Day by Day – part III

The great thing about Day by Day (by Anne Day) is that each short chapter is a tidbit of information. I’d be tempted to read one a day and use the lesson for my day’s work as an entrepreneur. Alas, I don’t have that luxury since Thursday is fast approaching.

Our conversation on Thursday night (7-8:30pm at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore, 7:30pm over livestream) will be a double joy for me – as a writer and as an entrepreneur. I look forward to chatting with Anne about her book and her work.

The lesson for today? Ask your clients what they want. Perfect, since I’m about to finish this month’s newsletter!

Thanks Anne!

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The Choosing!

Well!

Last night’s conversation was even more fun than I imagined it would be – and I have the Batgirl comic to prove it!

Of course the pre and post conversations are always so much more amusing and easy…because we don’t have an audience. So too bad we didn’t talk more about the missed references to certain..um..film stars, and the details of your Captain Marvel costume. But no matter…

Andrea, you are delightful. Thanks for coming out to the Toronto Women’s Bookstore and sharing your humour, your family, and your insights with us. It was great to hear the stories told in your voice (much funnier than in my head) and I was especially touched by the dedication (for lack of a better word) that you spoke of at the end – writing the book and sharing the stories so your family members could enjoy them too pre-shiva. What a gift.

Folks, if you haven’t picked up your copy of The Choosing yet – get yourself to the Toronto Women’s Bookstore if you’re in Toronto (or order it online if you’re not). It’s a collection of memories that made me laugh, made me cry, and made me remember what family is really all about – warts and all.

If you missed our chat, you can watch the video. Not the same, but almost as good as being there…

If you want to read more of Andrea’s work – you can check out her website www.rabbiandreamyers.com or find her articles at The Huffington Post!

Wise words last night – every day we choose who we are or who we are going to be. Hence the title.

Thanks Andre!

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The Choosing – Part III

Today is the day!
I’m so excited to be interviewing Rabbi Andrea Myers tonight about her book The Choosing, and her life. It’s an interesting title…since it seems like a path unfolded, rather than a choice per se. I will find out this evening.

I’m sad to have finished the book, with it’s wise insights, it’s funny moments and touching memories that remind me of the fragility of family and the many ways we try and fail to accept each other, as well as the many ways we fail to see the effort.

It’s been a great journey to read this book. I’m looking forward to meeting Rabbi Andrea Myers in person, and hearing the stories in her voice.

I hope you can join us – in person at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore, or over livestream.

Tonight – Thursday September 15th at 7PM – 8:30PM EST (7:30PM start for the livestream at www.facingout.ca/live-stream.html)

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The Choosing – Part II

Today I learned that it was Captain Marvel who said “Shazam!”.

It’s not the kind of thing I expected to learn from a book about conversion to Judaism and becoming a Rabbi as a lesbian – but this book has been full of delightful surprises.

Hope you  can join me as I interview Rabbi Andrea Myers about her life and her book, The Choosing – this Thursday, Sept. 15th from 7-8:30PM EST at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore (or livestreamed at www.facingout.ca/live-stream.html).

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Rabbi Andrea Myers

Everything works out as it should.

Turns out, Andrea Myers will be in Toronto for one day only, and wants to spend part of it at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore! The date? September 15th. Go figure.

She will spend from 7-8:30 pm chatting with me about (and reading from) her new book The Choosing. It’s a compilation of stories from her life, and so far it’s a great read.

Andrea Myers was born in New York to a Sicilian Catholic mother and a German Lutheran father – then she left home for college, converted to Judaism, and eventually became a Rabbi. Oh, and she’s a lesbian.

That’s it in a nutshell. LOL. Intrigued?

I have laughed often in the 4 chapters I have read so far. Andrea’s writing is engaging and rich. And I had cause to make a few notes as well – inspired by her stories and their lessons.

Tune back in, I’ll be back with a couple more posts as I make my way through the book before she arrives on September 15th.

I hope you can join us at the TWB from 7-8:30pm EST. If not, we’ll be livestreaming starting at 7:30pm EST at www.facingout.ca/live-stream.html.

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Misogyny and the Emcee

Despite the fact that my partner is a DJ, I don’t listen to a lot of music.
If I did, Hip Hop wouldn’t be at the top of my list.  So reading “Misogyny and the Emcee – Sex, Race & Hip Hop” by Ewuare X. Osayande is an education on many fronts.

This book is a collection of Ewuare’s, written and published over the last 10 years. They all challenge the sexism and racism in Hip Hop lyrics and actions in videos that verbally and physically assault Black women. His point in the introduction is that Black men have to step up against this sexism and racism that is destroying the community. The Feminist Review calls it a “brilliantly concise collection of essays”!

My favourite essay so far is “A Wifebeater is not an Undershirt”. It’s a catchy title and his point is well made: “It is this casual indifference to gender injustice that creates the cloud of fear that many Black women live under”.

