First draft

There are a lot of events planned for the fall. This is a first draft of a flyer to alert folks to the dates.

Older flyers

Posting a bunch of old flyers here.

From 2004:

Pictures

Taken at just the right angle.

Mingle² - Online Dating

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

death (4x)
queer (3x)
bitch (2x)
fucking (1x)

Out of the Closet and Out of Iraq!



I marched behind this banner at yesterday's Gay Pride Parade. It was a lot of fun and we got great support from the huge crowds. It was hot for Minneapolis: 95 degrees F, and I was bright red and exhausted by the end of the march. Also got hit by a big gust of whatever the heck it is that I'm allergic to. It gets into my eyes and I start tearing up like Niagara Falls and can't open my eyes. I spent the last few blocks of the march holding on to the side of the truck with my eyes closed since I couldn't see a damn thing. What a spectacle!

Our favorite chant: "Take it in the font, or take it in the back; whatever you do, get out of Iraq!" The crowd gets this "they can't really be saying that, can they?" look, then they laugh and join in.

Fun Stuff

Food Art

The Northern Lights as viewed from space.

Mr. Lee Cat travels about his neighborhood with a camera on his neck taking random shots. Owner mystified.

Nice Guy(TM) thinking explained

Little Light has a post up discussing an entry at Craig's List (since removed, but you can read the post at Little Light's place) by a creep who helped out a woman in trouble and then was pissed off that she didn't respond to him in the way he believed he had earned. Which led to another discussion of Nice Guy Syndrome. And this wonderful description from Dw3t-Hthr:

It's the "you're not entitled to anything" that has always, in my experience, been the sticking point for the Nice Guy.

The ones I've actually talked with (generally whining on the internet about how they can't get a girlfriend) seem to have this notion of Woman As Vending Machine / Arcade Game. If they just figure out which buttons to push, then Woman will Put Out. And they're pushing the buttons that they're supposed to, but Woman is not lighting up the right little "Score!" buttons. That asshole over there is pushing buttons and lighting the whole system up! Damnit, this Woman is broken! They tried up-down-up-down-left-right-left-right-B-A-stat, too, did someone give them the wrong cheat code? The last woman said that she liked this, why doesn't this woman respond to it?

None of the Nice Guys I've ever tried to talk to seem capable of believing that women aren't issued with a standard cheat code that will open them up to whoever gets the button sequence right. And the cheat code is Their Right, Damnit. The woman is incidental.

Beautifully explained!

Coverage of our vigil for the 3,500 U.S. combat death

The Downtown Journal had a reporter and a photographer at our protest.

They also posted an interesting multi-media piece with voices from the protest and a slide show that you can watch here
Here is the article:

All they are saying...

By Michael Marchio

Protesters lined the southwest corner of Loring Park along Hennepin Avenue June 8 to voice their opposition to the war in Iraq.

The event was called together by the Iraq Peace Action Coalition to mark the 3,500th U.S. military death in Iraq.

“The Iraq Peace Action Coalition has been trying to mark the quantity of lives that have been wasted in this conflict in Iraq,” said Meredith Aby, one of the group’s organizers. “We’ve had demonstrations at 2,000, 2,500, 3,000 and now 3,500 in terms of marking how many soldiers have died.”

Aby noted the recent increase in violence in Iraq as one reason for the event.

“The surge that Bush is orchestrating is having an incredible consequence on human lives for both Americans and Iraqis, and we wanted to encourage people to organize against this war because we’re going to be marking 4,000 dead pretty soon,” she said.

Emotions and frustrations ran hot in the afternoon sun, with many protesters, which numbered from 50 to 100 during the event, voicing their displeasure with the president and his policies in no uncertain terms.

“I’m out here because George W. Bush considers the Constitution a damn piece of paper,” Daniel Fearn, a nine-year United States Marine Corps veteran, said.

As rush-hour traffic hummed along, the protesters’ chants and speeches were peppered by honks of support, an indication of the intensifying unpopularity of the war, according to many in attendance.

“There’s very little against us; that’s changed in the four years we’ve been out trying to convince people this is the worst thing our country’s ever done,” said Rick Hanson, from the antiwar group Military Families Speak Out.

Hanson, whose son, Eric, 21, is a marine on his second deployment to the Anbar province of Iraq, took issue with the medical treatment troops receive when they return from their tour of duty. “I think it’s horribly unpatriotic the way our soldiers are treated when they get back,” he saidAnother demonstrator, Patricia Keefe, 64, also noted the change in attitude.

“A lot more people are honking now,” she said. “People are realizing that [the war] was a terrible mistake.”

One of the featured speakers at the event, Julie Larson of Blaine, spoke about her son, a member of the Navy who is being redeployed to Iraq, and called for more public involvement in the antiwar movement.

“I ask you to write to your representative and keep the pressure on. Let’s see all of these kids as ours — they belong to us, not somebody else,” Larson told the crowd.

