I'm here, I'm queer, I'm a celebrity

Now that Clay Aiken has officially come out in a big way...

and same with Lindsay Lohan, perhaps they will both be able to find some centeredness and happiness within the insanity of celebrity culture.

At the very least, all this coming-out of celebrities is great for queer kids and societal progression.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Does John McCain have dementia?

I've been thinking so, but when I've brought it up, people think I'm joking. But I'm serious. Now I find I'm not the only one who thinks so... read this article.

Also, there's a video on youtube analyzing the issue:

Wow.

(Written by Bev Hamel in Goodreads)

"Move over Holden Caulfield --- there is finally a female character who is not afraid to tell us what it really is like the moment you leave the safety net of your home and your parents’ inquiring eyes. For the May Queen by Kate Evans is a powerful new debut novel that is destined to secure a place in bibliophile mania, equal to that of Catcher in the Rye.

"I did something I rarely do and that is fell in love with Norma Jean Rogers, the central character after reading the opening lines. By the end of the first chapter, I was hooked, so hooked, I didn’t put the book down until I was finished.

"Norma is a young woman who is off to college and on her own for the first time in her life. She is fearless in her pursuit of discovery of self. Her sense of bravado makes her human and believable as she teeters along that fine line between girlhood and womanhood, and between throwing away the last inhibitions when one suddenly decides that ‘I am an adult.’

"Within a few hours after her parents leave her with bag and baggage at the dorm, Norma is on the floor with three strangers in her underwear. From there it goes on a wild and fun ride through the growing pains of womanhood, life and friendship. The first chapter is full of getting to know Norma and her menagerie of friends who are all memorable in their own right. But it doesn’t stop there and we are continually introduced to new characters who breeze in and out of Norma’s and her other friends’ lives.

"The novel reads like a fine memoir, is often poignant, often funny, and never dull. Yes, there are sex scenes, drinking, wild parties, and an occasional high, but they are done so tastefully, and so honestly, that even as a parent of teenage girls, I have no qualms about them reading the story because I want them to read what young people face in the real world, and perhaps see that growing up is also about making decisions, right or wrong, good or bad, but they are your decisions and choices to make.

"Although the novel is set in the early 1980s, ever decade is a tumultuous era, and even more so, this first decade of this new millennium. I venture to say that throughout history, leaving home has never been more honestly and thought provokingly written about. Taking the steps to achieve adulthood is like riding a roller coaster. Kate Evans is a writer extraordinaire with an equally amazing storytelling voice. For the May Queen is a must read and a book that you won’t be able to put down."

"Sometimes I like to be exposed ...

... Other times I like the freedom of hiding."

Junot Diaz

Heard him speak on my campus last night. It was one of the best author events I've ever attended because he was accessible, funny, political, outrageous, compassionate and so, so smart.

He read two short pieces then took questions. The first piece he'd forgotten to bring but was able to read off his i-phone! He thanked Steve Jobs afterward. That piece was a hilarious one about a guy who, like an idiot, cheats on his hot girlfriend, who catches him by reading his diary. The speaker claims the diary is the start of his new novel, but the jilter girlfriend doesn't buy it. The second piece Diaz read was an excerpt of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

Both pieces were in second person. He talked a little about how writing in second person is unnatural and therefore a good challenge for a writer. He also said second person voice pulls in and agitates the reader, which he said is good. Writers want to do both. (One of the first pieces I ever read in second person was the title story in Pam Houston's first book.)

During the Q&A, Diaz talked about how much he loves reading comics and Manga, and he recommended one called The Drifting Classroom, which is now on my reading list because he called it "amazing."

He also talked about the government bail-out of Wall Street and how disgusting it is that almost a trillion dollars is suddenly available for the big capitalists, but not for schools who have been asking for money "for forever."

Several times he slammed his father as "the biggest asshole ever . . . really!" and talked about machismo and patriarchy as a stain on society. He said male writers can work to create alternative masculinities. It's very harmful, he said, to keep inside the anger against those who have harmed us. Instead, he said we need to work on healing and cultivating compassion. Even though his father's a "big dick," as he put it, he said he has forgiven him.

What can I say? This guy's an original. He's the real deal. Too bad he can't run for President since he was born in the Dominican Republic. But he's doing great things with his art, teaching and speaking. Don't miss him if he's speaking in your 'hood.

Video killed the radio star

If you missed my radio interview, you can listen to the podcast here.

It was fun. But of course there was a technical snafu partway through. And I had a cold so you can hear my mouth-breathing! (Next time, I'll force myself to say "um" and "you know" less...it's hard to take the California girl out of the California writer.)

But other than that, I enjoyed it. Hope you do too!

Rich life

This has been an amazing week. First, a student told me that he was inspired by our discussions about loss--and his sister's dancing--to make this video, which he dedicated to me.



Then, a woman who'd read the first chapter of my novel contacted me through facebook to do an interview. She wrote this wonderful piece--and incorporated a book giveaway.

One of my goals this year has been to try to be more compassionate, more in the moment, more consciously aware that every person I come in contact with has a whole, rich life and life story.

I'm teaching 4 classes which means I see about 100 students each week--plus colleagues, PR events for my book, social events, and so on. I come into contact with a lot of people. It's easy to be distracted. It's easy to be thinking about the next thing when I'm doing something. But being with the people I'm with when we're together a challenge that, when I meet it, is incredibly rewarding.

Weekend with crowded house ... had enough?

Brad rocks!

Thelma & Louise is one of my all-time favorite movies. I remember watching Brad Pitt -- who wasn't BRAD PITT then -- and thinking, "This guy's lighting up the screen." Of course he was no match for Susan Sarandon & Geena Davis, but still ...

I haven't been thrilled with many of his movies since then. However, now I'm totally digging this guy like the old Thelma & Louise days. He has just donated $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. This proposition would eliminate the marriage equality we now have in California. It's a hateful proposition that wants to overturn same-sex marriage that the California courts have deemed a civil right.

Brad Pitt has made it known that he won't marry Angelina Jolie until there is full marriage equality. In his statement today he said: "Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8."

"Um, did you really do THAT?"

I'm going to be on blogtalk radio this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. west-coast time.

Click here to listen in. And there's a number on the site where you can call in to chat.

If you like, you can read the first chapter of my novel beforehand by clicking here. That way you can ask an embarrassing question like "Did this really happen to you?"

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I'm in the Hillary & Sarah club (okay, I don't really mean that)...BUT: Did you know I'm a Woman In Charge? Check it out.

Reading sex,

my new post on Woman-Stirred.

The new face of CoverGirl is . . .

Yep!