only 157 days sisters!

I can't wait for the line up to come out! Once that happens, and we have our Detroit Crew planning party in March, I can start planning and crafting - planners, party fliers, workshop, everything!!!

Hello randomizers and in particular wrinkles!
1)I think my last post was December 2012, but because I try to write intentionally, I end up lurking more with good intentions to write “just as soon as I can” and here it is mid February.!! I intend now to be as random as possible
2)Ran into a festie on the subway last night.. Lo and behold she has moved to my nabe! SO… I asked her to co-host the Brooklyn May Michfest Mixer with me. My sister was my co-host last year, but she won’t be in town this time.
3) We have a “free box” at work and interesting things show up in it from time to time. This morning I pulled out a book called ‘Mothers In Law- feminist theory and the legal regulation of motherhood” that had THIS interesting essay in it: http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~bitel/documents/3810084.pdf . It got me to thinking of the survival of my own lesbian existence. I thank you, wrinkles for continuing to ask the questions.
4)Since I have been away from the BB, I undertook a critical analysis of The Beasts of the Southern Wild and stumbled upon belle hooks essay on the matter, found here http://newblackman.blogspot.com/2012/09 ... -wild.html
5) wrinkles et al.. still not facebooking, though I have an account so I can see pages. I indulge in some paranoid thinking when I fear Michfest is just letting this BB die a slow death by attrition, but with so many other options available it really does splinter the participants. I like the advertisement free space here, and it has more of a hermetically sealed quality to it. Off the beaten path, harder to access than facebook.
6) At the moment, I am bringing a festie virgin this year and she is a musician as well, so we are debating whether to fly or drive. She doesn’t want to fly with her guitar, but I imagine a lot of other artists fly with their gear without incident? Can anyone weigh in on this?
7)Every winter, towards the beginning of the end, I hit my period of discontent.. I hate/am bored of all my clothes, and it’s been made worse this year due to the fact I just got back from San Diego where the orange and lemon trees are in full fruit and I can wear sandals.. crabby
8) Hockey is baackk!! AND the Islanders are moving to Brooklyn next season. I only say this as I am a Devils fan, and hate going to NJ. Soon I will be able to see the Devils beat the Islanders by subway..
9) I think I may be camping in a new neighborhood this year. Some of my friends want to move from our long time spot to over somewhere between the Vortex and Deaf Way- or even further up towards the path to acoustic stage. I think the schlep will be longer than where we camp now across Lois Lane from Sprouts/Gaia.
10) TrixieBelden- Epic fest plans in the works, eh?? Looking forward to reading more..

Trixie, are you the one who did those little schedules last year that we could order in advance? I loved mine!

-Hi Artemis, always good to hear from you. (i thought for sure the rogue thread would be purged.)

-I read the assignment.

-Let us say (or at least i would) that the law and what is legal are about power, and most often about protecting those who already have the power. There's nothing inherently "just" about laws. They exist to keep systems functioning, but those systems can act to the benefit or detriment of the people who live within them. When they clearly and intentionally cause suffering and exploitation, i think they must be fought and at times outright broken because a legal/political system functioning like that is def. not going to reform itself. Further, i think it is fair to say that the situation unchecked will only continue to grow worse. Besides, it's a law of nature. Human beings can and will only take so much suffering and injustice. (Sometimes, i would just prefer we didn't have such a high threshold.)

-I liked what the author had to say about "domestication" and how it often means for women "separation" (esp. from acting collectively), and think it ties in a little to what has happened with this bb.

-When we let the trolls stop the conversation (or prevent our wiser selves from moderating our own public speech on the board), and the forum becomes "colonized" as the author would say, the Festival loses one of its best means of conveying a sense of its unique, cooperative, colorful and just plain fun community. (That community, i would argue, being Michfest's greatest drawing point - along with the Festival's incredibly safe and accepting space for womyn and girls - and hardest quality to convey to gals yet to attend.)

-That's why the site gets targeted; you know, "silence=death". (ok, that's over-the-top, but it doesn't help the festival to have a community bb with no community on it. As Trixie described, this site can be far more representative of the festival community's space, and we vacated it.)

-on the womyn's basketball front, the H.S. team plays for their district championship this Saturday. It looks good, but if they make it past that game they will start to meet up with the perennial state powerhouses.

-Red, i forgot to ask before, have you ever been to the Ohio lesbian festival? You might really enjoy either crewing or attending it. (I've heard Columbus Prides are great, but have never been.)

-Those lady vols won the SEC after coming fifth in a pre-season coaches poll.(so pleased for Coach Warlick; i'd put a vote in for her as coach of the years so far, but what i really hope is that she keeps up the 100% graduation rate and no recruiting violations)

Artemis - YES. EPIC. I am planning something I don't think has ever been done on the Land before (at least not on this scale). I'm very excited!!!

beth - YES! That was me! As soon as the line up comes out I will be printing this year's edition and selling them by donation to get my BFF Kimmie to fest! We've been friends since kindergarten and I've FINALLY talked her into coming to fest!!!!!!!

