baldilocks

Go Fund Me Bleg

UPDATE (9/27/2013): Eight donations for $275 so far, and I'm grateful for that. Please let your friends know about this campaign.

 UPDATE (9/25/2013): Excerpt from Arlen's Harem. Language alert.

ORIGINAL POST:

Can we consider this a bleg? I think we can. What do I need? I’d like fans to help me be able to finish my second novel, tentatively titled Arlen’s Harem.

At the top of the left sidebar, you can see the Go Fund Me image which has an embedded link. The widget doesn’t fit there and it is uneditable but, of course, it will fit here.

 

What I’m trying to do:

My latest project is a novel entitled Arlen’s Harem. Its main protagonists are Arlen Tortelli, Cordelia Okoto and Deanna Desmond. The three are friends and are refugees from heartbreak.

When Arlen’s ex-wife Monica continues to needle him after leaving him for another man, he, Cordelia and Deanna devise a plot to get back at her.

The story is set in Los Angeles and Fullerton.

Arlen’s Harem is my second book. My first is Tale of the Tigers: Love is not a Game. Like Tale of the Tigers, Arlen’s Harem will be a self-published effort in both ebook and paperback formats.

I have six chapters of Arlen’s Harem finished, and plan on having at least fifteen chapters.

I have one person working for me: a graphic artist and maintainer of my book site. [Right now, he’s working for free.]

And, at the link, there’s an itemized list of the things I need to finish this project.

Some immediate needs:

• Fees for my two websites, this one and my book site, created with Adobe Muse. It’s $14.95 per month for each and I’d like to pre-pay them for a year. That amounts to $358.80.
• Fees for Stamps.com, which enables me mail out autographed copies of my book(s): $192 per year, not including postage.
• Self-publishing fees for my old novel, Tale of the Tigers (So I can sell it in person): $1200
• And one month’s phone and Internet fee: $250
• Coffee!…tea just isn’t cutting it.(Gevalia, Dunkin or any brand; whole bean or ground; any flavor as long as it's not French roast or Amaretto.)

As soon as I get enough additional donations to take care of the two websites and the phone, I will post an excerpt of Arlen’s Harem here and link to it on the Go Fund Me page.

If Adam Carolla can crowdfund a movie, why can’t I do the same for a book? Right? And did I mention that it will be my second book?

And, okay, okay! I have already started blogging regularly again. :)

When Delineation is not Segregation

Marie and Sebastian Stroughter of African American Conservatives and Kevin Jackson of The Blacksphere have collaborated to form the Black Conservative Census, urging conservatives who happen to be black to “stand up and be counted.”  Of course, this is in response to the Big Media-driven notion that racism is indicated in the facts that most black Americans are liberal Democrats and that most of those who protest in/sympathize with the Tea Party movement are white.

An absurd notion, is it not?  As my friends Mike and Sonja T. mentioned, if all-white groups over two in number were automatically racist, they became an official racist mob when their first-born entered the fray.  (They have four.  I'm scared!)

Deeming a group 'racist' which labels itself by race/ethnicity or incidentally consists of mostly one race isn’t an idea exclusive to Big Media, however.  I recall that, back in 2005, when Jay Tea of Wizbang! was kind enough to publicize the efforts of another black conservative online alliance--the Conservative Brotherhood--a lot of assumptions were made regarding the nature of that group; assumptions which existed solely because we billed ourselves as a 'black' group. Many of us who belong to CB waded into the comments section and tried to dispel erroneous notions about the group, some of which were astonishingly stupid and racist themselves.

As it often goes, however, when people are on the side of the angels, one of the most eloquent defenders of the concept which produced the Conservative Brotherhood was Jeremy Pierce—the husband of one of CB’s members, Samantha.  Jeremy is white.

The point of the CB is so more black people will be exposed to their ideas, because those are the people whom these ideas will most directly affect and the ones most commonly ignoring the CB members as Uncle Toms who are in Whitey's pocket.

(…)

It's a matter of connecting with those who have similar views from the same background, a group who tends to be ostracized and marginalized merely for being both black and conservative.

(…)

As they [band together], they haven't isolated [themselves]. They've just taken note of each other and become allies, with a central location that links to all of them. Then someone comes along and calls them racist, and others say it's immoral and against conservative principles. Why? Because they care about race. If we say it's racist or immoral in some other way to care about race, then we're not going to care about race, and that's going to feed into all the problems that come when you ignore the real racial problems in this country. That's catering to institutional and residual racism. It's thus part of the complex social forces that perpetuate racial problems. It's thus racism.

