BitchBuzz: No Girls Allowed

Yeah, you may have already guessed -- or seen -- my BitchBuzz column for this week. It's up early, in fact I shot it off to my editor while I was [cough] not attending the faculty meeting. Hey, I had pressing news to cover! Considering the quick hits it got, I'm glad I did.

Hat tips to pals Brad Brooks, who told me about the Start Trek connection, and to Dan Shea, who gave me an awesome quote to steal on Facebook (hey, maybe it can go in your tenure file):

I'm sure they did a lot of testing, but I just can't believe there was no woman on the team or at least one in an important enough position to say, "No, no, hell no!" when it came to naming it the iPad.

Read the rest, as always, at BBHQ. I have meetings in the morning, so maybe I'll post this now. Having got my column done early, I did a little reading tonight. I have Chris Anderson's Free out from the library, recommended to me by several folks. I find myself nodding a lot at what he says. We're undergoing a fundamental shift in our culture -- our culture in the global sense. At times I get a glimpse of the answers about where it's going, but it's just out of the corner of my eye. Exciting times we live in -- difficult, confusing and changing at an incredible pace, but exciting all the same.

BitchBuzz: Touching my iPod Touch

Yes, I've got a new gig. My first piece is up over at BitchBuzz, the swanky on-line mag founded by Cate Sevilla. She put out a call for new writers on Twitter and accepted my piece about Ianto, my iPod Touch. I will have a piece due every Thursday. It's great to be a part of a swell bunch of women. I love the internet -- all this can happen so fast. Who's got the patience to wait for print any more? Not me!

Speaking of a swell bunch of women, this Women's Month Interview project has already succeeded beyond my expectations. I have loved the interviews -- and it sounds like you all do, too. I had an instinct that simply allowing my friends to speak would be amazing, but I had no idea how moving it would be. The only worry is will I have enough days in the month -- wonderful!

London Bound

This afternoon I take off for a trip to London -- a sort of delayed vacation or early birthday present. Only a week, but I will be able to see the Bacon and Rothko exhibits (ergo, it is also a business trip, as I'll be writing those up, possibly for the newly relaunched Up Against the Wall, whoo hoo!) which I have been thinking about with great envy. Why now? Well, I can squeeze in the time now with Thanksgiving coming up, before finals, and before the "break" which this time around includes going to MLA to interview job candidates for our department, then completing several projects that I ought to have gotten to during the fall, but haven't been able to do. I'm getting better about not over-loading myself, but there's still a lot to do if I want to achieve the things I hope to accomplish in this life.

I will try to keep up with at least the occasional tweet or Facebook update. I'll blog if I find a wi-fi hotspot and actually feel like typing for a bit instead of exploring all the cool things going on in London (it could happen). I am actually bringing a camera this time, too!

So, please don't send giant files to my email for the next week (Joey, I'm looking in your direction!) and I'll see if I can send some updates that make you envious -- deal?

Flash Vacation

After dropping Gene off at work Friday morning, I made a quick escape to Connecticut (I blame the midterm craziness!). I tore through the Berkshires in some thick fog, filling up on cheap gas. My first stop in Willimantic was to surprise Perilous Cheryl, but the surprise was on me. I stopped by her office and they told me she was out sick. I was just about to call her when the QoE called me and mentioned that The joey Zone had been sick, too, so I decided maybe I ought to leave them alone and let them rest and recuperate.

Instead I decided to annoy Marko at the Punk Rock Jukebox -- hee hee! I got to pick the tracks from the Swill of the Day CD (so yes, blame me for "Rhinestone Cowboy"!), and to make him crack up on the air as well as distracting him so that he didn't realise there were no songs cued to play next. Always willing to do my part to make things a shambles. The new WECS studio is swanky and huge. As always, I came away with some recommendations on new music to find.

The QoE arrived before the end of the show, so we both picked on poor Marko and then headed off to the pub for lunch. I was pleased to notice they had free (albeit s-l-o-w) wifi at the pub, yee ha! So I got to show off Ianto some more. This was when I discovered my nice new leather bag is so thick that it muffles the ringer on my phone. I didn't realise that I had missed the calls from Miss Wendy until I got out my phone to take a picture of the Queen (but what a great picture, eh?).

