Blogetary (Weblog + Commentary = Blogetary)

First, just a reminder, I’m still having a contest for a free Peanut Albinos CD.
You have to leave a comment on THAT blog entry (not this one) to be considered for the drawing.

NEXT – I was interviewed and am on a blog on KCET, one of the public television stations here in Los Angeles. You can read the interview here.

FINALLY – My name is now officially on the masthead at the Larchmont Chronicle as “Circulation Manager.” I’m more of a copy girl/maid of all work, but I’ll take anything I can get!

So, thar she blows!

I’ve been loading CDs on my hard drive and then selling them on Amazon or at Amoeba. I can’t really do that with my DVDs, so I’ve been going through and pulling the movies I only kinda liked or the collections where I only had part of the collection but not all of it. Then last week I did a culling of books that could be sellable. I’m not saying I’ve actually sold all these things, but they are all listed on my Amazon.com store and part of that means pulling them from the shelves and putting them in bags around my desk so they’re at hand should someone order them.

This culling has left some room on my otherwise crowded shelves, which is nice.  But there was this one area, my “entertainment” center, where the small TV cabinet my tv sat on and my DVD and CD player sat in was just empty and ugly. Sunday I decided it was time to take that cabinet out altogether since I no longer needed the shelf space for DVDs. It was a bit of a project.

First, the TV, given to me by friends years ago when they upgraded, is one of those very heavy 40 inchers. After I cleaned the top of the TV off of the stuff I kept there (candles, and stuff), I pulled a couple of chairs from the kitchen and was able to ootch the TV from the cabinet and balance it on the chairs. I didn’t want to even try to pick the tv up off the floor once I was done because, well, it’s just too heavy for that. Then I pulled out cords and speaker wires and moved the CD and DVD player. The black pressboard cabinet was much heavier than I imagined — and DIRTY! So, I pulled that off and put it out of the way. That left me with the old metal and wood chest everything has been sitting on for the last few years. It’s the kind of chest that someone would have used when they went away to college early in the 20th century. Maybe the kind of chest a student would use when they went away to Hogwarts. I’d found it for $25 years ago in a land far away and to the north. It is more beat up than when I bought it. I have tried to shine the metal and wood as much as possible, but it’s still old and battered. I realized I hadn’t looked inside in a long time and didn’t know what was in there.

After dusting and cleaning the outside, I opened it up to find the boxes of keepsakes I’d forgotten I had: photos, cards, diplomas, honors cords, a receipt for care from when my family had gone to the health clinic for shots (2 shots and 1 exam came to $17.90 back in 1977), a coloring book of the Christmas story from Montessori School with a note of how Jesus grew up to be the best man in the world (the head teacher – free thinking that she was – had penned in “one of” before she’d signed it – San Francisco in 60s!), papers from college, reports from high school, junior high and grade school, and then, in a Camp Fire folder that I used to adore (red plastic faux leather with a GOLD stamp) I found stories I had written when I was 8 and poetry I had written when I was 13. I didn’t find the poem that was published in the Pioneer Junior High School newspaper back in eighth or ninth grade, I lost that long ago. But, I did find another one I had written I had forgotten about — on Algebra.  And I didn’t find the essay I wrote when I was 8 saying I wanted to be a writer like Laura Ingalls Wilder when I grew up, but I did find the essay I wrote about how I liked mountains. Then on the back of that was the one on how I liked trees. Then there was the essay on how I wanted to be taller than any tree and wanted to grow so I’d be able to reach outer space. Then there was the story about what happened the day the world turned purple.

I’d forgotten all about those things, written and found. It was comforting to see that I am who I am and just always have been this same person.

Then, of course, I had to call and talk to my dad and my mom and my sister and another friend of mine. And after putting it off for a long time, put everything back into boxes, put the boxes back into the chest, close the chest, dust off the TV and put it back on the chest, reconnect the DVD player and CD player, hook up all the speaker wires, find places to put the players, figure out what to do with tv cabinet for the time being, and then stand back, admire my work, and wonder where the day went.

It was quite the personal archeological dig.

