Melanie Miller & Such

Quote of the Day: Jdmpapgaf

2011-07-04T14:10:00.001-04:00

###

SURPRISE!

Today, as I stumbled through my blog, adding a new html code discovery [note to self - add html to all other blogs...], I was unpleasantly surprised to find this lonely, loner post. I know this is my blog, and considering the minimal posts posted throughout its lifetime, I shouldn't have been totally surprised, but - believe me or not; ruin my rep or not - I truly did just (7.4.11) FIND - this little treasure.

Which, upon this moment of way too comfortable confusion...

I think:

did a guest blogger invade my site and post this gibberish?
did Blogger run the fate of facebook and was momentarily invaded by 9th grade typing flunkees?
wtf?
who wrote this? not me, surely?

and then (now)... taking some responsibility:

i obviously must have astrally channeled a new genre, perhaps, flarf II, and/or The Reduced Haiku.
did i begin a blog moments before a neurological blackout?
did i have a neurological blackout on 6.23.11 at 11:10am?

and then-then (now-now)... seeing things in a more lucid light:

ahhhh, the same person who's been sneaking into my apartment while I'm sleeping or at doc appointments, or on my mad dating schedule (wink, wink), and hiding my debit card, prescription glasses and sunglasses, clean underwear, fresh-made coffee, lighter, my big pink glass full with water, the melanie who did go to the gym to restart aqua therapy, my cat... you get the (scary) picture.

I'm so glad I figured this one out - now-now-now.

2011-06-23T11:10:00.001-04:00

Jdmpapgaf

Abe Books E-mail Database Hacked

2011-04-09T02:33:00.000-04:00

AbeBooks E-mail Database Hacked

It figures that a remaining sense of dignity we have in this country - books, and good books, and people who read, and people who read good books by great authors on great topics published by well-sighted publishers, then sold by good (or greedy) booksellers, and on and on - would be the victims of potential identity theft, or at minimum an invasion into their privacy.

Image from Blog Patrol

Read about this (story that's available and linked to this wonderful, not so new, blog I just discovered, dedicated to books and book-related news that I just discovered and was instantly hooked like [way too many "things that are hooked" entries in the blogosphere..., so here's my own go at defying the cliche] indoor hanging plants, winter coats on rainy days, and a single person in chronic pain to their pain meds, couch, and TV.

If you haven't yet, subscribe to this and all of my blogs (see right column) and then subscribe to Book Patrol: A Haven for Book Culture too, written a man with a long name and a long list of achievements that make him the dopest blogger on, well the obvious..., the blog's title.

Sunday Quote, from a Sunday Poem

2011-04-03T15:43:00.000-04:00

An April Sunday brings the snow
Making the blossom on the plum trees green,
Not white. An hour or two, and it will go.
-Philip Larkin

And here's another poem by Larkin, perhaps his most famously popular poem, written in a completely different tone, almost planetarily so (which perhaps explains the plethora Web pages of analysis dedicated to this poem), that befits my state of mind...

THIS BE THE VERSE

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.

They may not mean to, but they do.

They fill you with the faults they had

And add some extra, just for you.

This is an image of the 1st Edition Printing

But they were fucked up in their turn

By fools in old-style hats and coats,

Who half the time were soppy-stern

And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.

It deepens like a coastal shelf.

Get out as early as you can,

And don't have any kids yourself

THIS BE THE VERSE was first published in the August 1971
issue of New Humanist, and appeared in the 1974 collection
High Windows, as pictured at right.

You can help save books, poetry, and maybe me - though it's a long shot -
all at the same time by purchasing your own brand new copy...

or maybe find yourself a first edition at...

MelanieMiller'nSuch_HighWindows.com

SOURCE:
An_April_Sunday_brings_the_snow_Making_the. Dictionary.com. Columbia World of Quotations. Columbia University Press, 1996. http://quotes.dictionary.com/An_April_Sunday_brings_the_snow_Making_the (accessed: April 03, 2011).

ACT NOW: Call upon the government of Tanzania to halt on-going genital mutilation of girls and women in the Tarime district. - mnm1512914@gmail.com

2010-12-04T06:07:00.000-05:00

Take 1 second (or 60 if you're slower than a neuro gimp), and SIGN this petition.

Call upon the government of Tanzania to halt the on-going genital mutilation of girls and women in the Tarime district.
(click above to go directly to the signature page; or indulge yourself (and me) and read my little treatise on female genital mutilation.

I know exactly where I was standing the moment I learned about this nightmare, a cultural practice, a rite of passage, it's variations in extremes, the death rates, the philistine unsophistication of the doer's butchery, the tacit cultural and cultural antitheses' acceptance of unsurmizable inequities: teen and pre-teen vaginas turned into scar tissue with a pus-filled, sealed entrance... barely the size of a pinhole camera, and that little hole is about the same as her chance of survival - not of her future, not of anything strange or unusual, this is the norm, the expected, dirty scalpels, and unsterile environment.

It's hard to believe there is worse pain than that. It's hard to believe that CRPS, Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome Stage 4, full body, external/internal, is a 24/7 pain that could rival even one second of that on a scientific pain measurement chart.

But female circumcision is not listed. If it were, it wouldn't certainly rise to the top, above finger amputation no Novocaine, natural childbirth, the vast and incurably endless pain of CRPS. And I imagine that in some practicing countries, the men would celebrate this as a victory. We won! We won!

Lucky to survive, the girl and what parts she has left, what life span she is given, waits to be married.

I could read every article, every Vanity Fair, the Koran, every anthropological study or scientific journal, and I will never understand. Why not even a compromise to start with? Why not remove a kidney? Weigh her down with an antiquated chastity belt? Preach safe sex; the beauty of making love, in love? In how many societies are women all myth, an allegorical Eve? Why do I not feel guilty eating the last apple in the fruit bowl?

This "practice", this keeping of culture, ritual, butcherous belief-system - the antithesis (in my view) of sacred - but not a word turned on the heel of it's latter syllables. She is a SACrificial lamb in a dirt-filled room, watched by family, villagers, and now the remnants - photographed and published in mainstream and English. It is the most extreme variation on the theme.