In an interview with the Downtown Journal, she said America’s young service members are fighting a war that is, in the words of her son, “about oil.”

“It’s so easy for the rest of the country not to see these people; they’re just invisible, they go off and do the war. Until you have someone really close to you [involved in the war], it doesn’t affect you, and I don’t think that it’s affecting, still, a lot of people,” she said.

Her belief was echoed by August Nimtz, a professor of political science at the University of Minnesota and a participant in the rally.

“Only with a mass movement will [the war] end, because neither political party — Democrats or Republicans — are interested in peace,” he said. “We need to do what history has taught us; the only way which you end wars is when working people take power and organize in massive, massive numbers.”

Gone to that great catnip cloud

I am a long-time cat owner. Last weekend, one of our two cats, Mocha, stopped eating and became extremely lethargic. I took her to the vet yesterday and they pushed fluids. She came home last night feeling better.

I took her back to the vet today for more treatment, and she began to fail. She is 16 years old and has never been sick before. The vet called to tell me she was not doing well and they thought she might have a tumor. I told him to keep her comfortable until I could get there after work. Around 2 pm she had a heart attack and died.

Let me tell you about Mocha. We had two cats when we adopted our daughters. Squeak was obviously Ravenhub's cat and Fruitbat shunned everyone but me. So we took the kids to the local shelter and they each picked out a kitten.

Mocha was a black short-haired cat with touches of white. She had a plaintive voice that we immediately translated as "Oh, me or my!"

Her favorite thing was to climb to the top of the cat tower and call us over to play. We would throw a cat toy up to her. A catnip mouse or a plastic ball with a bell inside. She would allow the toy to land next to her. Then she would take it in her paw and fling it back at us. Whereupon we would toss it straight back to her. She taught us to fetch.

My daughters grew up and moved away, but left the cats with us. Squeak died at 17 years old and my dear Fruitbat died at the ripe old age of 21. For the last few years, it's been the two younger cats keeping us old fogies company and making demands.

Mocha would plop herself down next to me on the couch and demand I pet her. She loved to have her head and ears roughed up. She would bury her face in my hand to force me to rub her ears. During the last five or six years she divided her time between hiding under furniture and sitting beside me demanding to be petted.

We called her Mocha the May cat and she lived a good life. I hope her spirit is rolling in catnip heaven.

Pieces of Eight

I've been tagged by Veronica at Nine Pearls to participate in the Pieces of Eight meme.

Rules: Each person posts the rules before their list, then they list 8 things about themselves. At the end of the post, that person tags and links to 8 other people; then visits those people’s sites and comments, letting them know that they have been tagged, and to come read the post, so they know what they have to do.

1. I'm left handed. A lefty lefty.

2. I survived a coma when I was six. Which is why I don't gamble or buy lottery tickets; I figure I've had my quota of good luck.

3. On August 1, we'll celebrate 20 years of marriage.

4. I used to be a professional sportswriter.

5. I was a high school cheerleader.

6. I've dropped out of three colleges (so far).

7. I do two crosswords and one Soduku every day. I finish most of them.

8. I'm a member of a women's reading group that has been meeting every month for 22 years.

I tag Octogalore, Belledame, Mighty Quare Dewd, Donna, Black Amazon,

Author visit at Mayday Books

My latest flyer for the bookstore.

Another horrible milestone

The local antiwar coalition will be demonstrating once the death toll for American soldiers hits 3,500. It's at 3,495 as I write this. I made a bunch of signs for the event. Feel free to download and print these out if you are also having events.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

I watched the HBO movie based on the book by Dee Brown.

This book, plus the rise of the American Indian Movement had a direct effect on my life when I was in junior high in Mankato, Minnesota.

Think about the stories you hear about young Germans in the 1960s not being educated about the camps. It was the same for us. We were surrounded by this horrible history, and yet nobody talked about it. Mankato is the site of the largest mass execution in U.S. history shown below in an etching:



The settlers originally planned to hang 330, but Pres. Lincoln said it was too many and narrowed it down to 38. This event was celebrated in Mankato with this incredible monoment which greeted ever visitor as they entered town:



AIM and other activists threw red paint and/or blood on the monument to express their displeasure:



Many years later, through the combined efforts of concerned whites and Native activists, the monument is gone and is replaced by a beautiful white buffalo statue in a placed called "Reconciliation Park":



There is a great website put together by local students where you can read more about the events in 1862.

Feminist Links

Feminist Philosophers blog could be interesting.

let them eat pro-sm feminist safe spaces is a joint blog from my blogging buddies belledame222, Trinity and antiprincess plus verte, who I don't know yet.

Not hiding, just busy

Lots of stuff to do lately that don't involve blogging.

