friends of Crystalsage

In case you missed it...she and hers could use lots of love right now.
http://crystalsage.livejournal.com/1473101.html

ETA: She should be sleeping (or doing a damn good impression of it) - she's running on fumes, as you might imagine. So she might not get to respond to people right away. Just FYI.

last night

I coaxed MWB into going to see a bellydance show at Your Inner Vagabond...Oh! SO incredibly beautiful! And..I wish I could just ditch my wardrobe (and about 50lbs) and have bought much of what their vendors had for sale in the lobby.

Performers included:
http://www.tribalbellies.com
(Philly peeps, if you EVER get the chance to see Hipnosis perform..DO IT! The videos on this site do not do them justice. All improv tribal bellydance, which..believe you me, is very hard to believe because it looks so choreographed..)

http://www.khafif.com/khafif/

http://www.karimerlina.com/sadiqa.html

http://www.arielbellydance.com/

http://www.folkloricfusion.net/

http://www.mandaradance.com/

http://www.zafiradance.com/ - the hosts of the event
Their dance was..it felt like it had French influence. It was very different, and do I need to say beautiful? ZOMG beautiful.

http://www.evadancer.com/ - Eva Cernik - she was the 'main act' and did much dancing with a veil and zils.

(There are others listed on the Zafira site that I don't think performed, and one or two I don't think are listed, dang it.)

So, yes; we lounged on pillows, we drank incredibly good coffee, I had MUCH more coffee than MWB did and man did I want more...and I wish I lived closer, as I'd be going to YIV on a regular basis. *wistful sigh*

and the song in my head still from last night..

Natacha Atlas, "I Put a Spell on You"

And also...RIP Dr George Tiller

Dr Tiller was a 67 year old man, one of the few doctors in America performing late-term abortions.

He was shot today in the church he attended and where he was serving as an usher for today's service.

A quick google search will pull up a lot of hate talk about this man. Perhaps because of his choice to stay below the media radar for the past several years, there's not much out there to combat the smear campaign. (The article I link to above does so.) Because I personally found it difficult to find the positive stories, I'm linking to another here; as well, wikipedia has this to say about the man and his clinic.

What (besides the obvious) led up to his murder?

Dr Tiller talks about the terrorism aimed at his clinic and himself prior to today's murder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG3YtK7tB8c

As is perhaps not a surprise, the doctor was charged with varied wronging..and found innocent in each case. In '93, he was accused of wrongdoing during an abortion that led to a patient's death. Both the Kansas Board of Healing Arts and a grand jury cleared him. This past March, he was acquitted of 19 charges of violating Kansas abortion law.

I state all these things because today's murder - today's act of terrorism - did not happen in a vacuum. And for all of us that have escorted friends and loved ones and complete strangers across the picket lines and into an abortion clinic; for all of us that have had abortions, and for those of us who may be facing that horrifying decision in the future; for the medical staff that is forced to wear bullet proof vests on their way to work...for all of us, this story is a terrifying, sobering reminder that the argument for and against abortion can, and sometimes does, end in gunfire.

(video ganked from maggiesox

RIP, Dr Tiller. Thank you for the work you did, and love to your loved ones.

Ok, so...June 20th!

Once Upon a Time, Emo-Squirrel said to The Fabulous Hugh Casey, "Wah wah wah..I'm turning 40 this year!"

The Fabulous Hugh Casey patted Emo-Squirrel on the head and said, "Buck up, my bushy-tailed friend! It's not that bad! I'm having a Milestone Birthday(TM) this year, too!" Then he paused. 'Hm!' he thought in a rather fabulous way...'maybe we should have a combined birthday party...'

"Yes!" Not-As-Emo-Squirrel chittered! "We can do that! In June! Only not on the following dates. Excuse me while I whip this out!" She e-slapped a calendar across the internet that effectively blocked every possible weekend except..

"JUNE 20th!!"

And there was much squeeing...until The Fabulous Hugh Casey realized Wizard World was that weekend.

And then not so much squeeing as primal roar "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!"-ing.

"Fear not!"

"..Did you chitter that?"

"No! Who the..?"

(enter Nikki-Wench - complete with corset and cape - and Our Zombie Apocalypse Mastermind, swooping in with much needed focus and locations and...well...mostly focus) (thank goodness)

Which leads me to announce...

THE MILESTONE
BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!!

WHEN? June 20th at 8PM!


WHERE? Lithuanian Music Hall
2715 E. Allegheny Avenue
Philadelphia, PA


DETAILS? Are you celebrating a Milestone Birthday(TM) in 2009?

Do you wanna hang out with Nikki, Hugh,
and Dusti?

(..it'll make you feeeeel gooooood...)

Can you get your sweet lil' self to Philadelphia on June 20th?

Are you willing to bring something consumable?

COME PARTY WITH US!!

(RSVP'ing to hughcasey, ysobelle, to the impending eVite, or my own squirrelly self is VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! The hall only seats 75 people, and Hugh could probably fill that space with his friendslist alone! :P'')

ETA: Birthday hats optional.
Pirate hats encouraged...but optional.
Clothing? Not so optional!

You may also feel free to bring bellydancers, Siamese-ish kittens, hard cider, and ponies to the celebration. Ya know, if you so desire.

ETA Also:
Ok, so. We're gonna track people via eVite. If you respond to this email, you'll be added to the eVite. Sorry for the duplication!