Nice! Let us know for sure. Or email me at bethburnett70 at yahoo dot com. I bought two last year.. so sweet. :)

Hey Trixie did I order some of your planners? If not I need to, they were prizes at the party. When you let us know they are ready and I will put out the word to everyone I know.

Great news about Tenn and I totally agree the 100% graduation rate is the most important issue. Because of all of the recruiting violations I do not think Baylor should have been allowed to play this year, but too much $$$ was involved.

I have always heard great things about the Ohio Festival, but never could justify two days travel there for such a short festival, then two days home. Well since I will be retired in five days I think the Ohio Festival is a distinct possibility. And I will look into crew! Thanks Wrinkles.

Red, if I am still in Ohio by then, you can stay with me on your way to/from. :)

Aw, gee! Thanks Beth, I hope I can take you up on the offer.

Red - yes! You already ordered! I will ship yours out as soon as they are finished.

Come oooooon lineup!!!

everything is to be posted in the spring - ISN'T IT SPRING YET?? - oh, maybe after the 20th :-(

IT HAS SPRUNG!!!


WRINKLES you watching the game tonight?

-Now that was a great, competitive game! Such tough defensive efforts from both teams. And what a wonderful way for Diggins to end her Notre Dame home court playing days.

-i agree about Baylor and the violations. How is the NCAA going to keep coaches from cheating if the fall-out for doing so is a slap on the wrist and a national championship? (Plus, i think Mulkey's recruiting behavior helped cause G. Goestenkors resignation from Texas. G.G. couldn't compete in the tight knit Texas recruiting battles. It cost Texas an excellent x's and o's coach.)

-The line-up looks enticing though i'm only familiar with about half the artists. But that's the experience i've prefered over the past years; stumbling into talent i don't already know and enjoying the fresh performances because the quality of artists is always so high.

LINE UP WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOO

I've just started going through the line up and listening to the music of acts I've never heard of...so far I like THEESatisfaction and Sea of Bees.

And (brace yourself!) I will be at night stage EVERY NIGHT. It's insane. But come on...

Wednesday, opening ceremonies, of course (although I'm outta there after that lol).
Thursday - THURSDAY!!!!!!! Hanifa, EMILY WELLS! and MEN!!!!
Friday - Melissa Ferrick (I only want to see her so I can see Drive being interpreted in ASL (and I like that song lol) and TOSHI (whom I've grown to love this past year)
Saturday - God-des and She...and Elvira's top 10!

So yea. night stage. If you want to visit me I'll be in the bad girls section, of course...except for Emily Wells when I will be dancing down front and MEN where I will be as close to the stage as I can get. Last time they played I touched JD Samson mid-crowd surf and I'm hoping to again (swoon!).

I am very very pleased with this line up. There is definetly something for everyone. And I'll be going to a lot of stages this year which will make for a different fest for me lol.

Ohoh and Reina! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi003I_TO4Y !!! :D

-Red, there's lovely weather here today and much to do but it's also one of the three or four best days for womyn's college hoops all year long. (no Tenn SEC championship game unfortunately, but injuries or not, they didn't run a team offense capable of beating A&M).
-i so hope the officiating is better this year. It's unfair to the athletes to change the way the calls are made tournament time just because of a questionable assumption that the fans prefer a "physical" game. Besides, not making legit calls doesn't make the game more physical; eating the whistle (especially early in the game) just makes it a sloppy brawl. Many of the men's coaches often remark that they enjoy the more fundamentally sound game the womyn play. Plus, it looks terrible for the sport. The best refs work the NCAAs. Let them responsably and fairly do their jobs. (i also hope next year they will add the back court 10 second clock. It's long over due.)
-Michigan March Madness means boring the board lurckers with names they know not of playing a game they care not for.
-but to correct the drift, if there are any lurkers, they could just post more.
-girls H.S. team lost yesterday by four in the regional final (to the same catholic school which took them out last year. Ohio has been talking about putting all the private schools into a seperate state tournament but i wouldn't want that to happen)
-if you want to connect with someone about working the Ohio festival, talk to the automotives coord at Fest. I think she would gladly hook you up (and reel you in).
-Happy retirement! (if you're looking for a read to checkout in your free time Pat Summitt has a new book)
-Artemis, i was talking to a musician friend of mine last night. He recommends that if you fly, your friend should check ahead with the airline about their carry-on policy for instruments (best to get it in writing if they say it's ok). If she checks the guitar in, he says she should use a very sturdy hardcase (def. not just a gig bag), add extra padding inside, loosen the strings and be aware that instruments are occasionally stolen/damaged when they are checked-in on commercial flights.