Hurricane Katrina Update: give to the ABA Bookseller Relief Fund for hurricane survivors in the book trade
Friday, February 05, 2010 New Audio: Tracy talks to Phil Whelan on Radio 3 Hong Kong's Morning Brew
Part 1: What we're learning from Ashley Dupre about the legacy of Mandy Rice-Davies, Monica Lewinsky and other notable survivors. Click here to listen.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 Ominous Obituary Edits
It's curiously touching to think of Louis Auchincloss and Howard Zinn dying within 24 hours of each other. They were both preoccupied with class, in different ways.
Whilst reading the Times obit for Auchincloss, this tasty morsel caught my eye:
' Some critics compared him with other modern novelists of manners like John O'Hara and J. P. Marquand. In an essay in The Nation in 1960, Mr. Auchincloss said both O'Hara and Marquand had illusions about the resiliency and endurance of American social classes and hierarchies. O'Hara wrote him, saying: "You obviously have not read all my novels, and I have not read one of yours. I don't know anything about your importance as a lawyer, but in my league you are a still a batboy, and 43 is pretty old for a batboy." Over the years Mr. Auchincloss would send his reviews to O'Hara with a cover letter signed, "Batboy." O'Hara was not amused. '
One of my best friends is an O'Hara fanatic. So much so that a passing reference to O'Hara in a recent Katie Roiphe essay transformed Katie's piece into an essay about O'Hara. Which it never was, but never mind. We had a long argument about O'Hara. I "won" through the use of pre-emptive empathic reasoning (which is more like pre-emptive war than you'd think.) "You obviously wish they had commissioned a piece about John O'Hara," I said, and we were friends again.
ANYWAY. Dig this spookiness. I read about the O'Chinclossness (see above) a few hours ago. I went back to retrieve the relevant passage for Charlie from the Times and IT WAS GONE. DISAPPEARED. Very frustrating.
I'm a competent enough human search engine, so I did a diligent search of the obit (same link, different text) and of the Times website. Then I googled more creatively. Behold! A page called (appropriately enough) alt.obituaries. Thank you, alt-people, for grabbing the original. Harumph.
The New York Society Library now...has... a blog for member writers. Questions? Contact Carolyn Waters, the Writer Services Librarian at writers@nysoclib.org
I'll be on the radio tonight discussing my latest Guardian column. Listen live at 11:10 pm New York time. Radio 3 Hong Kong "Morning Brew" with Phil Whelan. Go to http://tinyurl.com/tqhk3
(Now that Bobbi Davis has begun recruiting males and reaching out to lady customers, will the sky fall in?? Nevada can be a surprisingly conservative state.)
George Flint, a lobbyist for Nevada's licensed brothel owners, has been vocal about one madam's decision to hire male sex workers. While I don't agree with his tactics or his arguments, I sympathize with his intent - which is to keep legal brothels legal.
The whiggish view of prostitution law has been proven wrong too many times. Sexual attitudes do have a tendency to zig-zag. Progress is not permanent, and decriminalization is only part of the story. In Taipei, licensed prostitutes were REcriminalized by politicians trying to appease Western moralists. In Copenhagen where sex work is legalized, the Lord Mayor (a woman) is part of an insidious anti-prostitution campaign.
My latest Guardian column gets into it here and the comments are flying!
Return to the Hundred Acre Wood is a shocking book because it exists. Nobody (that I know of) has offered to burn it, but it was definitely conceived in sin. Who, you may wonder, "authorized" David Benedictus to mess with A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh quartet by adding a fifth volume to the series?
The new "friend" created for Pooh, Piglet, Tigger et al. is Lottie the Otter - a concession to feminism totally out of place in the Hundred Acres. Guess it wasn't PC to let Kanga enjoy being the only female in the forest.
Worse yet, Benedictus has compromised Eeyore’s integrity by making him “proactive.” For more than 80 years, Eeyore was the embodiment of unbearable pessimism, an iconic grouch whose self-pity prepared us for the miseries of grown-up affluence. Of all the Hundred Acre dwellers, Eeyore is the one we can least afford to lose. He makes co-dependence and the fear of failure less isolating. He is there during that dark night of the soul - or was, until Benedictus began meddling with the sacred.
It was one thing for Disney to reconfigure Milne's stories and Ernest Shepherd's illustrations. The Disney characters were easy to ignore. A book that purports to be part of Milne's collection is quite a different matter.
Mark Burgess, the illustrator, pays homage to Shepherd, but some characters have turned out better than others. Piglet is the most recognisable, Christopher Robin the least.
Rabbit - so managerial and doctrinaire, the most human character in these woods - has been tragically reconceived by Burgess as a stage bunny.
More about Lottie and A.A. Milne here in the latest issue of The Drawbridge.
Ashley Dupré (left), the escort linked with former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, has little in common with her contemporary Jamie Jungers. Despite some recent allegations about escorting, Jamie (on morning TV!) denied any connection to prostitution while sharing the unhappy details of her relationship with Tiger Woods. My Daily Beast column, about women who thrive in scandal's aftermath, takes a look at sex industry icons in different eras. Mandy Rice-Davies (right) has far more in common with Ashley than anyone else I can think of. But I would say that, wouldn't I?
Monday, December 28, 2009 Daily Beast: How to Trademark a Scandal
Ashley Dupre says she's the poster child for redemption. Why her new gig as a junior agony aunt actually helps to redeem the New York Post. My latest Daily Beast column here.
Friday, December 25, 2009 Mary Christmas! I captured the Magdalene's tibia on my Samsung Rant during an afternoon of veneration @ St Anthony of Padua in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Monday, December 21, 2009 Solstice Greetings! I hear that Three Naked Ladies, blog-child of Jodi Sh. Doff, may decide to include my comments in their end of the year round-up. Stay tuned.
UPDATE 12/23: Yes, it's up now. Three Naked Ladies at the end of a decade. It's a great honor to be included. By the way, I had no idea it was the end of a decade until my editor Will Doig mentioned it to me.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 Download Your Umbrella Here!
Change your Facebook/Twitter profile photo to a red umbrella on December 17! Right-click on the umbrella of your choice, then Save Image. Turn this into your profile photo on December 17.
It's not too late to have your own impromptu event. Read about December 17 here. If you have an event, let us know: deartq@tracyquan.net or pony@panix.com
Monday, December 14, 2009 Order Online: Un baiser à l'anis
"J’ai eu envie de jouer avec le concept du tourisme et des vacances qui sont rares chez les travailleuses sexuelles. Les prostituées n’ont que peu de vacances et du coup quand elles en prennent, celles-ci ont une autre ampleur. C’est une manière de dire qu’elle prend également des vacances dans sa tête. Cela révèle des pensées féminines. Le personnage principal Nancy est une call girl qui n’a jamais quitté jamais New-York car elle est très attachée à cette ville. Elle n’a absolument aucune idée de ce qu’elle va vivre. Le roman est aussi un combat sur l’engagement de chacun et sur les questions que pose la prostitution. J’ai été inspirée en me disant que Tintin serait réincarné en prostituée ce qui est une situation complètement absurde." - Men's Health
Wednesday, December 02, 2009 I just discovered that my conversation with Paula Shackleton is now available on the Book Buffet Blog. Here are a few samples from our 20-minute chat.
Part 1: Moll Flanders deserves our attention. "Not a 'worthy' victim. She steals. She abandons her children. Yet she's incredibly likable and you're rooting for her. She's also the creation of a dead white male."
For audio galore and help with your book group, check out the latest news at Book Buffet. Paula has interviewed everyone from Margaret Atwoood to Margaret MacMillan!
Saturday, November 28, 2009 Radio Archives: A lively chat with Judith Regan
I'm getting my radio archives in order! This isn't on the Interview page yet, but it will be. Soon.
Judith is a hoot. She talked about the Spitzer look and her own unique approach to parenting. Also, will Facebook put sex workers out of business? And lifestyles of runaway teens. Here's the interview... because Yvonne Dunleavy's one fabulous godmother!
At some point, an audio file on this site took leave of its senses, and now I can't get one of my interviews to play. So I provide it here for my website doctors, and for anyone else who would like to have a listen. The interview starts at 1:14, after the commercials. UPDATE 11/30: THE CORRECT INTERVIEW IS NOW UP HERE, COMMERCIAL FREE.
Monday, November 23, 2009 Revelations: My 2008 diary
Yes, I actually do keep a diary, not to be confused with Nancy's. Here's what happened when I tried to go vertical in 2008 for my friends at Powerhouse magazine.
Friday, November 20, 2009 Radio Interview: Mary Magdalen Superstar
You can hear my recent conversation with Phil Whelan at Radio 3 HK here. I haven't had a chance to update the front page yet, but I will. Meanwhile, enjoy the Magdalene Media Gallery here.
Saturday, November 14, 2009 MM Relics: Welcome Service tonight at 7:30, St Thomas Aquinas, 249 Ninth Street, Brooklyn
Mary Magdalen will be in Park Slope for the next 24 hours or so. From the Diocese website:
"At St. Thomas Aquinas, a welcoming Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. and will be followed by an all-night prayer vigil. On the following day, the relics will be present as the parish completes the celebration of its 125th anniversary. There will be a 9 a.m. Mass in English, and an 11 a.m. procession with the relics. At noon, Msgr. Steven Ferrari, Vicar for Brooklyn, will celebrate a bi-lingual Mass."
Thursday, November 12, 2009 The Weekend: Mary Magdalene in Brooklyn Friday, Nov. 13 - Sat 11/14
Fri-Sat Schedule: I got a phone call this morning from a lady at St. James Cathedral who told me to get a pen because time was short. She confirmed the events and said, "We will only have possession of the relics until 7:00 pm on Saturday." I think that could mean 6:30 in real time.
The relic will arrive on Friday in the afternoon. (Coming from Huntington Seminary with Father Romaric who has replaced Fr Michelet, the priest I met at St Vincent Ferrer.)
A short service will begin at 5 pm and the relics will be available for veneration until 10 pm. On Saturday, veneration begins at 9 am, followed by a mass at noon. Afternoon is for general public veneration. The Cathedral events sound quiet and dignified. The monsignor told me there are no plans for a procession.
Sunday: However, the events at St Thomas Aquinas in Park Slope will be more exciting. There's a procession at 11 am Sunday morning! It sounds wonderful.
RELIQUARY DIARY: October 22. Entering St. Michael Catholic Church in Gainesville, GA. A video of Father Michelet and slideshow. Close-up images, including the procession. Change of pace to see a smaller gathering and to hear Father Michelet's extremely persuasive, comforting voice. You can download this short video and see how the relic is handled or managed as she exits the van. The sound of birds in the background is very soothing.
Mary Magdalene and Me: Watch this space for news about her US tour
UPDATE: Listen live tonight on RTHK at 11:10 PM New York time. (This is Thurs morning in HK.)
BEAST: Mary Magdalene is visiting the New York area until November 17. A relic of Mary Magdalene, patron saint of fallen women, the Dominican Order and Provence, is touring the US for the first time. My latest column in The Daily Beast explores the implications for the Church, as well as my personal and political relationship with this unique, multifaceted saint.
VIDEO: A wonderful video from Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, where she stopped before her return to NYC.
UPDATE: She will be venerated this Friday Nov. 13 and Saturday Nov. 14 at St James Cathedral, Brooklyn. Friday evening from 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm with a short service at 5:00. Saturday all day from 9:00 am til 7:00 pm. Be there or be square.
