bookmark_borderSharing Ice Packs

What a crazy day.

Lorna got out of the car to deliver a package. There were three barking dogs dancing around her but she’d met them before, just not all at once. She put the package on a table on the porch, where she usually leaves them, then turned to go. One of the dogs, the one that actually lived there, bit her in the back of her leg. The skin was barely broken but she’s got one heck of a bruise.

I was wearing a button up shirt over a sleeveless tee. I had some errands to run so I took off the over shirt. As I took it off, I whacked and scraped my hand against the door jamb. Let me tell you, I about hurled my toenails. My poor pinky finger took the brunt of it. My pinkies are short and crooked. Now with it swollen and red, it looks quite strange.

Lorna used the ice pack first. She said sitting on it was very very cold! Once she was done, and it wasn’t so cold, I used it. My finger is very sensitive to touch and earlier I couldn’t handle the ice.

She grunts each time she sits down and I wince each time I accidentally use my little finger on the keyboard. Fun fun fun.

bookmark_borderGCLS Short List is Out

The Golden Crown Literary Society’s short list was announced yesterday. A “short list”, also called the “finalists”, is made by tallying the scores from the judges and listing the top X number from the nominees. For example, there were 22 nominees for “Debut Author”. The short list is 8 names.

Oh, and Paula Offutt is one of them.

Wait, *I* made the short list?

Yep! I did I did! Last night I was kinda bummed because the book wasn’t short listed for the Lesbian Romance category. There were FIFTY nominees in that category and it was up against greats such as Karin Kallmaker’s Finders Keepers and Lynn Ames’ Heartsong. Then Lori L. Lake emailed me to offer congratulations and, in the course of other emails, reminded me of the high number of nominations for Debut Author. I felt much better after that.

Congratulations to all the finalists. Lesbian fiction is growing and we all, readers and writers alike, are responsible.

Linkages:
Golden Crown Literary Societylist of nomineeslist of finalistsGCLS Convention

bookmark_borderWords Words Words

There be power in ’em.

Was cruising folkses blogs today and visited Irysangel (aka Jill Myles). She has a post up titled “LiveJournal Hivemind, help!” With a title like that, I just had to see what she wanted (although I am not part of the LiveJournal Hivemind, fer shur)

As folks helped her out, they gave links to various sites and I am just droolin’ like mad!

Synonyms24.com – whoa, dudes. “Welcome to synonyms24.com. This is a collection of more than 100 000 english synonyms. You can search for english synonyms by typing in a word above or by browsing through the synonyms.” How cool is that? I had fun there, looking up various words, following thoughts and concepts along the way. Awesome.

The Phrontistery, Compendium of Lost Words – “Welcome to the Compendium of Lost Words, a component of The Phrontistery. The Compendium lists over 400 of the rarest modern English words – in fact, ones that have been entirely absent from the Internet, including all online dictionaries, until now. By revealing the existence of these words online, I do not necessarily promote their revival, but I do encourage an appreciation of the flexibility of English vocabulary. In theory, the Compendium will be the only web page on which each of these words occurs in its proper English context.” You must check out this site. The words are just amazing. And you can use a few and people think you actually know something! Seriously, though, some of these will be perfect for this one character I have. Be sure to check out the links in the sidebar.

I always use WordWeb to get the meaning of a word and possible synonyms. Now, though, if I am not quite happy with the results, I can hop over to the Synonyms24 site.

bookmark_borderCarrying On

Greetings! No, I wasn’t sucked into an alternative alien universe where they used me for their bizarre and somewhat kinky experiments on middle-aged humans of the lesbian persuasion. I have merely been sucked in the that alternative universe known as Real Life. You know, THAT alternative universe we try so hard to avoid yet, we still got bite marks on our collective asses.

I am writing again, slowly, not surely, but it is there. I think about my projects a lot, usually at the oddest times. But I open up a document, stare at it for a while, and close it down. Sad sad sad.

We all wear figurative hats. You know, the “daughter” hat we put on for Mothers and Fathers Day. The “sister” hat we put on when we hear the newly 13yr old nephew has his own laptop and has permission to use it in his room, unsupervised. Then there’s the “writer” hat and the “lover” hat and the “Mistress of the Dungeon” hat and the “lesbian” hat and the…well, you get the idea. Sometimes, one hat gets put down and not picked back up very often. Sometimes, that hat is misplaced and/or forgotten.

I am a PWD (short hand for Person with Disability). I have put down my PWD hat and, frankly, just haven’t even bothered to look for it in a long time. I used to wear it a lot. I was advocate, spokesperson, pert near ADAPT-like in my drive to gain equal rights for myself and others. But that hat is heavy and wears down the energy after a while. One can only advocate for a nearly 18yr old law for so long.

Today I got the ADA Pipeline, put out by SEDBTAC (oh how we love our capital letters, eh?). It seems as though last year some people in congress got it in their heads to revise the ADA. The Supreme Court has, basically, turned it into a nearly useless document. “On July 26, 2007, the 17th anniversary of the ADA…introduced the newest version of the ADA Restoration Act of 2007 (HR 3195 and S 1881….)”

I’ve not read much to see just what they are trying to do. If nothing else, this will bring attention to the fact the ADA has been fucked screwed killed by the US Supreme Court. Some of what they have done has been for the better. But most has not.

Keep your eyes and ears out for news on this. We’ll see how far they go with it. I’m thinking not very far at all.

Linkages:
SEDBTAC (Southeast Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center) – ADA Pipeline
AAPD (American Association of People with Disabilities) – ADA Restoration Act news
HR 3195 – House of Representatives version of the ADA Restoration Act

S 1881 – Senate version of the ADA Restoration Act