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Below are the 6 most recent journal entries recorded in
gra_is_stor's LiveJournal:
| Sunday, April 12th, 2009 | | 3:01 pm |
wow, it's weird to be back here
which you can tell by the fact that when I logged in it said I last updated my journal 76 weeks ago, when I got on the ballot for the 2008 Grammy's. I'm on Facebook much more often, if anyone is looking for me. And my personal profile there is under my full name: Caera Aislingeach. I also have a music page there, under "Caera". So what got me back to Live Journal? I can't believe this -- censorship! Of GLBT books. On amazon.com!?! Check these out: http://markprobst.livejournal.com/15293.htmlhttp://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11992.htmlTo clarify, amazon.com is not pulling the books from being sold. They have removed the sales rank, which is what makes them come up quickly when you use the site's "search" feature. Now, you have to insist you know what you're looking for, in what format, by exact title and author, in order to find these books. It will still cross-reference some once you've found one, but you can't browse as easily, and for things where there are straight books in the same genre or with the same keywords, the straight books will come up in your search and not the queer ones. A gay male author caught this first, and apparently was first finding more m/m books removed than f/f, but since word has gotten out, it really has affected books with any GLBT themes, and some poly books too. I signed into LJ specifically to add some more books that I went looking for, inspired by what he's already got there: The Queer Parent's Primer by Stephanie A. Brill http://www.amazon.com/Queer-Parents-Primer-Families-Navigating/dp/1572242264/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239573134&sr=1-1This is one of the best books I know of to prepare potential parents for the changes having kids will bring into their lives, as well as an excellent book that goes through things to consider as a queer family, down to little details a lot of her clients didn't even think of until _after_ they had kids. The author is a midwife in the SF Bay area, and the book is based on her actual experiences with GLBT families -- she has a lot of experience with her own clientele in lesbian insemination (known donor, anonymous donor, and other means), plus she runs support groups for queer families and has supported many families (2 dads, 2 moms, as well as poly) who used adoption as well. I had to try 4 times to even find it now that amazon.com fucked up the search feature for it. WTF?!? The same author's other books got their sales ranks removed too: The New Essential Guide to Lesbian Conception, Pregnancy, and Birth http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Guide-Lesbian-Conception-Pregnancy/dp/1555839401/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239575635&sr=1-1AND The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals http://www.amazon.com/Transgender-Child-Handbook-Families-Professionals/dp/1573443182/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239575719&sr=1-2WTF!?!!!!! These are awesome books. I so wish that last one was more common knowledge and more commonly accepted when I was growing up dealing with all kinds of stupidity for being a "tomboy". And especially where these books deal with protecting kids from the fucked up shit we had to grow up with, WTF amazon?!? (personal note: I got shit for being a "tomboy" while my girlfriend was raised by a lesbian mom, so more than one of these books could effectively help keep kids from going through some of what both of us went through) Women in Love: Portraits of Lesbian Mothers & Their Families by Diana Herrera: http://www.amazon.com/Women-Love-Portraits-Lesbian-Families/dp/0821225235/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239574911&sr=1-1 has also lost it's rank, and when I searched just the main title ("women in love") it did not come up. I had to search "women in love lesbian families" to find it. I searched 5 times for one of my favorite books, Lesbian Sacred Sexuality by Diane Mariechild, before I finally found it: http://www.amazon.com/Lesbian-Sacred-Sexuality-Diane-Mariechild/dp/0914728814/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239575206&sr=1-1 . Since my books are all still in storage, I'm doing these searches by memory. Searching for "Lesbian Sacred Sexuality" did not pull it up at all. Searching for "lesbian sacred sexuality mariechild" (I could only remember the author's last name) only pulled it up when I specifically searched under "books". It did not come up when searching "all departments". I'm going to get my sweetie to look for more gay and lesbian parenting books, since she knows way more of them than I do. If anyone wants to join the search and add your results, gay author Mark Probst is collecting the list here: http://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11992.htmlI got curious about poly books too. The Ethical Slut still has a sales rank, but isn't available for sale here: http://www.amazon.com/Ethical-Slut-Infinite-Sexual-Possibilities/dp/B001TK45QU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239574368&sr=8-3The same is true for Love Without Limits: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Without-Limits-Sustainable-Relationships/dp/188078906X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239574601&sr=8-1 . I'm aware it's possible they're not directly available for sale through amazon.com because they were published independently, much like my music (which I no longer sell there because of how they screwed that up). There are some poly books on Mark's list already. If anyone who knows more of them wants to try searching and share the results, I am curious. I am limited by 2 reading disabilities that make it painfully slow for me to get info through reading books. But I do get through some, just very slowly. I know the voracious readers around me can very likely do better than I just did, especially those who can look at books on their own bookshelves. To add, post a comment at: http://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11992.html He's up to 6 pages of comments in 12 hours since he first posted about this. I reiterate a sentiment Cristovau expressed a few years ago: You'd think a company named "Amazon" could do better for lesbians. WTF? Current Mood:  enraged | | Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007 | | 12:29 pm |
I'm on the Official Grammy Ballot for 2008!
