I've set up a Twitter page so that readers can follow my brief updates of what's going on at Dinah Shore.

On a recent This Week in Tech podcast, host Leo Laporte called Twitter "instant messaging in public," which seems like a good basic definition of Twitter if you've never heard of it before. If you want to find out more about Twitter, this is the best article I've read so far that explains what Twitter is and some of the different ways to use it. The downside to Twitter is that it's become so popular that the service can be unbearably slow at times.

If you can't get to my page during Dinah Shore, it probably says something like this:

• tinyrooster: gettin' it on 12 hours ago from web


• tinyrooster: gettin' it on 10 hours ago from web


• tinyrooster: i'm poolside. got the sweetest hangover 1 hour ago from web

Did I mention I miss Rome already? I know that was an abrupt segue but it's related to Dinah in a lying-around-with-your-lover-on-a-divan kind of way. It's also the type of random observation one can get away with on Twitter, but not so much on a blog.

One of the interesting things about Dinah Shore is that, although the event came out of the sartorially-challenged world of golf, it's become known for attracting the more conventionally attractive and better dressed lesbian. This raises the troubling issue of what to pack and what to wear.

Right now I'm stressed out about the Pure White Party, which promises "over 3000 beautiful women all clad in WHITE." So here's the thing: I own one white t-shirt and several pairs of white sports socks. And that does not an outfit make.

I'm not really into the whole white thing; it just doesn't fit my personality. When I think of white clothes and Palm Springs all that comes to mind is Sonny Bono in a white mock turtleneck and a pair of white sansabelt pants from the Johnny Carson Apparel Collection. Okay, so I'm a bit of a crossdresser and maybe that's part of my problem.

As if the clothing situation weren't bad enough, I have to worry about accessories, too. Because of the L Word's influence, lesbians have started carrying purses instead of the more typical backpacks and fannypacks.

I have two fashionable manbags to my name, one from Tumi and the other a Jack Spade, but neither are white, so they won't pass muster. Fortunately, I found this lovely white vulva-shaped handbag at an online store called Velvet Vulva. It's enormous, so I shouldn't have any problems fitting a camera in there or whatever else I need.

What do you think will happen to me if I don't wear white to the Pure White Party? Will I be shunned by my fellow lesbians? I'm used to straight girls giving me a hard time about my wardrobe ("Your clothes are too baggy"), but for other lesbians to diss what you're wearing, truly, that is the lowest point.

Since I'm going to be driving out to Palm Springs for Dinah Shore, I figured I would use the occasion to pimp my ride. Because we all the know the ladies enjoy a good ride. Actually, it has less to do with impressing women and more to do with anticipating traffic. I've heard that the road from L.A. to Palm Springs is basically one long caravan of dykes before Dinah, and if the traffic is going to be bumper to bumper I'm going to want some music to calm my nerves.

After checking around on various audio forums, I decided I wanted to upgrade my head unit (heh, heh) to one that could play mp3 CDs and integrate with my second-gen iPod Nano. I wound up choosing a Pioneer model based on my online research. It has this very cool blue readout with a slew of different visualizations, including a movie of dolphins frolicking in the ocean.

Next I made the decision not to install the new unit myself. I don't mind opening the computer or other electronics but I'm not ready for car electronics yet. Plus I'm a busy lesbian and sometimes one just has to pay for these things. I also decided I did not want Circuit City or some big box store messing with my car. So I went to California Car Sounds on National in Los Angeles and they did the installation and setup for me. These guys were cool so if you're looking for a car audio shop in L.A., I had a good experience with them.

I thought I would let my readers know that at the end of next week I will be going to, and if all goes as planned, blogging from The Dinah Shore Week in Palm Springs, CA.

For those of you who don't know what The Dinah is, let me bring you up to speed real quick: it's the largest party gathering of lesbians anywhere and it has a reputation for being a slutastic good time. The event has its roots in women's golf (or "Ladies's Golf," as it's still called), but the event has taken on a life of its own and encompasses many other types of entertainment besides the Colgate/Dinah Shore Golf Tournament (now called the Kraft Nabisco Championship). If you're curious about the event's history, I suggest taking a read of these articles which cover the relationship between the LPGA and lesbian golf enthusiasts and the legendary party scene.

