American Idol - Top 5 Results

Twenty minutes into the results show found Matt, Kris and Adam in the bottom three. Then Kris was sent to safety leaving Matt and Adam as bottom two. Absolute sacrilege! Luckily, Adam was safe and Matt went home. I would love to see the actual results from the supposed 47 million votes. There is no way in hell you can convince me that Gokey, Allison and Kris got more votes than Adam. Idol should be forced to release the vote count.

I thought Natalie Cole was at death's door, but she showed up tonight on Idol looking thin and not in her usual good voice to perform "Something's Got to Give." She's had complications with Hepatitis and is on dialysis three times a week awaiting a kidney transplant. She also announced she's going on an international tour. Say which? 

Idol failure Taylor Hicks showed up to promote his self-released new album after being dumped by his label and forced to play the Teen Angel in the touring company of Grease. He sang a song called "Seven Mile Breakdown" and the arrangement was so damn messy and over-orchestrated that any discernible melody was lost. Horrible. More like "Searching for My Career Patrol" than "Soul Patrol" these days. 

Jamie Foxx...umm..."sang" some song with his voice electronically altered to hide the fact that he sucks ass. I don't know what the song was called and I don't care. The fact that this "song" is number one in America is very telling about the lack of musical taste in this country. 

We've been here before...

Unintentionally hilarious public service announcements about the coming swine flu epidemic from 1976.

OutRage Trailer

This is going to be controversial and I can't wait. Hat tip to C.Dale for posting it first.

American Idol - Top 5 Perform

There's only five contestants left and it's only three weeks to the American Idol finale! Yay! Tonight the Top 5 sang songs made popular by the Rat Pack -- Frank, Dean and Sammy. As Kris noted, the Rat Pack is dead so some genius at Fox decided Jamie Foxx would be the perfect mentor. Just because he played Ray Charles and was in Dreamgirls with Jennifer Hudson? Whatever. 

Kris Allen: He did a nice version of "The Way You Look Tonight," keeping the monkey faces in control and looking cute as usual. Randy, Paula and especially Kara (she was practically fingering herself) were way over the top in their praise of his performance, which was good, but not his best ever. Simon said it was a little bit "wet" and didn't think Kris would win. Jamie Foxx doesn't care, because he said Kris was number one and wanted to record with him. 

Allison Iraheta: Her husky voice actually worked to her advantage on "Someone to Watch Over Me," and once again Randy, Kara and Paula were gushing about her brilliance. Simon said he liked the performance, but didn't think she had the confidence to win. "I have a horrible feeling you're in trouble," Simon said. Not this week, but next for sure. She was actually wearing tasteful clothing tonight. Maybe that's a bad sign, too.

Matt Giraud: Ummm, was Simon simply trying to save face for the wasted save they used on this Timberlake wannabe by calling his cover of "My Funny Valentine" brilliant and authentic? Bitch, please. Randy and Kara were right for once (?!) and said it was pitchy and he had no emotional connection. It was also flat as a pancake. Let's face it, this song belongs to Sinatra and Julie London did what I consider the definitive version in 1981. Listen to it at this link. Hell, Dino could have done this better three sheets to the wind at the Stardust. Matt should have gone home weeks ago. The time is now.

Danny Gokey: The dead-wife-pimping Hokey continues to be grossly overpimped by the judges, who have already guaranteed he'll be in the finale. He sang "Come Rain or Come Shine" and it sounded just like every other song he's done for three months -- second-rate Michael Bolton. Kara said he had Rat Pack "swagger" and "tone." What number do I call to vote Kara's dumb ass off? 

Adam Lambert: Now you wanna talk about some REAL swagger? Look no further than my future husband on the absolute best performance of the night. His performance of "Feelin' Good" was the real deal: authentic, theatrical and full of that old Vegas glory that the Rat Pack was all about. He's in the finale for sure, and damn he better beat Gokey. 

Weekend Report

Much of the weekend was spent on editing and rewriting both Conquering Venus and it's sequel. Many, many thanks to BFF Kathy, who did what I'm considering the "final edit" on the Venus manuscript. It was pretty clean, aside from stray typos, punctuation issues and the calibre of guns used by two of the characters in a climatic scene. All easy fixes. 

I emailed a panel proposal for AWP 2010 in Denver on poets working day job to support their art, which would feature me, Megan Volpert, Karen Head and Lola Haskins. This morning I received an invitation to sit on another AWP panel about super heroes in poetry. Surely, one of these will be accepted, plus I'll be there shamelessly self-promoting Venus. Denver, here I come.

I also managed to slip out of my editing bonds to attend BFF Malory's 40th birthday party, which she held in conjunction with mutual friend Stuart, who was also celebrating four decades. Happy birthday, guys. 

Much love and thanks also to the lovely Vanessa Daou and her kind words about my poetry on her blog and, again, for letting me use "Heart of Wax" for the Venus book trailer. If you have put off buying her latest album Joe Sent Me waiting for it to show up on iTunes, wait no more. It's available for download now!