Infibulation, this is what we have named it - this is what we call it in white talk, West talk, activist mottos ripe with rhyming possibilities for emphasis and memorability only.

She is still a child, waiting, even in severe pain every time she pees, waiting for the naming of the muslim man who will marry her - only if he can break her open. Literally, break her.

Rip apart a body part that once had lips. Imagine this, your lips sliced off, the remaining skin pulled taught and sewn together. No anesthesia. No percocet recovery.

This is called infibulation (a word not even recognized by spell check). A word new to me until I was just passing the latest possible age to be infibulated myself. But I would be stoned instead. That is how a "whore" like me would be treated. What else is there to do to a woman or girl found to be sexually active before, or after the end of marriage?

More than the photographic analogy (the 1993 or '94 Vanity Fair Article that tangled and untangled me for years following,) saturating page upon page somewhere between George Clooney, or some form of Hollywood Beauty was on the cover(I think) and perfumed perfume ads, were these pages, these horrifying pages, scarier than the madman I lived with at 18 with no escape route either. But I had my art.

These women, what did they have? It was easier to figure out what the negatives: the did not have anesthesia, no art involved, nor just reason, no hospital, no novacaine, no options, no choice.

In web-centric world of 1,001 blogs, zines still making a scene - Winnipeg Free Press

2010-11-03T17:53:00.000-04:00

Even more interesting than the Canadian article, named and linked in the title above and the link at the bottom of this page), are the quotes within from one my publishers (feel free to make online comments about my story from the last issue, or share with all you love and hate because making Melanie a popular poet is (or isn't) on your To-Do List).

Hal Niedzviecki, prolific author of all things, including the nonfiction book, Hello: I'm Special, as well as Editor and Publisher of the Canadian zine, Broken Pencil.

In web-centric world of 1,001 blogs, zines still making a scene - Winnipeg Free Press

Democracy Now! | July 29, 2010

2010-08-03T17:18:00.002-04:00

I can't remember why I thought this was important, but I added it to the posting cue, therefore it is! So click anyway.

Democracy Now! | July 29, 2010

REVIEW: Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (Vol.1, No. 1, Sept 2009)

2010-07-06T11:35:00.006-04:00

Editor: Ernest Dempsey
Publisher: Loving Healing Press
Publication Website: www.recoveringself.com
Also available at Amazon.com**

REVIEW
by me

Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing is a new quarterly magazine-sized journal that concerns itself with wide-ranging issues within the realm of health and all of its incarnations, including personal growth, relationships and family, trauma recovery, living with disabilities, addictions of all sorts, veterans’ issues, and bereavement.

In its first ambitious volume, published September 2009, the variety of its contents, depending on the “health” of your mood could exemplify the let’s-fit-as-much-in-as-possible-first-timer-syndrome or an all-inclusiveness that might be appreciated by those on the outside of many of the issue’s themes, or the perfect reading remedy for any health-related ADD or ADHD.

In editor Ernest Dempsey’s introduction to the collection, he speaks to an uninformed, inexperienced reader, rather than a reader that has lived, shared, or stood by watching and feeling the all encompassing hope and healing theme.

Big mistake.

Even a pre-teen could tell you that “pain invades our lives in different guises—illness, trauma, bereavement, accident, crime, and all forms of physical and emotional injury. Littered with hackneyed phrases, such as “the precious gift of life”, “tender as a rose” (gag), “painful experiences” (duh), “recovery is…[fill in blank with obvious and overly simplistic words]”, “the shackles of stress”, and on, and on, and on – so much so, that I almost got sick just from reading it. It’s the sort of crap you expect from self-ordained, self-help gurus that end up in the bargain books pile faster than you can get through the drive-thru at McDonalds.

Unfortunately, what could be a profound and far-reaching magazine that could appeal to poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and/or self-help reader, lacks insight – even from its Ph.D. authors. In the contents section, “Inspiration”, Dr. Barbara Sinor, a therapist and (self-???)* published author of four books, chooses to rely on the easy and obvious in her nonfiction essay that redeems itself by its sincerity and empathy. “You can learn to re-create your own reality,” she writes “by discovering…patterns…which [sic] were accepted I childhood.”

The most informative, interesting, and well-written piece in the entire journal is “Sex, Gender, and Personality Disorders” by Sam Vaknin, who has authored 10 or such books on the subject. And of course this is the most interesting, because who doesn’t like hearing about really screwed up people when you’re looking for self-healing? Instant ego-boost!

Unfortunately, Vaknin makes many assertions that although interesting, such as “Men…mature earlier, die earlier, are more susceptible to infections...cancer…dislexi[a]…and…suicide,” they lack any researchable reference, so we have to assume these are just the opinions of the author. And to be honest, I don’t know many people, especially women and even most men, who would agree that men mature earlier than women. But the big wow of the article for me was the enlightening fact that “the brain structures of homosexual sheep are different to those of straight sheep.” Don’t you love a good brain structure?

It’s hard not to be hackneyed when talking about healing and hope, and that’s the challenge that every writer on this subject needs to overcome to reach its reader – unless they’re looking to speak to cliché-lovers-united, a group that may or may not exist, but with a tiny publication like this, probably wouldn’t find its way into their petal-soft hands in due time.

I applaud Dempsey’s vision, as well as, Love Healing Press, Inc., Recovering the Self’s publisher, and I offer them hope that their work will travel the journey of self-help and recovery, because people interested in healing – from whatever malaise – could find great use of this periodical/journal/mish-mash of everything and anything, even movie reviews.

I just wish it weren’t so, well, to protract the oh-so-familiar spirit of this well-meaning premier volume, run of the mill.

*On further research, I found that the majority of Dr. Spinora's books were "published" by vanity-type publishing houses that include Modern History Press Books AND Loving Healing Press, which seem to be the same entity.

** In my endless link search, I found that this publications received 8 glowing reviews on Amazon.com. Makes ya think. Either I'm a total dumbass, snob missing the beauty between the lines, or they have a lot of friends or a well-placed advertising budget.