I got called to fill in at one of the local used bookstores I used to work at more often. Had to go in first last Wednesday to get trained in on the cash register as well as how to close up, including counting the till, etc. The owner is referring to me as "Super Nanny" -- she only calls me when one of her regular workers needs time off. I used to accept $6 an hour, but now I'm taking my pay in books: which equals $11 an hour. With every book half price, that adds up wonderfully.

On Thursday night, my youngest daughter went to her college gradution ceremony. It was huge with hundreds of students. I spent much of the night outside trying to catch up on my reading, but miraculously I went back in just in time to see her pick up her diploma. She looked great and she certainly deserves her reward after all her work.

On Friday night, I attended a going away party for one of my Iraqi friends who is heading back home for a few months. It was a lot of fun and some great Middle Eastern food.

On Saturday, I met with my book group: 5 wonderful friends who've been meeting together for nearly 15 years. From 5 to 10 p.m. I worked my shift at the bookstore and managed to sell a number of good books.

On Sunday, I went in to work to continue creating maps and graphics for a book I'm creating that my Mom wrote. It's been keeping me busy since August. I'm nearly done, so every little bit is a step closer to the end.

Then in the afternoon we heard from my brother in law. He was in the hospital! Turns out he went with a bunch of friends to walk the beautiful paths along the Mississippi River and he went over a cliff. He had to be rescued by firemen repelling down the cliff face and then being lowered onto a rescue boat. He scraped everything and was unconscious for a short time. He broke no bones, thank the goddess. We spent the rest of Sunday getting him out of the hospital and recovering his car, his keys, his cell phone and making sure he wasn't showing signs of a concussion. He's doing amazingly well while aching over every bit of his body.

Meanwhile, I'm busy this week. On Wednesday, I'm driving an out-of-town writer around. I'm halfway through his book and I must say I'm hugely disappointed. The question is will I be honest with him when I meet him, or just be a mute little service worker meeting his needs in an unknonwn city. We'll see.

Amidst all this, I've also picked up Jessica Valenti's "Full Frontal Feminism". I'm about halfway through and will comment when I'm done. I am following the blog debates about the book and I'm fascinated that people who I respect have strikingly different responses.

So much for the catching up. Hopefully I'll be back to useful blogging sometime soon.

Antiwar for Mothers Day

Here's a sign I made for today's antiwar march in Minneapolis. We wanted to focus on both Iran and Iraq and this seemed to convey the issue rather nicely. Feel free to copy and use yourself!

Michael Albert

Here's a flyer I made for Michael Albert's talk in Minneapolis.

Mayday Parade 2007

One of the great cultural traditions in Minneapolis is the Mayday Parade sponsored by In the Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater every year since 1975. The event has two parts: a parade down Bloomington Ave. to Powderhorn Park where there is a celebration to say goodbye to winter and welcome spring. The parade also has two parts: the first part has a theme and the second part is the "free speech zone" where politicians and activists march. This year it was wonderful weather and great fun.

This year's theme was "Somos Aqua" (We are Water)



MayDay Poster Design by Sandy Spieler



From the ITHOTB website: Before memory, there was water. The water that covered the earth in primordial times is the very same water that feeds the planet and its inhabitants today. We begin the Parade with an homage to the wisdom of Water as the original source of creation.



Two ancient snapping turtles, witnesses of time, lead the way.* These ancestors carry the histories of humankind on their strong shells, and support the Earth entirely, according to many cultures' creation stories.



Powerful serpents represent the entwining ebb and flow of tidal currents. Within them thrive fish, snails and denizens of the deep. The spirit of water is embodied in jellyfish, living beings that are but a few cells thick, which pulse with the heartbeat of the sea.



Our Father of Waters, with his singing flotilla, is inspired by the rhythmic, musical quality of water. The boats play with the idea that we are all carried by or supported by water,while the image of Old Man River runs through many traditional songs.

Our Mother of Waters is inspired by various water goddess traditions, including Chalchiuhtlicue, the Aztec
goddess of running water and springs, and protectoress of all new-borns.











LIKE A GIANT UMBILICAL CORD, our public waterworks connects us to Water -- and to each other --through a vast network of pipes. In Minneapolis, our water pipes connect us directly to the Mississippi River.... Our clowns celebrate the many ways we use water everyday. But, like us, they also use water na•vely and mindlessly. Their silly antics affect even the parade's huge, imposing pipes.





ARE YOU THIRSTY? TIENES SED? THE FIRST HALF OF THIS PARADE SECTION depicts an ad campaign for a fictional water bottle company called H2NO -- complete with cheerleaders, marching band, and a plastic water bottle goddess -- to promote the "need" for water sold in plastic bottles.

Greensburg, Kansas

An amazing series of photos by Jaime Oppenheimer of the The Wichita Eagle showing the devastation of the entire town of Greensburg by a tornado last Friday.

Lovely short story

Four Short Crushes from the New Yorker Shouts and Murmurs column. Enjoy!