One of the ways in which discord and distrust have been sown for years by racists of all colors and persuasions is by accepting as valid the perception in which any group which formed on the basis of ethnicity is automatically racist, especially if the group is white—no if, ands or buts.    So it is that Wizbang! guests applied the same standard to a black group--ignoring the nuance inherent in the adjective ‘conservative’ and ignoring the CB members' displayed words and actions up to that point in time.  These people decided to see something sinister (no pun intended) in anything labeled black or composed mostly of black people.  

(It doesn’t feel too good, does it, fellow Tea Partiers? And now you know why I posted the message about my affiliation with the social network, The Professional Black Writer.)

It’s the flip side of identity politics.  It replaces thinking. And in acknowledgment that some people don't want to think these concepts through, Jackson and the Stroughters have provided a not-black affiliation field for the census. Understandable.

Admittedly, however, President Obama’s racialism—indicated both before and after his election—has made mere “pride” in one’s heritage even more suspect.  That racialism started on the very day of the election and has been officially condoned by the Obama Justice Department.   The Obama Administration has planted and continues to plant the seeds of mistrust and discord among American brethren.  Simply put, it has painted a target on each of our backs.

I assert that it’s up to all of us to think things through and to recognize the administration's strategy for what it is—a means to destroy the United States of America—and not to buy into the mutually-assured destruction this president offers.

Shorts

Stephen Green makes a sacrifice.

Blackfive goes to the dogs.

Obama is black.

Velociman is not.

Sarah Palin is scary.

Fausta's Show

I made my third "appearance" on Fausta's BlogTalkRadio show today. It will be up for your listening pleasure tomorrow at 8AM PDT/11 EDT.

It was the first time that I forced myself to listen critically to my speaking and I must say that my public speaking skills have gone down the tubes. That will have to be remedied.

Of Interest, August 27, 2008

• Chris Muir's Day by Day needs your assistance. I don't think that the pay-off it too obscure.

• La Shawn Barber, who did a great deal of work to chronicle the Duke Lacrosse Saga, notes that Crystal Mangum—the woman who falsely accused three Duke University lacrosse players of raping her—has a book coming out on October 1. My comment: it seems that everyone involved in that case has paid for Mangum’s lies except Mangum herself.

• The Donovan does the DNC by proxy: Different women, same politics.

• Mocking the Left: Who better to identify the art of Bravo Sierra than a former Soviet agitprop pooper? And it most certainly is art.

• What is it with Obama fans and Classic Star Trek imagery? (See the other example here.) VDH isn’t laughing.

• Amanda Carpenter posts three lecture videos featuring a Khalid al Mansour—an apparent adherent to the Nation of Islam creed. But is he the same Khalid al Mansour who civil rights icon Percy Sutton says helped Barack Obama get into Harvard Law School? Richard Fernandez investigates.

• And Matty O’Blackfive, Jimbo, Marc Danziger, NZ Bear and Mary Katharine Ham visit that deep, dark place that is the HQ and genesis of every Right-Wing Plot--Blackwater—and they don’t invite me.

What I'm Reading, July 7, 2008

Bloggy version.

• Criticism for the National Black Republican Association for the 'Racist Democrats' ad from Harry R. Jackson Jr. at Townhall (via Hip Hop Republican).

• Patterico Wants You.

Help me compile a full list of Obama’s flip-flops.

Leave a comment fully documenting one or more flip-flops. Links are critical.

Neo-neocon says that it doesn't matter.

His only deep commitment is to becoming President, and that he has not compromised.

• Get out of Africa or it will perish...instructions for the UN.

Climate change? Bullsh*t. The UN is killing Africa by coddling butchers like Mugabe and hyping a “problem” that we barely understand. What’s worse, [UN Secretary-General Ban-ki] Moon wants the wealthiest nations in the world, which are in the best position to help Africa, to demolish their economies to “solve” the problem. That’s beyond ignorant. It’s reckless.

Preach it.

• So what does it indicate if a black person doesn't like watermelon? Wait. Forget I asked. (Via Instapundit)

• Why your love for America isn't like your love for your Mother.

American patriotism is fundamentally of a different class than all other patriotisms, because [...] it is not founded on a place, nor on a heritage, but on a set of ideas, to which any may freely subscribe.

If true, then the patriotism of some can indeed be questioned.

Two Years It's Been

And it seems like yesterday.