Hobble Creek Review

I have a new poem, "Jean Arthur at the Lincoln Memorial," in the latest edition of Hobble Creek Review. I'm in fine company with C.E. Chafin, Nancy Devine, Lesley Doyle, Matthew Hittinger, Donald Illich, Rachel Mallino, Montgomery Maxton, Joe Milford, Nanette Rayman Rivera, Nic Sebastian, Sarah Sloat and Troy Urquhart. A big thank you to editor Justin Evans for accepting the poem and doing such a great job with HCR.

People Who Make Things

Poet, journalist and blogger Emily Benton has profiled me as part of her People Who Make Things series. I'm honored by the things she had to say about my work, especially After the Poison and Conquering Venus. There's also a Q&A. Thank you, Emily! 

Speaking of people who make things, last night I went to Marc Fitten's reading for his debut novel Valeria's Last Stand at the Carter Center. Marc was funny and self-effacing and I think the novel is going to do well. You can find out more about Marc and read the first chapter of his book at his website www.marcfitten.com.

On Monday night, I went to a reading given by Mark Doty and Paul Lisicky at Georgia State University. It was amazing to hear the new work they shared. They are such a funny and affable couple and it's always a delight to see them. 

Hear This: Middle Cyclone - Neko Case

I've been listening to Neko Case's stunning new album Middle Cyclone almost daily since I downloaded it in March. It's that good. So far, this is my album of the year. Case has been an alt-country darling for years, but Middle Cyclone is such an ambitious, timeless sounding record that pigeonholing is nearly impossible. It's full of often cryptic lyrics, a orchestra of old pianos assembled in a Vermont barn, jangling guitars and closes with 30 minutes of night sounds. Never has desire sounded so brooding and defiant.

Opening with the rollicking "This Tornado Loves You," Case casts herself as a hellish wind cutting her lover's name 65 miles wide across three counties, throwing trailers into power lines. Even with her mighty display, the lover remains elusive: "This tornado loves you, this tornado loves you, what will make you believe me?" 

The distorted music box that leads off "The Next Time You Say Forever" is the perfect sound for this dark little lullaby about a lover's empty promises: "The next time you say forever, I will punch you in your face." Then on "People Got a Lotta Nerve," the sunny pop sound belies the dark lyrics about tigers and whales pouncing on their prey. 

"Polar Nettles" sounds like the love theme from a David Lynch film, with its cryptic lyrics, dizzying guitar, martial drums and then a sudden -- and seamless -- move toward  liturgy. "His eyes are closed, he mouths her name, the rosary her lips and tongue. She is the centrifuge that throws the spires from the sun, the Sistine Chapel painted with a Gatling gun."

Sounding almost Stevie Nicks-ish on "I'm An Animal," the soaring vocals, the purring organ, tambourine and rumbling drums make this song a highlight, especially when the church chorus arrives at the line "heaven will smell like an airport." It's 2:17 of absolute perfection. 

Clocking in at more than five minutes, "Prison Girls" is a noir-ish tale of a woman who compares waiting in a lonely hotel room for the man she loves to being in jail. When she laments "I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes," it will give you goosebumps. And on "The Pharaohs," she casts herself as Cleopatra, cinematically awaiting for her love to return. "You kept me wanting...like the wanting in the movies and the hymns. I want the pharaohs, but there's only men." 

Choosing to close the album with more than 30 minutes of frogs chirping on her farm, which she's titled "Marais la nuit," sounds self-indulgent, but it's so soothing and somehow musical that after the intensity of the songs before it, this is the ultimate chill out.

American Idol - Double Elimination

American Idol obviously couldn't wait to get rid of Lil Rounds. Fifteen minutes into the show, Miss Seacrest sent her home. No drama, no psych out, just outta there! Cold blooded, but no big surprise. Lil had been stinking up the joint for weeks. 

Before Lil was unceremoniously given the boot in her badonkadonk, we were treated to the gayest choreography of the season courtesy of Miss Pills Abdul, whose "neck injury" seems to be in remission, for the group sing of "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)." Then there was a medley of disco hits by Freda Payne, Thelma Houston and KC from KC and the Sunshine Band. Freda looked great (those guns!) but sounded terrible on "Band of Gold," Thelma sounded good on "Don't Leave Me This Way," but looked like Big Bird after a plucking and KC...lawdy me. KC sang "Get Down Tonight," but my guess is that if pappy got down he wouldn't be able to get back up. We also had to sit through a performance by David "Fetus" Archuletta. He sounded gaspy and still looks 12.

My worst fear came true when Allison and Anoop were bottom two, but luckily Anoop was sent home. The judges saving Matt last week was almost a tragedy. We're less than a month from the finale. Thankyajesus.

After the Poison Review

The wonderful David-Matthew Barnes wrote a fantastic review of After the Poison for the latest issue of The Main Street Rag. Here's a little portion of it.

There is much to be admired in Kelley’s collection, particularly his ability to juxtapose the past, present and future of American culture, society and politics. He reaches into yesteryear with the though-provoking poem “Patty Heart on the Occasion of Her Presidential Pardon” in which he writes, “Only in California will they let you keep/your rock star shades on for the mug shot.” And while the poem certainly captures the social environment of that moment in history, Kelley – through his clever subtext – reminds us, yet again, that the past is constantly repeating itself. This poems asks us to consider, “You’ll wonder just who has been brainwashed.”

