the isthmus, madison's local weekly, is doing an article about wiscon, and they emailed me to ask me questions about it. (okay, me, and i'm certain everyone else at the con who they thought blogged!) so, to save myself having to think of new content, here's what i said.



What are you looking forward to most at WisCon30?

It's not any one event at the convention that I am looking forward
to. It's the whole thing. Where several hundred (this year, one thousand!)
feminist sf fans in a hotel and we sit around and talk about the things
we love-- feminism and science fiction and reading and writing and
politics and our lives and anything else we can think of. It totally
recharges me to go back to the rest of my life and live it the way
that I want to live it, in a feminist, aware manner, and then I can
do that for another year, while waiting for the next WisCon.

How are you participating in WisCon30?

I am the program chair. This means that I organized the program schedule, put people on various panels, etcetera. It's a lot of work! But it's
mostly done before the convention, so now I get to wander around the
convention and go to panels.

What are your thoughts about WisCon being held in Madison, or is there something you are hoping to do when visiting the city?

I think that a feminist sf con could successfully be held in any
city that has ever been referred to as "the People's Republic of X".
But I really love Madison. I live in St. Paul, so as midwest standards
of distance go, it's just a quick drive over here. (Also? State Street
food! Mmmmm!)

Betsy Lundsten
St. Paul, Minnesota
http://www.mooseparty.org/betsy/

the united states is second from last in the list of infant mortality rates in industrialized nations. who do we beat? latvia.

who are first and second? japan, and the czech republic.

rosenleaf gave birth to her son in the czech republic, and lived there for several years either side of it. here is a taste of what she has to say about it.

Livingston, I Presume: On giving birth in Prague:

When people defend our system, they often say that people from all over the world fly in to see our doctors and visit our healthcare centers, and they're right. Rich people will always get great care in the United States. If you have money, there is no better place to be sick. But if you don't have money and/or you don't have insurance, it's surely one of the industrialized world's worst places to be ill. Financial ruin is sitting in the background of nearly every decision an American makes about healthcare. If you don't think that causes stress, then you've probably never experienced it.

(emphasis mine)

i'm not rich enough to not have to worry about it. i get pretty good insurance through my job, but what happens if i lose it? i just got divorced; it used to be that i could count on being covered by the ex's insurance if i lost mine. do i worry about it? hell, yeah.

i can't figure out what to say to get you to go read
One Good Thing. flea is an amazing writer. she posts about her job (but not in that trying to become a verb like dooce did sort of way), about her kids (who are good kids, and are lucky to have flea and mr. flea as parents), and about the business that she and mr. flea also run, the honeysuckle shop, current home of the world's raunchiest garage sale.

go read her. go read the post she's submitted to a book that if they don't publish it it's because someone on the editorial team had their brain sucked out their ear with a straw.

why did that double post? hmm. that seems less good.

yet another onion article that makes you want to laugh until you cry. and not necessarily in that good way.

New 'Anti-Abortion Pill' Kills Mother, Leaves Fetus Alive | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

NEW YORK—Pro-life advocates celebrated approval of the new anti-abortion drug UR-86 by the Food and Drug Administration Tuesday, calling it a "safe and effective method" for terminating pregnant women while leaving their unborn children unharmed.

the russians say that

Novosibirsk's Akademgorodok is one of the most unique places in Russia.

It is a powerful scientific complex and the most beautiful piece of nature. It's located in 40 kms from the largest city in east of the country - Novosibirsk, in pine forest and birch groves, near to Ob sea. Here there are no industrial firms, and the main part of the territory is occupied by scientific institutes and inhabited quarters enclosed by woods.

i happen to totally agree. catch me in person sometime and i'll squee at you about the mall (where i was! with the hairdress saloon!) and the grocery store, where i singlehandedly upped their diet coke consumption for the city about 8 times.

my pirate dog hurt her back this past weekend. she is doing well on the rest and medication regimen that the vet has put her on, but this is seriously crimping my style. she is lying on the sofa next to me asleep, and i want to sweep her up and gnaw on her exposed tummy. however, this involves not being completely careful about her back, so no gnawing for me!

darnit!

xiphias, on livejournal, got it exactly right.

his feelings, and my feelings, on the immigration debate, neatly summed up in a sonnet.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
'Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!' cries she
With silent lips. 'Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!'

well, xiphias, me, and emma lazarus.