Also

I was also thinking of naming my book after a wine term. It has lots of advantages -- there's lots of wineries in Oregon, one of the characters is an alcoholic, etc.

So I looked up some terms, and none of them were that great (although, I realized that enzymes are important to making wine, and one of the characters studies enzymes...). But two I liked:

Sweet Reserve

Cold Stabilization

I particularly like "Sweet Reserve" -- it sort of sounds like a romance novel title, and one of my characters is a romance novelist. But it also sounds like a weird, intriguing contraction -- which is good, I think. And I like the multiple meanings of "reserve." Here's the definition of "Sweet Reserve":

Sweet Reserve

A sample of the original juice from which a wine is made, used to sweeten the finished wine after fermenting to dryness and stabilized...The advantage of using a sweet reserve to sweeten a stabilized dry wine is the it adds sweetness, fresh flavor, and natural aroma to the wine. It may also improve the color of the finished wine somewhat.

From http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/glossary.asp

Possible Novel Titles

The Grafting Season

Divine Grafts

Divine Drafts

The Divine Graft

The Reason Why

Ha!

According to Netflix, these are the categories of movies I like:

Critically-acclaimed Witty Comedies

Romantic Dramas

TV Shows

Dark Independent Movies Featuring a Strong Female Lead

Suspenseful Crime Movies*

*I really do hate all those non-suspenseful crime movies

I larf, not because it's not accurate, but because it's creepily accurate. And lots of their recommendations are either favorites or movies I really want to see (Although is "Y Tu Mama Tambien" really a "witty comedy"? I'm not sure. I think more "Occasionally Funny Sometimes Sad Coming of Age Drama Featuring an INSANE Amount of Nudity and Pretty Beaches")

I wonder if netflix is just going to get more and more specific? I half expect the next time I log in for the categories to be:

"Romantic Comedies With Actual Witty Dialogue and Believeable Chemistry Between the Leads, Which Can Include Movies With Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, and Drew Barrymore, But Does Not Necessarily Give Any of These Actors a Free Pass, i.e., If You Can't Tell the Quality Difference Between "Music and Lyrics" and "50 First Dates" You Are Retarded."

OR:

"Independent Dramas that Are Not Too Precious For Their Own Good and Feature Strong, Complex Characters, i.e., Lots of Stuff With Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo But That Does Mean These Actors Get A Free Pass, Either."

OMG you guys, this is going to be the best summer EVER

So, I'm all grad-u-mated from the Mother F'ing Awesome program, and though I don't yet have a "job" lined up to the "fall," there is stuff going on this summer I thought you all should know about:

I'm participating in a reading to raise money for Kulture Klub. It's June 10th, at 7:00, at the Loft Literary Center. I'm reading with a bunch of other artists -- there will be visual stuff, written stuff: all kinds of stuff. Presentation will be quick n dirty -- less than an hour. And then free food and drink! Admission by suggested donation of $10-15 dollars. For a good cause! Less than a movie! On the weekends! At Southdale! If you buy snacks!

I'm also TEACHING a class at the Loft this summer, starting June 17th: "Writing Fairy Tales and Folk Tales." The Loft is also having an open house tonight, so I'll be pimping the class.

I'll be teaching the same class at the University of Wisconsin-Stout for a weekend over the summer. Check out my classy picture.

Off-Leash Area is also having a show this summer: "Ivan the Drunk and his Terrible Tale of Woe." I'll be tending box office June 7th and June 11th.

I'm also tending box office June 5th for this show.

So much stuff! And I will be revising my novel. There's that, too.

Overheard at the busstop

A woman said today, while I was waiting for the 2 bus, "I don't want to smoke. There's a pregnant lady... and a girl [referencing me]...reading a book."

I liked that I was in the same category as the pregnant lady.

I watched You Can Count On Me tonight and smoked three cigarettes inside my apartment. Bad plan.

I couldn't help it! Mark Ruffalo was smoking in the movie!

I'm impressionable.

Even if I am the girl reading the book.

This is really shocking

I have a really shocking confession to make.

I really didn't like Neko Case's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.

I think I pretended I did.

But I found it atonal, over-done, boring, and pretentious.

I liked one song on it, a little, "That Teenaged Feeling". But that was it. And I have one other song by her, "In California," that I liked.

But I am obsessed with her new song, "People Got a Lotta Nerve." I can't stop listening to it. I might even buy the album.

It's...a real pop song. Yes, it's musically interesting and she's got that weird voice going on, but it's...catchy. And structured. And...funny! And the lyrics are light-hearted but interesting. And it makes you feel totally confident and sexy. I listen to it and sing along and am like "YEAH! I'm a man man man man man man eater!"

I am so not a man eater.

I love that song.