BartCop is organizing a fundraiser for Julie Hiatt Steele. If you can help, please do. Don't let the bastards win.
posted by Mad Anne Rackham at 10:15 AM

A couple of days later, and indeed I'm feeling better. I think it was just a temporary blip or something.

Decided after further listening that in fact I do love the new Great Big Sea CD. Can't get some of those songs out of my head, most of them in fact. Also bit the bullet and bought tickets for the Boston show. Despite the smoke, I'm sure it will be awesome. Feel like I'm spending a lot of money on stuff this month, but given that last month I spent more than a thousand bucks on travel-related expenses, I'm ahead of the game right now. Need to quit postponing joy anyway.

Turns out Michael Moore was in town the other day, but I didn't learn about it until after the fact and had a meeting that night anyway. It's actually good I didn't go, though. On his website he says he's donating the proceeds he makes from the books he sells on the tour to local progressive organizations, and he asks for suggestions. I was contemplating what to suggest but then read the article in the previous link, in which it is revealed that he donated his take to the moron from the Green Party who's running for mayor of Providence. This is an insult in multiple ways: I hate the Green Party because they are responsible for electing Shrub. I particularly resent Moore's promotion of them before the last election because he dishonestly glossed over the very stark differences in the major parties on LGBT rights issues (or gonadal politics, as Nader labeled them and choice issues.) But most importantly, there is a real progressive running for mayor of Providence, my friend David Cicilline, and the Gringo Party's candidate will add nothing to the race. If Gringo wants to run and get exposure for his ideas, there are multiple statewide offices that are so far uncontested--why the hell doesn't he run for one of those instead? Ego, just like Nadir. And finally, there are progressive organizations locally that are doing good work and could have used the money for more important things than tilting at windmills, but Moore couldn't be bothered. So the whole thing really pisses me off.
posted by Mad Anne Rackham at 9:47 AM

So, depression. Yes, it's definitely here. For how long, I don't know. The severity varies, too. Most of the time I just don't want to do anything and am overwhelmed contemplating what needs to be done. But it's been worse, for in the past, contemplating just getting out of bed was overwhelming. Now, it's contemplating the legislative agenda for the year and editing more than a hundred (probably) entries in a database, a multi-part job. Anyway, tonight was feeling even worse than that for a while. The thing about depression is that (for me anyway) it's addictive. When I am in the pit, I want to stay there instead of spending any energy to fight my way out of it or even to just redirect. I guess in some ways it would be surprising for me not to be depressed given what I recently went through with the family medical crisis, not to mention the political helplessness. Another thing about depression for me in the past was that it was one of the only ways I had to take a break. I'm a workaholic, but being weighed down by the depression forces me to work less. So that makes some sense too. Still, I had to cancel my last psychiatrist appointment when I was out of town and am due for one, so I should take care of that (another thing I'm not motivated to do.)

Eventually got out of the fog some. A good laugh from this started the process. Gotta love that Weekly World News!

Anyway, don't worry about me, really. I know enough to take care of myself. I'm just baffled really that this is even happening, as my meds have been working fine for years now. I hope I don't have to switch again. This is probably a temporary blip anyway. I've been through enough, after all.
posted by Mad Anne Rackham at 6:14 AM

Dog ate my homework? No, Blogger ate the previous version of today's post because I spent too long dawdling on it. That'll show me. So I have to re-create it.

Must have seemed a little like an obsessed fan when I showed up shortly after the store opened yesterday morning and asked for the brand-new Great Big Sea CD. It wasn't where the computer said it was because they hadn't put it out yet, but luckily they got it for me. I wasn't really an obsessed fan but rather had promised my other half I'd buy her copies of the magazine that she's in this week, and the fact that the CD was released the same day was just a lucky coincidence. My review: it has some gems on it but so far doesn't seem as strong to me as their previous work. But, I already had heard a lot of their previous work on Internet radio before buying the previous CDs--this was totally new to me and is already growing on me.

Turns out they're playing in Boston early next month. Debating whether to go. The downsides are that it'll be in a club, which means smoke, and that it's such a hassle to get to Boston anymore. I think we'll end up doing it and will be glad, but I wish the logistics were easier.

Someone on an email list that I'm on died a few days ago. I didn't know her very well, but she was a longtime and memorable presence on a list that I consider extended family, and we all admired her for her courage in the face of massive health problems over the years. I've been on this list for almost ten years now, and I think we've had four subscribers who died during that time.

Depressing stuff again, so let me redirect to something lighter. The fake ad at the bottom of the page on this site is particularly apt this week. The fake ads and fake corrections are often the best parts of the site, so go check out the archives if you need a quick laugh.

Buffy has jumped the shark. I decided this weeks ago and quit watching, but seeing tonight's episode just confirmed it. I won't even waste the time and typing to explain why--it's not even worth it.
posted by Mad Anne Rackham at 6:14 AM

Slept in today. Really didn't mean to, but I kept hitting snooze until eventually the alarm just turned itself off. Next thing I knew, it was evening. I guess I needed it since I pulled an all-dayer last week. I've got some sores near my eye, and I'm desperately trying to keep them from morphing into an eye infection like I had last spring. So I'm trying to take it easy. May be running a low-grade depression, which makes sense actually given what I've been dealing with recently. I don't feel really bad, but these things manifest physically sometimes.

Decided to send Kerr the email blast semi-anonymously--from an account without my name on it but which does have a return address. I don't want to hear from him, but I have him nailed on the facts anyway and provided links. Still need to write a letter to the editor about the stupid article saying gays are all highly educated, but I didn't want to do both at once. (No link to the article because it expired already. You didn't miss anything, trust me.)

I refuse to buy Michael Moore's new book because of his fanatical support of Nader. Instead, in honor of the librarians who stood up to his publisher when they were not going to publish it, I will check it out from the library. Still, I'm glad to see it high on the best-seller list at Amazon.
posted by Mad Anne Rackham at 5:58 AM