Last weekend, the Cute-Little-Red-Headed-Girlfriend and I went to see the "Shared Women" exhibit of lesbian feminist art at LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) in Hollywood. The show was brought to my attention by the New York Times, where it was favorably reviewed alongside the massive WACK! exhibit happening at MOCA. I also discovered, via art.blogging.la, that there are a number of female-focused shows being held across Los Angeles to coincide with WACK!

Stepping into the "Shared Women" show transported me back to the mid-80s, when so many gay and lesbian artistic endeavors were overtly activist and mobilized around the issue of AIDS. It was a time when gays and lesbians in the U.S. still thought of themselves as part of a liberation movement, as opposed to a highly focused consumer segment or an incredibly large and enthusiastic group of wedding planners. (Sorry. That was bitter.)

I had a small point-and-shoot camera with me, so I was able to take a bunch of photos at the exhibit, which I've put up as a set at the photo-sharing site Zooomr. They're not great quality, but you can view the photos in whatever size you wish, download them, read my embedded notes, or comment on them. Warning: these photos are not even remotely work safe. There are many, many vaginas and sex acts represented. Click on this link to view the set.

The exhibit's title, "Shared Women," brought to mind a number of associations: sharing, sampling, collectivism, wife-swapping. After seeing the show, all of those meanings seem to have been intended, plus a few more: sharing of bodies and identities, sharing as a group celebration, and sharing as the result of exclusion or "non-sharing."

Sharing through exclusion was the theme of the first piece I saw, a collection of homemade commemorative plates depicting the First Ladies of the United States. Their photos had been taped on a hodge-podge collection of cheap, transparent glass plates. The DIY nature of the piece was certainly contemporary, while also underlining the relationship between craft, kitsch and women's work.

There weren't any exhibit notes that I could take home with me, so I can't identify most of the artists in the show for you now. But I recognized the work of the next artist I saw, Nicole Eisenman, who I've previously written about. Spread across two walls and the floor below, Eisenman's work focused on the lesbian body.

Looming large over the installation was an image of the L Word's iconic character Shane, pregnant, with a phallic arm ending in a clenched fist emerging from her vagina. In a word balloon Shane asks, "How can I get people to pour their love into my emptyness?" On the floor beneath Eisenman's assemblage lay a sculpture of two lifesized beavers engaging in oral sex. The receiving beaver lay in ecstasy on her back, tiny paws waving in the air.

At the other end of the room was a large purple mural by a Canadian group of artists called "Welcome to Gayside." The mural was of a large fantasy landmass with gay-, lesbian- and transgender-themed geographic features and populations. Interspersed on the map were small drawings showing gays communing with the natural world. My favorite of these showed a naked lesbian finger-fucking a sheep.

Someone working at the gallery told me the sheep picture had caused some consternation among visitors to the gallery. I thought it was a hilarious send-up of the belief that lesbians, and women generally, are not as sexually aggressive as men, nor as depraved in their tastes. I also loved the way the image parodied lesbians' own beliefs about themselves, in this case, the idea that lesbians are all animal lovers.

I was really excited to see four pieces by G.B. Jones included in the show. Her drawings depict lesbian dramas in the style of the infamous gay artist and pornographer, Tom of Finland. The stylistic translation from gay male to lesbian subject matter serves to highlight cultural differences between the sexes, yet her drawings still retain the erotic charge of Tom of Finland's work.

There was a video piece by Tara Mateik on display called P.Y.T. In this faux-music video, an androgynous figure dressed as Peter Pan dances and and lip-synchs to the Michael Jackson song "Pretty Young Thing" while clips from filmed productions of Peter Pan roll in the background. You can watch a clip from the video here.

The "Shared Women" exhibit is on view at LACE through April 9.

View more photos at my page.

There's been this circles-and-portals theme on The L Word this season. It ties in to the show's affiliated social networking site for lesbians, called Our Chart. I like the features on Our Chart--the blog, the videos--but I haven't actually created a chart for myself yet.

In honor of the L Word's finale next Sunday, I thought I would offer my own circles meme for any and all to take up: If each character on the show is represented by a circle, how would you merge the circles in order to define yourself? Or, more simply, which characters are you most like?

I ripped off the above format from indexed to create a diagram of myself connected to Bette and Shane. I also labeled the parts of Bette and Shane I relate to with quotes from the show: "little freak" (from Season 4, episode 1) and "bombastic bully" (from Season 4, episode 8). Who are you most like?