With change and uncertainty on our American horizon, After the Poison will serve as literary time capsule, capturing the events that divided many us, tugged at our heart strings, made us take a stand or simply look away. Kelley’s rank as one of our country’s highly regarded contemporary poets is well deserved, as proven by the beautiful work in this exceptional collection.

American Idol - Top 7 Perform Disco

It's a shitty case of deja vu tonight with the Top 7 performing again after the judges wasted their save on Matt Giraud last week. That means two are going home tomorrow night. I was expecting disco night to be train wreck, but it was so-so with flashes of brilliance. 

Lil Rounds: She murdered Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman." Stabbed it in the back, rolled it over and stabbed it in the front for good measure. Calling it karaoke is being cruel to karaoke. It was just plain bad. Paula tried to defend Lil, who was apparently on vocal rest all weekend, to no avail. There was also no defending the badonkadonk enhancing jumpsuit and the cheap wig. Pack ya bags, Lil. 

Kris Allen: I really want to dislike him, but he's cute, even when making monkey faces. He was totally working the John Mayer look tonight while doing a rather fabulous acoustic version of Donna Summer's "She Works Hard for the Money." Paula said it had a Santana vibe, which it did and made me think Paula might be almost coherent tonight, but then she made some comment about Kris shopping in the women's department. This led to time-wasting banter between Paula and Simon, who said he didn't care if Kris wore ladies underwear. The look of gay panic on Kris' face was worth it. 

Danny Gokey: Back in the glasses again, more stubble on his face and securing his future as the next Michael Bolton, Danny frugged his way through Earth Wind & Fire's "September." It all sounds the same, looks the same, is the same. Yawn.

Allison Iraheta: Not nearly as good as the judges proclaimed (Simon said it was "brilliant" -- and it soooo was not), Allison did a rock version of Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff." She was dressed like a day-shift Las Vegas hooker (that's a step up!), but the song lost its energy with a slow arrangement. She still might be in trouble.

Adam Lambert: Dressed like Robert Palmer in a dapper suit and tie (evoking a little Elvis as well), Adam completely deconstructed Yvonne Elliman's  "If I Can't Have You" from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (Kara said Saturday Night Live...she's a total, time-sucking moron) and turned it into a mournful ballad. Paula was crying and Simon said his vocals were immaculate. Now this was brilliant. 

Matt Giraud: The proof that the judges' save last week was a complete waste was evident the moment Matt began to sing "Stayin' Alive." With the Justin Timberlake hat and ugly Member's Only-style jacket, and a messy arrangement, Matt blew it. Too many runs, too many "whoooos," and his falsetto at the end cracked and sounded like a chicken being strangled. So long, Matty. See you at the airport piano bar.

Anoop Desai: He got the pimp spot and while his vocal was good, the arrangement of Donna Summer's "Dim All the Lights" was abysmal. It started slow then went mid-tempo and had no energy at all. He might survive just for the vocal and going last.

Bottom three: Lil, Matt and Anoop...although Allison could wind up here, too, and the judges would be squarely to blame if she went home. I've got my money on Lil and Matt.

In Memoriam: JG Ballard, 1930-2009

The brilliant author JG Ballard died today in London after a long illness. He's the author of two of my favorite novels: Empire of the Sun, Crash and I also loved Cocaine Nights. Lyrical, haunting fiction. He will be missed. 

Weekend Report

After the poets' dinner on Saturday night, I headed over to Sycamore Place Gallery in Decatur for the opening of Kodac Harrison's first art exhibition, Random Intent. The work is all on drop cloths Kodac used while painting houses, but then morphed in Jackson Pollock territory. It was a fun evening.

This afternoon, I went to the 70th anniversary screening of Gone With the Wind at The Fox Theatre with Atlanta historian Ann Boutwell. I hadn't seen GWTW in many years, and I think the older I get the longer it gets. The screening was sold out (over 4,000 people!) and Robert Osborne from Turner Movie Classics and film critic Molly Haskell were on hand to discuss and introduce. If it were shorter, GWTW would make a great audience participation film: throwing plastic babies at the screen when Prissy utters her famous line, cigarette lighters up high for the burning of Atlanta, etc. I've seen GWTW so many times, I know most of the lines by heart and I've long stopped getting misty-eyed at the "march of death" that begins with Scarlett's miscarriage and continues until Melanie draws her last breath. However,  Mammy's (the brilliant Hattie McDaniel) account of Bonnie Blue Butler's death as she walks up the stairs with Melly is still one of the finest moments ever committed to film. Not a dry eye in the house.

I've seen what will probably be the final cover rendering for Conquering Venus. It's a little different from what I've posted here. I'll be posting up and image soon. Now I'm off to work on getting a panel proposal in for AWP 2010 in Denver. 

April Poets' Dinner

We had another poets' dinner last night at Agave, a fantastic Southwestern restaurant. Another great time full of laughter and conversation. These are definitely going to become a regular thing. We're planning another for early June. Picture above, back row from left, Dustin Brookshire, Julie Bloemeke, Megan Volpert, Me, Rupert Fike and Christine Swint, and kneeling in front are Cleo Creech and Beth Gylys. You'll notice some of us are holding chapbooks. These were created by Cleo to commemorate our last dinner at The Colonnade. Everyone who attended contributed a poem. Thanks, Cleo!