Yesterday I had the chance to putter around a real used bookstore, the kind with narrow walkways between really high shelves. I haven’t done that in a while. I was in the hardback science fiction section and picked up a couple of books by Peter David to page through them and see what they were like. There was an inscription in one that went something like, “Holiday 2002, M- I don’t know you that well (yet) but I really think you’ll like these so I got you both. W.”  And the second book had a similar inscription, written in red ink. I’ve forgotten the words, but tone felt like someone giving a Christmas gift at the beginning of a relationship. And now, 6 years later, those books were being sold in this book shop.

I’m always a little sad when I find inscriptions in old, used books. I kind of feel like I’ve found a treasure as well. I’ve found the snapshot of a moment between two (to me) strangers who may, or may not, have liked the same types of books. But it’s a little sad to find them, too. I wonder what caused the receiver of the gift to give away or sell a book that had a loving inscription in it. I don’t like doing that. I don’t like to throw away cards or letters, either. Oh, I do sometimes, but I have a hard time doing it. When someone takes the time to have purchased a book and then pen a note in the fly page to me, it feels really special. It doesn’t matter whether or not I like the book or am still friends with that person, it was an exchange of loving energy. I think it’s sad when someone is willing to just let go of that.

But, on the other hand, who knows what happened on the other side of that story. Maybe the giver was a stalker. Maybe the receiver passed away and his/her family needed to get rid of the books.

So many stories out there.

Top Ten Things I’m Thinking About Right Now (yeah – David Letterman is on):

1) Electric Velocipede is putting some of the stories for issue 15/16 online for free. My poems aren’t going up online, they’ll only be in the journal, but if you have a chance, go over and check’em out. I think you’ll see why I really dig this magazine.

2) More potential work is coming and regular work, but it’s still like pulling teeth to get paid. The economy is definitely impacting us all. A friend sent me a statistic saying California has one of the highest numbers of freelancers – 36%. And with people losing jobs, that number will grow because when people can’t find work, they try to figure out something else and start to freelance.

3) If you’re looking for CDs, DVDs, Tshirts, journals, Christmas ornaments, or whatever, make sure to check out my stores!

4) Remember, the Desperate Halloween CD Blog Contest is still going on through November 2!

5) If you’re looking for things that are a bit more whimsical, try Ang Ranzoni’s shop on Etsy.

6) There’s a NaNoWriMo kick off party tomorrow that I think I might go to. I don’t think I’ll sign up for NaNoWriMo, but I’m in the mood to see friends.

7) They let me write up/type up the Dining Guide at work! Yay! That was kinda fun. New issue (November) of the Larchmont Chronicle comes out on Halloween. If you live in the Hancock Park/Miracle Mile/Windsor Square etc area, you should check it out for neighborhood events coming up in November. And if you have a business or service you sell, consider advertising in the Larchmont Chronicle. The classified ads are only $34/inch and the regular ads are at a good price as well. Since it’s a monthly, these issues are delivered and stay around people’s homes and offices for the entire month – so that’s a month of use and exposure your ad would get.

I had lunch this afternoon with a friend of mine and was reminded why she’s a good choice for 404 City, one of KCET’s blogs. She’s got a wide range of knowledge and interests. Her artist’s mind pictures things in a slightly different perspective so we can get a clearer look at it. Check out her blog when you have a chance.

9) When will the Romance/Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy genre editors/writers decide it’s okay to branch away from the Alpha Male stereotype and write about other types of guys as heroes?  *sigh* First book I pick and read in months and the heroes are just SO Harlequin. Ugh. My own fault for expecting any different I suppose.

10) I need to clean my apartment.

And, now the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is on. I have to go watch. He’s one of my serious celebrity crushes and I don’t get to watch him on weeknights anymore cuz I have JOB!

Have a good weekend.

You know how much I dig post-apocalyptic stories, especially when they’re romances, tongue in cheek, or willing to turn the mirror on humanity and force us to laugh at ourselves and make us see the world a different way. Yeah – I’m not much for the SERIOUS post-apocalyptic stories (no, I haven’t read The Road, and I probably won’t, but I do HIGHLY recommend Gate to Women’s Country by Sherri S. Tepper).

