Other various SNL, Colbert Report, 30 Rock and Daily Show writers, as well as The View, Leno, Letterman, Animal Planet, a handful of soap opera writers and a few Law and Order writers were also in attendance. It was rumored that Jon Stewart was to show up at an event one day.

There were several surprise protesters such as John Leguizamo, Bob Balaban, Griffin Dunne and John Patrick Shanley (Joe Versus The Volcano and Moonlighting, for which he won an Oscar). Several television hyphenates and showrunners also walked the line. The Daily Show and Colbert Report writers are recently added members to the guild, and the writers in attendance were more than happy to be there. Reports counted 75-100 picketers, but it felt more like 150-200 by the time the afternoon shift started at 1. The barricaded area in which we marched became crowded and marching ceased due to the increased amounts of people. At that point, I decided to go home for the day.

The second day of picketing was slightly less energetic with protesters. The rain might have been to blame because I was told the biggest turnout of the day was when I arrived at 3:30p.

Silvercup Studios was not easy to find, even though eight different trains go there. I only wrote down the directions for the N/W lines but for some reason, took the R. I walked aimlessly around Long Island City before I saw the signs I'd carried once before.

I spotted Demetri Martin but he left soon after. Despite my right arm being sore from holding a picket sign for so long yesterday, I found some abandoned materials and walked for 45 minutes chanting "Contract! Now!" While in line, it was rumored that celebrities will be out en masse on Thursday at the Time Warner Building in Columbus Circle.

I saw some familiar faces walking the line from the day before and was told that Seth Meyers was there earlier. Alec Baldwin pulled up in a black sedan and gave us a wave as our strike captain announced that the crew from 30 Rock had just delivered us donuts and coffee. After shouting for a while, I decided to head over to the street and get people to honk for the strike. A frantic woman came up to me and the young woman I was with to tell us that she was looking for us everywhere yesterday in Times Square. We pointed her in the direction of someone who was in charge. Shortly after, a man said he striked Con-Edison for six weeks and supported what we were doing. At 5 in the evening, when the sun went down and it became very cold, we dispersed to our trains.

On the fourth day of picketing, Columbus Circle was swarmed with more signs than Rockefeller Center and the line was much longer; that's right, today was officially Celebrity Day.

Armed with my camera, I dove into the pit and began taking as many photos as I could take. Sam Waterston (my mother loves him), Griffin Dunne, Randy Quaid, Ben Shenkman and Janel Maloney all walked. Someone told me that Tim Robbins was there and I overheard someone talking about James Frey. Later, I saw Rachel Dratch, Kristin Wiig, Will Forte, Eric Slovin, and Andy Blitz.

I picked up a sign and walked next to a man in NABET, the Broadcast Technicians union, who said he'd been working without a contract since April. A man next to him was in SAG. I asked if he felt like SAG would be the next to follow. He said he didn't know and hoped that this didn't go on for long.

A lot of people worried that they were losing their jobs and just wanted to get back to work. No one really wanted to be there because they just wanted to do what they were meant to do: write. To wit, on each picket line I've been on this past week, ideas for strike themed spec scripts have floated around.

Most of the cars, buses, and bike peddlers that passed us honked in support of what was going on. There is a stigma against people in creative unions who don't work manual labor jobs because the unions were originally created to better those who didn't make a good enough living to support their families and have a retirement at the end of the career. What a lot of the critics may not understand is that even though writing isn't manual labor, writers can just as easily be exploited by big business.

There doesn't seem like there is going to be a quick end to this strike. Productions are slowly closing down one by one, putting a lot of people out of jobs temporarily. Some permanently--imagine your favorite new fall series that was just finding its feet, now crippled beyond rehabilitation. At this point, although the AMPTP doesn't want to negotiate "with a gun to their head," when's it going to be enough when they are willing to talk again?

I'm actually not even in the writers guild. In fact, I'm with the Freelancer's Union. I fight with those who are in the guild because they are people whose work I admire and because if one day I join them, the issues that they fight for will become my issues as well. We walk because we believe in something. It's kind of amazing, really.

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaet/sets/72157602974914733/

RELATED
Quotes From the Front Lines
AST Message Board Sheds Humanity on Strike
Reno 911 Protects Strikers in Hollywood
I Was Going to Spend the Week Hanging With The Rock, Instead I'm Hanging With The Rat
New York to Ellen Degeneres: Don't Even Think About Coming Here
Current Negotiations Revealed!