UPDATE: The image of the Magdalene on the St Thomas Aquinas site is gorgeous! This is definitely the pre-conversion Magdalene. Sunday @ 11 am: Procession with the Relics followed by 12 noon Bilingual Mass For more info: 718-768-9471
DIARY: Just spoke to Father Joseph at Most Precious Blood church in Bath Beach, Brooklyn. He says 1000 people came to venerate the Magdalen relic today. The relic arrived at 10:30 am and there was a mass at 11 am, followed by private veneration from 2-3pm, and Holy Hour from 3-4pm.
Thursday 11/12: Relics of St. Mary Magdalene will be @ Seminary of the IC, Huntington, NY all day
"Relics of St. Mary Magdalene have been venerated in the Diocese of Frejus-Toulon, France since the second century. One of these relics, a piece of the tibia, can be venerated in the Main Chapel of the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington."
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 Tell Me More Sex and the workplace is the opening segment! A roundtable with host Michel Martin, Tracy Quan, Ruth Houston and Jennifer Kearns.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 Standing Up to the Prohibitionist Shills
Have sex traffic levels been exaggerated? Nikki Adams of the ECP takes on the Mirror-quoting Dennis McShane. Watch the video. posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 Bedding Your Boss
What kind of woman sleeps with her boss? In the ’90s, she was cast as a victim, in the ’60s as a predator. What women want - and how the rules of the game have changed, in my latest week's Daily Beast column.
There has been talk of Harris Tweed (not) revamping its image in response to anti-Scottish sentiment in the US.
Two thoughts.
1. De-Scottishify is an awkward mouthful. How about the more elegant "de-Scot"? (In case this ever comes up again.)
2. This non-troversy might inspire a new t-shirt: "No plaid for oil!" posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, September 08, 2009 The Look of Virtue or ... Of Bankers and Babysitters
In the US, Barack Obama’s first day of school speech has pushed all kinds of buttons. On the extreme right, he was attacked with mindless zeal, while his centrist supporters were somewhat defensive.
Who better to analyse the president’s slick yet wholesome message?
And now I know why the entire “controversy” has been making me snicker. While liberals and conservatives were trading cliches about the president’s anodyne advice, my inner 12-year-old just wanted to cut school.
Because Obama’s speech to the kiddies is “borrowed from” William Bennett’s infamous work, The Book of Virtues, a “treasury of great moral stories” for social conservatives. Siegel was outraged, but I’m impressed when my president does stuff like this.
Siegel writes:
Imagine Obama warning the bankers and the businessmen that they could only be bailed out if they fulfilled their responsibilities. But he didn’t hesitate to tell that to the kids.
Okay, fine, but can we also get real? The grown-ups have always behaved one way around kids and another way around bankers (i.e. other grown-ups.) Most parents talk to their kids not quite the same way they talk to a loan officer, broker, attorney, used car salesman… any adult they have to do business with.
The good middle class parent (personified by Obama) tells the children about responsible living and tries to discourage greed, sloth and lying. All competent parents know that their own generation is guilty of these things, but the idea is a sound one: if you believe these aren’t ‘the done thing,’ you will keep your most dangerous impulses under control. (It’s how we learn to avoid red meat or pizza most days while having the occasional flesh/carbohydrate feast.)
Parents (personified by Obama) are supposed to hold children to a higher moral and behavioural standard than they hold other people. (Higher standards can be annoying, but they harm nobody.)
I know all this because I was once a child (and so was Lee Siegel) but I was also … a BABYSITTER. (Was Lee Siegel ever??) As a barely nubile babysitter, I was like middle management – and the parents I worked for were the board of directors. We babysitters were the foremen on the factory floor of childhood.
As a babysitter, your theoretical role is to uphold official values – but if you’re under a certain age (as I was) you are still a kid, so you want to critique and thumb your nose at these values. (If your charges fall asleep early enough, all this is moot. You can do whatever.)
Basically, Obama’s well-behaved speech was about one obvious (to babysitters) fact of life.
Childhood is a time for obeying the rules other people – most notably bankers, and even a few babysitters – don’t have to follow.
While this is deeply unfair, I don’t think it’s William Bennett’s fault. Parents of almost every political persuasion uphold this system and Obama, have you noticed, is a member of the parent class.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 Preventing Clutter: America the Cynical
Two thoughtful letters in the NY Times Book Review caught my eye last week.
A small but dangerous pile of newsprint - newsprint!! - was developing at the border of my flokati rug, so I decided to preserve the letters here instead.
Whatever Judge Sonia Sotomayor may have meant, a wise New York woman of Puerto Rican ancestry has a profoundly different view of the world than a Latina farm laborer in Southern California or an upper-income Chilean-American professional in Florida. Even more problematic are periodic jeremiads declaring the demographic demise of the so-called non-Hispanic white population. “The massive Hispanic immigration after 1965,” Samuel Huntington wrote in his sadly misinformed book, Who Are We?, “could make America increasingly bifurcated in terms of language (English and Spanish) and culture (Anglo and Hispanic).”
The bogus demographic invention “non-Hispanic whites” is partly the source of such groundless alarums.
Quite frankly, Huntington just sounds like an oaf. His freak-out over the presence of another language is embarrassing. What is the point of studying Latin anyway? I thought it was partly to make Romance languages (Spanish, for example?) more accessible. Languages: the more the merrier.
As I empty out the plastic container next to my desk, there will be more of these Prevention Posts. posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, August 17, 2009 Well-behaved 15-year-olds rarely make history
For those who were quite junior when we joined/envisioned the sex workers'movement, this review of Claudette Colvin's biography (alongside that of Jane Jacobs**) is evocative and moving.
Colvin was 15 when she was arrested, roughed up and thrown in jail for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger - nine months before Rosa Parks did the very same thing.
As one civil rights lawyer later said: "Claudette gave all of us the moral courage to do what we did.”
I'm posting this video of Joan Walsh on Hardball for a friend who follows American politics from overseas. (I find all this talk of 'government takeover' precious! I'm as leery of authoritarian governments as the next person, but what do these people actually mean when they invoke the G-word? I'd like to know more about what else they believe/support/don't support when it comes to government intrusion.)
Metropolis, a Dutch TV series, explores the lives of urban prostitutes. My segment (in English or with Dutch subtitles) travels back to a building where I spent some time as a teenager.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 Margaret Sanger must be spinning in her grave
If you thought the New York Times was joking when they hyped an academic paper that champions the so-called “pullout method” as the next big thing in contraception, you weren’t alone. How did the Guttmacher Institute get their name mixed up with this?
Pour les "civils," je fais un métier de feignasse.
Pourtant, c'est un boulot: sans cesse jouer du pipeau à la terre entière, sa famille, ses collègues. Sans parler de mon mari, qui ne se doute de rien! Pour mes clients, je suis Suzy, une BCBG suffisamment chaude et canon pour gagner sa vie de ses charmes. Le jour où mon client préféré m'invite dans le midi de la France, je me doute bien que ça va être tout sauf des vacances. Mais j'ignore encore que sa résidence est située dans la ville où la relique de Marie-Madeleine, notre sainte patronne, est menacée par des intégristes.
Et mon client ne m'a pas avertie que son cuistot est un sacré beau gosse. A quoi ils coupent l'air de la Provence, pour qu'une pro comme moi craque pour un gay?
I am what historian Richard W. Bulliet calls post-domestic. Unless you are a hill farmer, or a herder (in which case you are an anachronism, which won't come as a surprise since making a living in either of those ways is very difficult) so are you.
Jenny Diski. I love her work. I've read a number of her essays, none of her books (yet) - but what I've read is always enjoyable.
And you can listen live this evening to the Alan Colmes Friday night free-for-all (as he calls it) from 11pm-1am Eastern USA time. My co-panelists will be John Derbyshire and Vinnie Brand. posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, April 30, 2009 One Flu Under the Cuckoo's Nest: The Pancetta Pandemic? (Updated May 2 & May 17)
I'm keeping track of useful facts and links re the so-called swine flu. Watch this space!
Now that we have a secretary of health... finally! ... you may wish to consult this page hosted by the Department of Health & Human Services.
Dr Ann Robinson says 36,000 people in the US die from the flu each year. So let's keep this in perspective. She has posted a practical FAQ here. It will help those of us who have a tendency toward narcissistic hypochondria to hear a working doctor's point of view.
One question missing from Dr Ann's FAQ! "I had pancetta the other night - do I need to suppress my fondness for carbonara while this thing is ongoing?"
MORE THOUGHTS (May 2) - If you happen to be living in a country where influenza statistics are being collected, some common sense precautions will PROBABLY protect you from this year's flu. Even though Michael Chertoff seems to think H1N1 is a "national crisis" for the Homeland.
OKAY - (May 2, later) Unfair to single out Chertoff. There is, on the other side of things, Joe Biden who seems to think a classroom's environment is the same as that of a closed airplane... Odd.
Over at the Corner, Ramesh Ponnuru seems to be taking potshots at online escorts and men who pay for sex. Gentle potshots, but still... Can the right wing afford to alienate people who buy and sell sex? In my experience, it's rarely wise to trash your old friends! posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 This Week: Scapegoating Craigslist
In 19th-century London, a serial killer preyed on women who used the local streets and pubs to meet their customers. Those killings are now, unfortunately, treated as entertaining legend, while new myths about sex work, violence and technology flourish; we’ve gone from "Jack the Ripper" to the so-called "Craigslist Killer."
I am especially disgusted with those using Julissa Brisman's death as an opportunity to harass Craigslist, and talked about it last night on WPHT 1210 AM in Philly. (Will have an MP3 up soon.) UPDATE on May 1:Here's the MP3.
Sunday, April 26, 2009 Weekend Reading: Other People's MoJo
Nomi Prins is the sexiest banker I've ever met - and I know quite a few! She is, in fact, an EX-banker, and one who left the business simply because she felt like it, having proven her mettle. (There is also this rumor about a Portfolio Dating patent which she has neither confirmed nor denied.)
At the Daily Beast, I was pleased to see Larry Kramer taking on the gender studies mafia. The various queer/gender theories, he says, are "relatively useless" for those studying gay history, resulting in lectures and courses that reflect "as much about real history as a comic book." This is a little unfair to comic books, but a refreshing viewpoint. Even if some of my best friends do gender studies!
More about the Beast in my next post. posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 The little blog that should
Recently, a fellow author told me that being mentioned on this blog 'doesn't count' because I haven't adopted the bells and whistles other bloggers take for granted.
Permalinks and such!
I could have been offended, but was instead flattered. I'm glad my humble patch of the blogosphere is different.
For example, there's no obvious way to link to this post.
Because? When I started this blog (July 2001), I became deeply attached to the template. I may be a floozy in other matters, but when it comes to software I am perversely faithful.
I wrote my first book in WordPerfect Five-One. I still use WordPerfect, by the way, and it (WP10 by now) converts easily to MSWord. Quite a few people began using Word because of peer pressure. The prevalance of Word shows you how anything, even glue-sniffing, can become the norm.
...and you know who you are because you go all wistful at the mere mention of WordPerfect.
I never ask other people to adapt to my software, I consider it a joyful challenge to fake my conversion. It makes me a better and wiser computer user. In other words, I have a copy of Open Office.
It is not enough to proclaim yourself an outsider, you must walk the talk. And every time I go through the ritual of converting my documents to Word or Excel, I am reminded of what it's like to live as an outsider, perhaps even a secret outsider. Not that I should need reminding. I am already an outsider in many respects, but since I can pass for integrated, I want to be reminded.
Does this have something to do with my upbringing? Well, my father is a computer programmer and he's very supportive of my stubborn ways. The more obscure a taste or idea, the more he supports me, especially concerning software.
So I don't feel a need for all the latest upgrades - unless I actually have a use for them. I acquired broadband reluctantly, and was still using dial-up in 2008.
