That happened to me once. But I just talked to the elders of my tribe, and they gave it back. OH!!! You said f e m a l e..... Anyway, even so, it was pretty heady stuff.

The Manor Road Coffee House, here in Austin had a benefit for African women who have suffered the fate (infection or death or ?) of female genital hacking (or whatever the word is that's used). That coffee house isn't there anymore, but the benefit raised $500. A good good thing.

This book made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

She's got a vast readership. The consciousness on the issue is rising. So the power structure of the culture wants to maintain its grip on the ways of its culture, but change can force its way through, even from outside the culture. But I wonder how world influence actually gets into the culture and evolves it, like with this whole scenario.

remembering that evolution can be a painstakingly slow process with many malformations of the eventual end result (stop time pic)... yes.

oops! you asked HOW. Geez. Lemme gather my typing strength... (much easier to discuss over coffee)

world influence arrives through either the free flow of information or the forced flow of information... either the culture becomes inquisitive because of incidental contact, or an unwanted intrusion disrupts it

what about the trickle of information that's not really free flowing but certainly not forced? kinda like a human rights pamphlet that blows across the boundary of a country to a young soul who never knew she had so much freedom of mind and body and emotion and... (oh yes, did I mention the pamphlet happened to be in a language she understood? Well, it was.)... anyway, how bout that trickle?

Let's hear it for trickles!!!

yea, incidental contact!

*kick* different idea all together WER! *smile*

I gots different ideas as well and, btw, that kick was not incidental contact... (did kinda turn me on, though...)

What is also thought-provoking is the author's assertion that the reverse can take place, in this case, that some Southern white women (American) had the same thing done to their daughters.

WHY, WHY, WHY???????? (and if someone says 'religious reasons' I shall just go off on my whole religious arguement-- UGLY scene!)

(she's telling the truth, too...) but chastity would be the number one reason, Stace (gonna get kicked again, aren't I?)

Not to mention stopping them from masturbating.

extreme chastity, then...

*frown* ... guess the old standby 'you're gonna go blind' just doesn't cut it anymore...

ohmygosh! this is terrible. don't they do something similar in india? oh, wait, where's the place where they actually make them smaller? didn't know that was practiced here in the states (and how southern are we talking?). not trying to say that the US hasn't done it's share of unthinkables but THAT? wasn't the syphyllus thing bad enough?

Um, the book made reference to Louisiana, Wolf...

where? plantation homes, i'll bet. good thing i didn't grow up here *whew*

you're *gasp* not a born-in-da-bayou babe?

sorry to burst your bubble, wer, nope, this gal is from everywhere. just been here the longest!

So where all you been, Wolfie?

Yeah, where, where?

uh-oh, i gotta go look and see what i had said *grin*

ok-how far back do you want me to go? germany (several times) france spain newfoundland desertland texas california pennsylvania delaware vermont connecticut louisiana kansas florida georgia alabama mississippi missouri ohio virginia w. virginia n & s carolina kentucky tennessee washington d.c. arizona rhode island massachusetts new york new jersey (some of the places are from my Army brat days, others are from personal travel, and still others are due to my current job for schools or temporary duty)

Now, wolf, can you give us a list of books you have read organized and sorted by place?

Wolf, if you ever feel the need to add Maryland to that list, you come stay with me, you hear?

Same here, for Texas. How did you manage to miss Texas?

she didn't...on her list it's between desertland and california...

terry: no autumn: thanks wer: yup

OK Tell us about Texas, wolfie.

like, what don't you already know about texas? places i've been to? ok, Dallas Houston Corpus Christie San Antonio Austin Laredo Brownsville Harlingen and all the little towns up and down the highway to all of those places!

Wait! McAllen Pharr Edington or Edmonton or something like that (it's where the Pan American University is)

Wow, you been to more places in Texas than me! Ever been to Bastrop?

probably!

Just finished "Gone South" by Robert McCammon, which takes place in the bayou of Louisiana with some pretty interesting swamp folks! It was OK.

Whta to you find interesting about these folks?

was it southern louisiana or northern? cuz the worlds are completely different..

What was your favorite alligator's breath like when she talked to you? What was her name? Was she the main character? Could she play football as good as Mark McGuire? Was she the ghostwriter of the book? Have you started reading it again back at the beginning? When did Squidboy come in? I heard it was towards the middle. Did his bike have cards flappin' the spokes? Were there alotta words on each page? Did any of the words give ya trouble? Did you meet any of the characters in real life yet? How soon will the sequel come out? Did the library not want you to read it? Did the librarians make faces at you when they saw what you were gonna check out, or did they treat you okay? Why oh why are you always asked so many questions, Autumn? Did you learn to read at an earlier age than your daughters did? Can your daughters read better'n me? I still read one word at a time and I look every word up in the dickshunairy. Some of the words look vaguely familiar because I remember them from long ago. Those are words that I like to keep under my pillow without ever taking them out to look at them, because they enter into my dreams better that way, and they continually improve my Sleepasaurusness. I hope the book you are reading now likes you as much as I do. If it doesn't, let me know and I'll see what I can do. I have alotta authors' phone numbers. If you ever want me to request your favorite writer to rewrite a book that you're reading that doesn't really seem to like you, no problem, just let me know, Autumn.

