by Tsalagi Red

Our brief foray into the sims of Second Life are over. It required much too much immersion in cyberspace in order to make it all worthwhile. We actually haven’t been on the site for some time now, but Patty and I are buried in our novels (we have both been working on separate novels since [...]

by Tsalagi Red

If you are on Second Life, come and visit our Elohi Gadugi Writers’ Center. We have one on Book Island, and one in Kirkness Village on Hinterland. PattyJo (Cyperia Heron), and I (Tsalagi Giha) have been active with writers and publishers groups on SL for a couple of months now. We’d love to chat with you.

Book Island URL.

Kirkness Village URL.

(For non-SLers: you need the Second Life viewer to use these urls.)

by Tsalagi Red

Patty and I have both been working on new novels, and our blogging has definitely suffered over the last couple of months. But I have now finished my first draft, and Patty is close to finishing hers, so we will be paying more attention to our websites.

Patty has been doing the Nanowrimo thing. For those who don’t know, that stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it’s a challenge to produce 50,000 words during the month of November. She reached her 50 g on November 18, and I have to say, I’m impressed. It took me a month and a half to write the same number of words, and I have a lot more free time than she does. So, hurray, Pattyjo.

by Tsalagi Red

Rep. Dennis Kucinich introduced his Cheney impeachment resolutions on the floor of the House today. The Democratic Party leadership failed to have the bill tabled, and it was sent to the House Judiciary Committee after another procedural motion to quash it also failed.

The Judiciary Committee is headed by Rep. John Conyers, who has been ambiguous about impeachment. For a list of other committee members go the committee website.

Kucinich said he is also preparing an impeachment bill against President George W. Bush.

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer was the only Oregon Congressperson to vote for tabling the bill. Even Walden voted against it. Blumenauer needs to have his butt kicked by his constituents!

by Tsalagi Red

Bragging time.

It’s a small honor, but my song, I Think I’m Gonna Give Away My Heart, won first place at Zoetrope Virtual Studios songwriting wing for the month of August. Zoetrope Virtual Studios is an online environment where professionals and serious amateurs get together to critique each others work. Each month, three songs from the songwriting wing are chosen for honors.

by Tsalagi Red

Pattyjo and I have been neglecting our blogging for some time now, due to a number of projects consuming our time. Besides promoting The Eye of the Moon, we are both working on new novels. Mine is a sci-fi thriller, and hers is a novelization of a The Germaine Truth storyline.

If that weren’t enough, we will also be redesigning our website over the next few months. Stay tuned.

by Tsalagi Red

The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. Watch the trailer.

by Tsalagi Red

I haven’t posted any poems here for a while. Here’s one for you.

by Tsalagi Red

As readers of this journal know, I have spoken out firmly against the banishment of the Freedmen from Cherokee citizenship, and I believe that racism had a heavy hand in passing that measure last March. But H.R. 2824, Congresswoman Diane Watson’s bill to withdraw federal funds from the tribe, only adds injustice to injustice.
After [...]

by Tsalagi Red

As creative writers who maintain several literary websites, we have to wonder why Digg has no topic for us.

For those who don’t know, Digg is a social, blog rating website. The way it works is, you set up an account on Digg, and when you read an article you like on the internet, you “Digg” it. You can also select topic categories, so when you browse Digg for interesting articles, only the topics you like come up.

What if the topic you like is “online fiction” or “art” or “photography” or “books?” Sorry, you’re out of luck. For some unknown reason, Digg has decided to exclude all creative sites, with the exception of TV, Music, Movies, and Games.

by Tsalagi Red

For our Elohi Gadugi Journal readers in Oregon, we would like to invite you to a book release party.

The Habit of Rainy Nights Press is hosting a Book Release Party and Reception for Shelley Davidow and her memoir, The Eye of the Moon, on Thursday, August 9th, 7:00 pm at The Hundreth Monkey Studio, 120 SE 16th Ave in Portland (SE 16th & Ankeny, one block south of Burnside).

by Tsalagi Red

The University of Colorado, with its right wing president, is set to fire Ward Churchill. It is time to stand up for free speech in the academy, and to stop the witch hunt against left wing professors.

Read the following article from Common Dreams, and my letter to Patricia Hayes, Chair of the Board of Regents. Then send your own letter.

by Duane Poncy

Although we have only opt-in mailing lists, a newsletter we sent out was evidently flagged as spam. Our website host said the likely culprit is AOL, which is notorious for reporting legitimate mail to its customers as spam. We ourselves receive huge amounts of spam every day, so we understand the need for very [...]

by PattyJo Mac

I commute from the Gresham TC in the evening. I always have a place to hang my bike when I get on because this stop is only the second stop on the westbound line. It is a different story going out to work in the mornings. I board at the Lloyd Center station and if I don’t catch the train that gets me to work about half an hour early then I often don’t have a place to hang my bike.

I don’t put my bike on the train for pleasure each morning and evening. I do it because i don’t have a car and I don’t have a car because I will not contribute to the pollution of our environment by driving a car. I need my bike because it makes it possible for me to perform my job without a car. I combine biking with the MAX for my commute because it would take too long to ride from my home to my job and I don’t want to arrive sweaty and worn-out. Using Trimet and my bike has been workable up to now. What happened on Friday on the train has me worried.

by Tsalagi Red

Hillary Clinton, Dick Gephardt and Peabody Coal? An expose from Wampum:

I vaguely remember the news last spring that Gephardt was setting up an “energy” lobbying firm. I had other things on my mind (the Griles and Federici indictments) so didn’t look into it much. Then this morning, Melissa reported that Hillary Clinton has now brought on Gephardt as a ” senior economic advisor”, and reminded us of one of his clients: Peabody Energy, e.g., Peabody Coal.

by Tsalagi Red

From CommonDreams.org: In a small still mostly segregated section of rural Louisiana, an all white jury heard a series of white witnesses called by a white prosecutor testify in a courtroom overseen by a white judge in a trial of a fight at the local high school where a white student who had been making racial taunts was hit by black students. The fight was the culmination of a series of racial incidents starting when whites responded to black students sitting under the “white tree” at their school by hanging three nooses from the tree. The white jury and white prosecutor and all white supporters of the white victim were all on one side of the courtroom. The black defendant, 17 year old Mychal Bell, and his supporters were on the other.

by Duane Poncy

Well, the plug was pulled on us at our new address. The landlord returned our deposit and said he had decided not to rent it after all. Because we need to put our energy into marketing The Eye of the Moon, we have decided to stay in Portland for another year. This will give [...]

by Duane Poncy

Well, the plug was pulled on us at our new address. The landlord returned our deposit and said he had decided not to rent it afterall. Because we need to put our energy into marketing The Eye of the Moon, we have decided to stay in Portland for another year. This will give us [...]

by Tsalagi Red

Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, the only truly progressive candidate in the 2008 race will be at Benson High School auditorium at 7:30pm on July 1. Come early if you want to sit down.

Be there or Be square.

by Tsalagi Red

On Thursday, June 21, Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Penn.) and Lee Terry (R-Neb.) and Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) introduced the Local Community Radio Act (H.R. 2808 and S. 1675). Increased diversity of the airwaves may be just around the corner if the Local Community Radio Act passes congress.

Recent studies have shown that thousands of low power frequencies could be opened up, even in cities with dozens of radio stations, without interfering with existing signals. This bill will open up those frequencies to not-for-profit organizations in both urban and rural communities.