Friday Round Up

Let me begin this post by sending positive thoughts and get well wishes to the fantastic poet Brent Goodman. He had a heart attack on Thursday morning and had to have an angioplasty to clear a 99 percent blockage in an artery. He's doing better now and has been told to take a month off. I'm expecting lots of great poetry from you, sir! 

I was delighted that the Pew Research Center found Modern Confessional and used it as a source for their article Blogs, Not Press, Feature Gay Marriage Story. The story points out that social media is giving the majority of coverage to the gay marriage issue. Here's the original blog post that Pew used in its article.

Work on the sequel to Conquering Venus has come to a halt because I'm still trying to figure out a direction for one of the main characters. Two roads diverge in Paris and I have to figure if Martin takes the one less travelled. In the meantime, I'm writing new poems. That seems fitting since it's National Poetry Month. Another poets' dinner is taking place this weekend at Agave, a fabulous restaurant that serves delicious Southwestern food, so I'm feeling all verse-y. 

Speaking of poetry, here's one of the prose poems that appears in the latest issue of Tears in the Fence.

My Mother Demonstrates How To Escape From A Plane Crash

Although she has never flown on an airplane, my mother sits on a low stone wall at the entrance to the cemetery and tells me she wanted to move to New York City and become a flight attendant. I am kneeling in green grass in front of a chest of drawers searching for socks not worn at the heel, the sky above us blue and tufted with motionless clouds.

My mother will die never having her stomach drop, never feel ears popping from the altitude, the heaviness that settles into limbs, the shallow breath that comes with thin re-circulated air, the way a body adapts to unnatural, human flight.

When she was a girl, a flight attendant was one of the most glamorous jobs in the world. The crisp uniform, jaunty hat, kid gloves and matching luggage all reeked of worldliness, something to benevolently hold over the heads of those other girls who spread legs instead of wings, invited high school sweethearts to climb aboard and permanently ground them.

In this place where I will bury her, my mother stands at attention, mended socks on her hands, and demonstrates the drill she learned from a manual: The exit doors at the front and rear of the plane, and with her arms outstretched as if poised to fly, the escape hatch over each wing.

Anderson Cooper on Teabagging

I'll let Anderson have the last word on this.

American Idol - Top 7 Results

Dial Idol, the website that attempts to track who's in the bottom three each week by the busy signal for each contestant, has totally gone of the boil the last couple of weeks. They had Allison, Matt and Kris as the bottom three. They got one right: Matt. The other two were Anoop and, as expected Lil Rounds. 

After a cheesy opening to pay tribute to guest mentor Quentin Tarantino (who didn't bother to show up...and who can blame him?), the Top 7 did a so-so version of "Maniac" from Flashdance and we had to sit through another Ford commercial. Jennifer Hudson returned to gloat about being kicked off early and then winning an Oscar and Grammy, but her song "If This Isn't Love" is terrible and she seemed to be having trouble with her ear monitor (or maybe it was her giant earring). Simon would have surely called her final few notes "shrieky" because they were. 

Let me riff on Miley Cyrus for a minute. This girl simply cannot sing. She makes Lil sound like Aretha. Tonight she was singing that awful "The Climb" that all the tweens think is like omigod the greatest song EVER! She was dressed and gesturing like she was in a high school production of Evita, and I couldn't help but laugh at the fog machine nearly obscuring her on many occasions. Too bad it couldn't have choked her to death. 

Anoop was sent to safety early, leaving Lil and Matt. Shockingly, Lil was safe and then the judges wasted their save on Matt. Seriously? That means next week two go home, so Matt and Lil shouldn't bother to unpack. And, as Simon reminded us, it's disco week. Only Adam will get out of that show alive.

Teabagging & Amazon Fail

I had to pay taxes again this year, and while I'm not happy about it, I'm not one of the bitter, right-wing, conservative Christian loonies taking part in the so-called "tea parties" today. These nationwide "teabagging" rallies crack me up. Not only because the conservatives have adopted sexual slang to define themselves (it's right up there with the homophobic National Organization for Marriage promoting its Two Million For Marriage as 2M4M), but because these tea parties are rich people pissed off that Obama is rolling back their tax cut and giving it to the middle class. Where were these teabaggers when the beloved Dubya was running this country into the ground? Or under Saint Ronnie Reagan when they were paying 10 percent more in taxes? The Republican Party is so out of the loop they're on a different planet, and it's a sad attempt to grab any kind of TV and face time. Luckily, these teabaggers are so stupid, that most of the country is having a good laugh and getting on about the business of pulling this country out of a recession that the conservative party put us in. Not surprisingly, many of the teabaggers still think Sarah Palin would make a good president.

  And now for Amazon. I spread the message far and wide, Twittered about it all night on Sunday, signed the petition and have followed the fallout over the last couple of days. While Amazon has finally offered up an "explanation" -- it doesn't make a lot of sense, but then neither did their other incoherent explanations as the epic PR failure unfolded -- there is now plenty of Monday morning quarterbacking going on. 