As for my blog - I like it when TracyQuan.net gets traffic, but the blog itself I always thought of as a cozy corner on the site. Because I've seen no others which employ this quaint template, I've decided I must retain it - no matter how questionable its value or charm. It also gives me insights into architecture and town planning, as I think about how accessible yet disconnected one can be.
Stay tuned! posted by Tracy Quan
Friday, April 03, 2009 The body politic, Popeye, and magical nutrition
I was criticized on this guy's blog for confusing Popeye's forearms with his biceps. Ha. Well, as it happens, some Guardian readers Have Not Been Paying Attention.
Anybody who HAS will recall that Popeye's biceps swell up immediately when he ingests some spinach. Clearly, these magical powers aren't lost on Michelle Obama. Her version of baking cookies is so responsible-sounding. I'm pleased we've gone from squabbling about whether Cindy McCain's cookie recipe is "original" (who would care?) to discussing the benefits of fresh green veggies.
Shag-enfreude or "Is conjugal duty the new Rabbit?"
At a time when others are promoting Tantric sex, rabbity vibrators, and other politically correct delights, along comes Bettina Arndt with a message that sounds almost Victorian. And yet, Bettina's advice is not as outrageous as it may sound.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009 Diablo Cody at Thessaloniki Film Festival
Over at Cineaste, Richard Porton writes about Diablo Cody's screenwriting master class in his film festival diary:
Inserting the word “cool” into her patter at every opportunity, the woman responsible for Juno proved herself the most gung-ho overgrown teenager on the block. Aw-shucks likeability aside, it was rather satisfying to hear one slightly disgruntled audience member complain that Juno, although marketed as an “indie” film, was marred by rather stock Hollywood conventions. Perpetually cheery, Cody acknowledged the thrust of the question and merely pleaded guilty to commercial instincts and professed affection for happy endings. As hard as one tries, it’s difficult to dislike Diablo Cody.
I have to admit, having enjoyed Juno, it was hard to dislike that happy ending. And isn't a miserable ending just another storytelling convention?
Anyway! Love the quirky smart offerings on the Cineaste website! But they don't give it all away. You have to subscribe if you want the full treatment, and you should. posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, March 02, 2009 Austerity chic - or should that be cheek?
In New York it's again hip to be poor – or at least appear to be. But the recession may also preserve what makes the city great.
A dozen years ago, the Library of Congress created a stir when it dropped The Birth of a Nation from a wide-ranging series of movies marking cinema’s centenary. The only thing worse than showing Griffith’s movie is to pretend it never existed.
He goes on to explain - for me, it was gripping stuff - that DW Griffith's notorious film
has never ceased to be relevant and was never more so than during the long 2008 presidential election, not just because the only African American in the US Senate (and one of only four since Reconstruction) was running for president; but also because the election itself was so relentlessly personalised.
Childhood memory: I dimly remember being taken to see Birth of a Nation. During Reconstruction or so, a friend's dad explained, 'This particular scene is all fabricated.' I remember v. few details, but it was enough for the following to make sense:
Griffith taught the movies to take history personally, to interject close-ups, dramatic re-creations and factoids to aid a particular plot line – and the movies taught the world the excitement of visualised drama. In last year’s election, every candidate had his or her story; each campaign was required to project a narrative and would be criticised by media pundits if it failed to do so.
Ushers in some movie theatres wore Klan sheets or Confederate uniforms. Meanwhile, as the Klan spread far beyond the South, establishing itself throughout New England, the Atlantic seaboard and the Midwest, The Birth of a Nation was used as a recruitment film as far north as Portland, Oregon.
Portland freaking Oregon! I have to admit that made me gasp out loud.
Actually, I think America's more 'cowardly' about class than race - but that's a story for another day. And the recession might change all that. posted by Tracy Quan
Sunday, February 15, 2009 Bedside Reading: Rebecca Christian & Katherine Fischer
When Lake Superior State University issued its 34th annual edict on Words to be Banished... environmental buzzwords were first to be composted,
writes RC. Nice. I feel a tad guilty about "not so much" (which I use way too much) but have to admit she's prolly right. I've never been as keen on "going green" as I should be - this column made me feel heaps better about it.
In a delightful chapter on the language of food, originally published in Verbatim mag, Rebecca dismisses
the cliched staples of food writers - the 'robust' stew, the 'piquant sauce...'
Instead
we speak of the 'the prance and a half', the 'wad,' the 'pick' and the 'nice little supper'
I keep this collection next to my bed and dip into it when I want to be gently provoked. Rebecca's a playwright, contributor to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and a word nerd. Katherine Fischer is an expert on the Mississipi River and English prof at Clarke College.
The world they write about - Dubuque, Des Moines - is exotic yet familiar to me. I grew up in a bilingual town with lots of French-English overlap, so my heart has always been alert to the French names that pepper the midwestern US. Their descriptions of small city life remind me of my childhood.
Katherine, on the joys of elementary school theatre:
It does something to a mother to see her fine youngest child on stage...swilling down Beaujolais and attacking women of the night. Things get worse when he turns to the inspector and claims, 'I was crossing from the park when this prostitute attacked me.' (Believe me, his siblings will never let him live that line down.)
I'm tickled to be writing for The Daily Beast and I really enjoy being part of their mix. I'll post news of my Beast columns in a separate item - here are a few of my recent favorites!
Lantos insisted that Congress lift the abstinence-only earmark imposed by Republicans in 2002, and begin to fund family planning elements like free condom distribution. His maneuver infuriated Warren, who immediately boarded a plane for Washington to join Christian right leaders including born-again former Watergate felon Chuck Colson for an emergency press conference on the Capitol lawn. In his speech, Warren claimed that Lantos’ bill would spawn an increase in the sex trafficking of young women.
I generally love Tina Brown's Daily Beast editorials, but this one especially - today's - made me sit up: Obama's Strange Obsession!
As did this, also about Obama, on Jan 20:
I told him my husband still has the contract he signed as president of Random House when their imprint Times Books acquired Dreams from My Father. "Worth something now, huh?" he told me, as he draped a long arm to gather me in between himself and his even taller vice president and easefully lit up for the camera. I felt safer and calmer than I have for eight years.
posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, January 29, 2009 Sex Worker Lit Update: Jimmy vs Jerusalem
If you go here, and scroll down to January 1, you'll see a rather odd footnote right after Genesis 1-4.
Note to Sara & Dwight: Your blog, The King James Version, is oddly designed - but I'm hardly in a position to criticise. The interface around here is definitely pre-flood!! posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 Sex Worker Literati: A KGB Reading
Friday, February 6, 2009 Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm KGB Bar 85 East 4th Street New York, NY
Elisabeth Eaves, David Henry Sterry, Tracy Quan
$EX AFTER THE CRASH
Myths, fairy tales, and real strategies for surviving when your body is your business. In a city recovering from Ponzi schemes, inflated earnings, and rampant exuberance, sex workers struggle to deliver essential pleasures - and pay their bills.
KGB Bar 85 East 4th Street New York City, NY February 06, 2009 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Spend the night with three local authors who insert the term Sex Worker Literati deep into the 21st century American vernacular. Take a peek into the lives of desperate housewives gone bad and desperate businessmen gone worse. Tidal waves of greenbacks ...placed on tables, tucked into envelopes, slipping into g-strings. The vanity, the humanity, the inhumanity, and the mundanity - not to mention the ecstasy and the agony. Behind the bumps and grinds, under the garters and pasties, between the booze-fueled customers and the stiletto heels… there exists, in the exchange of sex for money, a power dynamic that opens a window into the human soul. posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, January 19, 2009 Juliana Beasley's Auction News - Jan 21 Is Your Last Chance
Friday, January 16, 2009 Up for Grabs: I Met Juliana Beasley
in person for the first time, at Powerhouse Arena last summer. A few days later, I received a signed copy of Juliana's book which documents, quite beautifully, her American lapdancing odyssey.
Lapdancer is remarkable. Her photos of the lapdancing life are gritty and perhaps a bit sentimental. I like that combination. It's how the sex industry feels on certain days of the week. You can see a few images here and order the book.
Or visit Juliana's blog for updates on life-after-lapdancing.
One of my photographs entitled "Joshua and His Brother" is part of the I Gavel Online Auction represented by the Daniel Cooney Gallery. The image is up for grabs at the starting bid of $200.
This is a great opp'y ... for you budding collectors who are just getting started. And for experienced collectors on a budget.
In addition: Juliana's post-holiday sale features photos from her Rockaway series.
Visit her site and let me know what you think of her work! posted by Tracy Quan
Friday, January 09, 2009 Politico, Strange Bedfellow
Tracy Quan of the U.K.Guardian picks up the gauntlet, arguing that [Caroline] Kennedy's minimal makeup and all-business style in her first round of media interviews actually suggests "she isn't passionate about being a New York senator" and suffers, from a "lack of ambition."(!!!)
I don't actually think/argue that Caroline Kennedy is SUFFERING - her lack of ambition is our problem, not hers. But let's not split heirs.
Friday, December 19, 2008 State Violence Isn't a Separate Issue
On the Int'l Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, this news item appeared on the Houston Press website about a 12-year-old in Galveston violently assaulted by the local police because they thought she was a prostitute. The story is eye-opening and horrifying because it shows you what might pass for normal behavior in the minds of these officers.
One of them grabbed her saying, "You're a prostitute. You're coming with me." Dymond grabbed onto a tree and started screaming, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy." One of the men covered her mouth. Two of the men beat her about the face and throat...the three men were plain-clothed Galveston police officers ....
Weeks later she was arrested for assaulting a public servant - because she fought back. Although imprecise, the analogy that comes to mind is a rape victim being charged with immoral behavior when she tries to pursue justice.
It's a startling reminder. Anyone can be affected by the violence directed against prostitutes, and by prostitution laws.
That's why all these stupid laws are wrong - they breed violence. But our political goals aren't just about garnering rights for a particular group. This kind of violence poisons an entire culture. posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 Soho, London Tonight: Carol Singing with the IUSW (International Union of Sex Workers)
Sex Worker Carol Singing Wednesday 17th December at 7:30pm St. Anne's CofE Church 55 Dean Street Soho (nearest tube Piccadilly Circus)
End Violence Against Sex Workers Day — join sex workers from around the globe in raising awareness of violence against us. Come and sing carols and drink mulled wine. Bring a bottle.
"Westminster Choir are sending a couple of members to help us sing and the Chancellor of the Diocese of Europe is making a special appearance as Father Christmas." posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 Manhattan: Vigil to End Violence Against Sex Workers in New York City
Weds, December 17th
7-8pm in the center of Washington Square Park
Carry a red umbrella or wear red.
For more info contactswank@riseup.net, swop-usa.org
Pimps Are People Too: a column I published about the first End Violence Against Sex Workers Day in 2003. posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, December 04, 2008 In My Mailbox: Update - End Violence Against Sex Workers Event in Soho, London, 17 December
I took the liberty of adding some links. Email from IUSW (International Union of Sex Workers) follows:
The event is a serious evening based in St Anne’s C of E church in Soho with a minute silence for the five women who were murdered in Ipswich two years ago. This will be followed by carol singing and a collection for the xtalkproject.net and Safety First Coalition in and around Soho.
Whilst there is a serious intent and theme, the evening however will be mainly light hearted as the night progresses. Currently amongst the other supporters mentioned on the leaflet, Westminster Choir are sending a couple of members to help us sing and the Chancellor of the Diocese of Europe is making a special appearance as Father Christmas.
