I shame the matriarchy

Happy or Crappy Valentine's Day, as appropriate.

as I am aware that I'm currently just choking on Heterosexual Happy Couple Privilege, I won't demand that you have a happy valentine's day.

But I will certainly invite you, whoever you are, to fuck the Hallmark-Industrial Complex, if you choose, and have a happy day despite or because of your own personal circumstances. Keep all your money, boycott the cashsucking fakery of "Valentine" branding and commercialized romance, ignore all the pressure, and just go tell your favorite fellow creatures "I love you SO MUCH, and thanks for being in my life". They'll listen. They'll dig it. I promise.

in fact - hey, blogosphere:

I love you SO MUCH. Thanks for being in my life.

the usual suspects, obviously - but even those of you I have struggled with so bitterly. Even those of you whose points of view challenge and frustrate me. Even those who think this post is just one more stupid waste of bandwidth from the queen of bandwidth-wasting stupidity. Even you and even you. and even YOU. Have I argued with you about whether water is wet? then ESPECIALLY you.

Thanks for reminding me that I am part of the Human Family, in all its perverse and fuckedup and dysfunctional glory. Thanks for helping me keep the alienation and loneliness at bay, just by sparing me a few words here and there (even if those words weren't always kind). Thanks for helping me grow. Thanks.

Have the kind of day you want, whoever you are. You've earned it.

I'm still working on broadening and deepening my blogging activity, while at the same time trying to avoid indulging in every little ego skirmish round the 'sphere. I don't know if I've been successful or not, but I've been trying hard to do better with that. Unfortunately, I feel like instead of being enlightened or progressive, I've just been boring. (more obviously boring, that is.)

On the other hand, interesting things are happening in the meat-o-sphere, which I am proud to share.

For example, if you find that you're not digging your way out of a snowbank and you're in the vicinity of the town of Cheshire, CT tomorrow night around 9:30? 10:00? you can see my dear husband and his pal Charles, jointly known as The Realm, in an acoustic set at CJ Sparrow.

Mind you, this is not the same band as the wildly popular overnight sensation Thaddeus Black, whom I mentioned in my most recent post - but The Realm are most hip in their own right. They've been doing this a really long time (almost twenty years!) and definitely make a unique musical statement. you can hear some of their songs here, if that's your bag, baby.

They're progressive and challenging without being pretentious and inaccessible. oh, and they have catchy choruses. and a dreamy guitarist (swoon)...

Also, I'm coming closer to making a pretty big decision. I'm thinking about applying to Trinity College here in Hartford, as an IDP (Individualized Degree Program) student (I suppose that's their nom d'ecole for "student who is too old for kegstands"). Deadline is April 15th - feel free to nag me!