  There's accusations of "hysteria" and overreaction on the part the GLBT community since Amazon has blamed it on a "ham-fisted" (and apparently French) employee who "accidentally" marked 57,000 books as "adult content." This accident stripped the books of their sales rank and made some of them invisible to search on Amazon. The company has said GLBT books were not the only ones affected, but the overwhelming evidence as that the majority were tagged as having GLBT content.

  Twitter, which has become a phenomenon, flexed its muscle with the "amazonfail" trend and making Amazon's "glitch" global news in a matter of hours. For all those saying "get over it," the fact is that if this issue had not been brought to wide attention, the glitch would have been allowed to stand. Some gay authors have said the de-ranking actually began back in February, but snowballed over the Easter holiday (hmmm...) when thousands lost their sales rank. The majority of the books have had their ranking restored and I'm not sure we'll ever know the truth, but Amazon's reputation has been damaged and it will be watched closely from now on. This isn't Amazon's first big fiasco. Many will remember last year's brouhaha over Amazon forcing small presses and self-publishers to use its own in-house POD to sell on the website. That move made many publishers and authors look for other avenues of distribution.

  Many in the GLBT community have said they will never shop at Amazon again and have cancelled their accounts. For some, this isn't option. I'm one of those authors. Like it or not (and I don't), Amazon translates into sales, especially for many small publishers and bookstores who use Amazon's Marketplace as a storefront. My publisher, Finishing Line Press, sells After the Poison and its other titles exclusively through Amazon. Vanilla Heart, which is publishing my debut novel Conquering Venus this summer, also has big sales through Amazon and those who download their titles through Kindle. It's a catch 22 without a clear answer.

  While I have always tried to shop locally at indie bookstores, Amazon continues to have the cheapest prices and the biggest selection. I will limit my purchases there and continue to be vigilant to Amazon's practices and potential hidden agenda.

American Idol - Top 7 Perform

One of the worst nights of American Idol this season, even with Quentin Tarantino as the guest mentor for "songs of the cinema." Lost was his frank critique when he was a guest judge in season three, so QT was basically there to shill his upcoming movie, Inglorious Bastards. I loves me some QT, but he was useless tonight. Even worse was the decision by the producers to have the critiques in pairs of judges, meaning Randy and Kara judged some and Paula and Simon judged the others. This was absolute AmericanIdolFail (someone get that on Twitter!). Why truncate the show because the director and producers can't bring the show in at an hour?! Idiots. And the songs tonight? Absolute cheesy hell...except for Adam, of course.

Allison Iraheta: She lost points immediately with me for picking the uber-cheesy "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." I can't stand this fucking song. Paula, already flying high on pills and blinded by the cubic zirconia of her dominatrix choker, said Allison has the same "sauce" as Adam. Simon said she was brilliant. I thought she sounded breathy and flat. Allison's hair also matched her pants tonight. Horrible.

Anoop Desai: Oh, sweet Jeebus.  If there's anything I hate more than "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing" it's Bryan Adams' schmaltz-fest "Everything I Do." Ick, blech, patooey! Luckily, he sang it well, changed up the melody and was on pitch. Randy and Kara loved it. I'm sure Simon would have had something nasty to say, and Paula something incoherent. 

Adam Lambert: A totally head-banging, rocking version of "Born to Be Wild" from my future husband. He was sexy as hell,  jumping around the stage, using that amazing range and even the band seemed to be into it. The audience went absolutely mad and Paula said something about "daring to dance in the path of greatness" and Simon thought it was good, but not as good as last week. Ummm...it's apples and oranges, Simon. Actually, Paula said that in her one coherent moment of the evening.

Matt Giraud: Another Bryan Adams song? Ugh! Even worse than "Everything I Do" is his "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman." This wet turd of a song was covered in cheese by Matt, who changed up the melody and missed more notes than he hit. Randy and useless Kara didn't like it. Anyone catch Simon making gag faces while Kara was talking? She's got to go.

Danny Gokey: He took of the Sally Jessy Raphael glasses for once and poured the hot, gooey cheese that is "Endless Love." I started making the gag face the moment the camera cut to the harpist on stage. This performance was so cruise ship horrible that Paula and Simon had to pretend they liked it to keep pimping Danny's useless ass. Might be his first visit to the bottom three, but he won't go home.

Kris Allen: Dressed almost identically as Gokey, Kris decided to sing the song "Falling Slowly" from the beautiful little film Once. I love this song, and Kris was just so-so. The first half was one long, flat note, but he picked up at the end. Randy didn't like it, Kara loved it and then I realized it was already eight minutes to 9 p.m. and Lil hadn't even performed. Even with paired judges, they can't bring this show in under an hour. Maybe less cheesy openings, less packaged nonsense and chatter, guys? This isn't rocket science, you morons. Kris will be in the bottom three.

Lil Rounds: After performing a messy, gospel/country tinged version of Bette Midler's "The Rose" and getting some babble from Paula about her road being long and a big thumbs down from Simon ("You're not the artist we thought you were seven or eight weeks ago."), Lil decided to get some attitude and talk back, which is never a good idea. She loved the song and did her own R&B thing -- which proves she knows even less about music than I thought, because there was nothing R&B about it. Bottom three, and probably going home.