Off to Miss Wendy's next, who took me to services at her temple which were very welcoming and relaxed. They said a kaddish in remembrance of her father Norman, who was a very sweet man. After the service -- which also had a young man reading who was becoming a Bar Mitzvah -- we shared food and drink, including some really good chocolate chip cookies.

Next we were off to the Aloha Alcohula AKA the best damn tiki bar in Connecticut® for some Żubrówka and a variety of cheeses and other snacks. It was a girly night, although one without any nail painting or home perms (we did, however, talk about boys). You can see Wendy's post for the possum update. We finally made our way back to Wendy's, where she and I sat up for a bit longer chatting, finally going to bed sometime after 3, so no surprise we slept late Saturday and then watched movies.

All in all a very relaxing trip and much fun. There's always time to steal a little vacation even in the middle of the semester.

Review: Jonathan Richman @ Club Helsinki

Richman was amazing -- are you surprised?

What a treat to see him in such a tiny venue, too. It was our first trip to Great Barrington and to Club Helsinki. We happened to park in front of the famous local artist's shop, but she wasn't in. Naturally, we had spotted a bookstore and went to explore before getting some dinner at Siam Square. Their steamed dumplings were maybe the best I've had anywhere, but the entrees, although very flavourful, lacked the promised heat. I had chosen the three chili-rated Hot Basil beef and it was barely spicy at all. I guess it was Massachusetts "hot." We had a bottle of malbec that was delicious -- of course I forget the name but it had a cat on the label with very long legs.

The club was just around the corner. Tiny! It seats about 80 I think, lots of little tables, bar and then a bank of maybe 20-30 chairs in rows in one leg of the L shaped space. The stage is in the middle of the L. We found out the thing to do was to reserve a table: we will next time, for sure. It would have been easier not to have to juggle our drinks, particularly as I found a wireless signal that allowed me to update Facebook from Ianto (yes, just to taunt everyone who was not there).

Hilton Valentine opened for Richman and he was terrific. He did a few songs on his own (yes, including "House of the Rising Sun"), then added a bass for a couple more (including a song about his hometown, Newcastle). Then he was joined by the rest of the band and they went all skiffle doing Cliff's "Move it" and "20 Flight Rock" and encored with "Working Class Hero." The crowd ate it up enthusiastically.

I won a dollar waiting in line for the toilets.

Richman and his drummer came out and set up their equipment themselves. The troubadour extraordinaire -- he was just an endless delight, playful and fun and story telling and hopping off the tiny stage to step out into the tiny audience and sing right to us. He started with "No One was like Vermeer" and sang in French, Spanish, Italian as the mood struck him. He was meandering all over and playing with the microphone when it didn't work. Richman's songs are like flash fiction pieces you realise as he's singing about the Marx Bros or why he doesn't have a cell phone and never will or summer and winter and New England and the smell of the school bus in junior high ("2% cigarettes from those guys who sit in the back, 30% wool, 30% ice and snow and the rest..."). A lively intelligence and curiosity provide his restless muse. It's a treat to see a performer like this. He rocks, he swings.

I shook his hand at the end (like most of the people there). Small venues are so wonderful.

Spotted this graffiti outside the club and decided it looked good under the mercury lights. Thanks to Gene for all the pictures. I had Ianto with me, but not my phone (as usual).

There was frost on the cars this morning as I went biking. I'll have to find my gloves soon, as pulling the sleeves of my hoodie down over my knuckles is no longer enough. It was also suicidal squirrel day with a good bit of unexpected dodging to keep me on my toes. The geese have horned their way into Buckingham Lake and the heron seemed perturbed, but the ducks didn't mind. All the green was covered with frost, though, so soon they'll be crisping. The ankle is slowly improving -- not quite back to normal, but it's getting stronger.

*Review linked (thanks!).

