Success! All of our party submitted Kilimanjaro safely yesterday just before noon local time. We are exhausted but safely back in town, happy for beer and hot showers.

I am very excited to make the following announcement! Please share and disseminate the information among your online communities wherever you think there might be interest.

Here's the press release:

The Kenyon Review is excited to announce a new Summer Seminar for the week of June 16-23, 2018.

Immerse yourself in the cultural ferment of the downtown New York art scene of the sixties with a full week of interdisciplinary study on the most influential American band in rock history, The Velvet Underground.

Join music writer and pop culture historian, David Smay, and arts educator, Ellen Leerburger in tracing the origins of the Velvet Underground through their relationship with Andy Warhol's Factory and place them within the context of the music, art, theater and cinematic avant garde of their era.

Each day will focus on one of their original albums from a rich store of recordings, video, film and visual art to supplement our critique and exploration. Classwork will involve student presentations on individual songs, as well as post-VU solo recordings by various members, and musicians or bands directly influenced by the Velvets. Particular focus will be brought on the Velvet Underground's profound influence on entire genres (Glam, Punk, Post-Punk, Paisley Underground, Goth, Indie Rock, Industrial, Krautrock, Shoegaze) and artists and bands such as David Bowie, Roxy Music, The Modern Lovers, Television, Talking Heads, The Feelies, R.E.M, The Smiths, The Dream Syndicate, Jesus and Mary Chain, The Pixies, My Bloody Valentine, Belle and Sebastian, Luna and The Strokes (among others).

Price includes a full week of room and board at Kenyon College, one of the most beautiful college campuses in America. This is a once in a life-time dream opportunity for any serious music fan.

Here is the link to the course. You need to create a profile to register. As noted this includes a full week of room and board in beautiful (seriously) Gambier, Ohio. So this is a big event splurge more than an impulse buy. Though it does qualify as an academic conference for those of you who could justify it as professional development.

[link]

If you know a doctor in FL that might appreciate health summit invite for mid-Feb, please shoot some contact info my way, thank you!

Hey all - those who see me on Facebook might already be sick of hearing about this, but TomW is doing an awesome Kickstarter creating 100 Heroines. The concepts and stories will be open source, and only $25 gets a physical copy of the book with all 100. ($5 gets a PDF). It's really cool, and he's really good at this. He's not doing it to make cash (his modest goal means he'll lose a little money fulfilling his orders) but he's passionate about it and really wants to bring more kickass and diverse heroines into the world.

Anyway, check out the page, and definitely check out the updates, he's been adding new characters there. Plus, he is working on an homage to our own moon. Tom W's 100 Heroines Kickstarter

Support, feedback, and sharing are all encouraged!

FYI, here's what Tom has come up with for the superheroine character, Moon. If you have any specific feedback to share, please do so in ita's thread. [link]

Hey everyone - only one more week for backing TomW's 100 Heroines Kickstarter project. This latest update includes a look at a very special superheroine... [link]

My dad just got sent to the hospital. We're waiting for more information but it doesn't look good at all. Frankly, and I say this as someone who adores her father, my family all hopes this is the end.

I could use some - ma towards that end. We just have to play wait and see right now and it's incredibly hard either way.

ETA: Not mentioning this on FB right now. It's just family and close friends who have been informed.

Hey, everyone. Just a quick drive by to let you know that TomW's Kickstarter is in its final hours. He's $190 short of his stretch goal, so if you've been meaning to check it out, now is the time to do so! Read his updates to see some of the new characters he's been coming out with - I think you'll find it as exciting as we do! [link]

Hello! You may have seen this on FB, but I'm in a rock band! I'm doing this thing called Rock Roulette, which is a fundraiser for Girls Rock NC, an awesome nonprofit that, among other things, runs a summer camp for girls and trans girls and other marginalized genders, where they foster empowerment and creativity through learning how to be in a rock band.

Through Rock Roulette, I've been sorted into a band with three other amazing women (and my hairdresser, whom I talked into being our guest drummer when our drummer dropped out). We have until March 31 to write two original songs and learn one cover, and then we and nine other bands perform in Durham (YIKES). We also are on a fundraising spree—each band is racing to see how much money they can raise for GRNC, and the winning band gets time in a recording studio!

Our band name is Alpaca Dreams*, and I'd love it if we blew the other bands out of the water with the power of the Buffistas! BONUS: If you donate, you get swag (self-financed, so 100% of your donation goes to GRNC). My neighbor Anny designed us a killer logo, and my friend's seven-year-old daughter drew us a secondary logo, both of which are featured prominently on the swag. Our fundraising page is here. Thank you all!!!