Read This: Invisible Sisters by Jessica Handler

When I received the ARC of Jessica Handler's memoir about losing both her sisters to blood disorders, I was expecting a technical and/or depressing story. How could it not be? Not only did she lose her sisters, but her family unraveled. Handler's father descended into madness, while she disconnected from her family and moved to LA to get away from the stigma of being the "well sibling." So, yes, there is sadness here, but Handler has a knack for finding humor and grace in such heartbreaking circumstances.

  The narrative moves back and forth in time as Handler recalls little slices of her life and mines her own meticulously kept journals to tell this story. Handler's Jewish, progressive household -- where the kids were treated like adults, allowed to make their own decisions (and face the consequences) and not hovered over by their parents -- is recreated in these pages with great insight and love. Those who grew up in the late 60 and 70s will recognize the easier way of life before helicopter parenting took hold.

  Ultimately, this is Handler's story as much as it is her sisters'. Running away and working in television production in LA and the fast lifestyle of easy sex and drugs are not glossed over, nor is an abortion and a decision later in life not to have children with her husband for fear of passing on the genetic anomaly that killed her sisters. Susie and Sarah are always present, gently guiding Handler along to tell her story and theirs. This is a fitting memorial and a portrait of strength under pressure many of us can only imagine.

Jessica will be reading at numerous events in Atlanta and around the country in the coming months. Check out her blog at www.jessicahandler.com to find out if she'll be near you, and don't miss the opportunity to hear her read from this amazing debut.

Amazon De-Ranks GLBT & "Adult Books"

Kate Evans raised the alarm for me tonight about an article in today's LA Times about Amazon.com de-ranking books with GLBT and "adult content." The implementation seems arbitrary and random, but Kate's books have been stripped of their rankings, as have a number of bestsellers and award-winners. There's also some instances where books they've deemed "adult" are not showing up in searches.

Amazon's business practices have raised flags before, but this is beyond the pale. Conquering Venus isn't even out yet, but sounds like it will be lost on Amazon if this kind of censorship and bigotry is allowed to stand. Some of the books already de-ranked include Augusten Burrough's Running With the Scissors, Maurice by E.M. Forster, Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown, Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison, For the May Queen by Kate Evans and countless others.

What you can do:

Read the LA Times article

Sign the petition demanding Amazon.com end this censorship

UPDATE 1: After a massive protest on Twitter, Amazon has responded that the de-ranking is a "glitch." Read the article here. Funny how the "glitch" is affecting mostly GLBT books. 

UPDATE 2: The Guardian newspaper in London has update on Amazon issue, noting that books by Gore Vidal and Jeanette Winters have lost their rankings. The "glitch" just isn't in America, but on Amazon sites around the globe. Twitter continues to blaze over this with the hash tag #amazonfail still the top trending topic.

UPDATE 3: Amazon has finally responded about the de-ranking of GLBT books, saying it was an internal error. Their PR department can't seem to put out a coherent explanation (or apology) but says books (more than 50,000) that lost their sales ranking are being fixed. Something in the milk still ain't clean about this. 

Carpal Tunnel, Poetry, Conquering Venus, etc.

About 10 years ago, I had carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand and wrist. It returned this week. I have numbness and tingling in some of my fingers and pain at the wrist. I've been doing an extraordinary amount of typing because of the day job and working on Conquering Venus and the sequel. So, I'm going off the grid this weekend -- no blogging, no Facebook, no Twitter, etc. I'll have an update on Monday evening.

I wanted to thank Will Kenyon for his thoughtful post about Conquering Venus at his blog, and his kind words about me. Check out Will's blog at www.WillKenyon.com and his thoughts on literature, publishing, fatherhood and more. 

I also wanted to thank the fantastic UK-based literary journal Tears in the Fence (and editor David Caddy) for publishing two of my poems. Issue 49 is out now. You can find out more about the journal at www.myspace.com/tearsinthefence or if you're on Facebook visit its fan page. I'll post one of the poems next week on the blog.

Finally, I have not been participating in NaPoWriMo, mainly because I don't have time. My hand would probably have total paralysis if I was trying to bang out a poem each day. I've been trying to read some of my fellow bloggers' work and have been impressed. Don't forget the Poem-A-Day Challenge happening over at Robert Lee Brewer's excellent Poetic Asides blog. I'm one of the judges. 

We're having some particularly nasty weather in Georgia tonight with storms and tornadoes. I'm ready to jump in the bathtub.

Gay Rights Advance

It's been an amazing last few days for gay rights in America. The Vermont legislature approved same-sex marriage, so I guess that means the Christian right-wing crazies and their Republican cohorts will have to find someone else to blame besides "activist judges." Iowa's Supreme Court overturned the state's gay marriage ban, and my new hero is Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal telling his homophobic colleagues to shove it. Washington D.C. is on the verge of recognizing same-sex unions from other states, and Obama invited gay families to the White House for the annual Easter Egg Roll. Keep hope alive, California! We're approaching the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and we're in the middle of the biggest revolution in years. The time is now. 

American Idol - Top 8 Results

Tonight's results show opened with a performance by Frankie Avalon singing "Venus" from 1959, the year of Simon Cowell's birth. Cute, but relevant? For as much bitching the judges do about relevancy, the producers continue to trot out the fossils. I think most of the audience was going, "who is this old dude?" Oh, the hypocrisy. 