Ha-ha, there are quite a few that could stand to be rewritten, Jim!! Could you please just start with Edith Wharton and have her change "Age of Innocence" so Newland and Ellen get to spend at least one night with each other? Just like an hour. I'd really appreciate it. Just finished "A Drinking Life" by Pete Hamill. This is a memoir by a well-known (not by me!) newspaper columnist about the role alcohol played in his life and influenced him. I'm not big on biographies, but this was quite interesting from an historical perspective, especially growing up in the 30s and 40s.

I would call Edith, but she's busy, I know, lyin' around underground. Pete's 61, still kickin', just got a job as editor of the New York Daily News, so you want me to call the Mr. Hamill and ask him to rewrite the part where Ellen and Newland meet in Boston and have him have them consummate like crazy night after night until they get extraordinarily sick of each other? I dunno who yer favorite author is.....living favorite author. I bet whoever it is would do anything at all for you. Rewriting a passage you'd like rewritten would be a, well, a labor of love.....any passage in anybody else's book.....nuthin' to it. I could call Autumn Moore and ask her to rewrite it. She's a writer you should really get to know. She even lives where you live. In fact she lives in your body, so take care.

the book i am reading right now: How to Think Like Leonardo DaVinci this is a fantastic book, one that gives you tools for self-exploration. the whole premise of the book is that Leonardo (probably the greatest genius of all time) seemed to base his genius on seven general priniciples that can be understood and cultivated in all of us. these principles are: 1) Curiosita: an insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning 2) Dimostrazione: a commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistakes. 3) Sensazione: the continual refinement of the senses, esp sight, as the means to enliven experience 4) Sfumato: a willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, uncertainty 5) Arte/Scienza: the development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination. "whole brain" thinking 6) Corporalita: the cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise. 7) Connessione: a recognition of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena. systems thinking. this philosophy of living meshes well with many other "good ways" of living, such as those espoused by two of my other favorite role model/heroes: Ben Franklin and Aristotle. i strongly recommend this bood to anyone who is wanting to expand their lives and experience of life!

Wow, what a great recommendation. I know a few Renaissance men who might like that book...

Hey Wolfie... Colorado was absent from your list... Come give it a visit sometime... we"ve PLENTY of room!

Ooops! Forgot. I am currently reading Travels With Charley (Steinbeck) Trying to curb some of my own wanderlust reading about others...

Hey Wolfie... Colorado was absent from your list... Come give it a visit sometime... we"ve PLENTY of room!

I am currently re-reading "Blue Mars" by Kim Stanley Robinson, and re-reading "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" oh, and lots of very dry physics books :-/

How in the heck did that get posted twice?!?! Especially when I submitted something after it?!?!

something in your magic fingers?

huh-huh-huh huh huh.... ...magic fingers... ...huh huh huh-huh

Just finished "She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb. It dealt with a lot of sad themes in a very humorous fashion. It's hard to believe it was written by a man.

nice Beavis n Butthead, Ray :-)

Just finished Deja Dead and All That Begins, Begins With Blood.

do tell...

Written by?

ack...so many questions...will look when I get home...

am still reading The Golden Cup by Belva Plain. the reason it's taking me sooooo long is that the only chance i get is one hour on wednesday nights while my daughter practices gymnastics. yeah, will have to visit colorado-never been there or driven through it.....hmmm how can i add that to my itinerary to S.A.???

Just finished "Boy's Life" by Robert MacCammon and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a little bit childhood innocence, folklore, mysticism and murder mystery rolled into one.

I'm reading his "Girl's Life". I'm 3 fourths thru it, but it's got me bug-eyed. It's got some stale beer, shopping after midnight, sphincters, and some dilapidated Vichy sidestreets all sloshed into one big grotesque crime thriller. I can't put it down, and am reading it as I write this.

ROTFLMAO!!!! (Love those vignettes in Vichy's slums!)

Lydia turned me on to that book. She mentioned it to me during "The Parent Trap". That night I bought it on the black market in the backstreets of Austin. Talk about a page-turner....didn't have to use my fingers---the pages seemed to turn by themselves....good thing, too, cuz I couldn't put that book down till I got thru it all. That Lydia has really good taste in books.

Brandon is out of town (STILL) and I bought some mind candy to occupy the evenings. I am reading Dragon Tears by Dean R Koontz. Typical reality fiction with some sci-fi thrillerness to it. The psychological thrillers are my favorites, the ones that intensify every tiny creak in your own house, while you're reading. I also bought an erotic thriller but forgot the title... let you know later.

Erotic thriller, cool!

let me guess...the title is "Little Stacey's Spice Cake" Kathy Reichs wrote Deja Dead Read Robin Cook's "Fatal Cure" and am currently reading Laura K. Hamilton's "Blue Moon"...

oh, did i mention i'm still reading Belva Plain's The Golden Cup? well, i am, but actually got a couple hours worth of reading done thanks to jury selection all week long!

since my last post above, I finished "Blue Moon" and have read these Laura K. Hamilton books as well "Guilty Pleasures" "The Laughing Corpse" "Circus of the Damned" (can anyone tell that my escapist drug of choice is reading?)

who's isn't???