OH JOY: Deal on Designer Journals - 2 Days Only

2010-06-23T19:42:00.009-04:00

OH JOY

"In the era of texts and Tweets, sometimes we stray from our dear old friends, paper and pen. But not Joy Deangdeelert Cho. After working in graphic design and advertising, Joy transitioned into textiles at Cynthia Rowley and then home accessory design for the Swell line at Target. Clearly, she’s got good taste. In 2005, the Oh Joy! Studio was born, producing notebooks and stationary for the everywoman. We’ve been perfecting our penmanship ever since." - from Billion Dollar Babes

MY PERSONAL FAVE...&...THE DEAL COMES TO A CLOSE TOMORROW!

OH JOY - Metallic Woodcut Duet in Silver/Copper

$20 ($27 Retail)

Need I say more?.... Perhaps.

JUST 1(ish..w, or 3ish?) THING(s):

First, this is a VERY exclusive offer - only available to invitees or current members of Billion Dollar Babes (don't let the name confuse you...men can be babes too.) And, since if you're reading this, I love you already, I am extending a personal invite to you. No charge, I swear.

Second, if you're not picking up these precious potentials to hold the first draft of your next Oprah's pick novel, a gift to yourself to decorate your bookshelf or coffee table, or a present for your beloved of any kind, there's always me!

Third, if I am your giftee of the week, just email me (with proof of purchase), and I'll give you my mailing address, or something close to it.

PLUS!!!! GET THE DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: Joy Deangdeelert Cho
In addition to deals, deals, deals, Billion Dollar Babes, gives you an exclusive Designer S potlight, providing all of you "I Need to Know Everything Before I Buy or Use Peeps" the specs you'll need: covering Oh Joy's beautiful visionary, Ms. Cho, on her thoughts from inspiration to the intersection between design and fashion, and how she makes visual decisions for her personal blog.

PS. BOOBS
After you've finished your journalistic journey, check into my other blog, Neuro Detour, and take a minute (or less) to enter your answer in the new $1 to play, neuroutrageous Q&A game, Let's Play! Scatterneuries!! This week's category: RSD (CRPS) & BOOBS.

DJ CHEF - Helping Wildlife Effected by BP Oil Spill

2010-06-22T17:42:00.000-04:00

DJ CHEF - Helping Wildlife Effected by BP Oil Spill

This hip and cheap fundraiser in the even "hipper" hipster not so cheap G Lounge sounds to be worth the $10 investment. And, I bet they have air conditioning. You might see me there. I'm all for slick [pun intended], when it's for way way more than a good cause, a necessary call to action.

Click on the link above or the post title for full details.

Trust Women...Support a Pro-Choice America

2010-06-01T14:46:00.008-04:00

FROM MY INBOX TO YOURS...ACTION 4 ACTION
This just in from Nancy Keenan, President, of NARAL Pro-Choice America... Declare your support of the "Trust Women" campaign with a $10 donation and receive a “Trust Women” wristband:

Our “Trust Women” wristband campaign is wrapping up, but I still need you to take part. We must stand with the many pro-choice Americans nationwide who have already declared their support.
Donate today and get your “Trust Women” wristbands.

Dr Tiller often wore a button on his lapel that featured his motto, “Trust Women.” After Dr. Tiller’s murder, Dr. LeRoy Carhart, an abortion provider in Nebraska, wore the pin as a tribute to his friend and colleague…and we created this wristband to carry forward the message.

That’s why when you to donate $10 today to NARAL Pro-Choice America, we will send you a “Trust Women” wristband to honor the legacy of Dr. Tiller…and to show your solidarity with Dr. Carhart and all of the doctors and nurses out there who trust women.

Dr. LeRoy Carhart has been a vocal supporter of a woman’s right to safe, legal abortion care. He is one of the few abortion providers to whom women in heart-breaking circumstances can turn. And the anti-choice movement has made him a target of their attacks by enacting a divisive and invasive anti-choice law aimed directly at threatening Dr. Carhart and the women he serves.

In fact, Mary Spaulding Balch of the National Right to Life Committee recently told Politico, “When George Tiller was killed, LeRoy Carhart had national attention. That alerted Speaker Mike Flood to the problem in Nebraska, and he worked to address that.”¹

We cannot let anti-choice operatives go unchecked. Donate today and receive your “Trust Women” wristband.

Anti-choice zealots have proven that they are willing to use both violence and legislation to oppress women. That’s why we need the support of each and every pro-choice American today.

This is your opportunity to show our opponents that we will not be intimidated.

Donate $10 today, and we will send you a “Trust Women” wristband. Please join us and stand against anti-choice violence and intimidation.

Sincerely,

Nancy Keenan, President
NARAL Pro-Choice America

¹“States Test Abortion Limits,” Politico.com, April 28, 2010.

Coming up Next...Trenton Ave Arts Fest (Philly)

2010-05-20T19:00:00.010-04:00

I'm sure you all have missed me soooooo much. After all, as one long-distance friend asked via text, "Why are you harder to get a hold of than the pope?"

The answer, my friends, is that I am - as most of you know by now - a full-time neuro-ite x 3.5, which is the equivalent of 3.5 full-time jobs without any staff (other than my Pittsburgh-based mom, yay mom!).

My latest escapade involved a 10-day treatment schedule of IV Ketamine, that made quite a dent into my horrific RSD flare-up, but didn't punch the bugger out of my body completely and kept me clinic- and couch-bound for 2 weeks and counting.

So, altho you may not see me on the streets much anymore, or even in my apt bldg hallway, I'm steppin' out this Saturday to return to the Trenton Avenue Arts Festival with new (and some old) works, including (drum rolllllllllll) a flower and a my-own-blood paintings series, and this year, I'll have affordable drawings and collages too.

While I have been lucky (in my new-found visual art "career") to have gained popularity and collectors, I'm still a socialist artist at heart, and my prices still reflect that...starting at $10 and up to $300.

Wow! Now, that's a bargain and a 1/2!!!

So bring some cash, or a lot, and spend it on a good cause - me. When you buy one of my paintings, etc., you're not only getting a beautiful, heartfelt, emering-artist, soon-to-be-worth so much more collectible, you're also helping to support a full-time sicko on disability and insurance that covers only 1/2 of my medical expenses (did I hear someone say, corruption?) which are becoming greater and greater than SSDI can give.

