Another one of these "get to know you" memes.

( Behind the cut . . . )

Air McNair played college ball at Alcorn State, then was drafted by the Houston Oilers (later the Tennessee Titans) and finished his career with the Baltimore Ravens. He was the first black quarterback to be a top three pick in the NFL draft, the second black quarterback to play in a Super Bowl, and the first black quarterback to be a MVP in the NFL.

 A very nice birthday, complete with fantastic Thai dinner. And candles. And a really scary movie (to facilitate cuddling, I suspect).

:-)

So much is going on, from the events in Iran to the mystery surrounding Governor Sanford to the deaths of beloved public figures, to some upheavals in my own life. I've got a ton of work and am trying to focus on that instead of prowling news sites, but it's not always working.

The good news is, I'm working on some really good manuscripts. The bad news is, deadlines approach ;-)

by way of desayunoencama : Second Person Queer has been reviewed in XTRA! You can read the review here. My essay, "How to Be a Visible Femme," is mentioned :-)

I'm not going to comment on The Question, or her response, or her actions since the Miss USA pageant. The whole thing makes me sad.

But the thing that makes me saddest is that one group of people has been forgotten in all of this controversy: the Special Olympics. Her "cause."

::sigh::

Chicago blues legend Koko Taylor has passed away.

November 4, 2008: The United States elects its first African-American president.

November 4, 2008: California passes Proposition 8, stripping gays and lesbians of the right to marriage previously guaranteed them by the state constitution.



May 26, 2009:  President Barack Obama nominates Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court. Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

May 26, 2009: The California State Supreme Court upholds the validity of Proposition 8.

Has anyone seen the UK series Survivor? Is it any good? The premise sounds a bit like Jeremiah.

I love Netflix. Netflix means I can watch movies whenever I want, because if there's nothing on TV or I don't have any DVDs at the moment or I just want to watch my guiltiest guilty pleasure, I can go online and watch on my computer. And sad to say, my iMac is the biggest and best television in the house anyway.

Over the weekend I saw "Candleshoe," a movie starring Helen Hayes, David Niven, and Jodie Foster. I'd never even heard of it, but it was a lot of fun.

This week I've started watching "True Blood," which just came out on DVD. I edit enough vampire stories that I'm a bit tired of them, but I really enjoyed the first two episodes and am looking forward to the rest of season one.

And if I need a break, I can always stream the first season of "Emergency!" 

I don't have the words to describe this movie, so I'll use the ones from Netflix:


I don't have the words to describe this movie. On the one hand it was too beautiful, too polished; on the other hand, without that beauty it would be almost unbearable to watch. The best I can do is to quote Ty Burr's review here:

My brother and I went to a soccer game last night. Austin now has a professional soccer team, the Austin Aztex. The owner and coach both have ties to Stoke City (EPL team), and I think the idea is that our team is to be a farm club of sorts. Anyway, last night's match was against the Puerto Rican Islanders, who made it to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of play. The Aztex have some good players: Noel Williams, an English footballer; Sullivan Silva, a Brazilian; and Yordany Alvarez, a Cuban who defected during a U23 World Cup qualifying match last year.

Sadly, the team's colors are red and white, which just about guarantees that I will not be wearing any Aztex swag anytime soon--perhaps a scarf, but certainly not a shirt. There's already a fan club: Chantico's Army. As my brother put it, this was the most nerdy group of soccer hooligans you'd ever hope to see. They're very enthusiastic, though, which is the important part. I'm curious to see how they do next season, when the games are no longer held at a high school football stadium (meaning no beer allowed this season).

My brother was coughing and snurfling and otherwise exhibiting signs of an upper respiratory ailment. He claims to have swine, but I don't buy it. Fingers crossed I don't get it, whatever it is. I enjoy breathing through my nose.

And with that thought, I shall get back to work!

I almost forgot to mention - the Romance Writers of America formally accepted a new Special Interest Chapter: Rainbow Romance Writers, for writers of GLBT romance!

YAY! 

It's hard to believe that only a couple of years ago, RWA members had to fight to prevent the RWA from adopting a definition that limited romance to a story of "a man and a woman."

You do have to be a member of RWA to join. I'm looking forward to meeting people at the national conference this summer!

I have now in my bookshelf copies of:

Second Person Queer, which includes my essay "How to Be a Visible Femme,"




and Femmethology, Volume I, which includes my essay "I Know You Are (But What Am I?)."





Needless to say, I'm very excited indeed!

I know it's been a while since I posted, and I don't really have any good reason for that other than I just haven't been feeling particularly social. I just haven't been feeling that well, and there's been a lot of family stuff in the background this year that has me pretty wiped out. I am hoping for three calm months so I can just relax, do my work and not have to respond to any emergencies. Fingers crossed that happens.

Work is going well. I've got a bunch of interesting projects and that's always nice.

I've been reading a bit more the past few weeks, which I love but don't always have time for (or I've been working so much I just can't stand to read anything). I recently finished Made to Be Broken by Kelley Armstrong and quite liked it. I had enjoyed Exit Strategy and was glad to see a new book in that series.

I've been buying more ebooks, which has proven to be as convenient as I had hoped. I've been able to read almost a dozen books while traveling, and I've only had to recharge the Reader once! I don't see myself moving away from physical books in all genres, but for some of the books I like to read, ebooks are a good option.

I wish happy and healthy Pesach, Easter, celebration of spring, or any combination of these, to all of you!

Sorry about the complete lack of updates, but I'm just not feeling much like writing these days.

Been reading a lot, working, watching DVDs.

I'll try to be more interesting soon :-) 

 Fr. David passed away last night.

 I just received word that my great uncle is resting peacefully and will soon leave us. While I am thankful that his illness has been relatively short in duration, I'm not ready to let go of him just yet. I know that makes me very selfish, but there it is.

Can it really be late March already?

It's been springtime for weeks already in Austin; but here in DC, there's still snow on the ground in places. It's nice to not have the air-conditioning on!

I am finally starting to feel better, and although I'm still not quite back to normal, I'll take it. I was not enjoying myself for a while there :-(

And now, back to work!