Looking forward to meeting and chatting with Ewuare on Sunday June 12th from 3-5pm EST  at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore. Can’t join us? Watch it online via livestream at 3:30pm EST at www.facingout.ca.

Whether you love dogs or not….

Ah, dogs.

Chances are you either love them or don’t think much about them. Originally I was going to dedicate this blog post to the dog lover. But upon further consideration, it’s for the ambivalent as well – maybe even (dare I say it) for those who don’t like dogs! (gasp!)

I have started reading On Toby’s Terms in preparation for my In Conversation with author Charmaine Hammond next Saturday June 18th at 3pm EST (3:30 EST if you want to tune in over livestream). So far, it’s a tale that has captivated my dog-loving heart. Not just because Toby is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, but because having a dog in my life has changed me – as Toby is certainly doing to his owners at the beginning of the book (but not in a good way!).

If you saw the movie (or read the book) Marley and Me, Marley was a walk in the park compared to Toby. What I have learned so far is that Charmaine and her husband Chris are no ordinary people. I’m not sure many people would have tolerated the repeated devastation to their home that Toby seems to be capable of (5 toilet tank covers in about as many  months, to give you an example). But they did. I’m about to read how Charmaine turned this story around, using her extensive background working with troubled teens. If Toby was a person, he would likely have ended up in Juvenile Detention….

So, I’ll keep you posted – the story has a happy ending, because Toby will be at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore with Charmaine on June 18th to give PAWtographs. But how they got from where I’m reading to today is a mystery I’m looking forward to reading about. Stay tuned!

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Something Fierce

When I was 18, I was agonizing over calculus, choosing what university I wanted to go to, and picking  a  prom dress.

When Carmen Aguirre was 18 she was disarming a 65 year old drunk, retired, mercenary on a train to Bolivia so he didn’t blow their cover, and figuring out how to get past 2 border patrol guards alive, given the items she had on her person to help with the resistance movement.

Stark contrasts.

These were among the stories we were fortunate enough to hear last night at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore as Carmen Aguirre read from her new book Something Fierce – which is about her life as a child and teenager involved in the underground resistance in South America against the Pinochet regime.

Hearing an author read from their work is always a gift. But last night, Carmen’s voice – strong, confident – shared not only some of her stories and her life with us, it captivated the audience and made those moments real in our minds as well.

Living with terror continually for years is no small feat. Carmen graciously answered questions about the legacy of those years and told us it was theatre that saved her; because she wanted to be an actor so badly, she did all the therapy and healing her teachers told her to, at 22, in order to be able to act well.

If you missed it, you can watch the video of the livestream.

It’s raining today. The thunder is clapping and it’s a perfect day to read. I’m going to hunker down with Something Fierce.

You can get a copy at the Toronto Womens Bookstore.

Something Fierce – by Carmen Aguirre

This coming Friday at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore (and livestreamed at www.facingout.ca) will be a combination of the things FacingOut is about – art and activism.

Join us as Carmen Aguirre launches her book Something Fierce about her life, and what a life it has been so far!

Today, Carmen Aguirre lives in Vancouver and is writer and theatre-based artist.  But when she was 11 her family packed up and moved back to the South America they had fled, so that her parents could join the underground resistance. When Carmen was 18 she joined the underground resistance against the Pinochet regime herself.

This book is Something Fierce, as it chronicles Carmen Aguirre’s teenage life amid terror.

Join us on Friday June 3rd from 6:30 – 8:30pm EST (7pm for the livestream) as we help her launch the book. She will be reading and taking questions, and of course, celebrating!

The Revolution Starts at Home

Tonight (Thursday May 26th) at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto an important anthology 7 years in the making will be launched.

The Revolution Starts at Home is a collection of work that explores a topic that needs to be talked about, but often isn’t. The book’s subtitle says it all: “Confronting Violence Within Activist Communities.”

Edited by Ching-In Chen, Jai Dulani and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, the collection explores issues such as abusive high-profile activist partners, abuse within groups designed to support and protect against it, the often isolating results of speaking out, the often not-so-helpful ways we try to heal and support each other, among others.

You can read more at their blog: http://inciteblog.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/the-revolution-starts-at-home-anthology-is-out-on-the-road/
revolutionathome.tumblr.com

Want be part of the launch celebration tonight?
Come to the Gladstone Hotel!
The doors open at 7pm and Syrus will spinning.
At about 7:30 the launch will officially begin with drumming, followed by an introduction to the collection, readings of excerpts from contributors to the anthology, and a Q&A. There will be an ASL interpreter for the duration of this portion of the evening!
Following this, there will be more awesome DJing by Syrus, as well as a book signing and of course the opportunity to buy books!

Can’t make it, but wish you could?
Watch online at 7:30pm EST through the FacingOut Livestream.
And you can pick up a copy of the book at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore.

Spread the Word!
Hope you can make it, either way.

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