I read on Joystiq the other day that the results of a survey on "gaymer's" habits are in. I mentioned the survey previously on this blog and I also participated in it. The most interesting finding to me was reading that 91.1% of the respond ants to the survey were male. I would love to see a survey that focused only on gay, bi or trans women--maybe next time.

I don't know if they identify as "gaymers" but I really love the gay male gaming couple on The Sarah Silverman Program. Console gaming is a big part of their lifestyle, and if you're into gaming, you'll probably enjoy all the video game references and how their game activity gets worked into the plot each week.

I mentioned previously here that I wasn't happy with the direction that Dynamite Entertainment was taking their Xena: Warrior Princess comic series in, and that I hadn't picked it up. But I noticed their was a different writer on Xena Annual #1, so I took a chance and tossed it in my stack.

There are three variant covers for the annual, and I chose Cover A by Croatian artist Stepjan Sejic. I felt his cover made Xena look too young but the art had an interesting manga influence and I liked the strong composition.

The story was unusual in that it brought a space alien into contact with Xena and Gabrielle. It's also set after Season Six, in a time period where Xena has apparently returned from the dead. Xena's death is alluded to briefly in the panel shown above, when Xena is knocked out and Gabrielle says, "If you're dead again, I'm going to be really pissed."

There were a few nicely handled bits of subtext that showed the writer had a good grasp of the show and its audience. However, I was sad to read that there might have been more subtext if only the publishers had allowed it. In an interview, writer Keith Champagne commented:

This is the first licensed property that I've written so, of course, one has to anticipate notes from the licensor. There was nothing particularly heavy thrown at me in terms of revisions; they basically asked me to dial down some of the chemistry between Xena and Gabrielle.

I was curious to read the story behind the headline, "Bring back the ambivalently sexualized She-Hulk," when I saw it linked at When Fangirls Attack. Written by Charlie Anders, a transsexual woman, the article identifies a shift in writing in the most recent incarnation of Marvel's She-Hulk comic book:

Over time, Slott has downplayed the issue of people desiring She-Hulk for her huge, imposing body. I can’t think of too many instances, since the first couple of issues, where we saw men throwing themselves at her when she was in green giant mode.

I know this is very late, but I wanted to write about it anyway. I picked up the comic DCU Infinite Holiday Special not out of any desire to celebrate the holidays, but because I knew it contained a Batwoman story.

The issue was actually much better than I expected it to be--I was expecting something much more saccharine from a holiday-themed book. But the writers had introduced a good bit of variety as well as humor into the storylines, and I wound up feeling full of good cheer despite myself.

As I came to the story featuring Batwoman, I called out to the Cute-Little-Red-Headed Girlfriend, who was busy surfing the net:

Me: Hey, guess what? It looks like Batwoman is Jewish.

CLRHG (unimpressed): She's a Superhero. They're all Jewish.

Me: Not like that. In this comic, her family is celebrating Hannukah. It's part of the story.

CLRHG: Is she Ashkenazi?

Me: It doesn't say. But her family's from Poland.

CLRHG: Probably Ashkenazi then. So the Commissioner was Jewish then?

Me: You're thinking of Batgirl. This is Batwoman.

CLRHG: It's confusing.

Me: I know.

Then I read 52 issue #33, which includes the panels I've shown here. In this scene, Renee Montoya and the uncostumed Batwoman are snuggled up on the couch at Christmas. But they're at Batwoman's place, so there's a menorah in the background.

On LAist, I read about this all-male heavy metal band from Seattle called Lesbian. Why Lesbian? Because "the name Lesbian evokes pure, sexually-charged freedom -- and, that's what rock music is all about." That is so kick ass.

I looked up their MySpace page to see if I could find out anything more about them. They consider themselves to be "part of the new wave of American psychedelic metal." I will have to get with The Sister for some schooling on these fine musical distinctions, as she is the metalhead in the family.

You can listen to Lesbian samples on their MySpace page. I also clicked through to an interview with them and found this exchange:

Soooooo why did you choose the name Lesbian to represent the band?

Because having sex with women is awesome!

So true lads, so true. Hey guys, can I get a Lesbian t-shirt?

Last week, the character of Phyllis Kroll was added to The L Word. I'm really happy about this new character for a number of reasons. I think it's fantastic that the series is including older women as cast members and showing them to be active, sexual beings.