I missed the anniversary (June 26th) of the death of my friend Rob Smith aka Acidman, but I don't think he would care. It wasn't his style to get all in a snit about such things. That's why I liked him.

His blog remains updated, using reposts of his excellent missives and the repeats garner few comments; however, on the day in question there are many tributes to that crazy "old" man. Go and see.

Listen to Fausta's Podcast Tomorrow!

Tomorrow at 8AM PDT (11AM EDT), I'll be talking with the lovely Fausta Wertz on her Blog Talk Radio Show. I'll put up another reminder in the morning.

The subject is Obama, of course.

Form of Flattery...or Something

I found this site because of a link to the post 'Over the Side.' When I checked it out, the posts seemed strangely familiar.

Glenn says that it doesn't belong to him. So is this site an aggregator or is the proprietor merely a thief?

New Media Support

I do need your support, but if it comes down to a choice, I'd rather you hit Bill Ardolino's tip jar than mine; he's going back to Iraq.

I'm going to Baghdad next week to embed with the 2/1 Stryker Cavalry Regiment operating in and around Sadr City. The showdown between the Mahdi Army and US and Iraqi government forces is currently the most important story in Iraq being covered (and miscovered) by the mainstream press, and I'd like to provide an accurate, on-the-ground perspective.

Why Ask Why?

Over at the blog iSteve, Steve Sailer has been blogging Obama for some time. He happened to come upon the work I've done regarding the situation in Kenya, featured it and, as a result, I'm getting a nice little traffic upswing. Thanks and I take my not-wig off to you, sir.

Steve finds it fascinating that Obama and I managed to develop polar opposite political philosophies while having frighteningly similar (but obviously not the same) origins. But long-time readers of this blog will know that our political philosophies were not so opposite once upon a time.

I don't know why I went one way and Obama went the other. Some might think that his Ivy League education is the factor. Perhaps. However, I suspect that there are three additional issues which make up part of the difference: 1) my upbringing was not foreign (his was partially), 2) I grew up without the type of identity crises which the senator seems to have experienced* and 3) my parents are still around for me to argue with.

But, of course, these factors by themselves or even considered as a whole don't necessarily lead to conservatism. Sometimes the answers to such questions aren't immediately at hand. Sometimes the answer is--Grace.

[Re-edited with more caffeine]

*IMO, this is due to his being biracial. Now, careful. I'm not saying that all--or even most--biracial persons experience this. But his biracial-ness coupled with the fact that both parents essentially abandoned him had to cause him to ask "who am I" for quite some time.

Caution: Women Blogging

John Hawkins profiles five popular bloggers of the distaff persuasion and poses several variations of that musical question of whether it's hard out here for a chick.

As for me, I don't get a lot of nasty email, nor too many ugly comments regarding my gender or my race, especially since I moved my photo down "below the fold." (On the down side, when I do get them, they're infuriating.) Having a handle that seems masculine helps to alleviate this. Many people aren't inclined to read my "About" page, where my obviously female given name appears.

But even when I had my pic at the top, I received scant verbal abuse. Perhaps there's some about a nearly bald black woman which discourages such behavior.

Another advantage of having my pic at the top on the front page: I got more traffic. But I decided to leave the photo where it is and let my words do the communication. Everything is a trade-off.

However, I may change my mind twenty to thirty pounds from now. :-)

Of Interest

A rare, non-Kenya round-up...well, almost.

While President Bush meets with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Crawford, Texas, a Crawford grandma almost turns a Danish report into Swiss cheese. The whining in the comments is hilarious. (Thanks to Memorandum)

That lady isn’t the only grandma who needs to be monitored more closely by her offspring.

Barack Obama praises Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) for reading the NIE and voting against the Iraq War Resolution. One problem with this: Rockefeller voted yea on the resolution.

Christopher Hitchens departs pleasantly from political fare and enumerates some of the hazards of being a bibliophile. I empathize and have another one to add in a subsequent post.

Having been originally handed the novel No Country for Old Men by his wife, Actor and Conservative Brotherhood member Joseph C. Phillips reviews the Oscar-nominated movie. Observes Phillips: “There is clearly a side to my wife that I do not know.” Good going, Mrs. Phillips!

Oh the Humanity! (Blame Nice Deb)

I bet when someone looks up USMC or Marine in an encyclopedia, that there’s a photo of this guy. Well done, sir.