It would be so good if you could support this event by lending us your voice as we all try to speak out in our own way about the issues that are affecting sex workers currently.
Please cross post to all your networks and tell everyone you know.
Don’t forget to bring a bottle on 17th December and suitable Christmas attire welcome!
Branch Secretary of the GMB IUSW Sex Work branch www.iusw.org
Monday, December 01, 2008 London, December 17: International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
My friends in the IUSW have organised an event to commemorate the day.
Sex Worker Carol Singing in London, England Wednesday 17th December at 7:30pm
St. Anne's C of E Church, 55 Dean Street, Soho (nearest tube Piccadilly Circus).
End Violence Against Sex Workers Day — join sex workers from around the globe in raising awareness of violence against us. Come and sing carols and drink mulled wine. Bring a bottle. Organized by The International Union of Sex Workers.
For more information about worldwide events on this day, visit SWOP. posted by Tracy Quan
I was pleased to see a nice comment from SentimentalLentil, a vegan who has more respect "for people who actually get off their backsides, hunt, kill, pluck/skin/bone the animal themselves than these whining hypocrites." I totally agree!
Current issue of Red Pepper depicts a Tory Dystopia (front) and features a Tracy Booktopia (back page.)
My Desert Island authors include Silvia Federici, AA Milne and the man who gave us Moll Flanders.
S'more Recommended Reading: Psychoanalyse This
Interview with Juliet Mitchell in Eurozine. I've always been fascinated with JM - here she talks about her Reich-infused childhood.
And I just can't help it! I have a crush on Perth's two-headed kitten who died after two days. Immortalized here - miracle of the internet! - shortly after his birth. posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 A Return to Modesty?
Good taste is making a comeback, they say. Forget "it" - you want a high-quality something "that will endure over multiple seasons." Actually, if your stuff is really good, it will look nice for YEARS.
We can all relax now! The pressure is so off.
Not sure I buy the idea of enhanced morals though. We'll see how that goes...
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 High Ho, High Praise: Linda Stasi Reviews the Cast of Dirty Money
...in her NY Post column.
There is also a smattering of eggheads who have written books on the sociology of paying for "it." Me? I'd rather hear it straight from the hooker's mouth rather than a bunch of windbags. But I guess the professors of desire are what gives a show like this its respectability.
So what has made so many gorgeous, educated women decide to climb on corporate men instead of the corporate ladder?
10PM Eastern repeats at 1AM Eastern 9PM Central repeats at 12AM Central 8PM Mountain repeats at 11PM Mountain 7PM Pacific repeats at 10PM Pacific
I did this interview on Mary Magdalen's feast day, July 22. ('Jetsetting' readers will know this to be a highly auspicious date!)
About that title... 'Dirty' Money? Am I being very PC, but my first thought is, "Since the dawn of the prostitutes' rights movement, sex workers have been saying that the money we earn is not dirty." I have to get that off my chest. Then again, maybe the title was meant to sound more like Dirty Dancing and less like St. Augustine's famous pronouncement on sewers in the palace.
Here's a short sample in which I admit to being really bad at my job... and then claim to be pretty good at it.
The webpage for the show is evenhanded, with linkage to SWOP, a "social justice network dedicated to the fundamental human rights of sex workers." posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, November 04, 2008 These Are a Few of My Favorite Things
that were published during the US election of 2008.
David Henry Sterry in Huffington Post on Obama's memoir versus McCain's. Do we, perhaps, deserve a president who is comfortable with language? I sure hope so.
John McWhorter's no-nonsense insights re Michelle Obama's situation in Boston Globe. I totally love this, but was already a McWhorter fan when I read it. This made me understand why I'm instinctively a Michelle fan.
Dave Kiffer, mayor of Ketchikan, Alaska, comparing his town to Monica Lewinsky, argues that they actually need "that bridge." Ever so politely, he rubbishes the 'long-lost fantasy of small-town America' that Sarah Palin has desperately been trying to sell. Way!
~~~ Proposition K - to decriminalize prostitution in San Francisco - addresses the racial profiling that has become so much a part of "anti-trafficking" measures. Bound Not Gagged is tracking results. Also, a live sex worker radio show on the election starts at 10pm EST. posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, November 03, 2008 November 7 Reading at KGB Has Been Postponed
We apologize for any inconvenience caused, but the November 7 event has to be postponed for medical reasons! Please stay tuned for a new date and new details.
Or write to mailings@tracyquan.net if you want to receive news about the event. posted by Tracy Quan
Elisabeth Hasselbeck is wrong about Las Vegas (sigh)... come on, prostitution is totally illegal in Vegas! But that's interesting - a McCain supporter who kinda sorta likes the idea of decriminalization. (Of course she wants those girls to be regulated - so much for a smaller government.)
The discussion soon turns into, "Why should women pay for sex? No way!" And then a gratuitous dissing of men in general ...
Still! Support for Prop K: a good thing! posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, October 25, 2008 Required Reading: The Art of Getting Around
Alex Marshall tells us why Amtrak's Acela has "closed compartments to store luggage overhead, just like on airplanes."
How is a bicycle (not) like a horse? Trimmings, he argues, are about "taste, style and status — and may even be a little nuts."
I love this piece - it makes you think twice about everything you do, from private texting to public transport.
Beneath the Metropolis (now in paperback!) is also required reading... if (like me) you care about the 'layered networks' that contribute to a city's character. posted by Tracy Quan
Friday, October 24, 2008 Jet Thee to a Nunnery?
Monasteries and convents enter the modern age while keeping alive a valuable medieval tradition. This grabs my attention because...
in Jetsetting Call Girl, Nancy has a near-miss adventure (or should that be near misadventure) in a Dominican monastery now owned by a French hotel chain!
Dominicans Then & Now
In the NYT Book Review, Germaine Greer points out that the Dominican order was formed to suppress a heretical movement sweeping through Europe during the middle ages. (Provence was central to this.) Today, many Dominicans espouse radical views that remind us of those medieval heretics - Waldensians, Cathars, Albigensians. In other words, they would have been persecuting themselves, if you see what I mean. posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, October 14, 2008 Love junkies and tomcats
Are people really becoming addicted to sex because of the financial crisis? It depends on your definition of addiction...
My new column is up, and I welcome your comments! posted by Tracy Quan
Webcast Archives!
My conversation with Gary is here. (Scroll down to watch the archived webcast.) We talked about how the financial fears of 2002 had been a dress rehearsal for 2008. How quickly New York forgot those anxieties when the economy bounced back.
Gary, a fan of my series, always feels great trepidation for Nancy when she's about to blunder... In Jetsetting Call Girl, Nancy does make some insecure choices, it's true. We also talked about why Nancy's husband seems so naive, and where some of his origins lie - as a fictional character. That is to say, other fictional marriages that inspired me when creating these characters and their relationships.
http://garybaumgarten.blogspot.com/2008/10/tracy-quan-debunks-sex-addiction-due-to.html#links posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, October 13, 2008 Monday Afternoon Webcast: 5 PM Live in New York
Today at 5:00 PM (Eastern USA)I'll be on Paltalk with Gary Baumgarten, discussing the impact of New York's money crisis on local sex workers. We will also take a look at sex addiction - is it a real affliction? Or a fashionable construct foisted upon us by the anti-pleasure cops?
You can join the conversation by clicking on this link. Palktalk is free and there is no charge to register.
Tuesday Morning: Both Sides
In tomorrow's Guardian column, I'll be discussing Susan Cheever's new book, Desire: Where Sex Meets Addiction and Rachel Resnick's forthcoming memoir, Love Junkie. posted by Tracy Quan
Sunday, October 12, 2008 A DearTQ from Jeff B, Guardian Reader
One bit I found interesting was Norman Mailer commenting to Frey:
They sat down on the couch and talked about memoirs, a genre, Mailer said, that was by definition corrupt: "That's why a writer writes his memoir, to tell a lie and create an ideal self. Everything I've ever written is memoir, you know, is an inflated vision of the ideal Platonic self."
Follow the money or follow the ego seems to be what's behind many memoirs.
-Jeff NYC posted by Tracy Quan
Sunday, October 05, 2008 Everything You Don't Know About Alaska
Watching this is a must, if you want to look past the hype, smoke, mirrors ...and the idiotic jokes which too many are making about this young, sparsely populated state.
A Uni of Alaska history professor (David Noon) answers questions from James Pinkerton about Alaska politics, mythology, economics, history and religion.
I had no clue about the Russian Orthodox parishes in Western Alaska and the native population. Wow.
So why the heck doesn't Sarah Palin take a minute to tell us this rich, colourful stuff about her state? Instead of twittering on about "the border" and the tiresome concept of Russia as "other"? Alaska has a historic relationship with Russia; you can still see old Russian architecture in Sitka (which was the Russian capital of Alaska.)
Anyway. David Noon asserts that Protestant missionaries were much more aggressive, while the Russians were more adaptive, translating the bible into local (native) languages. This conversation is a welcome change of pace.
I blame Republican handlers, my liberal friends, and Palin herself for the inane perceptions that pass for regional humor these days. She's doing her own state a horrible disservice.
As JF puts it, "Americans... like to define their president as the 'leader of the free world'. So why is it such a cheek if the free world shows some interest in who that leader will be?" He goes on to say that "you can't act like America and expect to be treated like Liechtenstein: it doesn't work that way."
Some comments he received from hysterical American readers are cringe-inducing or hilarious, depending on your perspective. Noting the "curiously homoerotic undercurrent that runs through much rightwing American invective," JF is patient but firm.
This response from BeautifulBurnout is worth reading! posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, September 22, 2008 Today's Concerns
Kia Abdullah writes about the first transgendered contestant on America's Next Top Model - and ties it back to... Obama. A thoughtful column on tokenism and being flavour of the month - something a lot of us can relate to, with mixed feelings.
~ For those seeking nostalgic escape from the horrors of the season, this much-needed Babar exhibit at The Morgan is the antidote. Yes, yes, I know, Babar's a sinister colonialist myth! As an anti-colonial reader with a monarchist streak, I can see what they're getting at - but I've been a Babar freak since I was three! That fabulous green suit, the rich lady, the department store elevator... It's 'Sex and the City' without the sex. A chaste sort of 'Midnight Cowboy' for elephants... I could go on but I won't.
If you really love me, meet me at the Morgan - we have until January 4! posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, September 20, 2008 Manhattan Event: Friday, November 7 at KGB Bar
POSTPONED! STAY TUNED FOR A NEW DATE AND NEW DETAILS!
Sex Worker Literati: A Reading with Elisabeth Eaves, Tracy Quan, and David Henry Sterry at KGB Bar, 85 East 4th Street New York City, NY
Friday, November 07, 2008
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
UPDATE: POSTPONED! STAY TUNED FOR A NEW DATE AND NEW DETAILS!
Send email to TQ@tracyquan.net if you'd like to be notified! posted by Tracy Quan
And Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl is the focus of today's rant!
Todd's blog is full of unexpected treasures, such as this report on the non-commercial sex trade (for want of a better term), and he calls his stuff "conservatism for punks." He is diligently contrarian, recommending Nancy Chan's Provencal adventure "for its educational value even while seriously questioning the ethics of the main character."
Free admission, cash bar - you get to drink and vote at the same time!!! No fair deciding before the debate how you will vote. Must listen to both sides of the discussion with an open mind. posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, September 13, 2008 Reality Check: Who Were the Suffragettes, Really?
This excellent piece by Susan Levine may startle some idealists who doubt Sarah Palin's authenticity as a feminist. Levine basically points out that Palin is just as authentic as Susan B Anthony! Also, you'll notice that the suffragette who ended up on a dollar coin wasn't Lucy Stone (allied with Frederick Douglass.)
