I used my primitive html editing skills to add a blogroll to my sidebar. Frankly, the words you'll find at the length are far more interesting than any "previous posts" I might have engaged in, so I put the blogroll above my past activities. Considering the recent uproar about there being "no women bloggers"(tm) -- (phrase must be repeated every three months!), I was a bit hesitant to add anything but blogs written by women. Until there is a better balance, that would seem the sensible thing to do. The reality is, there are a few male-run blogs that I check out daily. Check them out!

I had a fabulous weekend. Saturday morning we went to the annual WAMM meeting. I did my shift at the bookstore from 3 to 6 p.m. and from 6 to 8 I had a joint birthday/bookstore fundraising party for me! The party was just about perfect: attended by many of my close personal friends who brought used books and bucks to help keep the bookstore open. There were people from different aspects of my life and it was an interesting mix.

Yesterday was for reading and catching up on chores. I finally gave up on the Iran book. Just breezed through to catch the main points. Now I'm reading some of Michael Berube's work on cultural studies. It's a topic that has fascinated me. I love to see alternate readings of popular culture. Goes back to my fan days and understanding how certain cultural icons can touch somebody on a personal level more powerfully than a populist politician's version of the same issue.

In the work I'm reading now, Public Access: Literary Theory and American Cultural Politics, Berube deals with some of the "Politically Correct" discussions that have been floating around the past couple of decades. I still haven't found that uber essay I've been looking for that describes the absurd image a leftist gets when conservatives accuse us of being "politically correct". Absurd because we were the ones who were laughing at the concept long before the conservatives ever glommed onto the concept.

Just got a call from one of the local activist groups. They are organizing a "Mother's Day" event for Peace. I've worked on several of these over the last few years. I have several flyers and other materials that explain the true history of Mother's Day: that it was a call for peace from mother to mother. I've agreed to do a flyer for their event.

There are a couple of WAMM traditions that I really enjoy. There is always a human billboard: a volunteer who walks around with paper bills on a sandwich board. Attendees can pick an outstanding bill (rent, subscriptions, phone bill, etc.) to pay off as a contribution to ongoing expenses of the organization. The annual report: a summary of activities the organization has participated in over the past year is sung by a local musician. That's always a joy. There is a book exchange where people can bring in their used books and exchange them with other readers. And, as always with WAMM, there is never a meeting without an action -- which can be as simple as creating a banner, writing a letter to your congressperson or holding a march. A few great traditions that I'm glad are continuing for this long-time local organization.