The Moderate Muslim—not so mythical after all. Michael Totten:

Almost no mention is given to the Kurds of Iraq who are just as Islamic as the Arabs in that country, and who purged Islamists root and branch from every inch of their autonomous region. “We will shoot them or break their bones on sight,” one Kurdish government official told me. More people have been murdered by Islamists in Spain than in their region of Iraq in the last five years. Such people can hardly be thought of as passive.

And finally, a missing perspective on the Obama-in-Somali-garb flap, from a Newsday columnist named Katti Gray—another black woman who chooses to look like herself. Read the first comment also.

UPDATE: Ouch! (Psst! Dude, they have cordless phones!)

Good News

Glenn Reynolds has the word that Australian blogger Tim Blair is "out of surgery and doing fine." Blair was diagnosed with colon cancer.

Goodbye...For Now

Okay. It’s break time; not “give-up” time, but break time. As many other impromptu pundits have seen fit to do, I’m going to let my blogging go for a bit. The simple facts are this:

• I need to get out and make a real living, as no one is hitting my tip jar...and why would they?
• There are dreams that I’ve long had—which indeed involve writing, but don’t involve blog-writing--that I am going to follow before I become too old to do so.
• So many events, singular and on-going, have led me to feel that my expressed opinions are useless—and that feeling has spilled over onto the quality of my blogging. Additionally, I know that there are many new trends and technologies which I could add to the site, but…I don’t want to. Or rather, simply put: I’m just not feelin’ it.

I know that, at some point I will “feel it” again. Oh not just for the occasional post which I may even put up next week, but the scheduled, sustained and tenacious type of posting which I used to practice a couple of years ago. I can’t do that now; it’s almost as if it’s become an unpleasant chore.

This site will be here for the foreseeable future and, as I said, an unforeseen subject/event may spur me toward posting even tomorrow, but as for now, I’m outtahere.

See you around.

Just Reading Today

Guess Who: "Death to the Dictator!"

Black Nerds: A Short History of My People (Thanks to Michael)

No hearing for you, Masri!

“The First Refugee from Western Europe Since the Holocaust”

Real Men Defined

Another wrongfully accused man freed with help from The Innocence Project

Hanson in Iraq (Part One)

Babalu: Inside the Real Cuba

Not ready for BET: ♫Play that Country Music, Black Girl!♫

Stay Off My Side

John Hawkins asked me to participate in one of his regularly-scheduled polls of conservative bloggers. The topic of this one? Select Your Least favorite people on the Right." For the record, I submitted nine of a possible twelve candidates; six made the list, including the top four. The results feature mostly politicians and public, professional and paid pundits. My choices, however, were a tiny bit more eclectic.

My First Foray with the MSM

Well that was fun, though my nervousness became apparent during the discussion on the All American Presidential Forum. I froze up a bit (plus I was insufficiently caffeinated). Click here to listen.

One of the benefits of having to prepare for the segment was that I was forced to read up on the scheduled topics: the Forum, the Blackwater incident and, unfortunately, O.J. Simpson’s latest collision with the criminal justice system. Since the NPR segment is a mere fourteen minutes long and designed to include short opinions from three people, I will put my extended thoughts on the subjects directly. Don’t worry. My O.J. opining will be mercifully short.

What's Happening

Sorry for the silence, but I have some things in the hopper. Have to do a little research and go out and take a few photos.

Additionally, be on the look out tomorrow at the Bloggers' Roundtable: Politics and Pop Culture, a feature of NPR’s News & Notes. You might hear a certain voice therein. (Be gentle with me; it’s my first time.)

With me will be Baratunde Thurston and Lynne Johnson.

In the meantime here’s some interesting reading:

“Choose Victory.”
--First Sergeant Jeff Nuding (NYANG) to his US Senators.

GOP candidates Giuliani, Thompson, Romney and McCain decline to participate in the September 27th Republican Presidential Forum--an episode of the Covenant with Black America-sponsored All-American Presidential Forums on PBS. Some black liberal Democrat bloggers are calling it a snub.

The taser incident rounded up by Michelle Malkin.

The King of Castle Arrghh!!! swoops in to rescue his Queen from an Army of anti-Warriors! Or something like that.

An Internet Age incarnation of the Piña Colada song--with a different ending than the song.

A Swedish cartoonist recalls the spirit of his Viking ancestors.

The Top Ten Most Polluted Places in the World—how did DC manage not to make this list?