The names that flash most brightly in our collective memory are of suffragettes who turned their cause into a movement for gaining white privilege. That's one way of putting it. Or you could say they made certain compromises because politics is a dirty business. Susan B Anthony, Alice Paul, Elizabeth Cady Stanton... there is a direct line leading from these women to the likes of Sarah Palin. There always were a few "cranks" who thought that fighting for the vote was a mistake, a distraction from the real deal. Emma Goldman wasn't especially keen on the vote.
Send this link to every woman you know! Especially anyone who's even remotely attracted to Sarah Palin for "gender" reasons. Blech. posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, September 04, 2008 Democracy Wow: RNC Observations
At first, I liked Sarah Palin's Alaska crab centerpiece and her open-toed slides, but the more she talks, the less I like her style. Others have said that Palin sounds formidable. I'm sorry, but, to me, she seems abrasive. This supposedly rugged Alaskan manages to feed into some unfortunate stereotypes about American women. She sounds like a potential nag, but she also sounds canned.
As for our former mayor, it was comical to watch a New Yorker pandering to this braying mob with comments about "the left wing media." Good grief. Left wing media? What's that? New York magazine? CNN?
Also, what was the point of insulting all the ordinary people in this country who feel a responsibility to their community - whether they work in a soup kitchen, attend community board meetings, or, um, volunteer for voter registration drives?
These are among the people who call themselves community organizers. It seems misguided to me. posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, September 03, 2008 Delicious
I'm hardly the first to have heard about this ...but I just wanna share the now infamous YouTube clip which has also been Gawkerized.
The NY Times provides a limited "transcript" of the overheard comments.
Here's a better transcription of the entire moment. Noonan has a wonderful speaking voice! posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, September 01, 2008 Mumbai, India: Detrimental Fun (New Review!)
More news from my inbox: an email from Xaviera Hollander, who writes to tell me about a review of Jetsetting Call Girl in DNA, the hot new Mumbai broadsheet. (Launched 2005.) Living it up as a call girl among the hippies, hash, migrants and modern architects - just like real life.
Aastha Atray Banan finds Jetsetting a "fun read" which "could be detrimental for your mental health," adding: "it is wittily written, especially where one of the young prostitutes becomes part of a group of call girls who want to preserve Mary Magdalene’s bad reputation."
My growing love affair with India continues! You can order Jetsetting from India Times Shopping, and spring for the courier option if you want prompt delivery within India. posted by Tracy Quan
Sunday, August 31, 2008 Marburg, Germany: Sex Work Tax Protest
Marc of Frankfurt writes to tell us that, "in the city of Marburg near Frankfurt, the city council voted for a new sex show/performance tax which is 7.000 Euro per year per 100 square meter location. They call it 'tax on pleasure of special kind'. Twenty sex workers protested at the city council meeting yesterday."
And read this document on the tax legislation. posted by Tracy Quan
A Girl Like Thee
Those who whinge about the decadent qualities of Gossip Girl might be surprised by its middle class origins. Roger Sutton is right to call Jeanette Eyerly, who recently died at the age of 100, "the ‘Gossip Girls’ writer of 30 years ago" - even though her stories take place far away from the Upper East Side. (Geographically speaking, her characters were closer to Booth Tarkington's Penrod or William Baxter.)
Sex (implied, not explicit), drugs, pregnancy, abortion, suicide, shoplifting, divorce. Though it's hard to imagine, all these things were quite a big deal when she introduced them to the marketplace in the 1960s. She continued publishing stories about teenagers into the late 1980s.
Her papers, going back to 1925, are at the University of Iowa. They include correspondence with Chloris Leachman, Ann Landers and Bill Keane. (Here I learned that attempts were made to ban her 1977 novel He's My Baby Now - about a 16-year-old unwed father.)
Thursday, August 28, 2008 DPA at the DNC: Biden's Drug War
This email from Ethan of the Drug Policy Foundation got my attention. Biden, he says, is partly to blame for "the draconian mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines that have filled our prisons." BUT: "Earlier this year, Sen. Biden surprised many by introducing legislation to eliminate the 100-to-1 crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity, leapfrogging more modest reforms put forth by others."
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 $preading 4.2 out and other tidbits
The latest issue of $pread - illuminating the sex industry since 2004 - asks: "Are hookers going to hell?"
They mean it in the theological sense, not the metaphorical - but wait, hell IS a metaphor, isn't it? For other people, sure... but maybe not for Annie Lobert of Hookers for Jesus, a Vegas-based ministry. She seems to be a true believer. Mistress Julie, a Buddhist domme, takes an opposing view. This is all on page 20 of Spread 4.2 in their Positions column.
On page 18, Consumer Reports, three panelists rate Flavored Condoms. I feel so left out!! I mean, I have definite opinions about those things...
But wait wait wait, there is a positive and rather edgy review of Jetsetting Call Girl on page 60 by Rachel Aimee!
"The juicy call girl drama takes a detour into ...a debate between warring factions of feminists over whether it's more misogynistic to call Mary Magdalen a whore or not a whore."
The Mail Today piece sorta made my day. I'm a Yank who first came here in the Peace Corps in 1965 and it changed my life. Was able to shift here starting in '87. One of my smarter moves. I too have led a varied life and since part of you's from here, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
- Buzz New Delhi posted by Tracy Quan
Sunday, August 17, 2008 New Delhi Debut
In Mail Today on Sunday, "two worlds, two personas: blogger-debutante Meenakshi Reddy and Tracy Quan, New York call-girl turned writer, tell their personal stories."
I can't claim to be THAT kinda debutante - but this is a debut of another sort, as I've never worked with an Indian daily before. Naturally I'm excited to be published in "a paper tiger that bites."
My column is here. Enron rumors, Indian ancestors and deadwhitemales are given equal consideration.
There's a special Harper Perennial edition of Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl for the Indian subcontinent only. I finally caught a glimpse of it, last week, while lunching at Tea and Sympathy... posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, August 14, 2008 Housekeeping
We've never known what it is to loathe our inner housewife. We're madly in love with her! She can do no wrong. However, she's been a little distracted lately. Needs to do some tidying up. So, for now, we're putting Bookslut Q&A: here.** So that Married Call Girl can assert herself a bit.
**(This is where Elizabeth Merrick investigates Tracy's "dark side.") posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, August 11, 2008 The new N-word
Is there such a thing as high-density narcissism, akin to HDL ("good") cholesterol? Last week, I looked at the diversity of narcissism, and defended its role in art, entertainment, affairs of the heart.
This week, everyone is slinging the N-word around, including John Edwards himself, as if he were describing a kind of mental pox... posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, August 02, 2008 Book Event at AIDS2008, Mexico City
Are you in Mexico City? At the International AIDS Conference? On Thursday August 7, at 2:45 pm/ 14:45, you can win a signed souvenir copy of Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl!
Come to the Global Village Main Stage.
Raffle tickets will be sold before and during the Star Whores 2 performance. All sales will benefit APROASE, one of the sex worker NGOs in Mexico City.
To win a signed copy of Jetsetting Call Girl, click here for details.
The Global Village is open to the public, one of the unofficial activities of the AIDS2008. posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, July 24, 2008 Jetsetting to Hong Kong by Phone
It was lovely and rather special to chat with Phil Whelan again on Morning Brew. (I was a guest when my first book arrived in Hong Kong.)
We talked about my new book, the responsibilities of glamour, what Mary Magdalen has in common with Barbie - and what it's like to be confused with a fictional character.
Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers will be raffling signed copies of Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl at the International AIDS conference in Mexico City on August 7th. Proceeds will be donated to APROASE, a local sex worker NGO: 2:45 PM Global Village Main Stage, Thursday August 7th.
Check out this video on BlipTV. It's about the problems faced by sex workers in Cambodia after the new prostitution laws were passed in February 2008.
If you're attending AIDS2008 in Mexico City, visit the Sex Worker Lounge which is hosted by APROASE, NSWP and APNSW. I'll be posting news about sex workers at AIDS2008 in the next few days.
Now I like a bit of Catholic Chic - find it most enjoyable - but can't quite keep a straight face when some of my co-religionists (even fictional ones) start doing The Tormented Catholic Thing. It's not a hat I've ever worn, and while it looks okay on some, the effect can be overly precious.
So I was pleasantly surprised! Brideshead, the movie, is amusing rather than earnest. (I don't share the concerns of my friends who are fans of the TV series... which, as I recall, was ponderous and looooong.) Teddy bears, plovers eggs, rosaries, and last rites. The movie provides just the right amount of each.
The only character I could relate to is the Italian mistress of Sebastian Flyte's dad... when she explains to Charles Ryder that Catholicism's just a lifestyle around here, rather than a special obsession (as it has become for these Anglo aristos)
There was a great deal of Catholic Envy at the party, which also makes me chuckle. Get over it, Anglicans! And please, no more converts. There's nothing more scary than a convert! Yikes! posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 Mary Magdalen Today
Medieval career girl? Or modern icon? On July 22, her feast day, we ask: just how relevant is she? And what has she done for you lately?
Monday, July 21, 2008 Hong Kong: Radio 3 RTHK This Friday 7/25
I'll be a guest on Morning Brew in Hong Kong this Friday, talking to Phil Whelan about the story behind Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl... the many faces of Mary Magdalen... and other matters both intimate and public.
You can listen anywhere in the world. Here's a time zone converter if you're not in HK.
ANZ readers can order Jetsetting Call Girl online here. posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, July 07, 2008 Virginity is back
... and more controversial than ever. My take on the allure of first-timers ran in the National Post this weekend. posted by Tracy Quan
Sunday, June 29, 2008 A Dear TQ from Nancy Chan Herself
Dear TQ,
... evidently I have missed out a BIG chunk of the goings on of Nancy Chan. I can remember clearly the day I stumbled upon Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl, three years ago. It was during a routine boring work lunch, I had decided to hit the shops. I walked past all these books and none stood out as much as this novel.
When I had read the blurb on the back of the book I had to buy it straight away. Three years later in the same shop, I casually walked past the books section and here it was -- the third of the Nancy Chan novels screaming out at me. I had no idea there was #2 or #3! I can't wait to start immersing myself back into another world of Nancy Chan.
I say "another world" because my name is Nancy Chan.
No middle name, no marriage name. When I read the first book I had to read it again a second time. Sometimes I think the similarities are too real, my friends would say you could be writing about my crazy crazy life.
I just have one question that has been plaguing me for three years now: Why did you choose the name Nancy Chan?
Best wishes and warm regards,
Nancy Chan Australia (coincidentally getting married in August)
Dear Nancy,
Wow. I decided to keep your city a mystery, just to be safe. A girl can never be too careful. It is, of course, a lovely name. I've always been fond of it. I have a favorite relative whose name is Nancy, but there may be other reasons for choosing this name. And then again - do we really choose the names of our characters? There is something in the creative process that is confounding and dreamlike.
TQ posted by Tracy Quan
Friday, June 27, 2008 Jetsetting Call Girl Review: Vibewire, Australia
"I was rather biased towards this book from the start," says Dawn Dawson at Vibewire. Nancy "has consciously chosen to construct her life like 'a house of cards', constantly worrying if some tiny, revelatory detail will be the one that topples it. Constantly coming up with new lies to maintain the old ones. Even though she's a fictional character, you really have to wonder how anyone could live this way...Oh, and by the way, there's also this whole strange plot involving the relics of Mary Magdalen, a goat farm and deranged Christian feminists."
You can read the entire review here. posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 London: Signed Copies of Jetsetting Call Girl
Chelsea: You can pick up a signed copy of my new book at Waterstone's, 150 Kings Road, across from M&S.
