Exciting news in my e-mail from the lovely Tristan Taormino:
“Congratulations! We’ve been nominated! For the second year in a row! You all rock!!”
Best Lesbian Erotica 2004 has been nominated for a Lambda award in the erotica category. I had a story in an anthology last year that was nominated for a Lammy, but we did not win (Best Lesbian Erotica 2003 won, oddly enough). It’s a collective effort, but I’m still proud to be a part of the group. We do rock. Of course, the irony would be if Karen’s anthology won the Lammy, as I submitted a story to her for that collection and was rejected. Ah well, it’s a honor just to be nominated, right?
There is a theory about the upcoming presidential election and I have strong, mixed emotions about it. The theory says that the Democrats are basically going to concede the 2004 election and let George W. have four more years in the White House so that Hillary can run in 2008 and have a good shot at winning.
For the record, I would vote for Hillary. I would vote for almost any woman who ran for president (yes, even if she was running as a Republican) for the simple fact that I believe we need to set the precedent of getting a woman in the White House. Elect a woman president and then we�ll argue about the politics of the thing. We are long past due for female leadership in this country, beyond governorship, beyond Congress, beyond the cabinet. Currently, women hold 13.6% of the seats in Congress. This is absurd. We need more women in the political pipeline and we need to get a woman in the White House. So, yes, I�d vote for almost any woman (and I say �almost� simply to protect myself in the event a female version of Al Sharpton or Ross Perot makes an appearance).
On the other hand, I don�t think paving the way for Hillary in 2008 is necessarily the best thing for the country over the next four years. True, Hillary won�t have much of a chance against a sitting (male) Democratic president in 2008. Whether she�d be up for the challenge in 2012 is debatable. True, it might be another eight or twelve years before another woman comes along who will have the political background and clout to take on the big boys. But while my feminist nature is strongly in favor of getting a woman in the White House as soon as possible, my gut instinct says we need to get Bush out now and worry about setting precedents when the political climate isn�t so dire.
Normally, I�m a long-term thinker. Do what you have to do today in order to protect the future. In this case, I can�t help but wonder what four more years of Bush will do to this country, and that�s both from a short-term and a long-term perspective. So, while I�m all for having Hillary for president, I am rabidly against four more years of Bush as a means to an end.
Reasons John Kerry is better than George Bush:
--Despite being born in Colorado, John has spent most of his life in Massachusetts and has a little of the Kennedy flair. Kennedy… Kerry… If you squint, you can almost believe he’s a distant cousin.
--John is a decorated Navy veteran with a Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. George spent his military time hanging out in the Texas Air National Guard as a F-102 fighter pilot (um… if he was in Texas, should we really use the word “fighter?").
--John has been in politics since 1982, serving as a Lieutentant Governor and a four term Senator. He co-founded Vietnam Veterans for America and was a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. George was the managing general partner of the Texas Rangers.
--John can pronounce big words. George cannot pronounce nuclear.
I am the “cool librarian.” Never mind that I’m not a librarian. I’m cool. This, according to a 14 year old girl who seeks me out every time she comes to the library. She introduced me to her father tonight as the “cool librarian.” She comes by to talk about new wave and punk bands I loved when I was in high school-- The Smiths (Oh, Morrissey!), Violent Femmes, Velvet Underground, The Ramones-- and asks for recommendations for vampire and werewolf books.
What I really want to know is, does my coolness stand alone or am I only cool in relation to other librarian-types? Hmmm… Maybe I’d better not ask.
There are worse things than insomnia, but right now I can’t think of many.
Maybe I’m afraid I’ll have another dream about my stupid tadpoles growing legs and escaping their little habitat (I’ve had that dream twice now). Seriously, does anyone know what happens if tadpoles don’t turn into frogs? Do they just stay tadpoles forever? It’s been four months, I think they’re defective. Must write Uncle Milton in the morning. When and if they finally do morph into real frogs I’ll have to feed them live crickets, which is kind of gross. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if they stayed like they are now-- two ugly little fish swimming around. I should have asked for a hamster for my birthday. Nah… the squeaking of the hamster wheel would keep me awake all night. Oh, wait… I’m already awake.
I want a hamster.
What’s it all about?
Life. Love. Writing. Editing. Sex. Books. Romance. Movies. Friendship. Photography. Teaching. Coffee. (Lots of coffee.) Travel. Feminism. Academia. Insomnia. Memories. Experiences. Rants. Raves. Reviews. Chocolate. Mmm… chocolate. Musings of an insomniac writer. Want to know more?