A North Florida Federal prosecutor “carrying a Dora the Explorer doll, hoop earrings and petroleum jelly” is arrested in Detroit as he attempts to introduce himself. To a five-year-old girl. In order to have sex with her. :::barf::: What is it with these perverted politicians? Millstone. And, yes, it’s another Republican. (Thanks to TalkLeft)

And a Muslim receives love, healing and prayers—from Christians.

Bloggers Meet the President

Bill Ardolino and Bill Roggio--who, at present, are in Fallujah as Public Multimedia Inc. (PMI) embedded bloggers--get to interview President Bush via satellite. Bill A.:

My question focused on how national political reconciliation will affect progress in the Anbar Province and Fallujah specifically, and the President's answer honestly surprised me in its length, level of detail and grasp of events on the ground.

Click the Bill links for more and/or click the PMI link to contribute to the organization's efforts.

The Internet is So Scary!

The two Eds--Morrissey and Driscoll--take down Ellen Goodman’s column in which she laments the male “bias” of the political blogosphere and claims that women are intimidated by the “angry white male(ness)” of it:

Who knows how many women are scared silent[?]

All I have to say about Goodman’s opinion is…

Absinthe & Cookies
Ann Althouse
Anchoress
La Shawn Barber
Tammy Bruce
Beth C.
Cal Tech Girl
The Cotillion
Beth Donovan
Connie du Toit
Rosemary Esmay
Gates of Vienna
Mary Katharine Ham
Arianna Huffington
Sondra K.
Little Miss Attila
Rachel Lucas
Michelle Malkin (and then there's her other blog)
Jeralyn Merritt
Moxie
Neo-neocon
Obsidian Wings
Samantha Pierce
Helen Smith (Reynolds)
Mahndisa Rigmaiden
Shay Riley
Pat Santy
Villainous Company
Fausta Wertz
Sergeant Wilks
Angela Winters
Zombie

And, of course, yours truly (see the comments).

Trust me. These ladies (and their co-bloggers) aren’t discussing kittens and ice cream. And I Pity The Fool^TM who would try to intimidate any of them, especially Ms. Bruce or Mrs. du Toit (and not just because of who Connie is married to, either.)

Ellen Goodman needs to get her "eyes" checked.

MORE:

Amy Alkon
Amy Ridenour
Allison Kaplan Sommer
Meryl Yourish

MORE (Most from Comments):

LauraW
Adriana Cronin
Darleen's Place
Atlas Shrugs
The Outraged Spleen of Zion
Exit Zero
Electric Venom
Redsugar Muse
Sisu
Maia Lazar

And Maia's mother, Cathy Seipp (RIP)

MORE:

Making Light

Suffice it to say, we ain't scared.

UPDATE: Check out the comments section to discover more of us "poor, intimidated" distaff bloggers.

Comments

...held for moderation, temporarily.

UPDATE: Moderation off.

UPDATE: The rather excitable Mr. Wilson will no longer be gracing us with his presence. If I want to put up with a puling, illogical narcissist, I'll have a baby.

Power On

As you may have noticed, this blog--and the gajillions of other Six Apart blogs--have been down for several hours. Now while I was concerned that a large DOS attack was in progress, I was even more concerned when Six Apart sent me an email about its main facility in San Francisco--it had lost power. As it turns out, much of downtown San Francisco suffered from intermittent outages today.

SAN FRANCISCO—Sporadic power failures hit the city Tuesday, affecting a broad swath of downtown, including the arena where the San Francisco Giants play.

About 51,000 homes and businesses were without electricity at the height of the outage, which started at about 2 p.m., said Pacific Gas & Electric spokeswoman Darlene Chiu. [SNIP]

AT&T Park, home of the Giants, was also affected hours before a scheduled night game.

Six Apart Inc. said its sites began failing shortly before 2 p.m., and the company sent an e-mail to customers blaming the city's "power issues." The San Francisco-based blog hosting service reported that power had resumed shortly afterward, but employees were checking data and computers.

Several other Internet sites with offices in San Francisco had problems Tuesday afternoon, including Technorati, Yelp, Red Envelope and CNet. It was unclear whether the problems were related to the outage.

San Francisco-based classified site Craigslist.org was down Tuesday afternoon, but founder Craig Newmark said he didn't know why.

Bay Area Rapid Transit trains were operating normally, though one downtown station was running on backup batteries, a BART spokesman said. The San Francisco Police Department said it had not received additional calls related to the problem.

The spokesman for the company that maintains the state's power does not know why the outages were happening (I assume that the power is, at present, sustained.)