Notting Hill: Waterstone's, 39-41 Notting Hill Gate
Kensington: Waterstone's, 193 Kensington High Street, W8 6SH Phone 02079378432
More shops will be listed here shortly. Watch this space! posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 Bedtime Reading
Naturally, I acquired WAY too many books in London. I can't wait to read Hillary Mantel's Giving Up the Ghost. (Thank you, Essie!) And I now have a signed copy of The Wisdom of Whores. (Thanks to ADL.) As both were hardcover, I packed them away. Miraculously, I was only 1 kilo over the limit when I returned.
Also picked up Gigolo which looks promising and witty. Plus: a novel about Freud by Salley Vickers, Where Three Roads Meet.
What I devoured on the flight back to New York...
was the newly released paperback, Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips. I simply couldn't put it down. The most fun I've had in months! Entertaining, intelligent and quirky.
I'm dismayed - but convinced - by MP's depiction of Athena. (Warning: TQ Juvenilia.) Click here if you can bear to look at Acrylic Athena, pubescent homage to my favorite goddess. As you can see, I wasn't sure what to do about her face and hands -- but I think I did a decent job with the headgear, no?
Turns out she's a bit dysfunctional, a brainy sort who can't communicate because she's been overexposed to academic bureaucracy. Phillips has control of the story! Like I said, her take on Athena's entirely believable. Wonderful stuff.
In due course, I'll let you know what I think of the other books but this is the one I can't stop thinking about. posted by Tracy Quan
My Name in Lights?
Someone just sent me this link to The Jewish Journal. A first for me!! posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, June 23, 2008 In Australia: Cosmo Asks
"Nancy has her favourite client, Milt, whom she tries to please in much the same way as people with, say office jobs, try to do their best possible work for a coveted project. Did you ever have a client like this, and if so, what kind of things would you do to please him?"
You can read my conversation with Cosmo's Lauren Melcher here. posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, June 21, 2008 Diary of a Married Call Girl: Nu PÅ Dansk
The second misadventure in the Nancy Chan series has just been published in Denmark! Visit the Leksis website to learn about Høje hæle og laktaske, translated by Søren Rasmussen.
Check out the snazzy jacket art here. For some reason, when I look at those slim purposeful legs, I think of Pippi Longstocking - blossoming into a post-adolescent go-getter, checking her cellphone at every traffic light.
Pippi was Swedish, not Danish. So perhaps that's a bit like mentioning Suzie Wong in the same breath as Bangkok 8? But Nancy Chan is herself an ethnic hybrid and good stories tend to travel across borders.
Characters from my childhood library live on through Nancy. Many of you will know that A.A. Milne's anxiety-ridden Piglet has been a huge influence. But now I think of Astrid Lindgren's Pippi who planted in my juvenile mind the idea that a girl can survive on her wits, live alone (or with whom she pleases), challenge authority, and make up any story she likes.
Friday, June 20, 2008 Jetsetting Call Girl: There is no such thing as a free, er
...lunch, but sometimes (if you're lucky) there's a free lip gloss. At your local Tesco this week, Jetsetting Call Girl comes with a matching gloss, hygienically shrink-wrapped. Just like our heroine Nancy, the Jetsetting lip gloss is classy enough to deceive everyone -- while hinting at a secret reputation below the surface.
If you're looking for a signed copy, try Waterstones in Notting Hill Gate. Notting Hill manager Mark Farley has very kindly posted our Q&A on his blog in honor of the occasion. posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 London Diary
My UK launch has been huge fun, thanks in great part to the machinations of Rebecca McEwan. It began with this zany Q&A in the Sunday Times Style magazine.
On Monday, a delightful celebration with the HarperCollins team at Snows on the Green. Had a delicious osso bucco with risotto -- am I growing addicted to the life-enhancing qualities of veal marrow?? -- while sipping Prosecco.
During lunch, it was hard to avoid the question of Obama. HarperCollins is Doris Lessing's publisher, after all...
For dessert, I ordered a rhubarb and hobnut crumble!!
I now know that rhubarb farming has replaced coal-mining in West Yorkshire...well, I THINK that's what Paul Baggaley told me, which led to comparisons with upstate New York where prisons have replaced farming. Until Monday, I'd no idea about the ascendancy of rhubarb in UK life. (I did know it to be high in vitamin C though, and remember having it as a small child, raw, dipped in brown sugar.)
I returned to my guest room near the Kings Road clutching a gorgeous bouquet -- lots of mysterious purple flora to match Natasha Law's lavender-hued Jetsetting jacket. If only I could figure out how to get the camera on my UK cellphone to work.
Later, I had a bracing discussion on BBC Five Live with Richard Bacon (of Blue Peter fame). Richard admits to enjoying the new book but seems to regard Jetsetting Call Girl as a guilty pleasure.
You can listen again on the Five Live website. Click on Monday and listen to the June 16 show. My bit begins about 1 hour and 21 minutes into the show. It will be up until they replace it with the show for Monday 23rd June. Get it while you can.
[Update 6/24: No longer available on Five Live. You can listen here instead.]
Richard was very focused on drug abuse -- an interesting topic for Richard! -- and finally made the point that the five women murdered in Ipswich were addicted to drugs. (Therefore, prostitution is bad? Of course, I disagreed.)
After our segment, Richard spoke to Rodney Pinter about reporters who lose their lives on the job. In the elevator, as I left the studio, I couldn't resist asking the (v. nice) producer helping me find my cab whether we think journalists killed in the line of duty have simply chosen to enter a profession that shouldn't exist.
Given the juxtaposition of my segment and Rodney's, it's hard to avoid the comparison! Richard's discussion with Rodney about another potentially dangerous profession is, in fact, quite interesting and worth hearing.
I'll return in a bit to continue my London travelogue. posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, June 09, 2008 Laura Agustin in Re-public
A beautiful piece of writing about Border thinking in this online journal which is new to me: Re-public.
"...although the media report continuous polemic and violence here, vast numbers of people move across this border every day in the course of their ordinary lives."
Laura Agustin's Sex at the Margins has developed a following that also crosses borders. You can listen to her conversation with Doug Henwood here. In The Erotic Review, Bruno Phillips refers to the author as a class act. I so agree! The New Statesman calls Sex at the Margins "one of the most important books on migration published in recent years." posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, June 07, 2008 More Thoughts About YSL's Funeral
A lovely description of the service in the Telegraph. I found this especially moving.
"You belonged to this magnificent and tragic family of highly-strung people who are the salt of the earth. All that is best comes to us from the highly strung."
Also:
In accordance with his wishes, the Algerian-born designer's ashes are to be spread in a botanical garden close to the villa in Marrakech, Morocco, where he spent much of his time.
"He will stay there in a country that influenced and marked him greatly. He will end up in the Maghreb where he was born," Berge said. As a mark of respect, YSL shops around the world closed for two hours while the funeral took place.
There is an aspect of his story that makes me want to talk about colonisation. He was from Algeria, and maybe that's part of what made him ambitious. Many of the movers and shakers of French culture come out of Algeria. I think it's no coincidence that he became a French icon -- being an outsider sometimes gives a certain charisma, as well as insight.
Despite his comfortable origins, he was also a casualty of Algeria's colonisation. His terrible ordeal in the army: it's remarkable how one person can have so little power and then so much within one lifetime. In the French army and in the mental hospital (where he was afraid even to leave his room), he was a victim of other people's cruelty. As an artist, he had so much cultural power it makes you gasp. But he did have to work for that.
He always did it first and he always did it with panache. In the 1960s, women were banned from restaurants for wearing "YSL" trouser suits, and in the 1970s he provoked outrage when he showed a transparent chiffon blouse... at 21 he was the world’s youngest couturier
... says this obit. He was "traumatised by his own talent."
... those working with him became accustomed to his regular crises de nerfs and to the frightening possibility that the man on whom the multi-million YSL fashion empire hinged might at any moment become permanently unhinged or even vanish altogether.
I see a connection between his precocity -- "world’s youngest couturier" -- and his inner demons. I've known a few people who suffer from this problem which is also, of course, a price they pay for their talent.
I also see a connection between Algeria -- being French but an outsider -- and his pioneering support for non-white fashion models. He was one of the first to put black models on the runway. I have tremendous sympathy for people who find themselves in the middle, neither the darlings of the right nor the left. They very often develop a talent for survival and empathy unique to their situation.
The coloniser's lot was not such an easy one in the 20th century. Their luck ran out. They weren't always accepted in their "home" country. Especially if they were not star quality outsiders. Snubbed by the social climbers and the establishment at home, they were also vilified by the left at a time when it was becoming more fashionable to identify with the colonised.
Is it correct to say that Yves Saint Laurent found a way to rise above this?
"Fashion dies, but style remains." posted by Tracy Quan
Friday, June 06, 2008 An SOS to My Readers
If anyone out there can point me to the poem which Catherine Deneuve read at YSL's service, please do send me a dearTQ!
Like many of the women in the church, Carla Bruni wore a black trouser suit, "a gesture of respect and even homage." Catherine Deneuve carried a sheaf of green wheat into the church and read a eulogy, in the form of a poem by Walt Whitman.
I'm dying to know which poem. Will see what I can find out.
My homage, Daughters of Yves, is posted here. posted by Tracy Quan
In Australia: Jetsetting Unleashed
Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl is out now. For your chance to win one of FIVE copies, visit Sydney Unleashed. posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, June 05, 2008 U, After All
The upgrade at Guardian Unlimited CIF continues! Good news! The links are being restored. The site is moving faster. I regret any criticism I had expressed earlier. Anyway, you can't fight City Hall, baby.
This is the new link to my Commentisfree page. Many thanks to Richard, Sasha and the elves for fixing what was not working previously.
Today's column will be going up shortly. And ....
it's the first day of the rest of our lives! posted by Tracy Quan
Two radio shows on Thursday June 5. Morning and afternoon drive.
SYDNEY: Thursday morning, Breakfast with the Stars, Kyle and Jackie O, 7:10 am Sydney time. If you want to listen live, from New York, that's 5:10 pm Eastern. UPDATE from Sydney! They're running behind schedule, and I'll be on in ten minutes or so. :)
CANBERRA: Thursday afternoon, I'll be discussing Nancy Chan's latest misadventures on 2CC Radio's Mike Welsh Drive Show. posted by Tracy Quan
U and Non-U at Commentisfree
I keep seeing these weird spooky warnings from the Brit side of Guardian Unlimited about the CIF "upgrade."
Yes, well... "upgrade"??
Personally, I'm skeptical about the term. "Upgraded" websites, upgraded software.
Sometimes it's nothing of the sort! For example, I'm *deeply* unimpressed with the changes to my favourite email reader, Eudora.
As for those who dare think they've upgraded their boyfriend? Beware. You may be deluding yourself about that particular upgrade. U know who u are! posted by Tracy Quan
A shrink has to keep asking questions, but a designer's got to provide answers. Well, that's my current theory.
My new piece on Yves Saint Laurent goes up shortly at Commentisfree posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, May 31, 2008 Over at Commentisfree
... the remarks about Sex and the City continue to accumulate. I haven't been able to read them all because I'm kind of busy this weekend.
Still. I'm learning a lot of interesting things about Guardian Commenters. If I write a column that doesn't mention my scarlet past at all, someone will bring it up. If I write a column that does mention it, someone will ask me what my scarlet past has to do with all this.
Still, I love writing for the Guardian Commenters because they are such a diverse tribe. Yes, a tribe, I'm convinced of it. Maybe that's a bad habit -- thinking of Commenters in tribal terms. Maybe it's important to see each Commenter as an individual. At the end of the day, because of the way comments are counted, this is hard to do.