A Moment's Inattention

I received a powerful lesson in mindfulness today. As I was out on my daily walk -- my thoughts a thousand miles away -- I twisted my ankle as I walked down the hill coming out of the forest by Buckingham Lake and fell down hard. The scrapes and bruises on my knees and on the heels of my hands were nothing next to the sprain. I could feel it tearing as I was falling and saying, "Ow, ow, ow!" Oddly enough, although it was a time that might legitimately have called for saltier language, I really did just say "ow" repeatedly.

An elderly gentleman, one of the regulars, helped me get up and dust off. He offered to walk with me or whatever I needed, but I told him I would be okay and was going to go sit down. But as I limped along the path, I figured out that it was going to stiffen up quickly if I sat, so I just walked home. Nothing like pain to focus the mind. Every step was vivid. Yeah, it was pretty swollen by the time I got home. Iced it after a shower, but looking on line I find that you're not supposed to ice for more than 20 minutes at a time, so I guess I'll put the ice away and get out the Ace.

Well, I had planned to blog today on the toys: Ianto's new Gelaskin with lovely Ralph Steadman art, "Vintage Dr Gonzo" and the new phone that now features George Spiggot saying "Julie Andrews!" I had planned a lot of things for today that will have to be adjusted now. You'd think, given my natural inclination toward laziness, that this would provide a good excuse to do nothing, but my perverse nature rebels at anything I'm forced to do; so, forced to be immobile, I get antsy. There's no pleasing some people. I'll be quite bereft without my daily walk -- no rabbits, herons, ducks, kingfishers, turtles, and dogs. There's also the whole pain thing...

An Experimental Publication

Go to Feedbooks and download a copy for FREE of my wacky dinosaur story, "Another Metamorphosis" which should be available in all formats for your palm reader, iPod, phone, etc. Of course, you should also comment on the story. I may put some other previously published stories there for the free publicity. I just downloaded a bunch of books for Ianto, so I'm sure other folks are doing the same thing.

No More Pi for Me

As expected the reading this morning was poorly attended, which is to say no one at all showed up for what's traditionally known as the "hangover" time slot. Not too surprising, given that even GoH Cory Doctorow's reading was not that well attended. I don't get it -- I love readings. You can bet I won't be volunteering for another anytime soon (only takes three or four or a dozen times for me to learn a lesson). Doctorow's story was a hoot, "To Go Boldly" which was written for an anthology of space operas, which is not a genre he usually writes. It seemed to take the audience a while to catch on to the humor, but once they did, they kept laughing all the way through. Later in the GoH interview he mentioned being proud of being "an inch deep and ten miles wide," saying the one time he agreed with Heinlein was when he said, "Specialization is for insects" (tell that to our education system).

He said he often puts up works in progress as podcasts and that reminded me that I need to finally get around to the promised podcasts of my stories. I figure I will start small with flash fiction rather than the grandiose plans I had before. This way things that are out making the rounds of rejections can be "available" -- but not technically in print -- to those all important five fans of mine who want to hear me read my stories (but are in far flung, disparate locations).

<-- That's me and Ianto

The rest of the day was fine -- I offered my two cents on the new and old Doctor Who and chaired the panel on Torchwood with all the arrogance and fetching bonhomie of Captain Jack, then watched the mysterious Ironman/Batman debate (which Gene can tell you about as he was head of the Batman team). We swung home by way of Northampton to have Thai for a late lunch and (of course) stop by Raven Books. I bought one little book, aren't you proud?

Classes start tomorrow bright and early at 9am. I will have to stop playing with my Oblique Strategies widget and get some things done tonight. Last day of freedom, sigh.

iPod Touch Named

Just like that, it was clear. I was on the tarot and writing panel and trying to remember the name of Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies deck, so naturally turned to my digital assistant, who located the necessary information -- with a picture -- in no time at all.

Thank you, Ianto!

I would say he included a steaming cappuccino, too, but as most of you know, I don't drink coffee. Oh sure, maybe the subconscious effect of serving as chair of the Torchwood panel tomorrow influenced me (yes, I will be Captain Jack for a day -- er, hour?), but hey, the name even starts with "i" so it seems perfect for the iPod.