Month: March 2006

music icon

I met Cris Williamson this past weekend, thanks to my friends Kiya & Miriam. Although I was aware of Cris and her importance in women’s music, I had not listened to her much. Her best-selling album The Changer and the Changed was released the year I was born. I didn’t even know that women’s music … Continue reading “music icon”

I met Cris Williamson this past weekend, thanks to my friends Kiya & Miriam. Although I was aware of Cris and her importance in women’s music, I had not listened to her much. Her best-selling album The Changer and the Changed was released the year I was born. I didn’t even know that women’s music existed until 1996-ish, and by then it was virtually gone. There are still some remnants of it, but women (mostly lesbian) musicians and fans don’t need it now like they did in the 1970s. Meeting Cris in that context was…interesting. I have tremendous respect for her.

One question that resulted from that meeting is: Who is the icon for 20-something women? The only women musicians I can think of for my generation are in their 30s (Ani DiFranco, for example). I can’t think of a 20-something woman musician who has influenced her peers in the way that Cris did for her peers in the late 70s.

feeling empty

I spent the past four days with my friends Kiya & Miriam. They’re in a folk-roots band called Wishing Chair, which I’ve mentioned a few times on this blog. They flew out here on Thursday, and until this morning, I was their driver for the PNW part of their west coast tour. Despite the hours … Continue reading “feeling empty”

Wishing Chair
I spent the past four days with my friends Kiya & Miriam. They’re in a folk-roots band called Wishing Chair, which I’ve mentioned a few times on this blog. They flew out here on Thursday, and until this morning, I was their driver for the PNW part of their west coast tour. Despite the hours spent in my cramped and crowded Toyota Tercel, it was wonderful to be with them. Now they’ve gone on to the Northern California portion of their tour, and I feel empty. I have to re-adjust to being alone. To living in a place where all of my relationships are new and without the depth of the friendships I left behind in Kentucky and elsewhere.

I have to keep reminding myself of the joy of this past weekend. I produced a show here on Sunday. Wishing Chair has arranged some of their songs to be performed by/with a women’s choir. The concert included two of those songs performed by/with the Ellensburg Women’s Chorus, of which I am a member. It was amazing to be up on stage with my fellow choir members, singing Wishing Chair songs. Normally, I’m just sitting in the audience quietly singing along. This time I was up there with them. With my friends.

NASIG

On the off chance that anyone attending NASIG this year is reading this, I’m looking for a roommate, preferably female. I’ll be staying Wed-Mon, and it’d be great to pair up with someone who is doing the same. I’ve found that it is too intense and distracting to try to travel on conference days, so … Continue reading “NASIG”

On the off chance that anyone attending NASIG this year is reading this, I’m looking for a roommate, preferably female. I’ll be staying Wed-Mon, and it’d be great to pair up with someone who is doing the same. I’ve found that it is too intense and distracting to try to travel on conference days, so I arrive the day before and leave the day after.

Update: I have a roommate now.

#9

Yesterday I came home to find my recent Amazon order had arrived. Last week while browsing LibraryThing, I discovered a new book in one of my favorite mystery series, so I pre-ordered it. It was officially released the next day. I’ve never done this before, but I’ve started collecting this series in hardcover and I decided to treat myself to a brand new tome.

Anyway. New book arrived yesterday. I finally had a chance to crack it open at 10:30pm, thinking I’d read until midnight and then finish this evening. As if. Check the time stamp on this post. I’m gonna need a grande latte when I wake up. Possibly with an extra shot.

Sour Puss is the latest in the collaboration between Sneaky Pie Brown and her person, Rita Mae Brown. As with the previous books in the series, the authors take time to set the scene, refresh our memories of the old characters, and introduce us to the new characters. The action doesn’t happen until the penultimate chapter, but Mrs. Murphy fans have come to expect that. We like spending time with our friends and family for a while before we have to get our paws hands dirty with some icky murder.

The back story deals with current events and concerns regarding bioterrorism. H5N1 makes a brief appearance, as well as theories about biological weapons used by Iraq in Desert Storm. Most important to the plot is the Supreme Court decision striking down state laws that prohibit direct sales of wines to out-of-state customers. Wine drinkers rejoice.

oops.

Remember that book chapter I was supposed to be writing? I got half of it finished and then I never got back to it. I emailed the editor about it last week and got a response this morning. It’s too late for me to get the finished version to him. Oh, well. I’ll probably recycle … Continue reading “oops.”

Remember that book chapter I was supposed to be writing? I got half of it finished and then I never got back to it. I emailed the editor about it last week and got a response this morning. It’s too late for me to get the finished version to him. Oh, well. I’ll probably recycle it into something else, like using some of it to beef up an article I’m turning in today.

The lesson I’ve learned from this is that I’m much better at sprinting than at marathons when it comes to writing. Short and to the point. Book chapters (or even whole books) are much longer than I’m able to write at this time.

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