I haven't made up my mind about Lee Siegel's assertions, but they're beginning to interest me. posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, May 29, 2008 The Hustle at powerHouse & Udo Spreitzenbarth = the bomb
What an honour to finally see my portrait by the amazing Udo Spreitzenbarth hanging at powerHouse Arena... in the company of classic performers such as Vanessa del Rio and Guy Gonzalez.
A tribute to capitalism in action, Issue 3 is about the art of selling, with a nice emphasis on DIY capitalism, the informal marketplace. This show, which includes new material not seen in the magazine is up through July 13.
When: May 22 - July 13 Weekdays: 10am - 7pm Weekends: 11am - 7pm
If you can't make it to the Arena, you can order the magazine here for $10. Issue 3, The Hustle, includes: True to the Game by Teri Woods; Ron Galella, Godfather of Paparazzi by Tami Mnoian; a chilling piece about selling images from the Iraq war by Christoph Bangert; and an ex-hooker's Horizontal Diary by yours truly. posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 At the risk of seeming totally self-centered....
I want to report that my new column is currently #1 in the top ten Most Active at CIF. Now some authors (swollen-headed MSM journalists for the most part!) tell me they have no time for Commenters! I even know some website editors who "hate" their Commenters. No names!
(I am very good at that by the way. Not giving up names. Suffice it to say, I count these flawed, high-handed snoots as my friends. But even if they were not my friends, my lips would be sealed.)
I compare this authorial snootitude to how pro athletes feel about their fans. There's some professional chauvinism here about the amateur scribe who can't spell or doesn't get paid. I don't really share it -- though, of course, I notice (other people's) spelling errors. It's just second-nature.
Personally, I think Commenters have a strange kind of cultural power. Even the most dismissive author feels good about getting a lot of comments. And a self-confident, capable author feels a bit worried when NOBODY comments.
One Commenter today said that it doesn't matter how well or badly I write because of how I look. (I can only take that as a compliment, giving it the 'when I'm 85' test.) I would add that it doesn't matter how well or badly a Commenter spells, as long as they have something to say.
It's all starting to feel a bit Marxist in here. I think I'll have some more coffee. posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, May 26, 2008 God doesn't HAVE to be great....
for religion to be worthwhile. Some of my favorite comments on today's column include the very wise:
Who is this ignorant baggage? It would have been nice if she'd bothered to read any of the books she mentions. Too busy concentrating on her 3rd book I s'pose...
... as well as the very interesting:
I've been brought up without religion. I have read Richard Dawkins' book and passed it on to my 19 year old son.In my view, you don't have to be religious to see that several children by several different fathers is not desirable to the larger society. It should not be beyond the ability of government, in a secular way, to encourage moral behaviour.
.... which demonstrates an important point: even atheists buy into Judeo-Christian judgements about female sexuality.
A totally fun comment thread, I must say! People really get wound up about God. posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, May 19, 2008 This Just In
I have just learned that Essie Cousins, my fabulous editor at HarperCollins UK, is now the Editorial Director of Harper Perennial. As we say in the States, You Go, Girl!
I have also received in the post a gorgeous wetlook lipgloss that matches the Jetsetting Call Girl cover beautifully. Stay tuned for further deets. posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, May 17, 2008 In My Mailbox: a dearTQ re "What is up with the jetsetter?"
Dear TQ,
I knew you had been tied up with the next project so I was patient. Now your third novel is out. Only in UK, though? No info has been up so far in US, or am I the only one missing it? You owe me an explanation.
- Another Jetsetter
Dear Jetsetter,
My third book will be out in just a few weeks, and yes, it will be published in the UK first. Expect some news soon about the US.
Not into being tied up, by the way... but thanks for being patient, girlfriend.
- TQ posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, May 12, 2008 Yasmin Alibai-Brown versus Gordon Ramsay
Yasmin A-B has a few things to say about Ramsay's latest enemy: the out-of-season strawberry, imported from God knows where...
For centuries, our island nation has been seafaring and roaming, restless and lusty, hedonistic and insatiably curious, mercantile and capitalist, unable ever to stay put. Through that history, the land periodically goes through cycles of self-pity and dread of the very things it seeks, withdrawing into itself, its cliffs becoming fortresses. Sybaritic excess is followed by puritanism; internationalism is pushed out by petty patriotism. One thing for sure, this zeal will not be followed through to its logical end for that would mean the closure of Carluccio's and tandoori houses, and even the most fundamentalist food purists would not dare tread that far.
Yes!
I don't always agree with Yasmin A-B. but when she's right, she's right. posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, May 10, 2008 Mother's Day Cont'd
What IS it about Mom? I mean the concept, not the actual person. Because I said a few irreverent things about my mother, two people have taken me to task for being the child of a heartless witch -- implying that I am the devil's spawn. But I am not, I repeat NOT, the devil's spawn. (My dad's a programmer and refers to his gig as having to do with "the black arts" -- but that, I assure you, is all smoke and mirrors. He's just my dad and my DNA's no more satanic than yours, EquivalencyDalek.) posted by Tracy Quan
The myth of the wanted child
It's Mother's Day in America, and Guardian readers are freaking out. Talk about a cultural panic:
"I can't tell you how much you've just scared me! Make it clear that you're talking about the US Mother's Day and I'm not going to be fielding a hurt phonecall from my mother tomorrow..."
"OH NO HOW AM I GOING TO GET A CARD TO THE LAKE DISTRICT."
And so on and so forth. There is nothing quite so ticklish as setting off those primal alarm buzzers -- accidentally.
I want to say that Guardian commenters are the most fun people to write for and I adore some of those user IDs. (What kind of person goes by tinfoilhoodie?? No matter, it's a great name!!)
Friday, May 09, 2008 In My Mailbox Today: a dearTQ from Paul
Tracy,
I hope you will consider not giving up on your blog. I check it fairly regularly, and if I don't check it for a while it just means things have gone insane at work. (Which they have been lately, which is why I didn't see your plan to give it up until now.)
Anyway, I hope you'll consider keeping it running. I mean, I've needed some consolation after the denouement of the Palfrey affair (it made me really depressed seeing it on the news when it happened), so it was nice to read something by you on the subject. (Although I regularly search for your articles online, I don't always find them.) Vive La Tracy Quan's Blog!
- Paul
Dear Paul,
This is fairly convincing. Except... I did not blog from July until May! Work must have been insane, but sometimes insane is good. Especially at work. But okay, I'll try this for awhile and see how it feels. Thanks for checking in.
I didn't know DJP -- didn't realize until today that she was called Jeane, rather than Deborah, by most of her friends. (Alex Jones called her Jeane. I noticed, but it took awhile for it all to sink in.) Anyway, I didn't know her but her death has caused an emotional ripple, and I guess we're part of that.
This weekend, I have a piece going up at Guardian America -- a sacrilegious take on Mothers' Day, motherhood and the myth of the "wanted" child.
- TQ posted by Tracy Quan
Friday, May 02, 2008 Deborah Palfrey Talking to Alex Jones
As many of you doubtless already know, a body believed to be that of Deborah Jeane Palfrey has been found. Although it seems possible she committed suicide, it has been reported she feared for her life from those whose public standing could be damaged by her testimony.
Whether she died by her own hand or her suicide is a cover for murder, she has been killed by the state.
We will remember her as we remember all those named and unnamed women and men who are victimised for their sexwork, till one day we all are free.
Many are questioning the official version of her death, and I was taken to task yesterday by a friend for referring to DJP's death as a suicide. At a moment like this, people who basically share some sense of loss can turn on each other. Maybe that's a way of processing death.
But you know what? Conspiracy theory is not a term in my lexicon. I wouldn't rule anything out. And neither, it seems, do a lot of New York Times readers.
I think everyone responds to a thing like this differently. A lot of us, whether we knew Deborah or not, are taking this personally. Will she come to be seen as a martyr for our cause?
I wish she had lived on to do a book about her experience, including her prison time. posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, May 01, 2008 Goodbye, Deborah Palfrey
I just heard that Deborah Palfrey has killed herself. We're all a bit shocked. She was convicted in April and sentencing was scheduled for July.
While I think of myself as a fairly upbeat person, this is daunting.
I wonder about all the people whose job it was to chase her down and ruin her life. How do these people sleep at night? posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, April 30, 2008 Something to Blog About
Today, I spoke to Charlie. "So you're GIVING UP YOUR BLOG?" he said.
"As if anyone would notice," I sniffed.
"*I* would notice."
Hmmmm. Well, I'll take that into consideration, then.
Meanwhile, I'm overjoyed to learn that the Bloomingdale's strike has been averted. I am peeved by all the disruptions taking place around 59th Street. For me, 59th and Third is the throbbing heart of Manhattan. Everything is the perfect size, nothing is too grotesque or imposing and the 20th century lives on... never change, 59th Street!
Recently, my favorite grocery store, Katagiri, underwent renovations -- fine, no problem with that idea. Katagiri has been on East 59th Street since 1907, and always looks like it was invented yesterday. That's what makes Katagiri special.
But when they re-opened, I discovered that the lunch counter has been eliminated. So you can still get all the delicious little snacks and meals, the frozen Berkshire pork belly, the fresh herring roe, the green teas (dry or bottled) from Japan, the lovely shrimp dumplings which need only a few seconds in your microwave...
But you can no longer pop into Katagiri for a piece of grilled mackerel and a bowl of perfectly executed rice on your way to pick up facial provisions and men's socks at Bloomie's.
I complained about the new state of affairs at Katagiri to my hair guru. "Yes, I know," he said. "I got over it." Got over it? I hate it when people "get over things" before I even find out what there is to get over.
When I heard that a strike at Bloomie's 59th was even a possibility, I got very serious, and ordered a two year supply of my custom face powder. Just in case. Panic buying. Anyway, I'm relieved to learn that, while I get used to Katagiri's new lay-out (yes, I will just have to get over it) - life as we know it can sort of continue. posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, April 21, 2008 What I Did Last Summer...?
Well, I had every intention of coming back in July 2007 with some Asian sex worker chit-chat, but then I disappeared on you all. I did, however, finish my new novel, start a new column, and... well, it's been quite an intense year.
I'm actually contemplating whether to continue this blog. I'm rather attached to it because it's one of the oldest blog templates in existence. When I started, I had no idea things like Permalink and Comment would be coming next. I quite like the fact that this has neither, even though I take full advantage of such features on other folks' blogs! It's just one of the many perversities I indulge in because I can. A bit like my overdue fondness for DOS and attachment to Dial-up.
For now, an update on The Guardian column which I thoroughly enjoy doing. I am a little surprised to find myself commenting on the sexual motifs in politicians' lives. For some time, my friend Michael in Toronto has been after me to devote myself to this theme. My first reaction had been that politicians are, for the most part, sexually boring. To me, politicians are a terrible snore (unless they are Pierre Trudeau -- alluring, but he's dead.) I'll never be one of those girls who throws herself at a candidate. Unlike Dina or Silda I'm incapable of getting it up for a state governor. Also, isn't a politician's private sexuality none of our business? But it turns out we can often be most opinionated about things we aren't involved in... especially things which weren't our business to start with!
Speaking of things which shouldn't be any of my business, my next Guardian column takes a look at VS Naipaul's, er, sexuality.. Snipe-All, as I like to call him, has volunteered this info, so it seems entirely okay to go there... posted by Tracy Quan
Friday, July 13, 2007 We, Asian Sex Workers: Update
This year, I'm participating in the MIX NYC Charity Auction to support Hima B.'s media training "summer school." It's a project aimed at LGBT youth. My personal reasons for doing this are discussed here.
