Inspired by desiringsubject and leayrdel, I worked more on my writing/revising this past week, and sent a draft of my fourth chapter to my advisor today. There are still three places where I need to insert quotes, but since the articles containing those quotes are in boxes, and the boxes are still at the old apartment (and take some effort to get to), I decided not to wait & just send the document along so that I could stop tinkering with it and start working on the second chapter. Next up is my chapter on The Watermelon Woman and Liebe Perla -- I got the draft into better shape early last spring, and so I feel confident that I can finish a close-to-final chapter draft before the end of the summer (or at least have it in good shape to share with the dissertation workshop in the fall).

So, for those keeping score at home, this means: 2 chapters down, 2 to go, plus intro + conclusion.

My horoscope for the week could pretty much be my horoscope for the year:

ARIES (March 21-April 19): "The only way to get a difficult feeling to go away is simply to love yourself for it," says author Christiane Northrup. "If you think you're stupid, then love yourself for feeling that way. It's a paradox, but it works. To heal, you must . . . shine the light of compassion on any areas within you that you feel are unacceptable." While I personally believe this is a crafty strategy, I suggest adding a twist in order to double its effectiveness: As you're loving yourself for your difficult feeling, literally laugh out loud at how crazily worried and wound up you are about it.

Oh how I love Rob Brezny!

		I will marry Tilda Swinton.
		After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in Stockholm in our fabulous Mansion.
		We will have 1 kid(s) together.
		Our family will zoom around in a teal pickup truck.
		I will spend my days as a young adult librarian, and live happily ever after.

Yesterday's library catalog searching breakthrough (one I can't believe I didn't think to try before):

Keyword search for music by record label!

My search of the Minuteman Library Network retrieved results for:
"jagjaguwar"
"thrill jockey"
"drag city"
"touch and go"
"kill rock stars"
"too pure"
"sub pop"
"k records"
"chainsaw records"
"matador"

(you get the idea)

sadly, no results for "siltbreeze"

can you tell I paid more attention to indie labels in the '90s than anytime since? are there other labels you'd recommend i try?

mowe has his interview for the humanities reference librarian position at [Private University in our Neighborhood, where desiringsubject and imfvd are students]. At 9 a.m., he's teaching a research instruction session for the search committee & library staff, then he has a full day of interviews.

Please send good thoughts his way!

I am so excited about this! Queer liberation at Pride!

(I'm bummed I won't be in town for the forum on June 20).

I should clarify that when I asked about shorts, I was thinking about everyday wear. I'm totally pro-shorts for special queer occasions (Pride, Gross Anatomy, etc.), and plan to wear them this summer, a la Team Gina.

Stylish people (this includes any of you who self-identify as or aspire to being):

Under what conditions do you wear shorts? Nogoodforme.com draws our attention to some summer looks involving shorts that I really love, but I have issues with being 32 years old & short, with hips & thighs (in other words, not like those models in Vogue Paris).

Boston-area friends: What are you doing for Pride?

I'm thinking about going to Optionz, but would feel *more* like going as part of a pair or group (honestly, going alone to something this big kind of scares me). desiringsubject, if you're still looking for dance party opportunities, this could be for you!

Last year I was out of town, so I missed out on all the fun. If there's stuff you regularly do (or avoid), pls comment & let me know.

xoxo!

I came back from the Thinking Critically: Alternative Methods & Perspectives in Information Studies conference on Sunday, and my brain is still processing what I heard, and I'm still tired from back-to-back conference weekends. I'm trying to figure out what to do next, since this was one of those conferences where I left with many questions, some points of confusion, the desire to read/explore along avenues suggested by other participants, including: locallibrarian's talk on difference at the foundation of library space & praxis, Lefebvre's notion of 'everyday life' in the context of information-seeking research, "ethical surveillance" (I have questions about consent), resistance studies, globally distributed algorithms, and more).

I was also really happy about what happened in our free time: the folks from QZAP invited syndetic, locallibrarian, our new friend Nat, and me over to their house for an amazing meal & good conversation. It was nice talking about politics, personal histories, bodies, and identifications in that space, with that group of new friends -- especially after our theory-heavy day at the conference. We got to take walks through some neighborhoods on Friday evening & Saturday afternoon, and had drinks and read poems & back issues of L's zine, Deviant Recipes, at the Hi Hat Lounge.

Tomorrow morning, I head to Columbus to take care of E. for a week. She's recovering from her surgery on Thursday, but still can't be up and around much, and needs help with errands, cooking, stuff around the house. I'm so glad I get to go help. I don't know what my internet access will be like during that time, so if I'm not on email or lj much, that's why.

This will only have deeper significance for Columbus friends:
I am so jealous of mowe, he is eating at the Flying Pizza right now.

Dear everyone involved in FemmeCast,

You are fabulous (and smart, and funny, and have lovely voices), and the cast is amazing, and I want all of my friends to listen. Where else would I find whipsmart social justice commentary + BSG fangirl love + fashion tips + sex talk all in one hour? Already, you're improving my life.

Thank you!
xoxo a.