I like to put on a horse costume and run around in the pasture in the rain. When a horse strides up to me in the mood to mate or whatever ya call it, I take off my horse costume and start mooing real real loud in its face. The horses don't like that. Good thing.

anyway....i finished The Golden Cup (thanks to being sick with a cold). and to any of you who may have been listening awhile back as i labored over which book to read next (after Evergreen), i chose correctly. so any of you belva plain readers who read evergreen and want to know the rest of the story begin with The Golden Cup then move to Tapestry. when i'm done with Tapestry, i'll find out if there are any more in the series. OK? and as to your horse thing, you were the guy on discovery stealing bull semen dressed as a cow, huh? always wondered who'd dress up as a cow in estrus and trick a full (and ready) bull into copulation. now i know. i can sleep better at night.

I'm rereading Illusions, by Richard Bach. It's one of my favorite books, but I always rush through it. This time I'm slowing down.

I'm reading "Inside Windows NT Infrastructures" by David Iseminger. Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-24276-4. About scaleup, cabling, performance tradeoffs, remote access, and nuts and bolts technical issues like choosing the best domain model, switches vs. hubs, backbones, etc.

that'll cure your insomnia, riette *grin*

reading tim pat coogan's bio of michael collins... (tremendous)

Finished Dragon Tears. Reread Microserfs (Douglas Coupland) Reading Hideaway (Koontz) I was all set to try the horse thing Leplep but the sky refuses to rain here. I kinda did a runthrough, dress rehersal with my kitties in the basement though. They were into it.

Rafikki has a regular horselaugh that gets me gigglin', but all she does is look at me with those eyes that say: "c'mon, Jim, hey! that's no horselaugh!!" when she took off her palomino costume, she gave it to me to put on, and then proceeded to show me some remarkably executed bronc bustin' ---she is really good at that ---I wouldn't let her try and swap that costume with any trick-or-treaters, come Halloween, or some kids are gonna....uh, you'll have some pretty scared ones on your hands ---she'll just bust 'em

(we had TONS of trick or treaters!) Finished The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

Reminds me, time to run Leightons Halloween party video as the spring.net slideshow.

finished Random Winds....what to read next??? have to go pick something out tonight!

If you like mysteries, " Bad Chemistry " by gary krist is a good one.

"The Bitch Factor" is also an excellent book. I forget who the author is. Have fun hanging on to the book though. My copy is making the rounds of my friends.

haha!!

the book is about a female PI turned bounty hunter who ends up stranded by a blizzard with a prisoner. It's very good.

The BITCH FACTOR? Ha-ha! If I'd written a book, I call it that too! Currently reading 'Hitler's Willing Executioners' (David Goldhagen), 'Blood, Tears and Folly' (Len Deighton) and 'Shetl' (Eva Hoffman). I feel the need to read the last two parallel to Goldhagen's book to keep perspective - he is the angriest man I've read in a long time (understandibly so). The most profound book I've ever read is one I finished a month ago - 'Holocaust', by Martin Gilbert.

The title comes from a saying that says something about a woman being 51% sweetheart and 49% bitch. And, something about not pushing your luck.

picked up Daydreams today (another Belva Plain)...am waiting for a new one by Amy Tan. absolutely love her work. she takes me into a world and culture of which i know nothing about. and her characters move me so....

another good book that I've recently read: Hardrock Stiff by THOMAS ZIGAL

*blush* i did it again--it should've read daybreak not daydreams!!!

update on daybreak. i'm a little over 3/4th's of the way through and i tell you, it has been tough. the book explores anti-semitism and bigotry through some of the characters. i'm not jewish nor am i african american, but this really ticked me off. not at any fault of belva plain, but just the characters she created. everything is working out now but there for awhile, boy, it was hard. hating people who are different is stupid. you'd have to hate everybody because we are all different. well, anyway, don't want to get on a soap box, but for those of you sensitive to this issue, i figured i'd warn you before you dive into this book. but it is good and the twist of fate works out wonderfully! (even though one of the characters pays dearly). does anyone participate in a reading group? i wondered how it works and who gets to pick out the reads.......

I think that a reading group is a wonderful idea.

I picked up a book yesterday at a little coffe shoppe in Indian Peaks called SMACK. Forgot the author but the first 30 pages have kept me rapt.

What's it about, someone on heroin?

a child that gets involved with that scene when he runs away from a bad home life...

I'm still reading "Timequake", by Kurt Vonnegut. I've nearly finished it but I still don't really know what's going on...I'm hoping there's a big revelation at the end :-)

'the essential lenny bruce' (last night) 'dear theo' (tonight)(if i feel like it)

"lenny bruce is not afraid.."

yup and it's the end of the world (as we know it) (though a few years cohabitation with leonid, leonard and lester may've tempered lenny's bravado just a little)

Red Phoenix

A Whisper of Blood