Dancing with Myself

Blogging

I haven't posted much, lately, although I have been writing.  I just haven't been writing well.  There are three parts to blogging:  writing, editing and publishing.  When the writer, the editor and the publisher are all one person, the weakest link in that trinity is the editor.  This past month, however, my editor has asserted himself and the publisher has agreed.  The writer has agreed to the re-write.

Maybe we do get burned out and need to step back.  Thank you all for your thoughts and well wishes.  I am fine, I'm just writing a lot of crap these days and until that changes somewhat, I'll just lay a bit low.

Seven Things

In a previous posting, I complained that no one ever "tags" me.  Does it mean that no one is interested in my experiences, or is it just that  we figure everybody is as busy as we are and don't need to be pestered with these high school kind of games?  When's the last time Kevin Drum got tagged, eh?  Yeah, well, it's childish, but if all your friends are playing a game and you're the odd duck out, you start whining "you guys never choose me."  Andante felt sorry for me and tagged me, just so I wouldn't feel excluded.  Oh I don't care why I got tagged, just as long as I was.  Ready?  Let's play Seven Things!

Seven Things to do before I Die

1.  Live in Paris.

2.  Live in Berlin.

3.  Remember anyone whom I've short-changed --intentionally or unintentionally -- and pay all unpaid debts be they emotional, kharmic, financial, social, or otherwise.

4. Live, live, live!

5.  I could go on, but I think you get my gist.

Maybe I don't dream big enough.  Most of the things I can think of that I want to do before I die, I'll probably do in the next year.  Not that I expect to die, but I have a short attention span, and I have to do as much as I can before I forget.  There's a difference, but not much.

Seven Things I Cannot Do

1.  Whistle

2.  Play basketball

3.  Speak French.  You'd be amazed at how many people think I'm fluent in French.  I've faked it well these past twenty years, but the first thing I want to do after I retire is to move to Paris for about a year and really learn to speak French.

4.  Speak German.  See previous paragraph and substitute German for French and Berlin for Paris. 

5.  Fly.  I occasionally dream that I can fly.  In my dreams, the physics of flying are very simple.  I am able to channel energy out from an area under my shoulder blades that causes me to lift and move with the grace of a hummingbird.  This is the only reoccurring dream I've ever had, and I've had it enough times to believe it.  Except that I can't.

6.  Recall the names and titles of books I've read, movies I've seen, lists I've read, etc. instantly for the purpose of impressing others with the breadth of my intellectual curiosity and cultural depth.

7.  Stop obfuscating and bullshitting when I don't really have anything to say.

Seven Things That Attract Me to Blogging

1. I get to express myself.

2. Instant gratification

3. Interacting with people.  I love meeting people.  Hell, that's one of the reasons I like going out to bars.  People go there with the expectation of meeting other people.  My bar of choice is now the Internet.  You get to meet all sorts of people.  And just like at the bar, not everyone you run into is someone you want to hang out with.  It is not foreordained that we will all like each other and get along.

4.  Ranting and  raving about whatever it is that excites me for the moment without having to annoy others who have to work next to me and cannot escape when I begin a tear.

5.  It has enabled me to write my autobiography, one memory at a time.

6.  I have been able to tell the story of my mother's people without the approval, censorship, or acceptance of academia, or my many cousins either, for that matter.  Now when you Google my family's name, you get my story along with the misinformation from the University of Texas.

7.  All of my personalities get a chance to express themselves.  So far I've identified about half a dozen of my personalities, five of whom have their own blogs.  Blogging at least helps us keep our shit from getting mixed up.  Oh don't get so paranoid, we're just teasing about all those personalities.  There isn't that many of us.

Seven Things I Say Most Often (not in any particular order)

1.  Fabulous (I am Gay after all)

2.  Me as well.

3.  Eh?

4.  Blessed be

5.  Bush is such a total loser.

6.  Cheers

7.  Sugah

Seven Books That I Love (and unhesitatingly recommend to others)

1.  Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment, by Thaddeus Golas

2.  Mr. Palomar, by Italo Calvino

3.  The Mind's I, by Douglas R. Hofstadter

4 .  The Powwow Highway, by David Seals

5.  The Gospel According to Jesus, an edited teachings of Jesus by Stephen Mitchell

6.  Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier

7.  Conduct Unbecoming, by Randy Shilts

Seven Movies, Plays or Operas That I Watch or Could Watch Over and Over Again

1.  Babbette'sFeast

2.  Sordid Lives

3.  Monsoon Wedding

4.  Tortilla Soup

5.  A Streetcar Named Desire

6.  Bijou (it's a porn classic from the early 70s)

7.  Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert

At this point, I'm supposed to pass the meme on to seven others. Here's the thing.  I don't know seven people well enough to ask, so I'll start a list below, and if anyone wants to play, sign in and leave your blog address and we'll all go over and read your lists. 

Now wasn't that fun?

 

 

I Want to Play, Too!

Those popular blogger kids never want to play with me.  They go around "tagging" each other and I'm always the last kid chosen, just like it was when I was in grammar school playing any sport.  I'm going to play anyway.   Here are a bunch of questions some other bloggers are asking each other, along with my answers.