I just got this at 1am this morning (last night by my sleeping schedule): "The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences Committee has placed Caera on the Official Ballot for the 2008 Grammy Awards in the following categories: Category 2 - Album of the Year Caera - Suantraighe Award goes to Artist, Producer, Recording Engineer, Mixer, and Mastering Engineer: Caera and Rob Ignnazio Ballot Entry 063 Category 4 - Best New Artist Caera Award goes to Artist: Caera Ballot Entry 039" Being on the Official Ballot is pretty cool, but does not make an actual nomination or award unless it gets enough votes. That's where I could use your help: If you are a voting member of the academy, please vote for me. The ballot numbers for the categories I'm in are 063 and 039. It is legal for fans to join the academy so they can vote, but it's expensive. If anyone wants to look into it, or if you're curious, you can check out http://www.grammy.comIf you have any contacts in the press or the music industry who are members of the academy or who might be members, please forward them the announcement above and ask them to vote for me. If you are in the press or media, please contact me if you are interested in publicizing this. Suantraighe is my collection of Celtic lullabies in five different languages, with full lyrics and translations included. You can check it out at http://www.cdbaby.com/caera4, and two of its songs are on my myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/IrishHarper You can contact me at caerasinger[at]hotmail[dot]com, or call 831-332-7609. It also just helps to spread the word. The Grammy ballots will arrive to all voting members of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences this week and must be completed by November 7. I won't be home during that time after tonight, so I won't be near my computer. If you could all help spread the word quickly, it can make a difference. And for those who didn't know, Loreena McKennitt's career got a significant boost from winning the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy's. Independent musicians (and their fans and contacts) _can_ do this. :) Lots of love to everyone. :) hugs, me www.caera.info www.myspace.com/IrishHarper Current Mood:  shockedCurrent Music: Enter the Haggis (noticeably not Celtic lullabies :) ) | | Monday, May 14th, 2007 | | 11:58 am |
Does anyone know how to contact Christian?
Allo, I've been searching on LJ for probably well over an hour now to see if I can find a way to contact Christian (mka Michael Macafee). He was planning to come here after work today to go over the various CD manufacturers I have used in making my albums and demos. Meanwhile, I'm trying to get another job and the demo I was supposed to attend this morning got moved to tonight, so I won't be here when he gets out of work. So far I've tried searching through my friends' friends to see if he's on LJ, but I haven't found him. I've also tried searching a couple of times, but haven't found anything. I called his house, but I'm afraid he won't get the message before leaving work, and I don't want him to drive all the way to Chelmsford if he doesn't have to. I don't have any other contact info for him -- I don't have a Liber, and I don't have his email, his work phone number, or any other way to contact him (cell phone, any of various IM/chat, etc.). Last I checked the Rolls Ethereal were down because of spam, and I don't know if he would have updated his entry there or if he even had one. I suppose I could at least try it. If anyone reading this knows how to contact Christian on a work day, or even any other contact info for him, please let me know. Thanks muchly, me P.S. If anyone else knows of a part-time job with flexible hours or mid-week hours (I still have plenty of weekend festivals, but they're not getting me out of debt for the 3 new albums I made last year), please let me know. Thanks. Current Mood: determinedCurrent Music: my iTunes on random (right now "Sorcerer" by Stevie Nicks) | | Friday, October 27th, 2006 | | 6:39 pm |
I'm back (for now) :)
Just posting while I'm actually in LJ for once. My roommate suggested I post about my birthday while I'm in here. My birthday is on Sunday, and for those of you who didn't know yet, I am having a party that day. The party runs from 1pm to 7pm, is child-friendly (the resident children will be here, and one is under 2 so there is baby-proofed space for those with infants), and we have a cat so medicate if you have allergies. I also realized I can now do what I started this journal for in the first place. I started this journal in 2004 when my first two CD's were getting held up by one stupid thing after another and I was getting very impatient. I thought of the Lord of the Rings very secret diaries, especially Aragorn's journal, which always ends with "still not king yet" or something along that theme. I now have two more CD's at the manufacturer getting held up by ridiculously stupid things even I had never imagined (and I'm a fairly imaginative person). I did successfully release one new CD this past June (www.cdbaby.com/caera2), but the manufacturer for these next two (a new one) has still been annoying. According to the most recent update, the CD's are now due out sometime next week. I sent them via overnight UPS on Sept. 19th, and was originally quoted 19 business days to completion before I sent them in. That was also before some bright bunny on their graphics team thought the best color combination to target marketing for a CD of Celtic lullabies was a black background with white writing. Ok, there are some Celtic lullabies that are a bit grim or sad, but really, white writing on a black background? Did he think this was the goth or hard rock version of Celtic lullabies? Does he think that's an electric harp in the photos, and I'm just gonna rock out now? Is he trying to sell it to dead babies? Is it really that hard to work with colors that actually appear in the artwork for the album (nice soft pastels on the cover or bright green, blue and purple in the photos)? So, as of today: Still no CD's yet. :) | | Tuesday, November 29th, 2005 | | 10:14 pm |
| | Wednesday, October 12th, 2005 | | 8:22 am |
joining the dark side
I finally posted something on livejournal. Ugh. I know I hate computers, but I have lost touch with quite a few people, and I hear from my roommates about our friends through their lj, so I'm giving it a try. If you got notice that I marked you as a friend today, this is Caera, and you do know me. :) I suppose it wouldn't kill me to post some news in here too. Right now I'm excited that I might finally be getting competent help in my musical career, through the studio where I've been taking voice lessons since January. The manager there used to work for Rounder Records in marketing and promotion, which is what I need the most help with. I might finally not have to do absolutely everything all by myself, yay! Today I'm excited that I will be meeting with a sean nos singer from Connemara who I met last year, and haven't seen him since I visited Connemara last August. I'm also excited that I'm awake now, though I might not be so excited if I get _really_ tired this afternoon because of it. We'll see. Ok, I'm done for now. me Current Mood: awakeCurrent Music: random mix on my computer; now Heather Alexander |
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