You'll be ensuring that I stay insured until medicare kicks in next year - and until then, as long as COBRA extends itself to that date, I'm looking at at least $700/mo for insurance that doesn't even cover much of my care.

Thanks, and see you Saturday!

PS
Don't know where it is? View this interactive map.

I'm in a Group Show!....Opening art party tonight. Come!

2010-04-01T17:13:00.002-04:00

Click on the title to go to the post...It's worth the exercise.

Neologism of the Moment

2010-01-13T11:27:00.003-05:00

ginkgoing

definition:
v. Taking Ginkgo Biloba to improve memory, esp. at an age typically younger than when memory loss may begin.

examples:

Bro, didn't you say that "this is the most effed up video I've ever seen" the last time you posted a video? It's time you start ginkgoing. Note: This is a real response. The video referred to in this example can be viewed on the Fail Blog.

I'm losing my mind! I need a sugar daddy so I can afford to begin ginkgoing.

tags:
gingko biloba, memory, memory enhancing, drugs, senility, alzheimers, alternative medicine, herbs, complimentary medicine, cam, gingko, gingkoing

****

Note from author (me):
I posted this to Urban Dictionary under the moniker NeuroDetour on Jan 13, 2010 (today). Let's see if they accept it!

Fun Fundraiser this Friday for Leukemia & Lymphoma

2010-01-12T17:21:00.004-05:00

You may be able to live on this earth your entire life without ever knowing someone with a neuro disorder (unless you join my neuro circle), but I can't imagine that there's a person out there that hasn't been touched, harmed, hopeless or hopeful, or in mourning from a friend, relative, or acquaintance with either Leukemia or Lymphoma.

In my 34 years, I lost a great uncle to leukemia, made an inspirational friend who has been fighting a rare form of lymphoma for 20+ years, and just last month while getting plasmapharesis, a young mother of 3(?) sat on the bed next to me as her hair fell out and her stem cells were collected to treat her 2nd bout of lymphoma.

For something so unpleasant, we philly/regional phillyians can have some fun, get a buzz, and meet other socially minded people this Friday - all in support of all of the above.

I'm getting treatment this Friday, but if I'm up to it, I'll be there.

Details below:

What: VIS/CCA

When: Friday, January 15, 2010 7:00 PM

Price: $5.00 per person

Where:
The American Pub at Centre Square
1500 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
267-639-6104

Party for a Cause

COME ON OUT AND PARTY FOR A GREAT CAUSE!

Where: American Pub, 1500 Market St. Philly
When: Friday, Jan 15, 7 to 11 pm

The brand new American Pub at Center Square will be partnering
with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society Team in Training to host an
E X T E N D E D Happy Hour fundraiser!

A $5 donation at the door (100% of which goes to the Leukemia &
Lymphoma Society) will get you these GREAT drink specials from
7-11 pm:

$3 Select drafts
$4 Well drinks and domestic wines
$5 Specialty drinks and Belvedere vodka drinks
$6 Martinis

(They originally offered to have this event go two hours, but
the American Pub has agreed to extend these specials for FOUR
hours!)

There will also be having a 50/50 raffle & a silent auction
with many exciting prizes up for grabs!

MAKE SURE TO BRING CASH FOR THE COVER AND AUCTIONS!!!

All are welcome to attend. Please feel free and encouraged to
invite friends.

P.S. Come hungry--everything on the pub menu is under $10!
(Food will be available until 10 pm.)
http://www.theamerica...

P.P.S. The pub location is in the 1500 Market St. Bldg. Just
take the escalator downstairs into The American Pub.

For those who can't attend, you can still support Leukemia &
Lymphoma research at
http://pages.teamintr...

Learn more here: (I just became a member)
http://volunteerism.m...

Calling All Purchase-Pricing Whining Winos

2009-10-19T11:49:00.019-04:00

THIS IS TOO BLUSH-WORTHY & BLOOMING NOT TO SHARE

I have to confess. I am a serial e-news subscriber, and I'm not just talking left-wing/socialist political activism; there's also fashion, and more fashion, and more fas hion, the bright side project, healthcare and patient advocacy, neuro and spinal chord injury news, human rights activism, IVIg news...

and Daily Candy - best described in their carefully copywritten words - "a handpicked selection of all that's fun, fashionable, food related, and culturally stimulating in the city you’re fixated on (and all over the Web)."

This sweet, daily (multi-daily depending on how many versions you subscribe to) e-newsletter often provides yet more proof why I should be and stay in Philadelphia - despite the fact that I'm alone (not a loner) with my neuro fisticuffed fracas and the rock, rolled, and ruffled ruckus of my internal knock-down-drag-out, organ head-bumping, quibbling spine, nervousy[sic!] nervous system.

With the 1/2 exception of Seattle (I did have a 4-hour layover there and took a cab to the nearest place - a mall (whoopee)), I can testify of the existence of all the Daily Candy cities listed below, having lived in two of them, been an artist-in-residence in one of them, got allergy shots twice a year for 8 hours a day in another (hint - CSI: [FILL IN THE BLANK]).

Pictured Above: hottie Adam Rodriguez AKA Eric Delko

[Disclaimer: The following paragraph contains verbosely gigunda sentences. Read and breathe at your own risk.]
Of course, if I could take my mainly east coast family with me, as well as my Philadelphia docs, neuro soul support mates, Tria's Three Cheese Panino, and somehow make my disability income stretch like Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum or that nostalgic 90's favorite, B ubble Tape, into a month-long, all bills covered, carpets vacuumed, all-inclusive (ehhh ummm....poolside drinks with umbrellas) fest...(big breath), I'd return to my former London digs or settle in San Fran...

...Or, if I became a famous AND bequeathed, "enriched," and/or lavishly subsidized multi-talented visual artist and/or author and/or auteur, or simply a damn good creator of all things damn good, I'd take up residence in the lushly organic, gorgeous, mountainous M arin County (pictured left with pre-TM-me and friend standing at the top of a mountain that overlooks just about anything Marin) where incidentally my fashionista designer friend, Mary Margaret Stewart (pictured right on the right), owner of Iman B lives in bliss. Being close to her and her fabulous clothing line (of which I proudly own quite a few shirts and dresses) is reason enough to switch sides.

