking so frankly about your faith. Can you tell me when and how your relationship with God came to be and how it changed your life? Karen
I was raised a Christian. There wasn't one specific moment where I began a relationship with God, it has been a gradual growing process. Having a relationship with God gives you a peace that you can't get from anything else.
Now that you're actively pursuing a movie career, have you signed on for any new films? I look forward to seeing you often on the big screen! Melanie
I just signed on to do a movie for ABC called Purple Haze. After that, I'll be pursuing a role in a feature film.
Boo
