"YOU JUST HAVEN'T EARNED IT YET, BABY"

THREE FALLEN WOMEN/BOOKTOUR UPDATE: As I am being extremely anal about confirming the shit out of every reading date before it goes up on my website, there is little posted. That doesn't mean that there is little going on, but only that little has been confirmed. I have a good announcement for the 6th-- sit tight and I'll have the details for you soon. Anyway, one thing that has been confirmed is Camp Trans! Camp Trans began as a counter-festival to the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, after a transgendered woman, Nancy Burkholder, was ejected from MWMF in 1991 when her transgendered status became known to MWMF security guards. So, this year, on August 9th, yours truly will be doing a reading. I couldn't be happier about it, either, as I think Camp Trans does really valuable work. (And, rumor has it that a particular staffer adores The Smiths/Morrissey just as much as I do. This is going to be fantastic!) The week of the 6th, watch the So New Media Books website, as Three Fallen Women will be available around then for order.

PLAYING CATCH-UP

MONDAY: I saw a woman hit someone with her crutch to make them see her point-of-view. I'm sure her use of force to promote the peace she was claiming to support went over wonderfully.

I was invited to start blogging on a group blog, which I agreed to. Read this previous post by the blog owner for a great explanation of the concept. I never have been much of a shopper/consumer, but this project is making me realize I am even less materialistic than I thought, to my delight.

WEDNESDAY: My dear friend went to college with Jason Mraz, so we found ourselves at his show Wednesday night (which was very mellow- just him onstage with his accoustic) and hanging out a bit afterwards with him (also mellow- he's extremely low-key and polite) and his fantastic non-entourage (Handmade signs made/displayed included: "Qbert rules this fucking town"). I hung as long as I could, but had to bail- it was far too hot and I was fading fast. But, let's back it up. I have been thinking about this and really want to go here.

I have heard musicians complain for ages that the owner of Schuba's is a creep. I now have personal experience with this. (This might seem like negativity and idle gossip, but anyone who knows me can tell you: I do not repeat/share information to hurt people. Ever. I will repeat/share information that paints someone in a negative light only if there is a good reason. As is the case here.) I hope one day, musicians get together and insist this guy treats bands, fans and passers-by with the respect they deserve. I'm not going to get into what happened, as it was all smoothed out, but the owner made rude comments to me without any reason to do so and I didn't appreciate it. I hope local musicians, especially, are aware this man has a reputation for unpleasantness and insist they (especially female musicians) are treated professionally, at the very least. Of course, Schuba's is a great venue and a lot of musicians want to play there and I can only hope that doesn't make musicians feel they are at his mercy. I certainly hope the owner is grateful to the customers who have made his bar what it is. I say this as the daughter of a restauranteur who watched her father work hard and treat everyone in his establishment with absolutle respect (no matter what), well aware that every successful business thrived on happy customers.

THURSDAY: Second Annual Printer's Ball at one of my favorite bars in town, Double Door. This, of course, meant nerdy grrls with armsfulls of books, beer plus literature, and, of course, a fucking perfect place for me to flyer. One hundred copies of my new flyer were gone in a flash as I passed them out, laid them neatly between stacks of magazines, 'zines and books, then covered the already-stickered walls with a few stickers of my own. It was glorious.

All night, wonderfully-tattooed, punk rawk people were coming and going, schlepping loads of literature, hiding in corners to read even as loud bands played. Does it get any better? No, my friends, it does not.