Case of the Abandoned Bunny
May. 15th, 2008 04:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azuriteYAY, I finished with my last final! I stayed up till about 2 am chugging through those last two essays, and even though I'm prepared to accept a grade "ding" on account of them not being on time, plus not having been peer/tutor-edited, I think I did a pretty okay job with them. What surprised me was that not only did some people fail to show up for our final (which was just a series of reflective questions-- not even anything specific about what we read this semester), and that I wasn't the only one that hadn't done all the essays!
But I really liked the class, especially the service learning component where I went to Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda every Thursday, to help 10th grade Honors students with their English portfolios. It was really great, and I'd like to do something like that again, if I have the time.
It's not completely over, though-- my last day of work is tomorrow (I have no work today), and I also have to turn in the take-home part of my ENGL 313/Pop Culture final, which is a "letter" type essay regarding pop culture and power relations. Check out the class blog and the final exam prompt here. I also plan on picking up my fandom essay from Prof. Hatfield when I drop off my take-home final, just to see how I did... hopefully well. :P
Anyway, I was on my way home (stupidly not wearing sunscreen, not having water or other mode of hydration, and also lacking money with which to buy either, or even house keys to get into the house) when I saw something odd: a bunny in a cage, sitting in front of a house. Next to it was a tub with two bags of rabbit food and oat hay, but there was nothing to indicate that there was anyone nearby that had just left it outside as they ran elsewhere to get something, or that the bunny was "free" or "for sale" or anything. I was shocked. BTW, it's currently around 96 degrees outside, so this poor bunny (who had no water in his bottle, btw) was licking itself just to stay cool. And I think something was wrong with its food, because rather than eat it, it ate the newspaper lining its cage (of course, I don't know anything about rabbits, so maybe that's normal?).
I rang the doorbell of the house it was in front of, but no one answered. No one who walked by stopped and said anything, and the car the cage was in front of had no one in it, either. I'd been talking to my mom when I found the bunny, and she suggested I call animal control. I had to contact 411 to get the number, and when I finally did, it was busy. So I called Baba and Grandpa again (they'd been out getting groceries) and since Baba couldn't easily find the number for Animal Control, Grandpa came by and we just took the bunny to the nearest animal shelter. They had me write down my name and address, and where I'd found the bunny-- and surprisingly, they acted like this was totally routine (which makes me sad). There were other caged animals that had apparently been found and dropped off just like the bunny I found had-- including a hamster, a gerbil, and other small cuties. It really baffles me how stupid people are, to just LEAVE an animal outside like they would a piece of furniture with a sign taped to it saying "TAKE ME!" Hello, it's no cost, no penalty to take an unwanted animal to the shelter. At least there, there's some hope that it'll be taken care of and maybe adopted. I feel better knowing the bunny's in better hands now.
After that, Grandpa and I headed to In-N-Out (mmm, I've been craving cheeseburger all week!), and Baba read from the TV Guide that Gary Dourdan (Warrick Brown) is leaving CSI!?!?!??!
Not another one! I know at the start of the season, he got into a fine mess with the Vegas mob or whatever, but I didn't expect it to come back so quickly and bite him in the ass enough to get him off the show. Turns out he, like Jorja Fox (Sara Sidle) has an upcoming contract expiration, and rather than renew it a'la William Petersen (Gil Grissom), he's letting it expire. But of course, CBS spokespeople won't say anything for sure, but with Dourdan getting arrested on drug charges recently, it doesn't look too good for him. >_> That's sad... I like twisted characters, and Warrick was definitely cool and twisted. Plus, as Grissom said before he went on sabbatical, he's the rock of the team! I can't believe they'd get rid of another cast member so soon... although "they'd get rid of" makes it sound like CBS is the only entity in control here, and of course in the end, it's Dourdan's decision.
Some people, like those on the IMDb boards, are freaking out, thinking Dourdan's trying to be the next Will Smith and break into film, which seems unrealistic, but... why not? He's a cool guy. (And to be honest, I like movie!Will Smith much better than Fresh Prince!Will Smith, funny as he was back in the day; it's just, Dourdan's got a completely different start and overall "feel" to his work than Smith does/did.) With drug charges, too, it might not even be a matter of just him making a decision based on where he wants to go with his career-- it could have roots in all sorts of things. People are thinking that if there is any truth to the drug charges, then maybe he'll make a comeback a'la Robert Downey, Jr., which frankly would KICK ASS, though I'd hope it doesn't take as long (sorry RDJ)!