1. Four jobs you have had in your life:

Counselor at a Jewish summer camp in the Catskills (1970).  I was hiding out as a draft dodger, on my way to Canada.  Who would think to look for a goy in the Catskills?

Maitre d'Hotel, Bear 'n Seal Restaurant, Fairbanks, Alaska, 1972-1973, while simultaneously serving as secretary to the Chief of Staff, Ft. Wainwright, Alaska, 1972-1973.

Judicial Secretary to Justice Stanley Mosk (1987) of the California Supreme Court (where I continue to be employed in a different capacity).

College instructor, Vienna, 1989.   My then-boyfriend arranged for me to accompany his German language class from the University of North Carolina to Austria for the summer.  I lectured on central European history. 

2. Four movies you could watch over and over:

Sordid Lives
Monsoon Wedding
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Harold and Maude

3. Four places you’ve lived:

Barrow, Alaska
San Francisco, California
New Orelans, Louisiana
New York, New York

4. Four TV shows you love to watch:

The Daily Show
The News Hour with Jim Lehrer
Malcolm in the Middle
Friends

5. Four places you’ve been on vacation:

The Isle of Mull
Puerto Vallarta
the Canadian Rockies
France

6. Four websites you visit daily:

Hairy Fishnuts
Wonkette
Altercation
Americablog

7. Four places you’d rather be right now:

Hawaii
Paris
North Carolina (don't ask)
Love

8. Four bloggers you are tagging:

I'm not tagging anyone.  I'm Dancing with Myself.

What Kind of Blogger are You?

This one from Mustang Bobby over at Bark Bark Woof Woof.

You Are a Snarky Blogger!

You've got a razor sharp wit that bloggers are secretly scared of. And that's why they read your posts as often as they can!

What kind of blogger are you?

What a nice thing for a stranger to say about me as a blogger.

New Blog, Old Friend

I'm delighted to add a new link to my blogroll.  Fragile Industries made its debut this past week.  Its author is none other than one of my closest friends of the past fifteen years, Lisa Lorea.   How close?  I married her.  No, I didn't get married to her, but I did perform the celebration when she married her most recent ex-husband.  I'm not going to say too much about Lisa, afterall, one of the reasons we write blogs is to introduce ourselves.  She'll tell us all that she wants us to know.  I will tell you this much, she's one of the best writers I've ever known, and I've featured her poetry twice.  Do check in on Lisa and welcome her to blogging.

Everybody Say "OM"

My blogbuddy, Jaye, over at Winding Road in an Urban Area (don'tcha just love the name?) has just finished Day Two of the Texas Bar Exam.  I just spoke with partner Jon.  She's a wreck right now.  We need to all think about her right now and send her good vibes.  She's just one of the smatest human beings in the whole world, and she's going into the Third Day which is writing, and that is her strength.  You Go girl.  You're going to kick ass! 

Awards for Blogging

It's an honor just to be nominated.  Yeah, right.  However, at least one of the finalists in one category is on my blogroll, and I want to urge you to go vote on her behalf.  That would be Always Victoria.

Many of my regular readers are also fans of Victoria, so you already know who she is. The category for which she is nominated is Best Inspirational Blog.  It may sound hokey, and sometimes it is, but there are times when she touches your heart.  Actually there are lots of times when she touches your heart.  You can vote once a day I'm told. 

I voted for this blog because of the mission statement right under her name:  "The lovely thing about being me is that I'm so good at it."  Right on.

There were several of us nominated, including moi, who didn't make the finals, but like I said before, it's an honor just to be nominated.  So, it's a popularity contest, like high school.  So what?  Go vote anyway.

UPDATE:  I have another favorite.  The name itself deserves a couple of dozen votes:  "N is for Neville who died of ennui."  I so TOTALLY relate.  I used to be more afraid of attacks of ennui than I was of the flu.  You can vote everyday, so go over, read some of the finalists, and vote for the one you read that entertains you, even the slightest.  That's what I'm doing.

New Friends In the Blogosphere

I went out visiting today and liked everyone I met. There are half a dozen new names on my blogroll. It is not meant as flattery. I came across you today and I'm curious as to who you are. If I don't write your name down I'll forget it. I thought each of you unique in some sort of way or another. I hope to get to know you in the weeks to come.

Bitch Fight! Bitch Fight!

Hey! This is good. Some dude accused Ian McGibboney over at Not Right About Anything of plagarism. Watch Ian bitch slap that fucker all over the blogopshere. Go Ian go. I just thought you were cute before. Now I think you're awesome.

EDIT NOTE: I toned it down a little.

Wierd Google Referrals

Dance, John Kerry, dance! Feel the music in you.

For the past week or so, I've had about a dozen to two dozen hits a day from people who have done a Google search for "John Kerry Dancing." I hate to disappoint them, but I do not have anything about John Kerry dancing, although I bet he could if the music were right. While it does wonders for my numbers, I hope they get something from my blog that they can use.

How about a joke? How can you tell when Bush-Cheney are lying? Their lips are moving.

Remember to vote November 2. The future is in our hands. Vote Kerry-Edwards.