I'm glad to have my personal platform back up, but I'm even more glad that nothing more serious was happening in San Francisco. (The city may be filled with moonbats, but they're still Americans). And, as I typed the preceding words, I got angry; angry that every large-scale failure of equipment now must fall under the wait-and-see category--wait and see whether they had anything to do with it.

Of Interest

Valerie Plame’s civil lawsuit filed against Vice President Cheney, presidential adviser Karl Rove and others for allegedly leaking her CIA identity to the media has been dismissed—if only for jurisdictional reasons. Of course, not everyone is happy about it. (Thanks to Memeorandum)

Have elements of the Left been subsidizing the enemies of the United States? According to Colonel Robert “Buzz” Patterson, USAF (ret.), author of War Crimes: The Left's Campaign to Destroy Our Military and Lose the War on Terror, they have. (Thanks to Tantor)

Speaking of Marxists--or rather ex-Marxists (maybe) could a new Cold War be brewing? Or merely a Tepid One? At Real Russia Project, Yuri Mamchur discusses the recent “Lobster Summit” between President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin and the disparate reactions between the European and American MSM.

Another blogger heads to Iraq and needs your support.

And, to end on a fun note, Independent Sources has some quaint images from that bygone innocent era—the 1950s.

ADD-ON: The back-in-the-saddle-again Jeff Goldstein observes with chagrin as the Christo-fascists attempt to suppress freedom. What? They weren't Christo-fascists? My bad.

Things Are Changing

...as I warned.

As a part of my slow revamping of this blog, I went into my main blogroll last week (on the left, under the heading "Ton O' Blogs") and weeded out quite a few links.

Here were the blogroll cuts: if a blogger hadn't posted in the calendar year, if the link lead to a '404' or a 'domain name available' message and/or if a blogger overtly expressed the intent to quit blogging, I deleted the link.

There are, of course, some sentimental exceptions, like Steven den Beste's USS Clueless or Gut Rumbles, composed by the late and very lamented Rob Smith aka Acidman. (Gut Rumbles remains current and consistently features new updates consisting of old posts).

My request to anyone whose blog I may have deleted in error, to anyone who would like a link or anyone who was previously listed but has a new domain name of which I'm not aware: post a comment here or email me at baldilocks[at]sbcglobal[dot]com.

Speaking of new domain names, I happen to have one: http://www.luoamerican.com/baldilocks. As far as I can tell, however, the old one will still work. If I can figure out how to remedy that, I'll post a notice.

Re-structuring

Readers may have noticed that Pajamas Media ads no longer appear on this site. Before any blog rumors get started--and we know how much some of us like to engage in those for sport--PJM and I are still on amicable terms. I am simply restructuring the financial nature of my blog and needed to stand alone for a bit. As a matter of fact, I would gladly rejoin the collective after the changes are completed--if PJM is interested.

And, as you can guess, the appearance of this blog will be in flux for a bit.

Admitting That You Need Help Is The First Step

And I need help. I can’t keep up with the quick-moving events here at this blog and do my job at Pajamas Media too. I have about ten drafts in my control panel that got away from me as events moved on. However, don’t worry--I’m not shutting down. What I’d like to do is to take on three to five co-bloggers for about a month. Of course I have standards: no smut, keep the obscenities to a minimum (if you must use them, use asterisks; taking the Lord’s name in vain is out altogether). You don’t have to be a conservative or a Republican and you don’t have to have a blog of your own. (Hear that, Mom?)

If you’re interested, please email me at baldilocks-at-sbcglobal-dot-net. And I’ll try to throw in a few missives of my own during that time.

I, for one, will be glad when these midterm elections are over. And just to throw in a little commentary on the subject, I think that the Republicans with retain the Senate and that the House is a toss-up. I’d almost like to see the Democrats take the House just to see an impeachment vote—not a masochistic wish, but only one to see whether a Democrat-led House will put the country over vengeance (after doing various renditions of the happy dance, of course).

See you sooner than you think.

Back (Sort Of)

No, I'm not dead or even tired. I have three drafts sitting here in my control panel waiting for my attention.

I suppose I could be keeping this site updated with the MidEast War, since that's what I've been doing at Pajamas Media. But somehow, I'd rather separate that work from my work here. Of course, that isn't a hard and fast rule.

I'll try to finish some of those drafts and make some more unfinished business to finish.

Fund Raising

To keep the Protein Wisdom flowing, go hit Jeff’s tip jar. For an example of why you should do so (aside from the funnies), see this post.