Westward ho!
(Or, perhaps that could mean that I'm a Westward ho)

But location, location, location is important for all things non-virtual, and here is the virtual climax, the last swig, the forward finish, the big nose at the end of the lengthy Phylloxera...

CHECK THIS OUT...(and gift it to....me?)

The Accidental Wine Company.

Need I say more?

No. Because Daily Candy already has:

"Every once in a while a mistake can lead to something awesome and brilliant (potato chips, LSD, penicillin).Add to the list The Accidental Wine Company."

Lynn Cullen is Back...from Cousin Jonathan

2009-03-09T11:48:00.005-04:00

(The following is from an email I received today from my cousin Jonathan Wander)

Jonathan Wander is a contributing editor for Pittsburgh magazine. His work has appeared in in Men's Health, among other publications, and he writes for a variety of news media, including broadcast and Web, as well as for local advertising agencies, corporations and nonprofit organizations. (Jonathan's Bio Courtesy of Pittsburgh Magazine. Read an article by Jonathan.)

*********

Hi everyone...

Lynn Cullen, the woman who is, in my opinion, the best talk show host in Pittsburgh (and, personal bias here, someone I'm proud to call my friend) returns to the airwaves today, Monday, March 9. "Pittsburgh's Lone Liberal" (yes, she's a Democrat and she's actually allowed on radio!), Lynn hosts a show that features mostly politics, but with forays into plenty of other topics including entertainment, sports--anything on her listeners' minds. She discusses the local and national scene with wit, passion, compassion, and extraordinary intelligence, and because of this she's developed a large, loyal following of listeners over the past 20 years.

Lynn's show is interesting, thought-provoking, and always entertaining...and she has terrific callers. If you're a fan, you're already thrilled to know Lynn's returning to the air. If you haven't heard her before, please tune in and give her a try.

Here are the details:

Radio station AM 860
Monday thru Friday 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Listen live at: http://www.wamoam.com/

Studio call-in: 412-333-9133

If you enjoy Lynn's show, please spread the word that Lynn is back!

Thanks so much,
Jonathan Wander

*********

Our Voices Are Needed in Harrisburg

2009-03-06T15:48:00.003-05:00

As a member of the ACLU, I received this email about two important opportunities to shout out for liberty. Since I can't travel, maybe you'll go in my or someone else's honor. I wish I could stand up and shout out for everyone who needs a voice...one day:

A message from the state capitol

Dear friends of liberty,

March is the month to be in Harrisburg. You are needed at the capitol!

It’s legal in most of Pennsylvania to fire someone from his or her job simply because he or she is gay. On Tuesday, March 17, the ACLU of PA will team with the Value All Families Coalition for a lobby day and rally at the state capitol for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality. It’s long past time for Pennsylvania’s non-discrimination law to include "sexual orientation" and "gender identity or expression." To pass this legislation, your legislators need to hear from you! Learn more online.

Two weeks later, on March 31, ACLU–PA will gather with Pennsylvanians for Responsible Sex Education (PARSE) for a lobby day for healthy youth. In recent years, the commonwealth’s teen birth rate and teen abortion rate have risen. The folly of abstinence–only-until-marriage education has come home to roost. Join us on March 31 to lobby for legislation requiring comprehensive sex education in PA’s schools. Learn more online.

Buses from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are available for both events.

Let’s rock the dome!

See you in Harrisburg.

Sincerely,
Andy Hoover
Legislative Director
ACLU of PA

Life for Sale

2009-03-01T09:33:00.003-05:00

Activism In Philladelphia and how you can Help! in Protesting the atrocities in Gaza

2009-01-13T06:01:00.010-05:00

Although....

I said I'm on hiatus from this blog while focusing my energies on battling transverse myelitis (which you can read about at http://neurodetour.com)
And many of my Jewish relatives will hold me in contempt for this
And some of them also live in Israel and have their own experiences to share

But...

I'm sleepless,
and as a dedicated member of WILPF servingon both theMiddle East Committee and the National Development Committee, I'm doing what I can to spread the word...
copy...paste...publish.

Before you begin reading, I grabbed this interesting fact from the ADC Website:

Famous Arab Americans include: Ralph Nader, Salma Hayek, Casey Kasem, Doug Flutie, Shakira, Paula Abdul, Spencer Abraham and many more (click here to see an illustrated brochure) The Arab American market is considerable. Arab American consumers have a buying power of $104 billion.

It's always fun to start with fame, fortune, and fantastic cleavage. But on to the less fortunate we go.

************

The following newsletter was sent to me from my dear friend and Philadelphia WILPF president (Libby forgive me if I've gotten your title wrong). Please note, copy and paste leads to whacky formatting. But activism isn't about formatting, it's about doing.

Dear Members and Supporters,

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee--ADC Greater Philadelphia reiterates its horror at Israel ’s ongoing military attacks on, blockade of, and massacres in Gaza. As the world calls for an immediate ceasefire and protection for civilians as enumerated by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1860, Israel's overwhelming attacks on Gaza resulted in over 919 Dead and 4150 Injured-- 46% Women and Children.

We need to let our voices be heard.
We need an end to the Israeli massacres in Gaza.

As vital as it is to keep up the public protest, and as important as it is that we make sure our elected officials in Washington hear from us, this is also a crucial moment to bring our message to the mainstream media.

There are many ways you can help:

Attend the events planned in the Philadelphia Area this week (Below).
Make your voice heard in the media! (Write to local papers, Talking points)
Contact your Representatives and President-Elect Obama
Help the Victims in Gaza by Donating to United Palestinian Appeal, Inc. (UPA)
Help the Victims in Gaza by Donating to ANERA
Thank The 5 representatives that voted "against" and 22 representatives that voted "present" on a resolution that framed Israel's disproportionate attack on Gaza as "self-defense". IF you know ANY constituents of any of these representatives, then please urge them to let their voices be heard.
You can view the actual resolution here.