I will be in your city this weekend, presenting at the GLBT Archives, Libraries, Museums & Special Collections conference at CLAGS, surveying the state of hott queer librarian/archivist thought + fashion, and thanking my lucky stars that I work at a place that pays for me to have such adventures.

The conference is open to the public, and there's a $10 entry fee per event, and students/low income folks can register for the whole thing for $20.

I'm not planning any kind of late nights for Thurs. & Fri., and may have plans on Saturday night, but if you know of any good shows/events happening this weekend, please share!

xoxo

There is a possible new-living-arrangement plan that mowe and I are exploring with some good friends. And we haven't even talked to our landlord yet, and haven't really had the kinds of conversations we need to have with anyone involved (including each other), but I'm having a hard time focusing at work today because I keep thinking about it & imagining living in a huge place with friends who cook and share meals, and have a garden plot, and would mean a big reduction in rent, and lots of roaming space for the cats, and daily hugs. This entry deserves its own moodicon, I think.

Miss Piggy channels Peaches!

(brilliant, but not work safe).

Copied from Jenna's blog at Radical Reference:

Do subject headings still matter? We say they do.

Does the Library of Congress always identify accessible and appropriately named headings and implement them in a timely manner? We say not always. All you have to do is spend one day behind a reference desk to see examples of biased, non-inclusive, and counterintuitive classifications that slow down, misdirect, or even obscure information from library users. As librarians and library workers, providing access to information is important-and classifying it in ways that are inclusive and intuitive strengthens our egalitarian mission.

Between now and Sunday, April 27, Radical Reference invites you to suggest subject headings and/or cross-references which will then be compiled and sent to the Library of Congress. You can either choose one previously suggested by Sandy Berman (pdf or spreadsheet) or propose your own.

(& seriously friends, there are some really fantastic, much-needed subjects headings on Sandy's list, above.)

Here's how to get involved...

Do any of you have muxtapes? Or have you found any to love? I need to figure out what's involved in posting, I'd like to make one, too.

Recommendations & URLs in comments would be fantastic.

xoxo

obsessing:

The Organ, "Love, Love, Love"


The National, "Mistaken for Strangers" (first song in a long time that's made me want to do a drag king act, though I have no ideas about making anything other than hipster impersonation)


The Mountain Goats, Sax Rohmer #1


Bon Iver, "The Wolves (Parts I & II)"

Feeling like a total crankster today. Not wanting to be at work, not wanting to be outside (too cold and rainy!), jealous that mowe has days on end with no- or partial-work, so he can write & hang out with his new Boston bff, wishing I were in Columbus helping Erin get ready to leave on her big adventure (hiking in South America for almost a month).

But, there are good things:
+ I wrote an outline for my next conference paper, which might actually help me re-organize my fourth dissertation chapter (the one that's giving me so much trouble; I put it away in December, thinking that it was close to being a done draft, but pulling it out again, I'm seeing problems I missed earlier because I was in a not-seeing-the-forest-for-the-trees situation)

+ April visits this weekend. We've had lots of visitors, all of whom have seen other places we've lived, so they understand our general level of cleanliness (not bad, but floors could always stand to be washed, dishes are never totally done, pile of laundry in the bedroom is contained at best). But April has lived with us before, and is basically family, so there's no pressure to clean up in the few hours between work & her arrival.

+ I've convinced the Woman's Studies selector here that the library should subscribe to several new serials: Bitch, The International Journal of Feminist Bioethics, Feminist Theory, and Sexuality Research and Social Policy. I'm excited to know they'll all be making their way into our collection soon.

+ The rain stopped long enough for me to walk into town & get coffee before my reference shift. I'm glad I paid attention to my body's urging me out of my chair, away from the computer, despite the gloomy weather.

I'm actually ahead of the game for once. Back in January, during wintersession, when I wasn't teaching & doing lots of refdesk work, I created some of my cource-specific research guides in advance (definitely not all of them, however). Thanks to thinking-ahead-in-January-me, stressed-out-in-March me is getting some relief today because the course guide I need for Monday is already done. Hurrah for enough bonus time to actually think about pedagogy!

Earlier this week, thinking ahead to Gross Anatomy at the end of the month, I ordered this dress to wear out (I've decided to be brave & loving with my hips). The clothing line is designed, in part, by one of my grad school BFFs, Melanie. She, atiron, mowe, and my dear friends April & qvalentine are proving that life after an M.A. (or its intellectual/spiritual equivalent) in Comparative Studies can be happy & satisfying & creative & hott. A year from now, I hope to be proving that life after a CS Ph.D. can be the same.

On a related note: yesterday, I got Donna Haraway's new book, When Species Meet, via interlibrary loan. For some reason, I'd been extra-impatient to get my hands on a copy after seeing it at the bookstore, and was actually getting anxious about the possibility that I wouldn't receive it this week. I suspect that my excitement signals a new level of nerdiness. But friends, it's Donna Haraway. Writing more about humans & dogs & companion species. And unlike 1998-me, 2008-me can actually move through Haraway's writing with pleasure. What's not to love?