Phyllis is in her 50s and has enjoyed a long conventional married life when she begins to reconsider her sexual orientation. I don't know what is true today, but when I first came out, it was definitely more common for women to come out after having married than before. Coming out in one's teens was not a typical experience back then, and I sometimes wonder how much things have changed. In any case, I think Phyllis's narrative is an important one to include on the show.

While it's unusual for television to promote older women as sex objects (there are exceptions, of course, like BSG's Mary McDonnell), I don't think it's unusual in terms of lesbian sexuality. In my experience, lesbians have tended to be more flexible than the mainstream about what constitutes female beauty. It's nice to see that reflected with the inclusion of attractive older characters like Peggy Peabody and now Phyllis.

But the best thing about Phyllis, in my opinion, is the casting. Cybill Shepherd's great with goofball humor, and I love her past work, including two (!) Martha Stewart TV-movies that I absolutely howled at, and her sitcom, Cybill, which dealt with a variety of women's issues. Plus anyone who dated Elvis is just inherently cool.

But my most positive associations with Cybill Shepherd stem from her willingness to participate in the 1993 March on Washington for gay and lesbian rights at a time when things were not so rosy for gays and lesbians. I was at that march and I remember the lift that it gave people to see a Hollywood celebrity in the streets with us. I will never forget it. In the complicated playbook of my affections, if an actor who plays gay gets 10 points for bravery, an actor willing to march with gays gets about 1000.

You can hear Cybill Shepherd talk about her activism for gay and lesbian and women's causes on this week's L Word podcast.

[No Spoilers] Why, yes, I did enjoy "The Rapture," which also happened to be Lucy Lawless's last appearance on Battlestar Galactica. Thank you for asking. But I'm not going to say too much about it, as I've noticed some griping among timeshifting TV-watchers regarding spoilers in bloggers's posts.

I'm not crazy about BSG's new time slot. It took the Cute Little Red-Headed Girlfriend and I about 25 minutes to decide what shows (BSG, Rome, The L Word, Masterpiece Theater) we were going to watch real time and what we were going to record. But thanks to my shiny new DVD recorder, the Pioneer DVR-640H-S, it took me less than 5 minutes to set everything up once our decisions were made.

I have to rave for a minute about this DVD recorder. I got it because my VCR was not quite dead yet but acting up a lot. I thought to myself, "Am I really going to buy myself another VCR?" Obviously, the answer was no. So I went over to the AVS Forum to check out what people were saying about various machines. My main criteria was "must play nice with DirecTV." But this lovely tech also has many, many tricksy things you can with it. If you're in the market for a DVD recorder, it's worth taking a look at.

"I am not watching one more time!" I vowed to those in the room. "It's over! I'm done with it! They have so jumped the shark for me!"
My outburst came moments after the marathon watching last year's Academy Awards show with the Cute Little Red Headed Girlfriend, Joe, and the Sister. I was pissed over Brokeback Mountain's losses, which I attributed to homophobia. I was expecting my pals to join me in my righteous anger, but instead I was faced with smiles and soft chuckles. I was confused.
"Don't you agree with me?!" I asked.
"Yes, we agree with you," the Girlfriend said jovially. "It's just that you say this every year."
"No. I mean it this time!"
Okay, so let's just say I meant it for several months. Until the Academy announced that Ellen DeGeneres would be hosting the awards in 2007, and I came to terms with the inevitable.
But I'm going to need help getting through it. So this year, inspired by the annual State of the Union Address Drinking Game, I'm going to devise my own Academy Awards Drinking Game. Every time I hear a reference to piracy, copyright or DRM technologies, I'm taking a drink.
This year, I think I'll be pulling for The Devil Wear Prada. It's a hard choice between Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep, but you know, I just loved that moment when Miranda Priestly commands Andrea to get down on the carpet and hike up that ugly skirt immediately.
Wait, it didn't happen that way? Actually I went looking for Miranda/Andrea fan fiction and found some at a Russian livejournal site. I thought I had explored the outer reaches of slash fan fiction before, but until you've used Google's BETA Russian language translator to read a femslash story, I don't think you can really say that you've explored all that the genre has to offer.

Continuing with my prior Xena in games post, I created this mockup of a Xena DS game. I also tried to use the online celebrity Mii generator to make a Lucy Lawless or Xena Mii but it doesn't work too well for women. On the bright side, the DS slogan "Touching is good" seems eminently suited to Xena. Amazon Warriors come out to play!