THIS WEEK’S, PHILADELPHIA ACTION FOR GAZA EVENTS
Don't hesitate to get in touch with questions.

Monday 1.12.09- ADC National Wear-Your-Kaffiyah day

Tuesday-1.13.09- ADC day of fasting

Tuesday 1.13.09- panel discussion sponsored by IAC [contact Betsy, bpiette@hotmail.com]

Wed 1.14.09- 4:30-6 pm Rally Israeli Consulate, 19th and JFK. [contact SUSTAIN at sustainphilly@gmail.com]

Fri 1.16.09 @4:30pm- Mourning Vigil for Israel's Massacre of Civilians in Gaza and demanding immediate cease fire--Gathering at Israeli Consulate (1880 JFK Blvd) and March to City Hall planned by Arab community [contact Linda Hannah, aridfishing@verizon.net or Nehad Khader, nehadk262@gmail.com]

Saturday 1.17.08-Obama Protest, 30th Street Station [contact Koyuki, l ivinginphilly@gmail.com]

Monday 1.19.08-Tables at Gallery, Rittenhouse, 69th Street, ect. [contact Betsy, bpiette@hotmail.com]

MLK Day Candlelight Vigil focused on impact on Women and children, 5:30, Israeli Consulate: [contact SUSTAIN at sustainphilly@gmail.com]

RECENT EVENTS OF NOTE

Last week, ADC held a town hall meeting where various ideas and strategies were discussed and considered. In response to direct community input, ADC NATIONAL Office extended its hours of operation (Monday-Friday from 8am-8pm) and community members are encouraged to volunteer.

- To volunteer, contact: organizing@adc.org

- For all media inquiries, contact: laila@adc.org

- For legal matters, contact: legal@adc.org

Last Thursday, ADC held a workshop on “Nonviolence Demonstrations and Actions”, which was conducted by Nonviolence International. Participants learned:

basic communication techniques
history of nonviolent action
principles of nonviolent action
campaigns for social change
direct action techniques, and
coalition building

On Friday, January 9, the House of Representatives passed a resolution that framed Israel's disproportionate attack on Gaza as "self-defense" and failed to hold Israel either responsible or accountable for its role in causing Palestinian civilian casualties and injuries, and extensive damage to Palestinian civilian infrastructure.

While the resolution contained substantial language that was "one-sided", it also contained language in support of "a just and sustainable resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict", making it appear "balanced" enough to many members of Congress to obtain their support. You can view the actual resolution for yourself here.

While 390 representatives voted for the resolution, 5 representatives voted against the resolution and 22 representatives voted present on the resolution. The names, phone numbers and fax numbers of those representatives are below.

If you are or KNOW a constituent of one of these representatives, then we ask you to take 5 minutes to follow up and thank them for their votes. We want to demonstrate to these representatives and to their colleagues that, if they stand for an equitable U.S. policy, then we will stand with them.

VOTED "NO"

Rep. Maxine Waters (D), California, District 35 -- Phone: (202) 225-2201 / Fax: (202) 225-7854
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D), Ohio, District 10 -- Phone: (202) 225-5871 / Fax: (202) 225-5745
Rep. Ronald Paul (R), Texas, District 14 -- Phone: (202) 225-2831 / Fax: (202) 226-6288
Rep. Nick Rahall (D), West Virginia, District 3 -- Phone: (202) 225-3452 / Fax: (202) 225-9061
Rep. Gwen Moore (D), Wisconsin, District 4 -- Phone: (202) 225-4572 / Fax: (202) 225-8135

VOTED "PRESENT"

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D), Arizona, District 7 -- Phone: (202) 225-2435 / Fax: (202) 225-1541
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D), California, District 6 -- Phone: (202) 225-5161 / Fax: (202) 225-5163
Rep. George Miller (D), California, District 7 -- Phone: (202) 225-2095 / Fax: (202) 225-5609
Rep. Barbara Lee (D), California, District 9 -- Phone: (202) 225-2661 / Fax: (202) 225-9817
Rep. Fortney Stark (D), California, District 13 -- Phone: (202) 225-5065 / Fax: (202) 226-3805
Rep. Sam Farr (D), California, District 17 -- Phone: (202) 225-2861 / Fax: (202) 225-6791
Rep. Diane Watson (D), California, District 33 -- Phone: (202) 225-7084 / Fax: (202) 225-2422
Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D), California, District 47 -- Phone: (202) 225-2965 / Fax: (202) 225-5859
Rep. Henry Johnson (D), Georgia, District 4 -- Phone: (202) 225-1605 / Fax: (202) 226-0691
Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D), Hawaii, District 1 -- Phone: (202) 225-2726 / Fax: (202) 225-4580
Rep. Donna Edwards (D), Maryland, District 4 -- Phone: (202) 225-8699 / Fax: (202) 225-8714
Rep. John Olver (D), Massachusetts, District 1 -- Phone: (202) 225-5335 / Fax: (202) 226-1224
Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D), Michigan, District 13 -- Phone: (202) 225-2261 / Fax: (202) 225-5730
Rep. John Dingell (D), Michigan, District 15 -- Phone: (202) 225-4071 / Fax: (202) 226-0371
Rep. Betty McCollum (D), Minnesota, District 4 -- Phone: (202) 225-6631 / Fax: (202) 225-1968
Rep. Keith Ellison (D), Minnesota, District 5 -- Phone: (202) 225-4755 / Fax: (202) 225-4886
Rep. Donald Payne (D), New Jersey, District 10 -- Phone: (202) 225-3436 / Fax: (202) 225-4160
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D), New York, District 22 -- Phone: (202) 225-6335 / Fax: (202) 226-0774
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D), Oregon, District 3 -- Phone: (202) 225-4811 / Fax: (202) 225-8941
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D), Oregon, District 4 -- Phone: (202) 225-6416 / Fax: (202) 225-0032
Rep. James Moran (D), Virginia, District 8 -- Phone: (202) 225-4376 / Fax: (202) 225-0017
Rep. James McDermott (D), Washington, District 7 -- Phone: (202) 225-3106 / Fax: (202) 225-6197

ABOUT THE ADC
The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), a non-sectarian & non-partisan Civil rights organization, is the largest grassroots Arab-American movement in the United States committed to protecting the rights of Arab Americans by being at the forefront in combating defamation and negative stereotyping. ADC welcomes people of all backgrounds, faiths and ethnicities as members.