Well – anyway – I think my cousin Simon inherited that same sardonic gene. He and his buddies in their band, Peanut Albinos, have put together an album of songs of  dark sensibility, sardonic humor, and rough music that strikes a chord in all of us, especially these days. Falling From the Saddle of a High Horse combines excellent instrumentals and growly vocals with dark lyrics (not quite as dark as Nick Cave) to create a fun, albeit haunted, first album.

Lucky me, I happen to have a couple extra copies of this album just hanging around, waiting to be listened to.

So I thought to myself, “Rachel, this might be a good time for a blog contest.”

“Hey,” I replied. “You might be right. In this defunct economy, who doesn’t want something for free? But should I give away BOTH of them? I mean…” My voice trailed off into a whine.

“Don’t be silly. Just do the contest and if it looks like a lot of people want the album, give them both away.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Good idea.” I clutched the albums tightly in my sweaty palms, dragonish hoarding instincts fighting with my common sense…..seriously. Cuz, you know, I really am a dragon.

Well, CS won. Talons retracted. And now Putt Putt Productions Presents…

Desperate Days Call for Desperate Measures, or the Haunted Blog Contest for End of the World Music by Peanut Albinos!

So, if you think you’d like to try for one of these CDs, leave a comment on this blog. If you feel like it, write something you like about the end of the world or spooky scariness, or Whatever (see Edward Gorey up above). And on November 2, I will announce the two winners of a this delightful collection of music.

Have a great Halloween! (Samhuin, All Saints Day, etc, etc, etc…)

Okay, so things are beginning to look a little better, but it’s still a bit like trying to redirect the Titanic AFTER it hit the iceberg. And it’s going to take a long time to fix everything, but I think if I keep plugging at it (bailing water, plugging holes, etc), I’ll at least keep adrift, which is better than what happened to the Titanic. I was beating myself up about everything because I’ve been here before and didn’t think I would ever be here again. But after looking at things again, I realized it’s not really the same place and I didn’t get here by the same means at all. I just need to plod along (Slow and Stead Wins the Race…) and keep trying. What’s the alternative?

So, here’s part of what I’ve been dealing with.  My logo (the tree, not the little putt putt car), was designed three years ago when I fell in love with this album cover and a friend of mine (Chandra, who’s a graphic artist and artist-artist, as well as a writer) redid it for me so I could use it for my company logo (well, at first we were talking tattoo, but who wants to spend $500 on a tattoo of such a cool design that everyone should see and not be hidden away as a tattoo?). There was no one credited with the design on the cover, so we all figured it was a design from Celtic mythology.  Chandra did her bit, it was at least 17% different from what was on the album cover, so what was the harm?

So, I’ve been using it on my stationery and stuff and was trying to use it on a Cafe Press store when it got flagged for being like someone else’s design. I contacted Cafe Press, they gave me the contact of the company who said they owned the design (Keltic Designs). I wrote that person to ask about it. And then wrote again a few days later (maybe a week later?) after not hearing from them. I explained where I got the design (Celtic Journey’s album cover) and that I didn’t see this as an issue since  the Keltic Design was different from Celtic Journey and mind was different from that. So, again, where was the harm? Still no answer.

I should have just dropped it and continued to quietly use it for my little putt putt company on my stationery, but I really wanted to get it settled now in case it bit me in the ass later.  So, I wrote a third time saying I really wanted to get this worked out and forwarded the info from the previous email. I FINALLY got a reply back and all it said was, “I’ll get back to you later this week but please just stop using that logo” (paraphrased but basically the gist).

I waited. He never got back to me later that week. I got the impression he’s one of those irritating people who uses his phone for everything and was probably emailing from his phone and that he didn’t like to be articulate via the written word.

I decided to bite the bullet and reply back to him earlier this week to get some kind of details nailed out. I’m one of those people who has to know WHY. If I’m told not to do something or to do something I want to know why. If something isn’t good enough or isn’t liked, I want to know why and then I want a chance to argue my point. It’s why I didn’t go into the military. I can’t obey not knowing the reason behind the order. You tell me to not stand somewhere, I want to know why. You tell me to go do something, I want to know why. In this case, he told me not to use a design I had grown attached to so I wanted to know why. Because if you know why, then you can make an informed decision as to whether or not to do what ever you’re being told to do or not to do. Sometimes you can even find a better way of doing it or a way to get out of it, or even to just back off and go away. The “why” lets you in on the information needed for all that stuff. I’m a big believer in WHY.