This was followed by quite possibly the worst group sing EVER. They covered Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head" (the year Idol premiered) and it was a train wreck from beginning to end -- from the tuneless singing to the atrocious choreography. Even Adam Lambert couldn't keep this shit on the rails. Kylie should sue. The horrible Ford commercial featured them Top 8 as magicians singing Britney's "Circus." It was another soulless drone that Adam couldn't save. 

I found it hilarious that Flo Rida was on this wholesome, all-American family show rapping about spending all his money on strippers, a song which samples uber-gay 80s band Dead or Alive. Oh, the irony.  Kellie Picklekisser...blech.

Although Dial Idol had Kris at the bottom he wound up safe and Anoop was first in the bottom three, followed by the expected Scott and Lil Rounds. Miss Seacrest sent Lil back to safety first and then announced Anoop was safe. Scott sang "The Search is Over" again (badly) to try and get the judges to save him, to no avail. Vote for the Worst is going to have to find a new selection. 

American Idol - Top 8 Perform

I missed most of the broadcast tonight, so I'm watching now and putting down a few thoughts. The theme was songs from the year of each contestant's birth, which pretty much means an 80s fest. I got home just in time to see Adam Lambert get a standing ovation from Simon Cowell for his brilliant cover of Tears For Fears' "Mad World." Everyone else should just pack up their bags and go home. Adam is light years better than anyone else on the show. 

Danny Gokey: Covering "Stand by Me" is a bit of a cheat, since the original came out in the 60s, but the film starring River Phoenix (loved him) came out his birth year. The arrangement was weird, sounding nothing like the original, and he growled his way through it as usual. All his performances are starting to sound alike to me. Correction: This was actually the Mickey Gilley cover version that went into the charts in 1980. The film came out in 1986. My bad. 

Kris Allen: He's out in the audience doing his John Mayer/Dave Matthews and pulling lots of monkey faces. He covered  "All She Wants to Do Is Dance," slowing it down and trying to make it a soul song. Fail. Judges hated it, I hate it. Next. 

Lil Rounds: I want to give Lil the Ike beatdown for doing this to Tina Turner's epic, untouchable "What's Love Got to Do With It." She walked out doing the Tina strut in cubic zirconia-studded fuck-me heels and proceeded to demolish the song. It was a lazy, badly phrased, and turned into plain old screaming at the end. Good-bye, Lil.

Anoop Desai: He trotted out Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors." I didn't love it or hate it...just sorta blah for me, NoopDawg. He has a pleasant voice, and after Lil and Kris, he should sail through just fine.

Scott MacIntyre: Paula got her wish and Scott abandoned the piano for the guitar, and he also abandoned any hope of winning the contest with this off-tune, screeching version of "The Search is Over." Dude, seriously, that was painful. I hope Paula is happy now. He's definitely in the bottom three with Lil, unless he gets lots of sympathy voting.

Allison Iraheta: She took on my favorite Bonnie Raitt song "I Can't Make You Love Me" and gave a Kelly Clarkson spin to it. She really is the second-best in the competition. For 16, she has so much soul in her voice. I didn't get Simon's comment about her being more likable. Hell, she even toned down the hair (well, sorta) and I almost liked what she was wearing.

Matt Giraud: After almost buying the farm last week, he got back into Justin Timberlake mode for his cover of Stevie Wonder's "Part-Time Lover." It was good enough to get him through another week, but he REALLY needs to find his own identity. I don't think we've seen it yet.

Adam Lambert: The pimp spot of the season. I've already said it, but absolutely the best performance of the night. He did the Gary Jules' version of "Mad World" that featured on the soundtrack to Donnie Darko. Understated, restrained, brilliant. He simply must win.

Doctor Who Returns for Easter

The trailer for the Doctor Who special, Planet of the Dead, airing April 11 in the UK.

Filming for the final episodes of David Tennant's run as the Doctor are under way and guess who's back? Catherine Tate as Donna Noble! Hooray! Apparently, the last episods, which will air around Christmas, will see another re-uniting of the Whoverse with The Master, Rose Tyler, Martha Jones and Sarah Jane Smith all back for a spin in the Tardis. I'm totally geeking out.

Weekend Update

Disappointing news first: I've had to cancel my reading for Tebot Bach at Golden West College in LA next weekend. After scouring the Internet for reasonable airfare over the last month or so, a good friend offered me a "buddy pass" on Delta that meant flying stand-by, but cost under $200. This morning we found out that Delta has blacked out next weekend because it's Easter, meaning the buddy pass is useless. At this late date and with the holiday, I cannot find an affordable replacement ticket. I wish someone would explain to me why it's so expensive to fly from Atlanta to LA now -- it's ridiculous. A million apologies to Mifanwy Kaiser at Tebot Bach for having to cancel, and to my fellow readers Cecilia Woloch and Brendan Constantine. I know they will give a brilliant reading. I hope to reschedule this reading in the Fall.

The Conquering Venus blog still isn't ready. I haven't had as much time to work on it, so it's coming slowly. Yesterday, I started on the interactive Google map that highlights all the locales in the novel. It's a very cool feature. I'm also working on the blog template and a header. All this stuff takes time, and I'm juggling other projects as well. I'm not setting another completion date at this point. I'll just say soon. Thanks to everyone who's watched the Conquering Venus video trailer here and at all the other places it's posted. I appreciate the support.

