Random Rants from a Guy in Tinseltown

Thank you for all your birthday wishes. They warmed the cockles of my heart. All these years, I have traveled, studied, lived and worked all around the world. So many times, I went away, leaving family, companions and lovers behind as well as birthing friendships and unfinished undertakings. And many times, no matter how hard it was to depart, I had it easier: for me, it was the beginning of new experiences and excitements, whereas my friends only stayed with my absence. Some of you I have not seen in so many years. Life is short and fragile, and as much as it may pain me to admit it, I might never see you again. Today or the day before, you took some of your time to write me a few words for my birthday, and I want to express my gratitude for your friendship, past, present or future. I thank you for remembering me, I thank you for having had a drink with me, played music with me, for having exchanged ideas, thoughts and emotions with me. I am nothing but the sum of all tho...

Some Figures for Women's Day: — 18.3% of congressional seats are held by women and 23% of statewide elective offices are held by women; — at Berklee: 68% male, 32% female;  — women make up only 9% of directors among the top 250 domestic grossing films; they comprise just 12% of directors among the top 500;  — the US is the only industrialized nation that does not have a paid parental leave policy mandated by law; fully paid maternity leave is only offered by around 16 percent of employers in the US;  — as of 2010 women in the United States earned about 81% of what their male counterparts did;  — every 9 seconds in the US, a woman is assaulted or beaten.