The bridge is yours.

-A New Hope is totally awesome at world-building, but it’s not better than Empire Strikes Back.

-Make your own pop-up music videos.

-I always like it when the entertainment industry does what I tell them to.

-I think the thing that bothers me most about Twilight is the fact that Bella doesn’t tell her parents she’s going to get vamped.

-Amy, Amy, Amy:

On Mondays, progressive leaders from all parts of the movement, from the blogosphere to the Hill, take a break out of their schedules to tell us what they’re watching, reading, and listening to. Suggestions or requests? Email AlyssaObserves (at) gmail (dot) com.

As AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer, Liz Shuler’s the second-highest ranking person in the American labor movement — and she’s just 40. She helped lead the coalition that blocked an Enron-lead push to deregulate the electricity industry in 1997, trained election observers during the 2000 presidential election recount, and was elected secretary-treasurer in 2009. Last week, Shuler took lessons in assertiveness away from Tina Fey’s memoir Bossypants, saw analogies to state-level fights over collective bargaining in a performance of Wicked at the Kennedy Center, and considered the plight of freelance artists, most of whom don’t have benefits, as she met with members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Monday, July 18

I started my week by finding advice from a somewhat unlikely source: Tina Fey. Little did I know that when I was looking for some “escape” reading on my Monday flight to Albany, New York, I would end up finding some truly insightful guidance from a woman who made it in the cut-throat business of stand-up comedy.

I laughed all the way through the first chapter of Bossypants. And as I read through Ms. Fey’s early years, and how she got her start in Chicago with Second City, I stumbled upon what was a rather profound insight for me: The rules of improv can help you in life. She talks about the importance of “respecting what your partner has created, and to start from an open-minded place;” saying “yes, and…” so no one is afraid to contribute; and sharing in the responsibility to find solutions by “making statements instead of just asking questions,” especially for women.

Sticky situation in the workplace? Draw on the rules of improv to lighten the tension. Forget your membership card at the gym? Don’t hesitate at the front desk — make a proactive, and perhaps offbeat statement, and move on to the kickboxing! Co-worker making some risky suggestions for the annual conference? Say, “yes, and… let’s talk about how that will double attendance,” and stay in that open-minded place (at least until you get burned). Great perspective to start the week.
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-Why the economics of syndication mean we’ll get a fourth season of Community. (Also: Omar comin’.)

-Speaking of Omar, Renaldo is going to be Bosley to the new Charlie’s Angels team.

-The inevitable Chilean miner movie is happening.

-Nikki Finke on addiction and the entertainment industry.

-M.I.A.’s got a song out for Amy Winehouse, and other artists who died at 27:

I almost wonder if Ladytron’s “17″ gets to the point better, though:

I just saw the news that British singer Amy Winehouse died in her home Saturday. I’m crushed, but I’m not surprised. As I wrote early in 2010:

It’s been very difficult for me to watch Courtney Love and Amy Winehouse fall apart. Both Celebrity Skin and Back to Black came out at times when it felt like I needed precisely that record, the blast of independence and disdain, the decision to manage grief by dressing it up and embracing it. I trust both of these manifestly unreliable women because at one point, they gave me something I needed, before I could even articulate that I needed it…And so I want Amy Winehouse and Courtney Love to be there for me, to anticipate that next moment of great musical need. What a fool I am.

Amy Winehouse spent much of her life battling addictions that the music industry first treated as signs of sexy defiance and later as a massive and inexplicable waste of her talent. I had given up wanting or expecting more music, and simply held out vain hope she wouldn’t die. No matter what the video for “Valerie” suggests, she is not replaceable: