Words and Tricks

Playa del Carmen and Cozumel

2007-01-18T19:12:00.000-06:00

Getting off the bus in Playa del Carmen was a relief. Though we stepped from the cold blast of the air conditioning to the wet heat of the Riviera Maya once again, it was still nice to be off our butts and walking around. Little did we know how sore we'd be tomorrow after the bus ride to Belize. But I get ahead of myself.

From the bus terminal we walked across the street and through the plaza toward the beach. We thought, wouldn't it be nice to stay here for a while? Sandy beaches … tourists sizzling like glazed hams in the sand, their leathery hides shimmering in the afternoon sun. Well, ok, that part wasn't too tempting, but regardless we wanted to drop our bags and find our hotel. At the ferry terminal we got on the next boat departing and had a leisurely ride to Cozumel.

Let me tell you, they show some of the most bizarre advertisements on the Playa del Carmen ferries. All I can remember now is that there was a cut-out photo of a shark with huge glasses drawn on reading a book with a tinny, unthreatening version of the Jaws bass line thumping in the background. Then the screen would flash to a lobster shaking his claw as a similar, but somehow more fey, melody would play in the background. The two would, presumably, converse in some unknown language and then the commercial would be over. I still don't know what they were selling.

Cozumel

On the other side of the channel, our ferry docked and we crossed another street and another plaza where we found our Hotel, Meson San Miguel. I was a little apprehensive at first, afraid that al the greeks (and by this I mean college frat guys and sorority sisters fleeing the 50 degree weather in LA) would make too much noise, but it turned out we had a spacious bedroom with TV, air conditioning, two beds and a balcony overlooking the courtyard and pool with a view of the ocean for about $70US. Not too shabby. Well, OK, I have to admit these were the hardest beds I've ever had the misfortune to sleep on this side of a church pew. Other than that, though, just fine.

We dropped off our stuff and took a long walk south of the plaza on the road that follows the shore. Eventually we found a little snorkeling area owned by a hotel that allowed anyone to rent gear. We dove in and snorkeled as the sun went down. At one point, coming up to drain the Caribbean from my sinuses, we were delighted to find it raining. Water, water everywhere.... the sea was warm, the air was warm, and the rain was warm. Such a wonderful change from Minnesota. This was exactly what we'd been hoping for.

We ate dinner, returned to the hotel where we retired to watch a little TV as bedsprings poked our ribs. Eventually Jonah had to make a pile of extra pillows in order to sleep on. It'd been a long travel day that had seen us up at about 4 am to catch our flight and took us through the air, across the land and over the sea. Eventually we fell asleep.

The next day, after missing our early ferry, we stuffed ourselves on a hardy breakfast and returned to Playa del Carmen to catch the bus to Belize. We both felt like we'd eaten too much on Cozumel, but later we'd look back and think, good thing! Because we wouldn't be eating much else the rest of that day.

Next: Buses to Belize

Previous: Cancun International Airport to Playa del Carmen

Cancun International Airport to Playa del Carmen

2007-01-15T19:43:00.000-06:00

Ah, the humidity, the heat, the light, the people. As soon as we stepped off the plane, all this hit us with a loud, wet smack, like a kiss from your weird aunt from the Old Country. The one you’re excited to see, but who makes you a little nervous because you don't quite know what to expect from her.

Walk this Way

The interesting thing about Mexican Customs and Immigration is that after you go through the metal detector you see a short version of a walk/don't walk sign waiting for you. It's sort of like that scene from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when you see the street lamp sitting out in the woods, the walk/don't walk sign is surrounded, not by the hushed quiet of a winter forest, but by the thin carpeting and shabby grey card tables of an international arrival terminal. Somewhere in the distance a siren is blaring and a mechanical voice is instructing everyone in the waiting area that there is an emergency and we should all leave immediately. Jonah and I look around at the Mexican immigration officials all of whom are busily waving people through the line and completely ignoring the voice and the siren. We shrug and pass through.

Jonah presses the button on the walk/don't walk sign. The upper portion lights up green and he gets a Pass. I follow behind and press the same button and the lower light burns red. I'm instructed by a guard to open my pack at a nearby table and he rifles through it. He finds nothing of interest, of course, so I zip my bag and join Jonah at the exit. I didn't yet realize that I'd left all the papers that included the phone number and address of our last hotel, plus other papers outlining itineraries and things to do while in Belize back on the table. We leave.

A La Playa

Outside, the day slowly spins and sizzles under the Yucatecan sun. The green of the trees is preternatural and nearly iridescent to our winter-clouded Minnesota eyes. Bus! Taxi! Playa! Play del Carmen! Tour! Tulum! Cozumel! Shuttle! People yell, trying to get our attention, holding signs, waiving to us as though we're long lost friends. We find the ADO bus to Playa del Carmen, buy a ticket and head out.

The bus is cheap and comfortable. We settle in to our bright blue cushioned seats, the air conditioning roaring at full blast and for the next half an hour are subjected to video of one soccer player after another talking about their lives growing up in small town A, then traveling to big city B where they kicked ass thus and thus during such and such a game. By the time we pulled into Playa del Carmen I was nearly brainwashed into thinking I liked soccer by all the cheering, yelling and childhood anecdotes played at full volume over the bus's television system.

Next: Playa del Carmen and Cozumel

Previous: Three Things I learned in Belize

Three Things I learned in Belize, plus One

2007-01-15T19:32:00.000-06:00

Here are some things they don't tell you in the guidebooks:

The food in San Ignacio is phenomenal. No one really made much mention of food, generally saying that it wasn't much to write home about. But Jonah and I beg to differ. The stewed chicken, rice and beans at Hanna's in San Ignacio is right up there with the ruins at Xunantunich as one of my favorite experiences on this trip. Everything we had at Hanna's was just wonderful and cheap! Two people could eat top-notch grub for around $20 US or less. We also recommend Serendib for curry and Sri Lankan food and Cafe Sol for some vegan and vegetarian options.
They don't believe in sidewalks in Belize. When walking around town, watch for cars! You'll get crowded onto the shoulder by speeding SUVs, Honda's Toyotas (which seemed to be the manufacturer of choice down there) and other various and sundry vehicles. Also, watch the hills. Gravel can send you tumbling.
Toilets don't generally take toilet paper. There's usually a small waste paper basket near the toilet for your dirty TP. If you try and flush it might not go down. The what are you going to do?

Updated 1/19/07

I just remembered another one. Belizeans like running electricity into your shower. I noticed this my first night when I was in a dumpy hotel in downtown Belize City and reached up to turn the shower head. I thought I felt an electric shock bite my finger. Squinting up through the cascade of water over my eyes I saw a length of electrical cable in a plastic casing running the length of the wall from the ceiling and ending in a dual outlet box right behind the showerhead. I stepped back out of the falling water and noticed, to my amazement the frayed black tape holding the red, black and bare ground wires to white wires going into the showerhead itself. There were droplets of moisture dripping from them. I decided to end my shower. Turns out that's how most (of not all) showers in Belize operate. When you think about it, why have hot water available in a tropical climate, anyway? Most of my showers in Belize were cool, and I was happy for it.

Back from Belize!

2007-01-15T19:28:00.000-06:00

We're back from Belize, and boy are my arms tired. It was a great trip with some ups and downs and I will try to catch up on my blogging now that I'm back. There are plenty of pictures to share, and experiences to be learned from.

Belize Itinerary, with Pictures

2006-12-28T10:41:00.000-06:00

So, if you've been to any of these places and have suggestions on what to see or do, please leave a comment! The more, the merrier.

Day 1: January 2, 2007
Depart Minneapolis 6:30 AM
Arrive Cancun, MX 11:45 AM
Shuttle to Playa del Carmen
Fairy to Cozumel
Hotel: Meson San Miguel
Hotel Cost: $70 USD

Day 2, Jan. 3
Travel day

Fairy to Playa del Carmen
Bus from Playa del Carmen to Chetumal on the border of Mexico & Belize
Bus from Chetumal to Belize City
Bus from Belize City to San Ignacio

Arrive in the evening at Kumquat Cottage in San Ignacio, Belize
Cost for 1 week stay at Kumquat Cottage: $300 USD (recently raised to $360)

Day 3 - 8, Jan 4-9

San Ignacio, Belize
Exploring the Cayo District
Daytrip to Tikal, Guatamala
Base of operations:
Kumquat Cottage, San Ignacio, Belize

Cayo District Area:

Daytrip: Tikal, Guatemala

Day 8, Jan 9
Travel to Caye Caulker

Hotel: Jaguar Morningstar
Cost: $51 USD per night

Day 8-10, Jan 9-11
Snorkeling, lounging and eating.

Night of Jan 11
Treat ourselves to one night at Barefoot Beach Hotel
Cost: $69 USD

Day 11, Jan 12
Travel Day
Back up to Puerto Morelos, Mexico
Just outside of Cancun
Hotel: Posado El Moro
Cost: $60 USD

Day 12, Jan 13
Flight back to Minneapolis
Leaves 11:30 am
Arrives: 4 pm

You Better Belize It!

2006-12-28T10:32:00.000-06:00

Alright, the holidays are over, the New Year is barreling down on us and I've finished writing the last of the articles assigned to me by the editors at Lavender Magazine. Just enough time left for Jonah and I to clean the house and pack for our vacation to Belize!

In January we'll be flying from Minneapolis to Cancun, Mexico where we'll stay in Cozumel, bus to San Ignacio, Belize for a week, travel to the islands off the coast of Belize for a few days, then head back to Puerto Morelos and Cancun to return to Minneapolis. Just in time for me to begin my new job. I'll be posting our itinerary here soon with pictures and prices.

Yes, our 2007 is going to start with a couple firsts. It's the first time I'll take a tropical vacation, and the first time I'll be working as a Case Manager at an immigration law firm. Also, with the new year, I'll be looking to grow my writing business, and hopefully do some real estate transactions.

Stay tuned.

Let it Snow. Let it Snow. Ok, Stop.

2006-12-21T14:10:00.000-06:00

Well, it's about time. Look at that reddish-orange blob over there. That means the Twin Cities are finally getting a little Winter cheer in the form of snow. For those who have been looking forward to this for weeks, now, I hope they're happy.

Actually, count me in. I don't have to drive anywhere. And the shopping I have left to do, can be done in the comfort of Minneapolis’s space-age habi-trail called the Skyway system. No fuss, no muss, just throngs of shoppers colliding, dividing, converging and emerging from bookstores, perfume shops, department stores, fast food restaurants, slow food restaurants, kitchen supply stores, clothing stores (men's and women's), shoe stores ... well, I'm sure you get the idea.

I just hope they don't have to commute back out to the 'burbs when it's all done. Poor suckers.

S. Dakota Senator in Critical ConditionFuture of Democratic Control of Senate Uncertain

2006-12-14T09:52:00.001-06:00

Reported in the Washington Post this morning, Democratic Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota is in critical condition this morning after undergoing an emergency surgical procedure to

Johnson, 59, who is in the critical care unit at George Washington University Hospital, fell ill at the Capitol yesterday, introducing a note of uncertainty over control of the Senate just weeks before Democrats are to take over with a one-vote margin.

If Sen. Johnson doesn't recover. or is unfit to hold office, the Republican Governor of South Dakota. Michael Rounds, will appoint his replacement. It's assumed that Rounds would would appoint a Republican. With the narrow majority in the Senate for the 110th Congress currently going to the Democrats at 51 to 49 (including the independents who said they would caucus with the Democrats) this would cause a 50/50 split broken by Vice President Dick Cheney.

Gift Guide: Gift Certificates for Charities

2006-12-13T19:01:00.000-06:00

Last year I gave my aunt and her family the opportunity to donate to a charity of their choice. I encouraged them to discuss it as a family, to discover something about each other that maybe they didn't know before. Sure, it's a little touchy-feely, but they seemed to like it. OK, my aunt seemed to like it, I never did learn whether her kids were burning me in effigy, or not.

I know not everyone will be too keen on this idea with the gimme, gimme, gimme-ness of the season crashing down around us (and yes, I love to get presents, too), but for some JustGive.org's charity gift certificates are the perfect choice.

So, even if you aren't sure what causes are closest to your loved one's heart, there's no need to go through the pesky process of talking about your values. You can purchase a gift certificate for any amount of money and send it via email, or print it out and send with a card. Then your budding philanthropist can save the whales, cats, kids or whatever or whomever they like. And you look like a saint. What could be better?

Back to the Main Guide.

Craig's (anti-capital) list

2006-12-13T16:25:00.001-06:00

I have to admit I couldn't quite wipe the smirk off my face while reading this article in the New York Times: Craigslist Meets the Capitalists.

Appearing at the UBS global media conference in New York, Mr. Buckmaster took questions from the bemused audience, which apparently could not get its collective mind around the notion that Craigslist exists to help Web users find jobs, cars, apartments and dates — and not so much to make money.

Maybe it's just a happy fiction that will evaporate the next time a group of investment bankers backs a dump truck full of money up to the Criag Newmark's house, but I'll take it. This is a world I believe in.

For furhter reading, check out this post on the Art and Architecture of Craigslist.

Gift Guide: For the Orchid Lover in Your Life

2006-12-11T12:22:00.000-06:00

There are plenty of people out there who love to garden. The putter around in the yard planting peonies and generally fussing with their azaleas. Orchid lovers are not like that. If you know one, you know that these little indoor gems can cause otherwise perfectly sane individuals to swoon, slather and write checks for enormous sums in order to purchase a plant the size of your pinky.

There are tomes and sprawling websites devoted entirely to singles species of these plants. If you know someone who loves orchids, a great jumping off point for gift ideas would be The Armchair Orchidist. Recently the Orchidist reviewed the book Orchid Fever: A Horticultural Tale of Love, Lust and Lunacy. Pick it up and send that orchid aficionado in your life a not-so-subtle message.

Back to the Main Guide.

Check Back Here for Your Holiday Gift Guide

2006-12-11T12:17:00.000-06:00

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah (or Chanukah or Hanukah or Chanuka or Chanukkah or Hanuka or Channukah or Hanukka or Khanike or חנכה or חנוכה), Yule, Kwanza, or perhaps you refuse to celebrate the holiday season at all by not diving into the rampant consumerism that grips the majority of this country, but you know, know, that a certain person will kill you if you don't buy them a gift ... Well, I'll be posting a series of suggestions for you.

You never know. Maybe I'll stumble on the perfect gift that you would never have thought of yourself. Better check back often, or better yet sign up for my feed in order to be sure.

Gift Guide Quick Navigation:

Top Music of 2006 from the blog DoCopenhagen
How about a book for the Orchid Lover in your life
Give the gift of charity.

Gift Guide: DoCoppenhagen's Top 15 (of 50) Music Picks for 2006

2006-12-11T12:15:00.000-06:00

The Blog DoCopenhagen has been compiling a very popular list of the top 50 music videos of the previous year. There are plenty of artists that internet users will be familiar with, but perhaps the general populous of non-addicts might not be aware of.

I've listed the top 15 here. You can find and watch the all the videos of 2006 by clicking on the link above, and then, when you find something you like, come back here and click on a link below to buy it.

Ok Go - Here It Goes Again
Jenny Wilson - Let my shoes lead me forward
Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
M. Ward - Chinese Translation
Zero 7 - Left Behind
Sigur Ros - Flugufrelsarinn
Malajube - Montreal -40°C
An Pierlé & White Velvet - Jupiter
Thom Yorke - Harrowdown Hill
Peter, Bjorn & John - Young Folks
The Knife - We Share Our Mother's Health
Xiu Xiu - Hello From Eau Claire
Battle - Children
Para One - Dudun-Dun
Ed Harcourt - Visit from the Dead Dog

Back to the Main Guide.

Poetry Press Release: SASE at Intermedia Arts

2006-12-06T22:41:00.000-06:00

You Are Invited to

Emergence: Intimate Evenings of Poetry and Prose
Writer-to-Writer Mentorship Series Readings
December 11 & 18, 2006

WHEN/WHERE:
Mondays, December 11 & 18, 2006
7:00 PM at Intermedia Arts
2822 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis

Join mentors Sun Yung Shin, Joel Turnipseed, and Lyda Morehouse for two spectacular evenings of poetry and prose, featuring fifteen of the twin cities’ most talented emerging writers. Emergence: Intimate Evenings of Poetry and Prose celebrates the passion and dedication of new and emerging writers, and brings to a close our fall semester of Writer-to-Writer, the adult mentorship program in which intimate relationships are created and nurtured between artists, mentors, and the written word.

Fall 2006 Writer-to-Writer Mentees:
Britt Aarnodt
Roseanne Bane
Kelly Barnhill
David Beauvais
Marcus Harcus
Melanie Howard
Jane Levin
James Livingston
April Lott
Argie Manolis
John Medeiros
Chris Pommier
Rob Tregay
John Tribbett
Peggy Vork-Zambory

For the most up-to-date information, call Intermedia Arts at (612) 871-4444 or visit www.intermediaarts.org.

Intermedia Arts is located at
2822 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55408.

Intermedia Arts is a catalyst that builds understanding among people through art.

ABOUT WRITER-TO-WRITER:
Writer-to-Writer is an adult mentorship program that gives emerging and
established writers the opportunity to advance to their next level of
artistic development. Participants meet regularly throughout the
program, with one established writer mentoring four-to-six emerging
writers. Writer-to-Writer creates intimate relationships between
artists. Mentors act as artistic catalysts and partners, providing each
mentee with artistic feedback and professional guidance. This program
allows advanced artists to develop their community-based teaching
skills while working to support and strengthen our local literary
community.

Presented by SASE Literary Programs at Intermedia Arts

Latest Links: Israel/ Palestine

2006-12-04T07:11:00.000-06:00

Israel 'to ease' W Bank friction
Israel orders troops to avoid "unnecessary friction" in the West Bank, as a truce in Gaza enters a second week.

BBC News

Qatar 'to pay Palestinian wages'
Qatar will pay the salaries of 40,000 Palestinian education workers for several months, says the Palestinian PM.

BBC News

ForeignPolicy: Israel-Palestine: Reconciliation Is in Everyone's Interest
A new documentary that looks at the people most affected by the Israeli-Palestinian divide reminds us that lasting peace will come from popular movements, not political leaders.

AlterNet.org

Black Church Delegation Focuses on Palestine
A delegation of black church leaders say conditions in Palestine remind them of injustices in pre-civil rights America and South Africa during apartheid, says a report from The Arab American News of Dearborn, Mich.

news.newamericamedia.org

Two Palestinians killed in W Bank
Israeli soldiers shoot and kill two Palestinians, one a 16-year-old, in separate incidents in the West Bank.

BBC News

Discussing his new book on "The NewsHour ...
Discussing his new book on "The NewsHour," Carter observed that "there hasn't been a day of negotiation orchestrated or promoted by the United States between Israel and the Palestinians in six years."

Cursor.org

Opinion: Application of Humanitarian Law Not Enough to Address Global Violence

2006-12-03T11:45:00.000-06:00

Over at Out of the Blue, a blog written by college instructor and my friend Bluegrrrrl, she posted an intriguing article titled "Militarism vs. humanitarian law" (on her blog, scroll down to Wednesday, November 29, 200 to read it). In it she discusses Mary Kaldor's book "Beyond Militarism, Arms Races, and Arms Control." Kaldor is professor and Director of the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

It's a great post and it really gave me something to think about. I've posted my response here. Just a few things to think about on this bitterly cold Minnesota Sunday.

The one thing I would add to this discussion is that there doesn't seem to be much of a focus on education and poverty in this. Perhaps because it deals primarily with militarism.

In her premise bluegrrrrl writes that Kaldor says, "contemporary warfare is driven primarily by conflicting political ideologies " and I would have to respond that this appears to be at once an overly narrow and overly broad premise. Narrow because it seems to discount issues of poverty, education (or lack thereof), tradition, language, history and religion. Broad because, if it is meant to include all those things, then it becomes unwieldy and leads to a (perhaps) simplistic conclusion that application of international law, by itself, would be a deterrent to war/ violence.

My problem stems from the question that, after all, if one is dealing with a group who is fundamentally opposed to the rule of (western) law, what could be gained from applying it?

To me it seems as though Kaldor is still advocating a top-down mode of "squeezing" or "attacking" her opponents. Replacing violence on the battlefield with violence in the courtroom. Or, at least, the possibility of it. After all, who controls "justice" ultimately?

So, for an addendum to her model, I would turn to what I conceive as a "grassroots" model that addresses the needs of the people, offering education and addressing poverty. Most of all, I would suggest doing away with the fiction that we live in a globally competitive environment that necessitates fighting over intellectual, cultural and natural resources. In many ways the U.S.'s message to the world is "Give us your best and brightest and we will give you McDonald's, KFC and Wal-Mart." This is the old smallpox blanket trick on a global scale.

I'm adding my vote to what spadoman, another commenter to this post and frequent Out of the Blue reader, wrote said in a comment, "look for the circumstances that caused the crime and try to stop it from happening again."

Don't get me wrong, I still think Kaldor's suggestion is preferable to Bush's non-answer answer to violence (More vioence! How stupid). She is supporting a narrative that makes room for answers to conflict that don't necessitate the killing of civilians or soldiers and I absolutely appreciate that.

Celebrities, Puppies and YouTUBE, Oh My

2006-12-01T09:16:00.000-06:00

On the lighter side, Canadian-in-Los-Angeles Chris Leavins of the webshow Cute With Chris slakes America's thirst for topless celebrities and dogs dressed as Yoda.

All you Literature Lovers:Exclusively Available Here for a Limited TimeFree Poetry! Come and Get It Please

2006-11-27T20:59:00.000-06:00

I've been unwilling to post my poetry to this blog as simply a text post, but I've wanted to share it with my readers for a while. So, I've come up with a compromise. I've uploaded and made available for free four of my poems at box.net, a handy little free Ajax-built file hosting/sharing website. They are in .pdf format, so you will need a PDF reader.

I'm going to keep them here and active until December 8th, 2006. If you know any other poetry lovers, or writers (and aren't we usually one and the same?) please share this post and the link with them. I would love to here from you, as well.

What is strong, what is weak in these poems? What sorts of poetry do you like? Love? Rhymed? Dark? Prose? Found poetry? Share your interests with me and also, if you have any of your own poetry to share, please post a link to it in the comments section, or just email it to me.

Thanks.

I Survived My First Poetry Reading in Years

2006-11-27T20:42:00.000-06:00

This past Sunday I participated in my first poetry reading since i lived in across the street from Dolores Park in San Francisco in th late '90s. I went a couple times to a bar around the corner on Valencia whose name I forget and would read for three minutes. I remember the cavernous space, the stage and microphone and the luiquid green and blue spot that turned the patrons, most of whom were drunk or nearly drunk into a dim mist. I especially remember the curator motioning the "cut! cut!" motion across her throat as I went over my time and I remember thinking, people really do that?

By contrast the PRISM reading this past weekend was held at a coffeehouse in one of the most beautiful buildings dedicated to the literary arts that I know, OpenBook. I could read for up to an hour. Now, I ask you, what kind of sadistic writer would subject her or his audience to a whole hour of their poetry? Not I. Considering the special sort of trauma that public speaking visits on my brain, I was not prepared to read for more than 20 minutes.

It turned out well I was told. My partner and several of my friends came. Besides them there were maybe 10 or 11 people. The other featured reader was poised and delivered a good reading. His poetry is well worth checking out. His name is Steve Mueske. Below there is a link to his website on the left-hide side of this page under the Poets & Authors heading. He reminded me that humor in poetry is a good thing.

I'm looking forward to the next two readings I have lined up. December 18th at Intermedia Arts in Uptown and January 24th at Intermedia Arts as well. I'll post specifics soon.

Do come.

Impeachment, Nancy Pelosi and Israel/ Palestine

2006-11-22T12:09:00.000-06:00

Nancy Pelosi has her work cut out for her. She has a Congress to clean up, many of her crop of new Senators are young and inexperienced, and she lost the battle for John Murtha. For the record, I don't believe this was a "stumble" as reported by Time. To me it seemed like a carefully choreographed dance, rather than a knockdown drag-out fight. Do I have any sources that support this? No, it's just a feeling.

Then there's impeachment. She's going to have to answer to many progressive democrats and others who feel that we have farther to go as a nation. Pelosi has said that democrats are not interested in revenge and many respond that the idea of "revenge" is a red herring. Impeachment is not about revenge, but about holding those who are in positions of power ultimately responsible for the lies and spin that lead to war. Impeachment is about discovering the depth and breadth of those lies.

Pelosi also faces another major challenge. For those who watch the conflict between Israel and Palestine, Pelosi has been an influential figure in shaping the debate. Recently, with her anticipated move to Speaker of the House and the media coverage of the Middle East which has been slowly acknowledging that the war on Iraq is not simply about Iraq, but also about Iran, Israel, Palestine, Syria, et al., Pelosi's feelings toward Israel in particular have come under some scrutiny.

It remains to be seen whether she can be less the idealogue and more a leader for peace in the U.S. and abroad.

Annotated Links

The Pelosi-Harman Fault Line

Nancy Pelosi and Jane Harman have been on a collision course for some time. They are both very tough-minded, opinionated, media savvy Democrats on the rise, and they have been knocking into each other for some time while still feigning mutual admiration ...

The Huggington Post

Is the "Israel lobby" distorting America's Mideast policies?

Two leading academics have tried to break the taboo against criticizing Israel's powerful U.S. lobby. It's a worthy aim, but their clumsy argument may backfire.

For Pelosi, Israel is Personal
"She [Pelosi] likes to say that, growing up in Baltimore, she went to a bar or bat mitzvah ... JTA also quotes a speech that Pelosi gave before an AIPAC crowd three years ago. Talking about her Jewish son-in-law, Pelosi told the crowd: ...

NJDC's Blog - http://njdc.typepad.com/njdcs_blog/

Jim Kirwan - Pelosi Revisited
by FOREIGN PRESS FOUNDATION
Nancy Pelosi, the darling Democrat from the Bay Area who leads her party in the House. Pelosi's recent speech to the Israel-American lobby AIPAC, the second largest lobby in Washington, was monumental - truly unparalleled in its candor. ...

FPF - HENK RUYSSENAARS - http://forpressfound.blogspot.com

New Blog on Orchid Culture, Pictures, Tips and Tricks

2006-11-20T12:34:00.000-06:00

My partner Jonah just launched a new blog called The Armchair Orchidist in which he writes articles for the beginning and intermediate orchid grower who longs to successfully grow their plants indoors. Apparently it can be quite complicated to induce these plants to flower. He's got such a green thumb, though, let his experience help you succeed! He also posts gorgeous pictures of the plants, as well as tips, tricks and reviews.

I'm helping him focus, market and design his blog. All the writing he does himself. Please check it out and comment. I will be posting here about the process of building the content for the Armchair Orchidist, as well as marketing it.

Latest Links: Israel - Palestine

2006-11-19T13:41:00.000-06:00

International">Protest Forces Israel to Call Off Gaza Airstrike
Israel halted an airstrike against the house of a suspected Palestinian militant after neighbors surrounded the building.

NYT > International

Welcome the New Neighbors:
An ambitious new group blog called Good Neighbors is "designed to increase dialogue and understanding between all of the neighboring countries in the Middle East including Jordanians, Lebanese, Israelis, Palestinians, Egyptians, Saudis, Iranians, and Syrians on a cross-country level, as well as to increase understanding, respect and dialogue among the various strata of society within our countries." Quite a challenge.

Pajamas Media

NAM Awards Winner: Ray Hanania
The writer has received a New America Media Ethnic Media Award for 2006 for a series of humorous commentaries on Israeli-Palestinian relations, reprinted here. NAM recognized outstanding ethnic media reporters this week in Washington, D.C.

news.newamericamedia.org

Israel Encourages Citizens to Return to Homeland
For the first time, Israeli government officials are touring the United States and Canada to help Israeli immigrants connect to employment opportunities and invite them to return home.

news.newamericamedia.org

WSU law professor candidate protested
A pro-Israel group says the son of a prominent Palestinian intellectual should not be considered for a law professor post at Wayne State University, and local leaders of Palestinian and Arab descent say the effort is part of an attempt to marginalize their community in Metro Detroit.

Stateline.org

palestine journal: 16 november - the lame duck massacres
soooo... while the lame-duck congress in the US goes ahead with passing some of the most draconian laws yet, like the one they passed yesterday that makes protesting animal cruelty at a circus or an animal lab a terrorist act (!) -- which, by the way, goes right along with their stated priorities of 'who is a threat'...... ie. not bin laden or the saudis who fund him.... but instead, as the FBI has stated publicly on multiple occasions, their 'Number One Domestic Terrorist Threat' is the 'animal liberation front', an organization that has never ever been charged with killing or hurting anyone, but whose only purpose is to rescue animals from cruel conditions (!)....

Portland Indymedia

Israeli aircraft strike Hamas car
Israeli missiles hit a car carrying Gaza militants, injuring several people, after Palestinian rockets hit Israel.

BBC News

Kill Hamas Now: "They ... have to disappear, to go to paradise, all of them, and there can't be any compromise."
"Israel's deputy prime minister [Avigdor Lieberman] on Saturday said Israel should assassinate Hamas' leadership, ignore the moderate Palestinian president and walk away from international peace efforts, the latest in a string of hard-line positions voiced by the newest member of the Cabinet."

(Breitbart/AP)

Restaurant Recommendation: Tomasita’s in Santa Fe, NM

2006-11-16T12:05:00.000-06:00

The Chile is Hot, The Marguerites are Strong

Tomasita's Restaurant at 500 S Guadalupe St. in Santa Fe is a Mecca for frequent travelers to the high desert, an icon for locals and a must-see for first-time visitors. Around dinner it is inevitably packed and would-be diners are forced to deal with a long wait. So if you can eat early or very late, you should.

Don’t forget the chile. Think on your choice carefully. Red or green? Vegetarian or regular? Chiles are everywhere in New Mexican cuisine. They eat them with everything, and perhaps at first, the fire will make you wonder why. You’ll surprise yourself by the end of the meal, though, as you’re shoveling spoonfuls into your mouth between gulps of water, sweating and happy. Order a liter of marguerites and share with friends. Rinse. Repeat.

Finally, an entire paragraph must be devoted to the flakiest, warmest, softest sopaipillas in all of America. If you don’t know what a sopaipilla is, you have not lived. Calling it “flat bread” or “fry bread” would only demean it. These are puffy, chewy patry-like clouds of dough. With a fresh squirt of honey on each bite of a piece of sopaipilla at Tomasita’s, the diner is treated to a sweet, fluffy taste of heaven. They make the perfect end to a hearty and authentic New Mexican meal.

How to Live the Good Life While Staying in Santa Fe, New Mexico

2006-11-14T06:47:00.000-06:00

Sleeping in a 300 year old adobe building in the desert might sound like a night only a lizard would enjoy, but my partner and I recently had the pleasure of shedding our urban skin for the luxe life in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Hilton on the Plaza offers three casitas behind the main building that are decked out with kiva-style gas fireplaces, kitchenettes, humongous king-sized beds, a Jacuzzi tub and at least two televisions.

A short walk from the front door is the main plaza of Santa Fe where Native Americans sell jewelry and blankets along the Portal of the Palace of the Governors. Upscale dining is everywhere and art galleries line the streets.

The casitas were originally built by the Ortiz family in the late 1600s after a long grueling trip north fom Mexico City. Though the rooms have been restored and upgraded to modern standards, the hotel has left sections of the walls in each room in their original state. Safely shielded behind glass, the old walls are grey and crackled with plaster and the original bricks. Not to fear, though, we didn’t see a single ghost. At over $400 per night, likely any lonely spirits left wandering the veranda couldn’t afford to haunt the place. How did we afford it? A combination of generosity and luck. It never hurts to call up the hotel and ask about availability.

Poetry Press Release: PRISM Poetry Series November 26th

2006-11-12T10:09:00.002-06:00

Sunday, November 26th
1:00-3:00 pm
The Coffee Gallery at OpenBook
1011 Washington Ave.
South Minneapolis, Minnesota
(612) 215 - 2626

PRISM Poetry Series announces its featured readers for November 2006, Chris Pommier and Steve Mueske.

Steve Mueske holds an MFA in Writing from Hamline University and has published poems recently in The Massachusetts Review, 32 Poems, The Tusculum Review, and Best New Poets 2005. He is the author of a chapbook and the full-length collection, A Mnemonic for Desire (Ghost Road Press). He serves as Editor-in-Chief for three candles journal,
publisher for three candles press, and site curator for Poetry 365. More informationis available on his website http://www.stevemueske.com

Chris Pommier just finished a SASE/Jerome Foundation mentorship with poet Sun Yung Shin and other wonderful poet-peers who helped him grow immensely as an artist. He has published poetry in anthology chapbooks in California and Alaska. Currently he works a day job, but slave away as a freelancer at night, writing for local publications in the hopes of someday writing for a living.

PRISM Poetry Series offers an open mic the 2nd Sunday of each month and featured readers on the last Sunday. All readings are held from 1:00-3:00 pm at the Coffee Gallery. For more information contact prismpoetry [AT] earthlink.net or visit us on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/prismpoetry.

For more information, contact:
Laura Winton
prismpoetry [AT] @earthlink.net or
fluffysingler [AT] earthlink.net

World Corruption: The United States Falls near the Middle

2006-11-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

It's safe to say that corruption in the single-party cultural gulag created by Big Brother Bush and his thought police carried many of us to the polls this year, but how does the United States rank in perceived corruption around the world?

Transparency International published the 2006 Corruption Perception Index. On the map to the right, darker is more corrupt. The U.S. falls at 20 with Chile and Belgium, far below Finland (1) and Singapore (5) with Iraq (160) falling nearly dead last, an indictment of U.S. involvement with that country. According to Transparency International, poverty and corruption go hand in hand. The organization looks to the Americas here:

While there are no winners in the Americas, the index shows substantially higher scores for countries with relatively strong democratic institutions, such as Canada and the United States, but also notably for Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay. But as recent scandals show, they too must continue to strengthen their institutions. There is, for example, a strong sense in the United States that corruption is on the rise in Congress, with special interests able to buy access and Congress doing little to police itself.

Money, The 109th Congress and Nepotism

The Sunlight Foundation, using technology to enable citizens to ensure greater accountability and transparency in government, has been following the money trails in the 109th and published their second installment in the "Is Congress a Family Business?" report. Citizen journalists working with the Foundation have found that over $635,000 have been spent from campaign moneys on businesses and consulting fees for the spouses and family members of around 19 members of the House. This practice is not necessarily illegal as the federal nepotism statute keeps members of Congress from hiring family to work in their Washington offices, but doesn't address the issue of family working on campaigns as long as they render bona fide services to the campaign at fair market value.

The Lazy, Good-for-Nothing 109th Congress

The 109th Congress is also poised to be the least productive Congress since the late 1940s, according to this report (pdf) from the Sunlight Foundation. Don't we all wish we could go to work for only about 129 days this upcoming year, like the Senate? And the score in the House:

This year the House of Representatives scheduled a mere 88 days in session. At least 23 of those days have votes occurring after 5:30 or 6:30 pm with one voting day ending at 2 pm for Rosh Hashanah. Twelve of these 23 postponed voting days occur on a Monday or a Tuesday following a Monday off. This allows members to come in late on Mondays or Tuesdays just in time to cast a vote. There are also 37 days with no votes on the calendar. Congress has so far failed to meet for 23 of those 37 “no vote” days with four “no vote” days remaining. Of the ten “no vote” days that the House has met, nine of them lasted for no more than 11 minutes. Fewer than one-out-of-three “no vote” days become a day in session.

The New Congress: Can Democrats Address These Issues?

What do you think? Post your comments below. Will Democrats really make a difference? How will the transition from campaigning to governing go? They have their work cut out for them. Will their watchword be transparency? How many secret meetings will they have? I've been hearing a lot lately about three issues:

The Democrats squeaked into office and their reign is only temporary, at best.
They are more centrist, less progressive these days.
There are many who are new to the business

Don't take your eyes off them. For those of us who voted them into office, we can't sit back on our laurels and hope for the best. Let's make sure they do their job, shall we?

Election 2006; There's a First Time for Everything

2006-11-08T06:57:00.000-06:00

Some of the firsts from this year's election:

Nancy Pelosi, the first woman Speaker of the House, third in line for the presidency.
Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim in Congress.
Keith Ellison, the first Black person elected to the House from Minnesota.
Amy Klobachar, the first woman to be elected to the Senate from Minnesota.

---
Update 11/09/2006 11:57 AM

C'mon people. Whatever happened to Web 2.0? Social media? I had to dig up these two firsts myself:

Bernie Sanders of Vermont is the first Socialist to be elected to the U.S. Senate
Deval Patrick, the first African-American Governor of Massachusetts

---

Update 11/09/2006 6:36 PM

Ellen Young is the first Asian Assemblywoman in New York.

Please comment and add any local or national firsts you're aware of this year, and correct me if I'm wrong on any of the above.

Thanks!

Wednesday Morning Brings Democrats and Yet More Waiting

2006-11-08T06:47:00.000-06:00

It was too much to hope that when U.S. citizens woke up this morning to go to work, we would have elections results waiting in our inboxes. Official news outlets like the Associated Press and the New York Times are handing the U.S. House of Representatives to the Democrats under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). From the look of it, the House victory was decisive. The democrats needed 16 seats and they've picked up nearly twice that. The Senate still hangs on close races in Virginia and Montana this morning.

Latest Links: Voting 2

2006-11-07T22:35:00.000-06:00

Diebold Voting Machines Jam in Vista
Two Diebold voting machines in Vista experienced paper jams on the already controversial computerized format that has been challenged on local, regional and national levels.
"What happend today in Vista is an example of the continued erosion of our democracy," said Fredia Avalos, a communication lecturer at Cal State San
Marcos. Vista filmaker Mark Day commented "I ended up voting twice. Those machines make a lot of racket and sound like an old harvesting machine. The whole thing is very scary."

The San Diego Independent Media Center

Klobuchar wins
Democrat Amy Klobuchar sailed to an easy victory in the U.S. Senate race Tuesday, capitalizing on voter anger over the Iraq war to become Minnesota's first elected female senator.
Klobuchar, the elected prosecutor of Hennepin County, kept an important post in Democratic hands by beating Mark Kennedy, a three-term Republican congressman from west of the Twin Cities.
Klobuchar's win was based on a statistical analysis of the vote from voter interviews conducted for The Associated Press by Edison Media Research and Mitosfky International.

StarTribune.com

Doyle wins in Wisconsin governor's race
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, won a tough reelection race Tuesday over U.S. Rep. Mark Green, a Republican who focused on state spending and property taxes.
In the U.S. Senate race, Democratic incumbent Herb Kohl easily defeated Robert Gerald Lorge, a Republican lawyer from Bear Creek.
Kohl, who used to run his family's grocery and department stores and now owns the Milwaukee Bucks, has served three terms in the Senate.
Wisconsin voters also approved Tuesday a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Similar measures banning same-sex civil

StarTribune.com

Mapping the Movement: California

Immigrants turn out to vote in California, spurred by tech-saavy and traditional registration drives, voter guides and rights cards from Mobilize the Immigrant Vote 2006.

news.newamericamedia.org

Mapping the Movement: Washington
Heavy rain falls on election day. Shankar Narayan, director of the Hate Free Zone, hopes it won't keep away the 11,000 immigrant voters it's registered through canvassing and phone banking.

news.newamericamedia.org

La Nueva Cara del Votante: Jóven y Latino

Los jóvenes latinos en San Diego conformaron más de la mitad del crecimiento del electorado latino del condado.

news.newamericamedia.org

Black voters a poll factor
While incumbent Republican Gov. Bob Riley has a comfortable lead in polls over Democratic Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley, political observers say the outcome of other races could depend on how many voters turn out, particularly black voters.

Stateline.org RSS

FBI looks into voter intimidation
The FBI is looking into possible voter intimidation in Virginia's hard-fought U.S. Senate contest between Republican incumbent George Allen and Democrat Jim Webb.

Stateline.org RSS

Latest Links: Voting

2006-11-07T15:40:00.000-06:00

Election problems: New machines, databases, rules

Programming errors and inexperience dealing with electronic voting machines frustrated poll workers in hundreds of precincts early today, delaying voters in Indiana, Ohio and Florida and leaving some with little choice but to use paper ballots instead.

In Cleveland, voters rolled their eyes as election workers fumbled with new touchscreen machines that they couldn't get to start properly until about 10 minutes after polls opened.

"We got five machines one of them's got to work," said Willette Scullank, a trouble shooter from the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, elections board.

StarTribune.com | Politics
Published: Tuesday, 07 November 2006 23:00:00

Voter ID Numbers

Around noon today, the DFL volunteer army made its five millionth voter identification call.Five Million. 5,000,000 calls made.

Among those, more than 1.8 million voters have been identified successfully.

That, my wonderful readers, is what we call “ridiculous.”

Minnesota Campaign Report
Published: Tuesday, 07 November 2006 15:31:08

Despite delays, glitches,...
Despite delays, glitches, and other snafus, most polls will not extend voting hours. In Denver, where the lines are long, the Democratic candidate for governor waited nearly two hours to vote, presumably for himself.

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall
Published: Tuesday, 07 November 2006 15:25:43

In CO, Dems Allege Threats to Latino Voters
From Roll Call: In automated and live calls, Democrats allege, Latinos have been told that their ethnicity makes them ineligible to vote in today’s elections. The calls also threatened that Latinos would be arrested at polling places if they did...

TPMmuckraker
Published: Tuesday, 07 November 2006 15:23:07

MD GOP Candidate Recruits Homeless to Pass Out Deceptive Flyers
Misleading flyers were handed out at several Maryland polling places by men and women recruited by the GOP governor's campaign from out-of-state homeless shelters, the Washington Post reports. The flyers, given to voters in a heavily Democratic area, showed GOP...

TPMmuckraker
Published: Tuesday, 07 November 2006 14:32:34

Northern Minnesota Report

Things are going well in the Bemidji DFL office, according to reports from the northern part of the state. A light rain is falling, but turnout appears to be high. Plenty of volunteers, and not so many in the local Republican office. Sporadic reports of voter intimidation in largely Native areas, as well as issues getting some voters in the Red Lake area to the county courthouse - they were supposed to vote by mail, and were unaware that the precinct voting location would not be open. Drivers needed - if you’re near there, go help out.

Minnesota Campaign Report
Published: Tuesday, 07 November 2006 14:10:42

Election 2006: Penetrating The Voting Vortex
By Erin Thompson
Google the terms “hiccup” or “glitch” along with the words “electronic voting equipment” and you’ll get some interesting insight into widespread chaos that could hit polling places this November. In primaries across the nation earlier this year, problems with newly implemented computer-based voting systems, often blamed on software “glitches” or election “hiccups,” caused voting results to be delayed, tallied incorrectly or reversed entirely.

Independent Media Center

Election 2006: Resisting The Voting Rights Rollback
By Ula Kuras
Among the new voting requirements recently contested in courts are state-issued photo IDs and tight restrictions on voting registration drives. Proponents of such requirements tend to be conservative white Republicans who argue that tighter rules are essential for preventing voter fraud. However, critics say such laws will unfairly impact the poor, the elderly, the disabled, and college-age students, all of whom tend to vote more for the Democrats.

Independent Media Center

Designers for Democracy Suggest Photographing Polling Place

2006-11-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

Today, November 7, 2006, a tiny percentage of United States citizens will decide which individuals will represent everyone in Washington D.C. In order to document this event, the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) and Design for Democracy are supporting the Polling Place Photo Project. William Drenttel of Design Observer initiated the project in collaboration with Jay Rosen, founder of NewAssignment.Net.

This project pursued two goals:

To archive and document the voting process in order to provide a record for research on "how voting happens in America and how it can be easier, less confusing and more enjoyable."
To make sure the election isn't stolen, votes aren't miscounted and to provide protesters and activists a photographic record if necessary to support claims of fraud.

Keep in mind that local laws vary greatly and any would-be citizen journalist should be familiar with her or his statutes before snapping pictures of happy voters. Lauren Gelman, deputy director of the Center for Internet & Society at Stanford Law School, has posted a blog entry covering that question.

Go Vote! Democracy Still Needs Defenders

2006-11-07T06:50:00.000-06:00

Even though voting is today, anyone can still participate in Get Out the Vote activities in order to give their fellow citizens that extra little push. Do More Than Vote has a great resource here for what you can do from your computer at work today until the polls close.

Devote 5 minutes at your desk
Get Informed. Become a part of MoveOn.org and get updates and alerts about current issues and easy actions you can take to influence your lawmakers. And, sign up for the Center for American Progress's daily report and talking points to stay up to speed on the political topics of the day.

Devote 10 minutes at your desk
Call talk radio shows to let listeners know what you think. Getting Democratic voices onto the conservative-controlled airwaves is a must. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) gives you numbers to call and talking points to use. For some local flavor, try these conservative shows: Jason Lewis on KTLK 100.3 FM, Mon-Fri 5-7 PM (651-989-KTLK); or Joe Soucheray on KSTP AM 1500, Mon-Fri 3-6 PM (651-646-TALK). If you prefer to call a progressive show, try: Minnesota Matters on Air America AM 950, Mon-Fri 5-6 PM (952-946-6205).

Devote a half-hour at your desk
Write letters to media across the country- the perfect way to express approval of or disdain for the news and views of the day. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) makes it simple. To get issue specific talking points: click on an issue, then enter your zip code. Your letter is emailed automatically.

Devote an hour at a computer
Make Calls anytime, anywhere as long as you have access to the internet and a phone. Use Moveon.org's phone program to call voters in crucial districts all across the country. You can make one or one hundred calls, and take breaks as often as you like. Their program is user-friendly and proven to work, so get started today.

However, let's not forget the basics. In Minnesota you can find your polling place here. You can find the candidates on your ballot anywhere at Vote-USA.org. Keep in mind that Vote-USA.org may not have the most accurate information. I found that the Democratic incumbent was listed as an Independent on the Vote-USA.org website. Also their servers have been overloaded with visitors, so it may be very slow to load.

The local blog Eleventh Avenue South is providing the a Minnesota Big Gay Voter Guide with a rundown of who, what, where, when and why.

Now, go vote!

Latest Links: Minimum Wage

2006-11-02T15:45:00.000-06:00

Propositions split 26th Dist. House, Senate hopefuls
From raising the minimum wage to smoking bans, candidates for District 26's House and Senate seats disagree over which propositions would most help Arizonans.

Stateline.org

Sixth District: Stances on issues not detailed in ads
State Sen. Michele Bachmann isn't sure the United States should remain part of the United Nations. She questions whether there should be a minimum wage law, and she is skeptical that global warming is occurring.
Her opponent, child safety advocate Patty Wetterling, favors abortion rights. She opposes congressional efforts to ban the late-term abortion procedure that opponents call "partial birth abortion" unless they include an exception for cases involving the health of the mother. And she has opposed mandatory parental notification before a minor can obtain an abortion. She opposes the deat

StarTribune.com

Rendell touts wage hike during Penn State visit
In front of a room full of college students, Gov. Ed Rendell touted proposals on renewable energy and his record on job growth. But he received his warmest reception on a topic that hit close to home: the $5.15 minimum wage.

Stateline.org

Min wage, max fight
Business groups opposed to increasing Colorado's minimum wage have raised $1.2 million and plan to spend every dime fighting the ballot initiative, said Jan Rigg, spokeswoman for Respect Our Constitution, a group that is fighting the proposal.

Stateline.org

Pot, slots and doves - a look at the year's quirkier ballot questions
Stem cell research, taxation and budgetary matters, and proposals to raise the minimum wage are leading the pack when it comes to national issues that are appearing as voter initiatives or referendums on states' ballots Nov. 7. But there are ballot measures on other, esoteric issues across the nation.

Stateline.org

Wage hike would benefit economy, study indicates

On November 7, voters in six states--Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and Ohio--will vote on ballot measures that would raise the minimum wage in their home states. While recent polls show voters overwhelmingly support increasing their state’s minimum wage, a new study by the Washington, D.C.–based Economic Policy Institute proves that such initiatives would indeed help the economy, particularly for minimum-wage earners and their families.

Twin Cities Daily Planet

Minimum wage trends
Source: Economic Policy Institute
“There is a growing view among economists that the minimum wage offers substantial benefits to low-wage workers without negative effect. Although there are still dissenters, the best recent research has shown that the job loss reported in earlier analyses does not, in fact, occur when the minimum wage is increased.”

Docuticker

Opponents say minimum wage idea would hurt Missouri, but supporters question data
Missouri voters should reject a proposed state minimum wage increase and seek legislative changes instead, opponents said Tuesday afternoon.

Stateline.org

Latest Links: Marriage Discrimination

2006-11-02T15:22:00.000-06:00

Marriage amendment makes quiet appearance
Depending on which side is speaking, State Amendment 1 on the Nov. 7 election ballot -- a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage -- either protects marriage or discriminates against some families. But supporters and opponents agree on two points: It's been a really quiet campaign and the voting public will make the final decision.

Stateline.org

Absentee ballots hint at a higher voter turnout
A hotly contested Senate race and an amendment on marriage have led tens of thousands of voters statewide to request absentee ballots before next week's election, an indicator that turnout could be abnormally high on Election Day.

Stateline.org

Faith, law and gay marriage
Faith and love-they represent human potential for goodness. Except when they're on a voting ballot. Then they create ugly, divisive, angry politics.

Stateline.org

Marriage question captivates students
Ask the typical college student in Wisconsin who is running for governor, and you may get a blank stare. Ask about the marriage amendment, and the response is sure to be animated.

Stateline.org

Marriage Amendment: South Dakota
A new poll suggests that South Dakota might be the first state to reject an amendment to ban domestic partnerships, civil unions, and same-sex marriage by popular vote. The poll shows 47% voting no, 46% voting yes, and 7% undecided....

Eleventh Avenue South

Thursday Edition: Divorce as a Marketing Tool
The other night, my wife and I were watching TV and saw a Ford ad that seemed to be about a divorced couple and their kids.
The father jumps out of a Ford Freestyle, hugs his kids and tells his ex, "Thanks for inviting me this weekend." She says a sort of sad "sure." She appears as though she could say a lot more -- something like, "If you had kept your paws off the secretary, you could be riding home in this cool new car with us." He promises his kids he will see them next weekend, waves and watches the car drive off.
I could barely believe my eyes. My wife, a marriage and family therapist, said the ad was "affirming."

Al's Morning Meeting

Enjoy Poetry? Say Hi if You're in Minneapolis This Winter

2006-11-01T18:56:00.000-06:00

I haven't had the chance to update this blog in a couple days. I was working on another assignment for Lavender Magazine and scrambling to write a bio and find a picture for a couple upcoming poetry events I'll be reading at. I settled on the picture I have on this page. I really need a newer, less threatening one.

If you're in town, please stop by.

November 26
PRISM Poetry Series
From 1:00 to 3:00
At the Coffee Gallery
In OpenBook
1011 Washington Ave South

December 18
Writer-to-Writer Mentorship Reading
From 7:00 to 9:00pm
At Intermedia Arts
2822 Lyndale Ave S

January 24, 2007
SASE GLBT Reading Series
From 7 to 9 pm
At Intermedia Arts
2822 Lyndale Ave S

Warning: Post Contains Rant About Rejection from a Pro. Fiction Mag.

2006-10-31T01:10:00.000-06:00

So, to the left you will see a recent rejection slip from Realms of Fantasy Magazine, one of the top professional markets in the speculative fiction genre.

Now, don't get me wrong, these poor editors have a lot on their plate, I'm sure. However ... HOWEVER, this has got to be the most insulting slip of paper I've gotten in the mail in a long time. I'm including those fake checks that lenders send you that look just like a real check made out in your name for thousand of dollars that say on the back "By signing this you are agreeing to pay back all this money at 500% interest and hand over your cats, too. Both of them."

Those are pretty low, but check out what this form letter says:

We regret that we cannot reply individually to each writer, but the most common reasons for rejection are:
An old idea
Unfamiliarity with the rules of grammar and/or composition
and, most commonly, a story which simply did not "stand out"
You story may or may not have fallen into one of these categories. {emphasis mine}

OK, one expects that a huge magazine like this gets a zillion and a half submission per hour. Very likely a new mathematical formula had to be invented in order to figure out the precise speed at which manuscripts flood their mailboxes, but a simple note that says, "Sorry we couldn't use this at this time," would suffice I think. By implication of this blue slip, either my idea is trite, my grammar is poor, or ... just .. you know ... it sucked. Or perhaps, the caveat goes, it wasn't any of those things. Who knows, we didn't read it. And it ends with a knife-twisting, and I must say ironic, "Sincerely."

My Suggestion

You know what they should institute? And I can't imagine this would take any longer than it currently does to reply. They should just have small slips of paper printed with numbers with check mark boxes next to them. Each number indicates how many pages (or paragraphs) the
person reading the manuscript got through before they tossed it back in its SASE and sent it home. Just add the "We're sorry ... " line to the bottom and you have a useful, easy system that doesn't insult anyone and can actually help the writer understand what the publication might want.

Just my two cents.

Good night.

An Extra Month of Daylight Next Year

2006-10-28T11:46:00.000-05:00

When Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 he gave kids and people who work a typical 9 to 5 schedule here in the U.S. 2 extra weeks of daylight on either end of Daylight Saving Time. Starting in 2007 DST will begin on the second Sunday of March and end the first Sunday of November.

So, mark the calendar. March 11, 2007 spring forward. November 4, 2007 fall back.

This juggling of the American circadian rhythm is supposed to curb energy spending by about 1%, or the "equivalent to roughly a hundred thousand barrels of oil daily over the two months" according to a Department of Transportation report from 1975. Linda Lawson, the acting deputy assistant secretary for transportation policy, gives this caveat

"There have been dramatic changes in lifestyle and commerce since we completed our studies that raise serious questions about extrapolating conclusions from our studies into today's world."

Whether the U.S. saves some money, or just really annoys everyone in the country remains to be seen. However, Congress has the discretion to scrap the idea and go back to the typical DST schedule if the savings don't add up.

Minnesota's Wetterling - Bachmann Race Quite a Nail Biter

2006-10-28T10:26:00.000-05:00

The latest poll from SurveyUSA shows Republican and soldier of God Michelle Bachmann leading Democrat Patty Wetterling.

However, despite this discouraging news for those who believe separation of church and state is a good thing, this race changes on a nearly weekly basis. Here's a poll from October 12th that shows Wetterling in the lead.

Andy Birkey over at Eleventh Avenue South posted some historical polling data on the race:

SurveyUSA 10/25, 10/09, 9/18, Zogby 10/04, Majority Watch 10/11, Minnesota Poll 10/18

Bachmann 49% (47) (50)...(46)...(45)...(40)
Wetterling 43% (44) (41)...(43)...(49)...(48)
Binkowski 5% (7) (5)... (?)... (?)... (4)

A quick overview of Bachmann's campaign:

Said, "Be submissive, wives, you are to be submissive to your husbands."
Considers herself a "fool for Christ".
Doesn't believe in global warming trends.
Threatened the non-profit status of a local church.
Members of her own family accuse her of using them.

Now, Wetterling:

DFA Link endorsed candidate.
A child protection advocate, she called for investigation of Foley well before Bachmann addressed the issue.
Has over 180 friends on myspace.

These may not be expressly political issues, but you can find Wetterling's here.

Turn Back Clocks Tonight

2006-10-27T23:38:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again when children and adults conspire to widen their cavities and line the pockets of jubilant dentists everywhere with a little extra money. Ah, Halloween. The night when tons and tons of vinyl death masks and plastic princess dresses are worn, wadded up and discarded. Whereupon they finally find their way into the American landfills and garbage pits where microscopic creatures will try in vain to eat them for the next 3,000 years.

It's also the end of Daylight Saving Time as of 2 a.m. Monday morning. So set those clocks before going to bed. You owe yourself an "extra" hour of sleep.

Last Minute Costume Ideas to Look Like a Million (Dead) Bucks

2006-10-26T09:18:00.000-05:00

Haven't quite decided whether your costume passes muster this year? Tired of living in an economy where wages don't even pretend to keep up with the cost of living? Well, then why not address both your concerns and dress as one of these top earning dead celebrities:

Every year Forbes.com puts together their list of celebrities who have passed into the great beyond, but whose art continue to make millions and millions for their estates. Now the question is, where in the world can one find a J.R.R. Tolkien mask? Oh.

US 53rd in World Press Freedom Index

2006-10-25T10:27:00.000-05:00

Despite the promises of freedom of the press made by the United States in the first amendment to the Constitution, the country continues to sink from it's initial 17th place as the Bush administration continues to use its "war on terror" as a means of grinding journalists under its boot heel. This year the US finds itself languishing at 53rd along with Botswana, Croatia and Tonga far behind Bosnia and Herzegovina (19th) and Namibia (26). This is according to the Worldwide Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders.

The report sites these incidents as specific examples of how the Bush administration has attacked the freedom of the press:

Freelance journalist and blogger Josh Wolf was imprisoned when he refused to hand over his video archives. Sudanese cameraman Sami al-Haj, who works for the pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera, has been held without trial since June 2002 at the US military base at Guantanamo, and Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein has been held by US authorities in Iraq since April this year.

According to the report the top countries are Finland, Ireland, Iceland and the Netherlands, which all share first place.

Writers + Business Sense = Money

2006-10-23T09:16:00.000-05:00

I had an experience with a editor recently that really opened my eyes to how important it is for writers to be able to talk about money. Simply put: he offered to pay me $50 for a 650-700 word article. I said that was great, but could he possibly make it $75? When he didn't answer for a couple days, I was sure that I'd lost the job.

When he finally did answer, he said, let's start with 50. That was fine by me, after all I still had the job! So, I wrote the article, edited it, and made sure it was the best I could do. I turned it in right on schedule. He was so happy with the product and my professionalism, he sent me the $75 I asked for!

It may not seem like much, but it was a powerful lesson for me. A fearless attitude coupled with dependability and a well-written article can increase your bottom line.

Now, go forth and haggle!

This entry was posted as a response to a post at the Golden Pencil on a similar topic. And the blog Words on the Page wrote on this subject too.

Networking: A Theory

2006-10-20T07:27:00.000-05:00

I've been putting some thought into the topic of networking lately and found this post at BusinessNetworkingAdbive.com. Josh intervies Merlin Mann, proprietor of a very successful blog called 43 Folders.

In the interview they discuss what Mann calls "humane networking"

So I guess networking, in an ideal world, just means you help your friends meet cool people as you do nice things for them. I can get behind that.

But the grinning bearers of business cards who clearly want to put your soul in a Bell jar on their desk? I can still do without them.

I absolutely agree with Mann's sentiment, but find that it lacks concrete suggestions for those of us who are

Want to avoid weasel-dom

Bur want to build connections within a specific community

So, here's my thought: rather than attending networking events and wandering around mute, find a volunteer position, or project, within your target community that is a "gatekeeper" position. For example, in the world of academic writing, volunteer to help publish and edit a journal. There are many other examples of gatekeeper positions one could fill. Post some suggestions here. No pressure.

Once you're involved with a project or position that is perceived by others to be a position of power and influence, people will come to you. This should allow you to simply meet more people in your target community. You're natural charm and giving nature should take care of the rest.

At that point you should be meeting cool people (the point of networking) and you can start instituting Merlin's suggestions of "humane networking."

Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

Dungeons & Dragons Geeks Rejoice!: Invisibility Cloak Invented

2006-10-19T12:13:00.000-05:00

OK, the thing only works if you can see microwaves, and if you're looking at something really, really small, but still. It's invisible! The BBC wrote an article on it here. If you would like more in depth coverage of the device and how it works, then NewScientistTech has got you covered. Here is a brief excerpt.

In recent years, materials scientists have made rapid progress in making so-called "metamaterials", which can have exotic electromagnetic properties unseen in nature. These are made up of repeating structures of simple electronic components such as capacitors and inductors.

In 2001, Smith built a metamaterial with a negative refractive index, which bends microwaves in a way impossible for ordinary lenses. Now he has gone one step further.

Of course, my internal pessimist wonders what the military applications of this are going to be. True stealth bombers? Surveilance robots? I shudder to think.

1 in 10 Penguins Gay, Norwegians Say

2006-10-19T11:24:00.000-05:00

It's not just penguins, either.This article on the BBC covers the rather controversial exhibit at the Oslo Natural History Museum.

Curators say a Norwegian exhibition on homosexuality among animals has been well received, despite initial indications of strong opposition.

The way you feel about animals, and the usefulness of human/non-human connections, will likely determine how you take this article. Interestingly, animal homosexuality research has been deployed to defend the morality of homosexuality in religious debates. Pinky unsuccessfully attempted it in this discussion at Yahoo! Answers. Scroll to the bottom to find her/his post. Warning: what you are about to see may really make you angry.

I'm relieved to see that the participants in this discussion resolved the question of the moral correctness of homosexuality. Phew! No more pesky debates or worrisome opinions need to be explored. Thanks, Yahoo.

And the Stingrays Shall Inherit the Earth

2006-10-19T11:18:00.000-05:00

OK, now I'm starting to wonder as the BBC reports this

A US man has been stabbed in the chest by a stingray which leapt on board his boat in Florida.
US officials say they are shocked at the attack on Mr Bertakis.

And scientists continue to say that these sorts of attacks are extremely rare. Tell that to Steve Irwin's family. Well, you can bet I'm going to watch out for those wily predators of the deep if I ever go snokrling.

Questioning the Narrative of the Gay Bar

2006-10-17T12:19:00.000-05:00

A great local blog I enjoy reading that covers news and politics of interest to the GLBTQI community in Minnesota posted this entry today:

Lavender Magazine has an article about Over the Rainbow's closing. One of the owners, Charmaigne Wood, has a great quote about supporting the community through GLBT owned bars:
We remind all GLBT people to support your home bars: your homo bars. GLBT bars are not a community service—they are businesses, and rely on revenues. Owners of GLBT bars are taking a stand, politically and personally. Support that. No one wants to be in the position of ‘you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Gay bars are important socially and politically. They’re where we are most comfortable, most accepted. They’re where we find common cause, politically and emotionally...Until we are accepted in the larger society, until we can marry, until we have adoption rights, until we are not outsiders, we need these gathering places. GLBT bars are where we can be totally who we are. As diverse as the GLBT community is, the one thing we have in common is a need to belong. GLBT bars allow us to belong. Be there!

I responded to it and thought I would copy my response here:

While I agree with Woods’ main points, that it's important to support GLBTQI businesses and that safe spaces are important both emotionally and politically for us, I disagree with the strong bias toward bars as places ”where we are most comfortable, most accepted.” This certainly hasn’t been my experience with gay bars. I’ve had fun at bars, I’ve been depressed at bars, heck I’ve even been drunk at bars, but ultimately it’s the people you’re with that can make the place comfortable and comforting. I can be with my friends nearly anywhere.

I wonder, are gay bars and bar owners serving our best interests? Or the best interests of the community? After all, bars are businesses as Woods asserts, and they are in the business of selling alcohol. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good gin and tonic, black Russian or vodka martini as much as the next guy. And I certainly don’t want to imply that Woods or any other gay bar owner in the Twin Cities is taking advantage of us. I honestly believe they care for their fellow queers and want to support all of us. But it’s important to remember that alcoholism is a problem within our community that has come under a lot of scrutiny lately. I think this can only be exacerbated when our fun pastimes become the way by which others identify us. Especially as businesses vie for control of the “pink dollar” and start co-branding with us.

Do we want Absolut, Miller, and Coors, sponsoring our parties? Is that the yardstick by which we ought to be judging our acceptance within the mainstream, straight world? Or our acceptance of ourselves? Rather than looking to gay bars to incubate us and insulate us, I think we should be questioning the community’s relationship to alcohol and also to other communities. We should be asking ourselves why aren’t neighborhood associations, PTA meetings, hiking groups and workplaces not considered “our spaces”?

Tiny Stories: On Writing Short, Short Pieces

2006-10-17T06:53:00.000-05:00

It's been quiet here on the blogging front the last few days because I was finishing an assignment for Lavender Magazine, a local GLBT publication here in the Twin Cities. Every year they run their Fab 50 to let the world know what the most fabulous places and things are, and who are the most fabulous people. It hasn't been published yet, but I'll update the blog with the link when it is.

I have to say I enjoyed the type of writing that this required. Short, pithy blurbs of about 150 words each. You might think that limiting yourself to 150 words really stifles creatively, but, if anything, it really inspires the writer to go beyond his or her comfort zone, to examine each and every word. If it doesn't fit, it gets cut.

How do you develop the themes of each piece, include some practical information about each business, television show, or person and still manage to persuade the reader to check out whatever it is your writing about? Well, I can't say that I managed all of those things at once, but my strategy was often to evoke the emotions of the reader through sensory details in order to drawn in and intrigue the audience. Especially if I was writing about a place rather than, say, a TV show.

Ultimately, I guess the rules for good writing still apply, even at the subatomic level. The force of sensory details attracts the fickle reader.

On Querying for Travel Articles

2006-10-17T06:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I think this is pretty cool: one of the knowledgeable and prolific Renegade Writers, Diana Burrell, has started a Dear Abby-type question-and-answer column on her blog. I submitted a question recently about an upcoming trip to Belize that my partner and I are taking and here's her answer.

I also applied to have a Career Makeover coordinated by these powerhouses of freelance writing success, but after seeing their first candidate, I kind of doubt they'll be swayed by the short plea that I typed up over a fifteen-minute break at work.

Jeb Bush Definitely not Coming Out of Closet. Absolutely. Positively.

2006-10-13T14:32:00.000-05:00

OK, OK, everyone is having their poke at Jeb Bush. And I'm feeling left out. So, please, allow me ...

When Governor Bush visited Pittsburgh to support Senator Rick Santorum, a group of protestors chased him through the streets, and into a closet. He insists that, rather than a "closet," he cowered in fear in a more manly "boiler room." Excuse me, I mean he was ushered to safety into the boiler room, though he is "more burly" than those wimpy, tofu eating, feng feng tea swilling United Steel Workers Union members.

Thank goodness he isn't coming out of the closet. Poor Republican Gays have enough to deal with après-Foley.

Networking: What not to do

2006-10-13T06:39:00.000-05:00

I hate networking. It's such a pain that I think I must be doing it wrong. After all, isn't it supposed to be the holy grail of finding clients and getting work as a writer? I submit here my most recent attempt to connect with other writers and, thereby, more clients.

Editors Editors Everywhere ...

Last night I attended the Minnesota Magazine & Publications Association annual mixer, "A Magazine Celebration." Held at the Open Book building in downtown Minneapolis and hosted by the Loft Literary Center, editors, publishers and especially writers from the local scene attended. After picking up my badge I stepped into the main area and learned a couple new things:

There are over 300 magazines published in Minnesota.