On Friday, I went to the final Poetry at Tech reading for the season featuring Ed Pavlic and Kevin Young. It was held at the Academy of Medicine, a gorgeous historic building in Midtown. They should hold more readings there. I was put off by Ed Pavlic's opening comment: "I've been been to many Poetry at Tech readings, and enjoyed a few." Frankly, that spoiled the rest of his reading, which went on far too long and was a bit indulgent. Luckily, Kevin Young was gracious, funny and his work is fantastic. 

Last night, I went with BFF Joy, her brother Scott and his wife Valerie to Mint gallery for an exhibition of pop art inspired by horror films. It's a funky space and the art was cool. Joy's nephew, P. Seth Thompson, had a piece in the show (an incredible black and white photograph of machetes inspired by the Friday the 13th movies, pictured above), and, not surprisingly, it was my favorite piece.

My Diva Anthology Out Now

My Diva: 65 Gay Men On the Women Who Inspire Them (University of Wisconsin Press) is already racking up some good reviews. This is the anthology that includes my essay on the great French actress Jeanne Moreau. It's out and now and available at Amazon, B&N and should be in many bookstores. Editor Michael Montlack is setting up a reading during the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival and we're hoping to get him down to Atlanta as well.

Kirkus Reviews
Gay male writers-including Mark Doty, Wayne Koestenbaum, Cyrus Cassells and others-pay homage to their divas. In the introduction to this revealing study of secular devotion, fanatic fandom, heroine-worship-call it what you will-poet Montlack (English/Berkeley Coll.) says that within two weeks of announcing his idea, more than 40 contributors had signed on. The list is quite a cornucopia of female cultural icons, ranging from Sappho to Princess Leia. "[T]here seems still to be a particular type of fandom, or devotion, that only gay guys can deliver," writes the author. "[W]e show up for the ladies like no one else and usually stick with them for life." Such fervor and steadfast loyalty blaze through these diverse accounts, whether in depicting an icon, admitting what she means to the devotee or exploring the nature of devotion itself. Poignant and colorful description dominates: Queen Elizabeth I, "undeniably a nerd's diva," that "crusty, white-faced Gloriana"; Nina Simone, with her "velvety voice" so "slow, so full, so processional it could pull a ship of lonely sailors to shore"; Elizabeth Taylor in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, whose "disheveled hair falling onto her bloated face and into those famed eyes physically transformed her to a gorgon"; Julia Child, "crowned everlastingly in a brown helmet of bedroom hair." Such splendid portraiture traces the outlines of the writer's immediate, breathless relation to his diva, for whom she may have paved a route out of repression or a confining home life (Joan Sutherland, Auntie Mame), acted as a tangential, sympathetic witness to the author's budding sexuality or take-no-prisoners attitude (Kate Bush, Sade, Bjork) or continues to serve asa catalyst for an evolving sense of self (Lucille Ball, Mahalia Jackson). A delightful essay collection.

Publishers Weekly
In very short, very tender essays, a variety of gay male writers, from poets to playwrights to a standup comic, pay homage to an even wider variety of women who have inspired them. Peter Dubé writes how the photography of Claude Cahun suggested “a delirious world of possibilities”; Jeff Oaks recalls a childhood of wearing wristbands fashioned from paper cups to emulate his “model of power,” Wonder Woman; Christopher Lee Nutter looks back on his closeted teenage years and how Sade taught him “that there was a world somewhere that suited them better than the world they'd been born into.” While a few essays are disappointingly shallow (“More than smart and fabulous, Parker Posey is fall-on-the-floor ridiculous”), such standout pieces as Mark Doty on Grace Paley are elegant and affectionate tributes to how these muses have been “fairy godmothers” and “older sisters,” as Montlack's introduction explains, and illustrate how complex, sustaining and lifelong are the bonds between gay men and their divas.

American Idol 8 - Top 9 Results

I almost had a three-of-a-kind on my pick for the bottom three on American Idol tonight: Allison Iraheta wound up there along with Anoop and Megan Joy, who gave a shout out to Vote for the Worst by doing the "caw-caw" bird call on her way to the bottom three stool. VFTW has never let anyone forget her bizarre crow call after performing "Rockin Robin" a few weeks back. It was hilarious. Sadly, even the Worsters couldn't save Megan after last night. Fly home, birdie. Last year's winner, Dave Cook, performed. He sounded and looked good, but the song is a yawn (sorry Cookie Cougars). Lady GaGa can actually sing and did a high-energy performance of her hit "Poker Face" with a zipper over one eye. Don't ask me. 

Conquering Venus Book Trailer

The book trailer for Conquering Venus is fabulous beyond words. I must give heartfelt thanks to producer/editor Tim O'Donnell and to Vanessa Daou for allowing me to use "Heart of Wax" from the Joe Sent Me album as the soundtrack. Thank you both for being part of this journey. Please leave your comments and thoughts about the book trailer here and at the YouTube site. And please send the link around to your friends and fellow book-lovers. I want everyone to see it!

The Conquering Venus blog is not quite ready for prime-time, but I hope to launch it this weekend. Stay tuned!