But I do have to wonder about the future of the original CSI if so many of the original cast members are dropping out like this. So far we're down to Grissom, Nick, Catherine, and by extension, Greg. Hodges has only been added as a full cast member as of this season, and even though the Doc (Coroner) is a full-time cast member, we don't always see him/he doesn't play as crucial a role. But that could just be me.
Also, am I the only one that finds it ironic that, while his character is going through some rough spots where he can't remember the night that he may or may not have been involved in the death of a girl who worked at a mob strip club, he gets arrested on alleged drug possession (I say "alleged" because apparently Dourdan said the drugs belonged to some friends he was taking to the Coachella VIP-after-party. Uh, okay, but that STILL DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT, GARY) charges after appearing "disoriented" and sleeping in his car on the wrong side of the street? It either seems like a stunt or a sick joke. I'm not sure whether to be sympathetic or shocked.
Plus, it sounds like some idiot programmer at CBS replaced an episode of "The Unit" with the episode where Warrick's having substance abuse problems. I don't remember it myself, but there's probably bunches of episodes I haven't seen yet.
I'm also wondering, like some of the people on the IMDb boards, what is it that drives actors that are on wildly successful shows, have well-liked and adored characters to just up and leave? I know Jorja Fox said she felt that she had other opportunities that she wanted to pursue, and if she waited for CSI to end (and at the point she said this, CSI wasn't looking like it was going to die anytime soon; I wonder if she knew that Dourdan might not renew his contract/CBS might not let him/all this other shiz that's going down), she'd never get the chance. I wonder if, pre-drug charges, Dourdan felt the same way? Maybe he still does, and the whole arrest is blowing things out of proportion, putting focus on the wrong thing. On the other hand, maybe the show wasn't doing enough for him and once we finally gets to be more of a focal character, he has some sort of issue that takes him from spotlight to lowlight. And if he really DOES have a substance abuse problem and just isn't owning up to it, maybe enough harsh spotlight on him will get him to change-- again, a'la RDJ. One can only hope. It sucks to see a great actor go bad because of stupid shit like drugs.
Aaahh, what to believe!?
But I really liked the class, especially the service learning component where I went to Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda every Thursday, to help 10th grade Honors students with their English portfolios. It was really great, and I'd like to do something like that again, if I have the time.
It's not completely over, though-- my last day of work is tomorrow (I have no work today), and I also have to turn in the take-home part of my ENGL 313/Pop Culture final, which is a "letter" type essay regarding pop culture and power relations. Check out the class blog and the final exam prompt here. I also plan on picking up my fandom essay from Prof. Hatfield when I drop off my take-home final, just to see how I did... hopefully well. :P
Anyway, I was on my way home (stupidly not wearing sunscreen, not having water or other mode of hydration, and also lacking money with which to buy either, or even house keys to get into the house) when I saw something odd: a bunny in a cage, sitting in front of a house. Next to it was a tub with two bags of rabbit food and oat hay, but there was nothing to indicate that there was anyone nearby that had just left it outside as they ran elsewhere to get something, or that the bunny was "free" or "for sale" or anything. I was shocked. BTW, it's currently around 96 degrees outside, so this poor bunny (who had no water in his bottle, btw) was licking itself just to stay cool. And I think something was wrong with its food, because rather than eat it, it ate the newspaper lining its cage (of course, I don't know anything about rabbits, so maybe that's normal?).
I rang the doorbell of the house it was in front of, but no one answered. No one who walked by stopped and said anything, and the car the cage was in front of had no one in it, either. I'd been talking to my mom when I found the bunny, and she suggested I call animal control. I had to contact 411 to get the number, and when I finally did, it was busy. So I called Baba and Grandpa again (they'd been out getting groceries) and since Baba couldn't easily find the number for Animal Control, Grandpa came by and we just took the bunny to the nearest animal shelter. They had me write down my name and address, and where I'd found the bunny-- and surprisingly, they acted like this was totally routine (which makes me sad). There were other caged animals that had apparently been found and dropped off just like the bunny I found had-- including a hamster, a gerbil, and other small cuties. It really baffles me how stupid people are, to just LEAVE an animal outside like they would a piece of furniture with a sign taped to it saying "TAKE ME!" Hello, it's no cost, no penalty to take an unwanted animal to the shelter. At least there, there's some hope that it'll be taken care of and maybe adopted. I feel better knowing the bunny's in better hands now.