Right Left Coasters

If you want to know what the Bear Flag League has been up to, the good Mr. Miller has it all squared-away in a nice alphabetical list.

Of Information and Access

NZ Bear sets up a conference-call question and answer session between the three candidates for House Majority Leader--John Shadegg, John Boehner, and Roy Blunt--and several bloggers; very interesting.

Also, read why one of the participants--Dale Franks of Q and O--is less impressed with acting Majority Leader Rep. Blunt (the understatement of the…well, hour).

Typekey

Okay, I'm tired of approving comments already. Get a Typekey account or...Via con Dios.

UPDATE: Call Tokyo!

(Thanks to teal marie)

Notice

If you are having problems reading the comments in my blog or the sidebars are duplicated or look odd, don't worry. Some changes are being made.

Not Imperial Enough

I guess I need to get in touch more with my inner Diva because Bruce over at GayPatriot
neglected to include me in this poll.

The probable disqualifier is that there are too many wire hangers in my closet.

(Thanks to Cathy Seipp who is indeed a formidable Blog Diva, most definitely the accolade.)

Number Four

And not crying! This blog landed in fourth place in the Weblog Awards of 2005 under the category of Best of the Top 251 - 500 Blogs! In front of me are Austin Bay (#3), Michael Berube Online (#2) and Sadly No (#1).

Thanks to all who voted for me and even to those who didn't vote, but read; I feel fortunate to have finished so highly. I'll try to do better next time. Additionally, I need to get to reading these higher finishing blogs--not just to learn how to finish higher, but to add new perspectives. I have Austin Bay linked but I've never read the others. They will be added to my blogroll, politics notwithstanding.

Weblog Awards

If you're so inclined, vote for me in the

Linkage

Yes, I've been busy. Why do you ask?

Baggy-Pants Logic: Cobb, uncharacteristically, rants and rants good.

Ken Summers is ‘hawking’ a book.

It’s that most wonderful time of the year: the Army-Navy game.

A non-Christian contemplates the war on Christmas.

There’s an interesting conversation going on regarding the future of the Democrat party, the prominence of the Left therein, its manner of discourse and what it may mean to all of us here, here, here and here. Check all the links; you may have to backtrack.

Dan at Gay Patriot notices that John Kerry is somewhat fickle. Say it ain't so!

And Marc Danziger is conducting a polite discussion on the pros and cons of the original premises of the Iraq War and of 'staying the course.'

Stacked Deck

Indeed (yes, I'm bragging).

Two Three of Clubs I am (military only). But that lower card can hurt you.

Don't Start None, Won't Be None

Now Ms. Althouse asks the “feminists” to come to her aid as she continues her inexplicable vindictiveness against the fledgling Open Source Media:

One thing Kevin [Drum, who, early this year famously asked where the women bloggers were] failed to note is that male attacks on women are not so much of a food fight as a sex fight. Blogosphere-strength fighting with a woman takes on an outrageous sexual tone, aggressively declaring that that this is a boy's game. Are there any feminists around to see when it's happening and say a little something?

Well I don’t know if I am a feminist. As Dean Esmay noted some time ago, black women and Latinas tend to roll their eyes at white feminists, simply as a matter of relativity: most of us never had to fight for our right to work and were often treated a little too equal to our menfolk.

I’ll be polite and won’t tender a virtual snort (as to eye-rolling, well…). But I will note that when a woman starts a conflict and, in the midst of it, turns such poetic phrases including “pus and semen” in relation to a criticism of the name of a venture and then complains about an “outrageous sexual tone” and aggressiveness, the word hypocrisy comes to mind.

My dad told me that if a man ever hit me that I should pick up the heaviest object I could wield with some dexterity and flexibility and try to stuff it down his throat.

However, he also told me that if I ever hit a man first that I should expect to get hit back and that some men might use the weapons available to them as well; that it was only fair.

Accepting reality, human nature and fairness and eschewing victimology, rather than falling back on it when one can't take the heat: that’s feminism.

UPDATE: A new virus has mutated to the human form: ODS. Different from BDS in etiology, it pops up in unexpected places.

Open Source Media (UPDATED)

Pajamas Media has morphed into Open Source Media. The new portal features seventy bloggers (including yours truly).

The keynote speaker at today's New York opening was one Judith Miller, late of the New York Times.

LaShawn blogs a few of the panels and poses with Stephen Green, who's a little distracted.

Alexandra von Maltzan is fortunate enough to get a photo of the OSM bigwigs. (Heh.)