Everyone there seemed to already know everyone else there.

MMPA knows how to pick a pretty good red wine.

It was overwhelming. Sample magazines festooned the walls and overflowed tables. The temperature slowly climbed as more writers filed in until I was flushed and I was sure I was sweating in a very unattractive manner. Editors and publishers dressed in buttoned down shirts and pressed blouses sailed through the crowd making every effort to not meet my eye. This had the effect of making them seem a little ashamed of themselves. Their heads tilted down, eyes unfocused or trained on an empty corner of the room made it appear as though we were moving through two different worlds that coincidently, just for that night, overlapped.

However, I do count the night a partial success, because, if nothing else, I did meet someone there that I knew. Yes, I realize that the point of networking is not to meet people you know already. But seeing someone that I'd already worked with proved to me that I am making progress in cracking the circle of media movers and shakers. I like to call them the mediacrati.

What not to do when trying to work a room

Let this be a warning to you. Dont

Waste time flipping through magazines or photocopied mastheads.

Drink more than one glass of the wine.

Wander aimlessly munching on a cracker so as to "give your hands something to do".

Cross your arms over your chest, or put your hands in your pockets. Why is it that arms suddenly become superfluous at the most inopportune times?

One Less Thing to Stress About: Gay teens now have a college guide

2006-10-10T07:09:00.000-05:00

It's college application season and teens are STRESSED OUT. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a report that takes parents to task over the unhealthy levels of stress that teens are being encouraged to take on.

In today’s pressure-cooker society, children and teens need to tap into their strengths, acquire specific skills to cope, recover from adversity, and be prepared for future challenges. They need to be resilient in order to succeed in life’s long haul.

Pressure and stress can lead anyone to shut down and retreat from the world. At worst, of course, it can lead to depression and even suicide.

That kind of stress is only compounded as parents flock to the bright candy-colored covers of U.S. News and World Reports lining the shelves of their favorite chain bookstores. They open them and find what? Stanford, Yale, Northwestern ... all yawning pits waiting for families to toss piles of cash into them. That is, families who can wedge their kids into the ranks of legacies and moneyed elite.

To disturb the perennial rankings of US News and World Reports, the editors of The Washington Monthly have put together their own list of college rankings. Their rankings for national universities and liberal arts colleges are here and here.

For gay, lesbian and other queer teenagers breaking into the "best colleges" can have to contend with bigotry and hatred aimed straight at their sense of self-esteem. It doesn't matter how they're ranked in the straight press. So, Alyson Books has released The Advocate Guide for LGBT Students. I know, they didn't include all the letters (what is it, LGBTQI now?), but they're trying to address that all-important transition to the four-year college that many of us choose to make.

Here in Minnesota we have 5 campuses with a range of 16-19 "Gay Point Average" out of 20, as reported by the Minneapolis StarTribune. The gayest? The sprawling University of Minnesota campus, of course.

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Gay point average: 19

Fact: The nation's oldest fraternity for allied gay, bisexual and straight men, Delta Lambda Phi, has its largest chapter here.

Quote: "The university has been a champion of LGBT inclusiveness and progress."

Source: The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students

Now, take a deep breath, crack open a couple guides that are geared more toward your experiences and values and have a nice cool glass of water. I'll wait.

So, how are you feeling now? Still stressed? Well, to lower your stress load right this very minute, I suggest unwinding with this bit of fluffy goodness. Relax! It's just life.

Is That All Ya Got? - CSIS Takes a Stab at Meaning of N. Korean Test

2006-10-09T12:36:00.000-05:00

Unwilling to say for sure whether they believe North Korea has even tested an atomic bomb, The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC released a report today that explores the ramifications and possible meanings of the alleged blast.

So far, the only source attempting to establish a yield seems be Park Chang-soo, spokesman at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, a state-run South Korean geological institute, which AP says stated that the magnitude of the tremor could indicate the test was equivalent to the force of 550 tons of TNT.
It is far from clear that this is a reliable source, and statements referring to a "550 ton" yield seems too precise and too early in calling for such a small yield to allow immediate verification.

It should be noted that the weapon the United States dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on Aug. 6, 1945, was equivalent to 11,000- 15,000 tons of TNT.

It goes on to report that it is possible this was a test of "material that is highly enriched but short of true weapons grade."

In my previous post, I wondered at the implications for our upcoming elections here in the US. The CSIS report also speculates on this possibility.

North Korea Makes Monday Morning Worse

2006-10-09T06:54:00.000-05:00

As though it weren't bad enough that millions of people around the world have to get up early this Monday, put the freedom and relaxation of the weekend behind them, and place noses against grindstones. Now, it appears as though the world "will be entering a new, dangerous nuclear age," according to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Would you like your coffee with a splash of paranoia and uncertainty?

This morning the United States Geological Survey recorded a magnitude 4.2 earthquake about 40 miles north of Kimchaek, North Korea. The official Korean Central News Agency announced that the nuclear test that caused the earthquake "was conducted with indigenous wisdom and technology, 100 percent." Not only a literaly earth-shaking event, but leaders from all over are shaking with barely contained outrage that North Korea would be so bold as to continue nuclear testing after they've all politely (or not so politely) asked it not to. North Korea joins the vaunted ranks of the United States, Russia, France, China, Britain, India and Pakistan, countries that all possesses nuclear technology. Welcome, folks.

According to Japan's Manichi Daily News,

"North Korea is believed to have used plutonium from its Yongbyon reactor. North Korea started operating Yongbyon in January 1986 and began developing nuclear weapons. From 1989, it began reprocessing nuclear rods, producing about 6 to 12 kilos of plutonium, or enough for one to two nuclear weapons.

An agreement with the United States in October 1994 shut down Yongbyong, but North Korea announced in 2003 that it had pulled out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It started up Yongbyong once again, removing 8,000 rods for re-processing into plutonium at different stages in October 2003 and again in March 2005."

Now, it remains to be seen whether this swings U.S. voters back to the Republicans. The GOP has consistently tried to link its candidates with security while painting the Democrats as lax on that front. However, recently the Mark Foley scandal convinced many that the Republican Party is not the party of values they thought it was. Will even an atomic blast be able to muffle the cries of "think of the children!" issuing from the nation's heartland?

Billing US Taxpayers for the Iraq War - How much are you paying?

2006-10-07T10:51:00.000-05:00

If you had an extra $3,000 how would you spend it? A vacation for you and a loved one? A down payment on a reasonably priced used car? How about a pair of M-16s? The National Priorties Project has calculated the costs of the Iraq war per taxpayer and broken that down into a helpful map to illustrate. Residents in Minneapolis, Minnesota have funded the war to the tune of nearly $570 million dollars. Unfortunately, the numbers just keep rising.

Of course, this isn't the true cost of war. Most would agree that the loss of life far outstrips the amount of money paid by US taxpayers, even as wages stagnate in a slowing economy. For that we have to look at, in part, the American dead and wounded and Iraq civilians.

Finally ...

2006-10-07T10:06:00.000-05:00

Minneapolis was perhaps one of the last places in the US that I thought I would end up. But, circumstances being what they are and life being what it is, here I am. Now, after nearly three years (or has it been over three years, now?) I think this city has been a wonderful place to explore new avenues of expression and take on projects that would have been impossible in California, or other expensive and highly-hyped locales. Here I'm eking out an identity that includes

Freelance writer

I've written for local magazine Lavender and, years ago, for newspapers in California.

Poet

Through a Jerome Foundaiton grant, I and 5 other wonderful poets are mentoring with Sun Yung Shin in a program administered by SASE: The Write Place. This mentorship will culminate in a reading at Intermedia Arts . Stay tuned for more details on that.

Fiction writer
Journalist
Landlord
Homeowner
Blogger
9 to 5 cubical jockey

You can bet I'll be blogging on all the topics above. As well as issues in the local and national lesbian, gay, queer, intersexual and transgender community.

And perhaps the crowning glory of it all, the jewel in my scepter of self-expression, the pinnacle of literary self-indulgence: I ambivalently present: this blog. Inevitable, no? I thought I would write a mission statement.

Words and Tricks establishes an intellectual space in which I and others can explore the impact of public and private ideas on our lives. The majority of posts I make to this site will concern the public realm of journalism, gathering news from around the web that I think readers will find interesting or compelling.

Posting by others to this site will be encourage to foster community.

It will also serve as a space for me to post excerpts from my work as a fiction writer and a poet and to market myself as a freelance writer.

So, there. One caveat: I reserve the right to change this statement as my goals for this site change and evolve.

Why have a statement like this? Well, one of the issues that kept me from being even halfway interested in starting a blog is that I'm not interested in posting a personal journal online. This isn't to say that a project like that doesn't have merit (after all, voyeurism is the force that underpins this whole World Wide Web, isn't it?), but that reason simply isn't enough to get me to the computer and pin me there to write And it's all about words. And tricks.

Just a couple days ago I read this post by Guy Kawasaki and I was struck by the first item

1. Think “book” not “diary.” First, a bit of philosophy: my suggestion is that you think of your blog as a "product." A good analogy is the difference between a diary and a book. When you write a diary, it contains your spontaneous thoughts and feelings. You have no plans for others to read it. By contrast, if you write a book, from day one you should be thinking about spreading the word about it. If you want to evangelize your blog, then think “book” not “diary” and market the heck out of it.

Of course, he doesn't believe in mission statements either, but you know ... take what you want and leave the rest. The statement gives this blog the focus it needs to remain pertinent, in my mind.

So, thanks for reading, enjoy and please comment.

Chris Pommier
c.pommier AT yahoo
Minneapolis, MN