After that, Grandpa and I headed to In-N-Out (mmm, I've been craving cheeseburger all week!), and Baba read from the TV Guide that Gary Dourdan (Warrick Brown) is leaving CSI!?!?!??!
Not another one! I know at the start of the season, he got into a fine mess with the Vegas mob or whatever, but I didn't expect it to come back so quickly and bite him in the ass enough to get him off the show. Turns out he, like Jorja Fox (Sara Sidle) has an upcoming contract expiration, and rather than renew it a'la William Petersen (Gil Grissom), he's letting it expire. But of course, CBS spokespeople won't say anything for sure, but with Dourdan getting arrested on drug charges recently, it doesn't look too good for him. >_> That's sad... I like twisted characters, and Warrick was definitely cool and twisted. Plus, as Grissom said before he went on sabbatical, he's the rock of the team! I can't believe they'd get rid of another cast member so soon... although "they'd get rid of" makes it sound like CBS is the only entity in control here, and of course in the end, it's Dourdan's decision.
Some people, like those on the IMDb boards, are freaking out, thinking Dourdan's trying to be the next Will Smith and break into film, which seems unrealistic, but... why not? He's a cool guy. (And to be honest, I like movie!Will Smith much better than Fresh Prince!Will Smith, funny as he was back in the day; it's just, Dourdan's got a completely different start and overall "feel" to his work than Smith does/did.) With drug charges, too, it might not even be a matter of just him making a decision based on where he wants to go with his career-- it could have roots in all sorts of things. People are thinking that if there is any truth to the drug charges, then maybe he'll make a comeback a'la Robert Downey, Jr., which frankly would KICK ASS, though I'd hope it doesn't take as long (sorry RDJ)!
But I do have to wonder about the future of the original CSI if so many of the original cast members are dropping out like this. So far we're down to Grissom, Nick, Catherine, and by extension, Greg. Hodges has only been added as a full cast member as of this season, and even though the Doc (Coroner) is a full-time cast member, we don't always see him/he doesn't play as crucial a role. But that could just be me.
Also, am I the only one that finds it ironic that, while his character is going through some rough spots where he can't remember the night that he may or may not have been involved in the death of a girl who worked at a mob strip club, he gets arrested on alleged drug possession (I say "alleged" because apparently Dourdan said the drugs belonged to some friends he was taking to the Coachella VIP-after-party. Uh, okay, but that STILL DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT, GARY) charges after appearing "disoriented" and sleeping in his car on the wrong side of the street? It either seems like a stunt or a sick joke. I'm not sure whether to be sympathetic or shocked.
Plus, it sounds like some idiot programmer at CBS replaced an episode of "The Unit" with the episode where Warrick's having substance abuse problems. I don't remember it myself, but there's probably bunches of episodes I haven't seen yet.
I'm also wondering, like some of the people on the IMDb boards, what is it that drives actors that are on wildly successful shows, have well-liked and adored characters to just up and leave? I know Jorja Fox said she felt that she had other opportunities that she wanted to pursue, and if she waited for CSI to end (and at the point she said this, CSI wasn't looking like it was going to die anytime soon; I wonder if she knew that Dourdan might not renew his contract/CBS might not let him/all this other shiz that's going down), she'd never get the chance. I wonder if, pre-drug charges, Dourdan felt the same way? Maybe he still does, and the whole arrest is blowing things out of proportion, putting focus on the wrong thing. On the other hand, maybe the show wasn't doing enough for him and once we finally gets to be more of a focal character, he has some sort of issue that takes him from spotlight to lowlight. And if he really DOES have a substance abuse problem and just isn't owning up to it, maybe enough harsh spotlight on him will get him to change-- again, a'la RDJ. One can only hope. It sucks to see a great actor go bad because of stupid shit like drugs.
Aaahh, what to believe!?