So, I finally hear back from this guy. Again, I get the impression he’s just texting me in a hurry from his cell and he could really care less about reading a carefully thought out missive and replying with equal care. (This is the way my mind works. The company is based in San Francisco, so I’m seeing a skinny goth graphic artist with celtic sensibilties, maybe a tattoo or three, those ear bores instead of an earring, and maybe a soul patch, who’s texting me on his iPhone whilst taking BART to Oakland or Berkeley to see a band, or maybe taking a bus from downtown up to a bar on the lower Haight, or even upper Haight.)

So, in his hurried, harried way, he says to give him my phone number so he can call and we can work this out over the phone (notice he doesn’t offer his number) and that “BTW” he sued Celtic Journeys $10,000 for using that design without his permission.

Okay – first – we’re dealing with legal stuff here. I’m more comfortable keeping all that type of discussion between us in writing so it can be referred to later if there are problems. Plus, I don’t give out my phone number to just anyone. I just don’t. And I’m a writer and much more comfortable writing people than speaking with them, especially in regards to these types of issues. On top of THAT, if he were really using his brain and wanted to get hold of me he could have paid attention to my email, clicked on the link to my website that’s the signature in my email and gotten contact information from that. He didn’t do any of that so I’m assuming that to him I’m a nuisance on his cell phone and he’s taking care of it between appointments, bar hops, trips to the Gauntlet for a piercing or tattoo, or something.  And he just wants to call me, yell at me about artists rights, and make me go away. Of course, I’m going to go out of my way to avoid that.

Second – and most important – that little throw away “BTW” comment was all I really wanted to know in the first place! If he’d simply taken the time to read the first (or second) email, tell me he had sued that band at the outset in an articulate email and not sent some seat-of-the-pants text with no real information in it, then I would have backed off at the very beginning. The issue would have been settled way back in September.

*Le sigh* as a friend of mine says. I really do hate that we live in a world where multitasking on phones and texting in short hand is replacing real, articulate communication and thought.

So, I’m in a funk because I have to let go of a logo I’ve been using for a few years. I really liked it. It’s going to mean going through a mourning period.

It also means I need to come up with a new logo. I spent last night coming up with ideas. I have my little putt putt car design that I like to use. I need to clean that up. But I want to keep a stylized tree as an alternate logo because, well, one day, when ya’ll read my books you’ll understand why the tree is important to me. So, I’m going to work on that. One day when I have it all nailed down and have the time I’m going to see about borrowing someone’s Photoshop and making it all right and pretty and official. But, like everything else (including swinging the Titanic around), it’s all going to take time. And I’m reminded once again of “Slow and Steady Wins the Race…” Put that together with the Little Engine that Could (“I think I can. I think I can.”) and you pretty much have the gist of my internal dialogue these days.

Just in case you think it’s all gloom and doom, though. It isn’t. I am learning a lot at my new job as front desk person at the Larchmont Chronicle.  This is basically the job I wanted 20 odd years ago when I graduated from college but couldn’t seem to find (English Lit major in a college town – can you say “fries with that”?). It’s part-time office grunt work, sure, but it’s at a legitimate monthly newspaper, learning how things are done in the print world, laid out, etc. The people I work with are kind, decent people.  I look forward to learning a lot while I’m there. Plus, because it’s part-time (and a five minute stroll down the street), rent is paid and it leaves me time and energy to still do my freelance work and pay those other bills.

Besides, a couple of poems of mine will be coming out in Electric Velocipede any time now (or so I’m told).

On top of that, my cousin’s band, Peanut Albinos, sent me a few extra copies of their new CD, Falling from a Saddle of High Horse. I’m thinking there might be a blog contest for a copy or two in the future once I pull the Titanic around.

Okay, so, it may be a while until I’m back up for good, but I’m still kinda around.

Thanks, you guys, for being there. Hope you’re all doing well.

And don’t forget to VOTE!

