excuse me while I wilt...
109 degrees yesterday, expected high of 110 today...temperatures cooling off to 106 tomorrow.
Speaking of which, right now it is 106 degrees. Ick.
When I drove to work this morning there was a towering, smoky brown cloud hovering over parts of Sacramento. A fire burning somewhere – the air is thick and hot and it smells as if the entire city is being barbecued.

If you don't see me for a while it's because I'm now living in my tiny half-cubicle at work - land of the free air-conditioning. This kind of heat and I do not agree…indeed, we are rarely on good terms….


That said, I would have gladly withstood five more degrees of heat just to sit and watch Alejandro Escovedo last night at the the Palms last night.
As usual - and despite the hot, humid environment of the Palms - Escovedo was great. He's such a charasmatic performer - a great storyteller both in his songs and in the explanations leading up to his songs.
He opened the set with “Waves” – which is both part of his “By the Hand of the Father” play and his last album “A Man Under the Influence” – and prefaced it with the history of the song, giving it new lyrical and emotional depth. He did this with many of the songs throughout the night, creating a sort of story strung along the notes of the songs.
This might be Escovedo’s last time at the Palms (it’s set to move to a new location sometime in the fall) and, in honor of that, he dedicated Mott the Hoople’s “I Wish I Was Your Mother” to all the people who work at the venue.
This song has to be one of the saddest, most beautiful songs ever written – and to hear Alejandro sing it, particularly the moments when he sings it a capella, makes for a truly transcendental moment.

Ladyfest is coming up…July 24-28. For those of you not familiar with Ladyfest this is a great tradition that originated (and was founded by Allison of Bratmobile) in August 2000 in Olympia. Since then it’s evolved and decentralized via grassroots efforts in cities such as Chicago, Indiana and even Scotland. (Upcoming Ladyfest sites include Paris, LA and Philadelphia).

Dont' be too scared - it's not just all bald girls in clompy boots or cute, skinny Hello Kitty punk chicks..wait, don't get mad at me just yet..I found out long ago that I'm already too old to be cool in the whole riot grrrl scene... not that the original riot grrrls aren't as old or older than me. I've definitely noticed some ageism when it comes to that particular crowd. When my friend Laura and I went to a riot grrrl convention in Portland a few years back we were among the oldest there - at the ripe old age of 26! Wow. Wait...that wasn't a FEW years ago...that was SIX years ago.

Damn I am getting old.

Anyway, my point is, this particular Ladyfest is different because it's being organized by women in both their 20s AND 30s and anyone interested in progressive change, the advancement of feminism and socially-conscious art should check it out.

Riot grrrl, post-riot grrrl, feminist, neo-feminist, lipstick feminist ...whatever...it doesn't matter.

In addition to a ton of live bands (the Donnas, the Bangs, Mirah, Bonfire Madigan, the Gossip and much more), there’ll be DIY workshops, seminars, art shows and a film festival. I’d like to make it down for the Knitting for Beginners workshop on Thursday, July 25th and I’m definitely coming down for the seminars on indie publishing and the “Arts and Organizing: Using Creative Tools for Expression, Empowerment, Community Building, Social Change & Survival” – both scheduled for Sat. July 28.

Now back to sucking on ice chips and pretending I’m Elizabeth Taylor in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"…