The Instapundit is combining work with play, making Glenn a tired boy.

The estimable Richard Fernandez is among this number.

And it seems that carnage and mayhem just seem to attract that Protein Wisdom guy.

UPDATE: An outsider looks in.

UPDATE: In relation to the link immediately above, Charles and Roger invited Ann Althouse to be a part of (the former) Pajamas Media. She declined because it wasn't worth her while. Fair enough. That said, however, she seems intent on talking down the venture for whatever reason, in spite of the fact that her main hits-benefactor is a part of the new OSM.

It's as much a mystery to me as it is to any other on the outside looking in. I understand the criticism, but not the vitriol.

UPDATE: The lovely Pamela of Atlas Shrugs is in the house, representing for the Cotillion.

Big Party

Hords of New Media, Pajama-clad, Right Wingers, Leftists, Moderates, the Well-shod, and the Well-in-the-Bag are descending upon hapless New York City as I post this for the Pajamas Media Gala Opening.

Meanwhile, I’m just going to follow this guy around.

A party waiting to happen.

UPDATE: See the Yahoo article for Pajamas Media's new name.

In The Cards

Vote for me to be the Queen of Clubs!

Interview With a Bald Black Chick

At National Journal's Blogometer (scroll way down).

Cotillion: Freedom Fighters

This week's Cotillion roundup is hosted by Portia Rediscovered. Go forth and read.

New Format

The Conservative Brotherhood is now an aggregator. Please add us to your RSS feeds. (Speaking of the IT illiterate, I'm hoping that I got all of that terminology correct.)

UPDATE: From Cobb, the RSS URL is here.

What's Been Going On

Though I haven't been writing, I have indeed been reading and these are the items that have drawn my interest.

Patterico, playing to lovers of lawyer jokes everywhere, is ready to make a good start end it all over the Harriet Miers nomination to the SCOTUS. Check out all of his subsequent posts.

Steve H., previously one of Ann Coulter's many worshipers, is kicking her to the curb. He says that it’s over her faulty logic in her stance on Miers, but I think it’s because of her refusal to eat roast pork on a spit, or cornbread or flan or darn near anything else.

Rep. Curt Weldon goes ballistic (in a good way) over Able Danger and the Defense Intelligence Agency's apparent attempt to smear its whistle-blowers. AJ Strata has more and Captain Ed has much more. (Background is here.)

The Wilson-Plame maze still goes on, allegedly to determine who blew the CIA cover of one Valerie Plame after her husband, Joseph Wilson IV disputed the White House's claim that Saddam Hussein had attempted to acquire nuclear weapon materials from Niger. I’d be the last to say that I have a handle on who might have done what, but one issue I don’t find ambiguous is this: according to this standard, no law has been broken. Remember that the next time some legislator goes off on a tangent about wasting time and money (like that’s ever going to happen). Tom Maguire is the best source for all things Plame and Roger Simon smells a snipe hunt.

And, as Florida stares another hurricane straight in the eye, Val P. puts on his hurricane deflector hat. (Is it made of tin-foil?) Speaking of tin-foil, one wonders what George W. Bush has against his little brother. After all we just know that the president is producing these things from his hurricane machine located in the bunker deep beneath the White House. Right? Right? Or is that type of schizophrenic paranoia applicable only when the local government is incompetent?

On a serious note, Val also observes that Cuba will catch the worst of Hurricane Wilma, for specific reasons.

It Sure Would Be Nice

If someone bought a Blog Ad.

Bad Girls

The Gray Tie (who has a beautiful site) single-handedly hosts the Cotillion this week.

Additionally, to spice things up, we of the Cotillion are holding a Blogger Babe contest (men only; sorry, we’re being heterosexualist). All you fine blogging gents who think you are All That and the requisite Bag O’ Chips are encouraged to volunteer either with me or your favorite Cotillion babe (which, of course is me anyway, right?) For more details, go to Beth’s site.

Guys, just think of the lovin’ you’ll get! Linky type, that is.

Busy Week for the Cotillion

I was remiss in putting up my Cotillion post. It turns out it’s a little late also and it’s in two parts. Also posting are Fistful of Fortnights, SondraK, Soldier’s Angel Holly along with Jody at Steal the Bandwagon. Good reading!

Bigger and Better Things

Conservative Brotherhood member Michael King will quit blogging, but the reason is a good one: new employment (which, hopefully for him, means more money).

Hope to see you on the tube again, Michael. God bless.