The BlogHer panel I'd totally attend if I weren't going to Martha's Vineyard: "Bringing Sex Out of the Closet"

I'm gonna try to start posting here more often...emphasis on "try" as I'm behind on multiple books and have lots of, well, life going on.

Like this weekend, I'll be taking the SeaStreak boat for the first time to spend 36 hours with my family on Martha's Vineyard and attend my aunt's memorial service. And maybe swim and eat cupcakes and chill with the fam. So I will sadly not be able to attend any of the official BlogHer conference. I'm especially bummed to miss this panel tomorrow:

Bringing Sex Out of the Closet
August 6, 2:45-4 pm
Sponsored by EdenFantasys

Did you take sex ed in high school? Did your parents give you "the talk" when you were a kid? You're an adult now, and it's time to take matters into your own hands. (Sometimes literally!) Being a better businesswoman, partner and mother is easier when you have an emotionally healthy sex life. This session discusses how to engage the Internet to its fullest potential to meet your sexual needs. Join moderator Twanna Hines, who blogs at FunkyBrownChick.com;  AV Flox, who writes at Sex and the 405; Genia Stevens, who produces Sister Talk Radio;  Mominatrix sex advice columnist, Kristen Chase; and BDSM blogger Tess Danesi, who blogs at Urban Gypsy, for a rousing and frank discussion about sex for smart women who want to improve their lives. Takeaways include but are not limited to:

How can I safely and/or anonymously experiment with my sexual identity online?
Where are the best Web resources for sexual health information?
Can the Internet save my relationship?

Read more about the panelists here.

Speaking of bringing sex out of the closet, be sure to read Yes Means Yes co-editor Jaclyn Friedman's very brave, honest post "My Sluthood, Myself at Jezebel.

Guess who's excited about vaginas?

Rachel Kramer Bussel
Originally uploaded by lsmithnet

Me! T-shirt courtesy of the super-fabulous Bite My Cookie. I heart her.


See more of Larry Smith's BlogHer photos. And the first of the SMITH Mag writeups.

BlogHer in a little over a week!

I really just wanted an excuse to say that I love Rebecca Woolf. And her in this t-shirt. I just think she's so amazing and brilliant and a wonderful writer. She's like the little sister I never had except that I often feel like she's infinitely wiser than me. And I get to see her at BlogHer!! Yay...so many cool people are coming, I keep finding out about more and more. Rachel Fershleiser of SMITH, Felicia Sullivan, Deborah Siegel, Viviane, Amber Rhea, and on and on. And I get to meet Cunning Minx, she of boobiesexual fame. Gotta say, out of all those old Voice columns, which feel like ancient memories, barely like something I used to live and breathe and plot and plan for, that one is one of my favorites and I'm thrilled to see it take on a life of its own, and even get a mention in Elisabeth Squires's book bOObs: A Guide to Your Girls. Makes me feel like all that was worth something, especially when things are just all around aggravating of late.

Also exciting too. We had an amazing In The Flesh tonight, one I only wish we had taped. Next time. My readers and my audience rock so much. Progress is being made, just very slowly. A few media tidbits are in the works, in the home stretch on the big book, and am flirting with the idea of a Vegas trip. And I joined Booktour.com, though so far the best part is I got an email full of this week's local author readings. I haven't fully explored it yet but I'm always up for anywhere to list my readings, though have found that Craigslist and Upcoming work quite well.

Having to relearn a lot of stuff at Crossfit, which at first I found incredibly annoying but now find strangely satisfying. That's really an environment where patience, SO not my strong suit, is rewarded.

And randomly, some events that are very cool but which I cannot attend - Andrew Boyd is awesome and is part of Best Of In The Flesh on September 19th, and Peter Kuper's Stop Forgetting to Remember is well worth checking out. Both at Bluestockings Bookstore, 172 Allen Street, NYC.

Thursday, July 19th @ 7PM - $5 to $10 Suggested
Through the Lens Series: Short Films of Political Pranks
With Andy Bichlbaum and Andrew Boyd
Come get your prank on with highlights from short films of political monkeyshines. We'll be showing the Yes Men masquerading as a DuPont spokesperson on BBC TV, and a startling expose about the Oil Enforcement Agency (OEA), a secretive group of vigilantes seeking to curb America's oil addiction. Yes Man Andy Bichlbaum and troublemaker (and "Billionaires For Bush" founder) Andrew Boyd will be on hand to drink beer.

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Sunday, July 22nd @ 7PM - Free
Reading: Peter Kuper and Kevin Pyle
World War 3 Illustrated co-editors Peter Kuper and Kevin Pyle unveil their latest graphic novels. In "Stop Forgetting to Remember," Kuper unflinchingly examines his past experiences of (way too little) sex, (way too many) drugs, and (plenty-o) rock'n'roll. Kevin Pyle's "Blindspot" chronicles one boy's disillusionment with comic book notions of violence as he begins to encounter the darkness at the center of the adult world.

BlogHer 2007!

Now I'm all registered so I'm definitely going. Also working on scheduling either an erotica writing workshop and/or a reading while I'm in town. I haven't been to Chicago since BEA 2004. And I get to see my new baby cousin! And hang with Rebecca Woolf and Felicia Sullivan. Can't wait!

BlogHer 2007

Okay, now I'm definitely going to BlogHer. A reading at Early to Bed already in the works. I'm a Blogher virgin though, so people I know (or should know), let me know if you're going.

Also, new blog addiction: Hana Schank's More Perfect. She's the author of the memoir A More Perfect Union: How I Survived The Happiest Day of My Life, which I got at Powell's and am now reading in my "spare time." Also check out Hana's recent Mediabistro essay, "How To Write About Family and Friends So They'll Still Speak to You."