For more information on the ADC's Philadelphia Chapter, visit www.adcphiladelphia.org.
For the main ADC Website, visit www.adc.org

Switching Gears

2008-12-11T08:13:00.002-05:00

As far as blogging goes, or thinking, or doing...most of my action is happening at Neuro Detour. When life shifts your gears for you, I guess the blog must as well.

From Freelance to Tap Dance

2008-05-03T14:04:00.009-04:00

The first of who knows how many installments on tap dancing into the World Wide Web of employment.

Until two weeks ago, I had been a bona fide employee once in my fifteen years of adult life. That was ten years ago, and after the first six months I brought forks to work with me to scoop my eyes out—metaphorically speaking. Luckily, I was laid off after a year and experienced the joy of unemployment checks and food stamps. Those six months of public support gave me the time to jump-start my career as a full-time artist.

So for the last ten years, I’ve either been my own boss and other people’s boss or a freelance writer, bopping around from company to company. Those short-term gigs made it easy to show my best self, avoid office politics, and still feel totally autonomous. Even my mother, who had once claimed she would NEVER want to hire me, began to say, what a great employee you are, my lovely, respectful, understanding, good listening, hard working daughter.

Her adjectives may have been right on☺, but her misappropriation of the word employee in relation to moi boosted my confidence to a high-peaked mountain where it had no business enjoying the view.

As soon as I began freelancing for my new employer, an interactive ad agency in the Philly ‘burbs, I knew I wanted to work there full-time—despite the commute. And when they made me an offer, I was so enthused, I accepted immediately without hesitation or negotiation.

I adore my new job. I get paid to play with words. I interact with creative, talented, and engaging people all day. I can wear jeans and open-toed shoes. The benefits are a profound plus. My boss is super-cool, supportive, and really good at what he does. The whir of the regional rail commute is perfectly calming for meditating or reading. It is a match made in advertising heaven.

But…

After a few days, I realized I have a lot of learning to do to be the “great employee” my mother saw in me. Making the switch from the self-autocracy of self-employment to the semi-democracy of employment is a lot harder than I expected. And although I try to leave my work at the office, I can’t help but come home thinking—I’m an official office failure. Rather than the Copy Champion, an aggrandizing title bestowed upon me from a generous co-worker, I feel more like the Copy Champignon, a classy fungus poking its dirty head in uninvited places.

The world of freelance is, well, free. Feast or famine, it’s a glorious ride. But it’s actually, for a person like me, a very safe one. I’m good at running my own world, and I like working from home. Putting myself into this new 5-day-a-week work environment is a challenge that feels like the first day of high school. You go in with all the right intentions of being a moderate superstar, whether it’s the kind with purple lop-sided hair (in my case) or prom queen (definitely not in my case), but you end up eating your PB&J in the furthest corner of the lunch room, realizing you’re still the same reject from middle school.

When I feel like I stink at something—like marriage or cooking Thai food—I buy a book or two or three to help me find my way. While other people may turn to God, I turn to words. Words are important to me, and books are my spiritual guides.

While I haven’t tried my hand at a second marriage, I have learned how to make a mean Thai curry. I knew going into my cooking adventures, I had the culinary wherewithal in me, but I needed the right knowledge and the time to practice it.

Just because we freelancers may not know how the hell to play the office game today, it doesn’t mean we can’t learn to become an integral ingredient in the jobholder stew while enjoying the tasty contributions of the other perky ingredients.

I love stew almost as much as words. And my new job’s concoction is definitely one I want to be a part of. Being a copywriter is not high art, but as far as paying professions in the US go, it's probably as close as I'll get. While I may not be making the world a better place from 9-5, it feels good to be valued with a living wage.

Having a full-time job is a major relief. Not only do I know exactly what amount and when my next paycheck is due, I've found a career that inspires me, and a new challenge that will make me a better person. All this may sound fluffy and gooey, but it’s as solid as the truth. And as long as I'm not writing ad campaigns for the next George W. Bush, I can feel proud of the work I'm doing.

But I'd like to feel confident that I'm making a contribution beyond good writing to the company that's making my life better.

So back to the books…I just ordered three from Amazon: Watercooler Wisdom: How Smart People Prosper in the Face of Conflict, Pressure, & Change; The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back; and How to Be the Employee Your Company Can't Live Without: 18 Ways to Become Indispensable. I plan on grilling my mother for superstar-employee-tips, practicing what I learn, and sharing a few stories now and again on this blog.

Scandal Scandalizing Scandal

2008-03-09T14:50:00.010-04:00

Kafka is dead!

But today the New York Times published “A Bug’s Life. Reall y,” an Op-Ed spoof by novelist and screenwriter M ark Leyner, supposedly discrediting Franz Kafka’s novella “The Metamorphosis” as non-fiction.

Fiction as truth, Oh my!

The article begins, “In a scandal that’s sending shock waves through both the publishing industry and academia, the author Franz Kafka has been revealed to be a fraud.

“‘The Metamorphosis — purported to be the fictional account of a man who turns into a large cockroach — is actually non-fiction,’ according to a statement released by Mr. Kafka’s editor, who spoke only on the condition that he be identified as E.”

How literary it is to be simply called E.!

What is Leyner trying to do? Demonstrate that the New York Times is a literary nightmare? That the recent scandals regarding fictional or historical or autobiographical integrity are McCarthy-esque witch hunts against an already marginalized and misunderstand profession? Offer his name into the coveted gated world of ping-pong-name-tossing-blaming-Oprah-interviewing-NY Times-covering-book store shelf space-rescinding publicity? Place himself at the zenith of literary genius, above the entire-museum-dedicated-to-his-work-and-life Kafka, the “con man” as he’s referred to Leyner’s article? To become a neologism, That Op-Ed piece was so Leyneresque! Wow, what a Leyneresque outfit! You are thus sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for this Leyneresque crime of treason. Don’t Bogart my Leynerism!?