I’m having to deal with some stuff (code word for emotional-financial mess). Well, I’ve been dealing with some stuff for the last year, but just as some things have been looking up, other things are getting worse – I don’t know what metaphor you want to use – stuff hitting the fan, shoes dropping, etc – it’s just crap. The jist is that just when I thought things were looking up financially and emotionally, some other things came by and hit me from a completely different direction that I thought was taken care of.  This could effect everything from paying rent and bills, to my blog and website and everything else. So, until I figure things out, I’m going off the air for a little while – taking a hiatus.

So, whoever is out there and still reading this blog, stay safe and keep writing.

I voted!

Remember to register, if you haven’t registered, yet. And in some places, like California, you can vote by mail like I did and send it in early, thus bypassing any lines at the polls, or time crunches getting to the poll place after work, finding the poll place, or even whether or not you happen to be on their list or on the wrong list by mistake.

I like voting at the polls because it’s an adventure to go there and see democracy in action, to know I and others there are exercising our constitutional right to vote on the officials, measures, referendums, and initiatives that we will have to live with. We are actively taking part in governance when we vote, and you can see that when you visit your polling place to vote.

I also like to vote by mail, however, because I like taking my time going through all the pamphlets, looking up judges online, and being able to take the time to go through the pamphlet and make my decision. I do this when I go to the polling place as well, but when I vote by mail, I tend to take longer to make the decisions, mull them over, pick over the different arguments and then drop the ballot in the mail when I’m good and ready. No lines. No fuss. No rushing to the polls.

So, however you do it, go out and VOTE. It’s FREE (well, except for the postage stamp if you mail it in) and it’s your RIGHT as well as your RESPONSIBILITY!

Okay, Jim is a better debater than I am. I get all emotional and worry about what people think of me. So next time there’s a discussion, I’m just going to point to this blog.

I’m so tired of people out there hijacking the term Christian. A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. Period. Jesus Christ fed the multitudes. Jesus Christ healed the multitudes. Jesus Christ was a community organizer. Jesus Christ hung out with prostitutes, zealots, tax collectors, criminals and what would be these days considered terrorists. He loved his family and his disciples. His disciples were his family. He treated everyone equally – female and male, Jew and Gentile. And he followed the primary rule which is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. And the secondary rule – to love your neighbor as yourself.

I think if we paid more attention to those two precepts the rest of the crap would fall away and we’d realize what was really important. Like feeding and clothing and caring for each other. (There’s an old saying: “If everyone gives a thread, the poor man will have a shirt.”). Like cherishing each other and allowing each other to love and have the families that are right for each person as he or she sees fit (gay or straight, with or without children).  Like cherishing ourselves enough to take care of our brains and bodies so that we can think clearly, use our heads, work hard, play well and enjoy the lives we’ve been given and be responsible and husband and cherish the earth that we live on.

Fake Christians don’t want you to do that.

Real Christians (and other genuine believers of other faiths) understand that we all have to figure this out for ourselves. We all have to seek out our own salvation with fear and trembling (to paraphrase Hebrews).

The deadline for registering to vote  is coming up. I think it’s Saturday, October 4 in some places. You can register online here. And you can find the deadline for your state here.

Why vote? Because it’s your right and because if you don’t vote then you really don’t have a very good reason to complain about how things are going.

Yes, having an opinion and defending it can be uncomfortable and a drag and emotionally draining. And a lot of us choose to just keep our heads down to go along and get along, because in our crowded, global world, that’s the best way to survive. The boss tells us to be a certain way, HR tells us to dress a certain way in order to function in our work place.  The editor or gallery owner or whatever other gatekeeper tells you to be a certain way for your work to be seen or read or purchased. So we do that because it’s how we get along. (NOTE: This is entirely different from listening to differing opinions and learning to negotiate and compromise for a greater purpose – which takes a lot of work and is something done BY COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS — who get things DONE).

However, our country, and the world, has suffered enough because of this Ostrich-itis. The problems won’t go away by throwing money at them or ignoring them.  People need to stand up and state their opinions.  Go out, research it, listen to your gut, discuss it with your friends, then go out and do something about it – vote. Listen – you do at LEAST that much when you’re looking for a cell phone or a new hairdresser.

See how I did that? I have an opinion. And I’m voting.