But the real scandal is in the positioning that fiction cannot be fact-based. Leyner has exposed what has long been recognized; most writers write from experience.

There are numerous books on writing titled just that: “Writing from Experience”, by Richard A. Condon, “Writing from Experience” by Brian Taylor, “I Felt Like I Was from Another Planet : Writing from Personal Experience” by Norine Dresser, “A time in their lives;: Writings from personal experience” by Jerry Herman, “Writing from Experience, Revised Edition: With Grammar and Language Skills for ESL/EFL Students” by Marcella Frank, “Writing from Personal Experience: How to Turn Your Life into Salable Prose” by Nancy Kelton, “Writing from Experience: A Step by Step Approach to Freelance Writing” by Amanda Wilkins, “Talking and Writing from Experience” by Judith Atkinson and John Foster, “Writing Personal Poetry: Creating Poems from Your Life Experiences” by Sheila Bender, “Write from Life: Turning Your Personal Experiences into Compelling Stories” by Meg Files, and the list goes on and on and on and on.

What is so new and disturbing about experience-based, or truth-based writing? At best, it makes for tangible, palpable, unparalleled, fully realized writing. At worst, it’s self-aware, self-indulgent, and predictable. But these categories could be extended to any kind of writing.

In Leyner’s article, he quotes P., “a professor of literature at Princeton” who laments, “To find out that [“The Metamorphosis” is] actually true is devastating.”

Devastating.

And according to "A Bug's Life. Really," Mr. Kafka (despite his current state of burial) is devastated by this sudden exposure as well. He quotes a “contrite and tearful” Kafka as professing, “I know what I did was wrong. I’m very alienated from myself, but that’s no excuse to lie.”

Lies.

So we know Kafka is dead. Even if the Times doesn’t. Or maybe they were in on it. And according to Leyner, Kafka’s still living-breathing publishers are fact-checking his fiction. Fact-checking fiction, now there’s an oxymoron.

In Leyner's article, he names the man-as-cockroach condition as “entomological dysplasia.” GoogleTM this, and one finds nothing but links back to Leyner’s article. (NOTE: When I began writing this, there was one page of results for "entomological dysplasia" in Google. A few hours later, there were two.)

It doesn’t take a literary genius or a master of sci-fi to figure out that there’s no such condition and that Leyner’s article is no more truth-based than “The Metamorphosis.”

Thanks to Leyner, the question of truth's significance in writing is yet again under consideration, but with a twist. He's taken the memoir verifiability debate to extreme. Let's just hope the literary police don't turn their radar to the gloriously unverifiable genres of fiction and poetry.

Is Empathy Necessary?

2008-02-17T01:38:00.022-05:00

According to the very candid historian and author Inga Clendinnen, the "novelist's gift of empathetic imagination" is misleading.

In her 70-page essay, The History Question: Who Owns the Past? (published in Quarterly Essay, Issue 23, 2006) she writes, "the 'insights' of empathy are untestable...Historical novelists spend time getting the material setting right, but then, misled by their confidence in their novelist's gift of empathetic imagination, they sometimes project back into that carefully constructed material setting contemporary assumptions and current obsessions."

The question is, misleading to whom?

Is it misleading to the author herself? to the reader? to the critic? to the egotistically-infringed academic? to the babysitter, the cat in the alley, the doorman, the barrista, the v.p. of marketing, et al?

And, who cares?

As I am reading a work of fiction, regardless of its origins, do or should I care if I’m being mislead? Only if what I’m reading is shallow and predictable, but then if it were, would I be mislead?

Should the author care if she’s been mislead by her subject? Only if it results in bad writing, I presume.

Should the barrista care if he’s been mislead? Ask the barrista. If he works at Starbucks, at least he has health insurance. Who can't empathize with that BASIC HUMAN RIGHT? (Note shifting pronoun throughout for sake of equality.)

Being mislead is a personal choice, if not a preference. And those that don’t want to be mislead, should not be reading the newspaper, let alone a novel, or a memoir for that matter.

Novel - a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes*

But empathy is such a beautiful and relevant quality. We (as in myself and people I know...I dare not assume a universal we in this format) can not relate without it. Empathy is what allows us to move past judgment to compassion. And compassion is what drives us (ditto). While not all people are capable of empathy, whether due to mental or genetic disorders, it's what keeps my humanity busting out of its bones, and dare I presume, yours as well.

Last night, I fortuitously watched The Hoax, a much lauded factual movie about a washed-up author (played by Richard Gere) who receives a million dollar contract to write the autobiography of the reclusive Texan billionaire, Howard Hughes. Only everything, including the verified letter of agreement from Hughes, is a hoax.

A great premise for a movie, right? Historically based no less, right?

But the characters. Oh, the characters. I could not, for the empathetic life of me, empathize with them. They were just too unlikable for me to become engaged, to care. And in their inability to evoke empathy from me, their experiences and actions became pigeonholed as…predictable.

So, is the “novelist’s empathetic imagination” misleading?

Probably, to a certain extent, if you’re a lawyer or the editor of HIPAA policies and procedures (which I have been the latter not the former), but one of the reasons for reading Philip Roth's fiction, Anne Waldman's poetry, Inga Clendinnen's accounts of history, People Magazine, or the Sunday funnies** is to exit one reality, that world of presumed innocence/guilt/right/wrong and enter into a new one. What really should be said, is that the writer's imagination is leading.

The empathetic imagination is what leads us into the realm of the text - believable or unbelievable as it may inherently be.

*novel. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/novel (accessed: February 16, 2008).

**According to Wikipedia, the Reading Eagle boasts the "Biggest Comics Section in the Land".

A Picture of Fred Astaire

2008-02-08T18:44:00.001-05:00

He holds a cane—not for walking; for dancing; a dancing stick. Not a stick that dances but a stick for a man who dances with a stick.

There is sound in his feet. There is sound held together, laced into rhythm by the wormy-white ties of his shoes.

This picture can move. I hear it tapping. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. What’s it they say? “From screen to stage” or something of the sort.

Read about Fred