You can bid on my mystery pics -- or those of 150 unusual suspects -- and support a fabulous LGBT cause!
Today, a piece in the Times about a Washington archeologist who recently uncovered a brothel in D.C. While searching for something entirely different...
Except for archeologists digging in the Mall a decade ago, Ms. Hall’s for-profit revels would have eluded history. The diggers uncovered volumes of broken Champagne bottles and other deluxe detritus where the three-story bordello once flourished.
At that time, he points out, " 'prostitute' was an occupation on census lists," and "pitifully nuanced defenses for the media were unnecessary."
It's worth reading, if you want to put this whole mess in perspective. posted by Tracy Quan
My take on the very shy and retiring Randall Tobias. (Did Deborah Jean Palfrey take the "anti-prostitution pledge?") Scroll down to the May 1 Podcast for my interview with Henican & White at WOR710HD. posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, May 01, 2007 Radio Interview Today: Listen Live @ 4:00 PM Eastern USA-Canada Time
I'll be on WOR710 HD later today... talking about the DC meltdown, er, madam, story. As some of you already know, a notorious anti-prostitution hack has "retired" from his job as Director of US Foreign Assistance and Administrator for USAID (US Agency for International Development)
January Magazine has just published my review of Winifred Gallagher's latest, It's In the Bag. I loved this book. Perfect prezzie for the girlfriend who has everything. Or wants to have everything -- let's not be too exclusive. It's as smart (cover and contents) as your smartest bag. posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, April 11, 2007 Don Imus and the H-Word
Well, I can't believe I missed this, but I'm finally getting up to speed on the Imus flap. He has been dismissed by NBC, for referring to a group of respectable women as HOs. The adjectives he used didn't exactly endear him to anyone.
Without taking sides here, I just have to ask: What's up with middle-aged white guys who try to incorporate the word HO into their public patter?
A notorious FOX-TV host tried this when he interviewed ME and it was simply bizarre. I mean, this was a grown man with a daughter! Unlike Imus, who was merely trying to sound with-it, this one was hoping to sound censorious as well: an uptight white guy from Long Island trying to work a two-letter word... which I myself can't use with a straight face.
Talking heads of a certain age need a good talking to. Enough with the pseudo street talk. You're only 14 once and that was a long time ago. Alas, it may be too late for Don Imus. posted by Tracy Quan
Transmission Easter was lovely. Thank you to all who came, helped out, participated, announced the event!
We had what I can only describe as interactive communion, involving matzoh and wine (grape juice for some). People gathered in groups of six to ten and each group had a Ziploc bag with a communal matzoh. There were various instructions on slips of paper, for the group to work with. Like a scavenger hunt...
Anglicans are doing it for themselves!
Bowie Snodgrass, by the way, is inspiring and fun to read. As I prepared for the event, I checked out some of her work and enjoyed, especially, a piece about life as a single seminarian in the city. I'm really glad she invited me to participate.
$pread magazine hosted a "station" where PONY gave away madeleines made in Commercy. (Madeleine is the French equivalent of Magdalen: edible and audible proof of Mary Magdalen's everyday presence in one culture's life and language...)
And this morning, I heard from Harley about this nice write-up in Metro. Lewis W. sent a scan of the piece -- I'll have it up soon. posted by Tracy Quan
Sex workers will hear confession. Everyone is welcome. I'll speak about the very long and varied career of Mary Magdalen, and I'll sign copies of my book. All proceeds will be donated to Transmission to help them recover the cost of this event.
Come to the PONY/$pread table if you can't find me.
Here's a very interesting piece of New York history, sent to me by Transmission:
Long before the notorious New York nightclub 'Limelight' was re-christened 'Avalon', the Gothic Revival structure was built as 'Holy Communion Episcopal Church' by William Augustus Muhlenberg, who later instituted a radical ministry to help brothel workers and abandoned mistresses start new lives.
Muhlenberg's Feast Day on the Episcopal Calendar of Feasts and Fasts is April 8th, which this year also happens to be Easter Sunday.
Easter at Avalon Sunday, Apr. 8th, 6-8 pm FREE Club Avalon 47 West 20th Street @ Sixth Avenue
+ Local sex workers, artists, and an underground Manhattan church combine forces to bring you an experimental Easter service at this Chelsea dance club (formerly The Limelight)
+ Come honor Mary Magdalene and celebrate one of western civilization's oldest springtime/resurrection festivals
+ All are welcome, regardless of age, gender, profession, or how many times you've been born
CURIOUS? www.transmissioning.org posted by Tracy Quan
is the title of my first novel, Manhattan Call Girl, translated into Portuguese: the sin lives next door. A nice twist on "the girl next door." There are 42 footnotes!*
Last month, on my way to the Paltalk studio, I flagged down Davidson Garret's cab. We had a nice conversation about his acting career, and how New York keeps changing. His poetry has been published in the NY Times, and his story is one lots of my friends can relate to:
Year after year, hundreds of actors, artists, writers, and musicians descend on New York City... Some get lucky very soon, and for others, destiny is not so kind. Survival work is a necessity in a city where the inflation rate multiplies by the week. King Lear of the Taxi: Musings of a New York City Actor/Taxi Driver is a philosophical glimpse at an ever-changing city in this actor's odyssey of self-revelation.
Garret has appeared in Oz and Spin City, has worked with Woody Allen, and writes about New York in a knowing understated way. It's good stuff!
He also writes about having Lauren Bacall in his cab, and meeting Mother Theresa. Order his book here.
He is reading today @ 2 PM at the Middle Village Library in Queens: 72-31 Metropolitan Avenue.
For more info, call: 1-718-326-1390
Check out his website: http://www.adventpurplepress.com
Stay tuned for news of his future readings! posted by Tracy Quan
Sunday, April 01, 2007 Alan Colmes Show: My Impressions
It's always fun to see Alan, and I've been meaning to tell him, "The website photos don't do you justice!" He's nice-looking in person.
I enjoyed meeting Matt (conservative ex porn star) and Barry (liberal comedian) in the FOX studios Friday night. What a madhouse that place is!
I was surprised when Barry started making fun of a caller who married a lady from the Philippines -- isn't Barry the liberal? (I wonder if mail-order marriages are now fair game in "liberal" circles.) During commercial break, I asked, "Why is it okay to marry someone you went to college with but not someone you met on the internet?" To my surprise, Matt agreed.
It could only get better after that.
Barry asked why a male sex worker who's into women would work in gay porn. Matt explained that gay porn pays better. In conventional porn, it's all about the women, and what does that do for the male sex worker's ego? Put another way, how many women yearn to be underpaid courtiers to some puffed up stud?
Terms like gay, straight, bisexual, cannot begin to explain the slippery nature of sex work. (Only liquid K-Y does that.) Sex workers have sex with each other or with customers because it's our job: we're not just imitating "civilian" sexuality, we practice a specifically commercial sexuality. And we can be aroused or hot in the presence of people we're not even attracted to.
I pointed out that a woman having sex with men for money doesn't necessarily "feel" hetero, and when two female prostitutes have sex, they don't necessarily feel gay. The same might apply to a male sex worker.
This is hard for civilians to accept when the sex worker's a guy. People are used to the idea that women PROVIDE sex -- whether we're dutiful wives, drunken sorority girls, or calculating prostitutes. But there's still this assumption that the male is always a "consumer." Therefore, he must be "into" the person he's having sex with. However, if he's a sex worker, the person he's into most might be HIMSELF.
There are men making a living in this industry, too, and women don't have the monopoly on sexual narcissism.
The flip side of that provider/consumer stereotype is that people wonder "How does a male sex worker get it up?" Yet they never ask whether girls have to get it up. In our own way, we do. We have to feel sexy on the job, and if we don't think we're hot stuff, it's not much fun for the consumer. So male and female sex workers have more in common than people realize.
Matt and I don't agree on everything. He's pro-Bush, I'm pro-Brazilian. And I'm not sure about his stance on gay marriage. I'm for it. I know many gay couples who pay tax and contribute, but don't have access to the benefits that come with matrimony. I'd like that to change.
Maybe we'll do another interview together. Stay tuned. posted by Tracy Quan
I just found out who my co-guests will be. Matt Sanchez, controversial blogger and Marine Corps reservist who once worked in gay porn (as Rod Majors), is tonight's Conservative.
Barry Weintraub, of Comedy Central and BBC fame, is tonight's Liberal.
What a line-up! There have been questions about whether Sanchez also worked as an escort -- he says he did NOT. Just porn, which he now disapproves of.
I look forward to meeting a brother in the sexual economy. Whether he thinks sex for pay is groovy or "poisonous", I think this will be a great experience. His Salon article is very interesting. Check it out.
I am also pleased to be meeting Barry ("Stars, Stripes, and Human Rights") but I have to admit this flapdoodle over whether Sanchez ever tricked is absurdly distracting!
Listen live online tonight 11 PM til 1 AM New York Time. posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 Tune In: Fox News Radio, Friday Night 11 PM - 1 AM(Eastern USA Time)
I'll be on The Alan Colmes Show this Friday, March 30, 11:00 pm New York Time. It's a roundtable chat that goes until 1:00 AM.
We'll take calls! Phone: 1-877-367-2526 (1-877-FOR-ALAN)
(I don't know if this number works outside of the US. I'll ask.)
**Alan has three guests: a "conservative", a "liberal", and a "wild card." It's a free-for-all current events discussion. Wish me luck, and do give us a call if you're around.
~~~ ** What's a "conservative"? What's a "liberal"? It depends where you live, right?
Take this fun quiz: http://www.politicalcompass.org
and find out which classical composer, world leader, country or party you politically resemble. posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, March 24, 2007 Manhattan Cricket & Easter Sunday
At 5th Estate, my response to Shashi Tharoor's op-ed ("Our Cricket Problem") which ran in the Friday Times: you can read my comments here and Shashi's op-ed here.
That was Friday.
On Wednesday, I met with members of Transmission, who asked me to say a few words at their Experimental Easter Service. Easter @ Avalon will celebrate Mary Magdalene "leading the way to Easter." PONY and $pread will be attending. The event is free.
I will let you know what unfolds, as it unfolds! I'm looking into the possibility of signing my books, with all profits going to Transmission. (Experiments do involve some expense, especially when there's free admission.)
The event is for anyone curious about how this ancient holiday continues to evolve in the 21st century. You need not be a fervent believer. Nor an early riser: doors open at 6 pm :)
I, for one, am interested in new-fangled approaches to Belief, especially if I do not have to adjust my owlish body clock to attend a morning service. Though I favor the more established rituals and ways, this is due more to laziness than theological ardor.
From the start, Transmission was determined to get sex workers involved in their service, and they have succeeded. There will also be Jewish participation, and Communion will involve "ancient elements of Christian worship." If I have got any of this slightly wrong, I will correct it in the next post.
Easter@Avalon 47 West 20th Street (corner 6th Avenue) New York, NY 10011 6 pm until ? (I must find out) Sunday April 8 2007 posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, March 12, 2007 Live Interview with Gary Baumgarten on Paltalk Tuesday March 13, 5 PM EASTERN USA Time/ 10 PM GMT
I will be in the PALTALK News Talk room with host Gary Baumgarten, Tuesday afternoon at 5 PM Eastern USA/Canada. That's 10 PM in the UK. 2 PM in California.
Visit http://www.paltalk.com/newstalk/ to find out more.
We'll take comments and questions from the audience, until about 6 PM (EASTERN)
Callers worldwide can use Paltalk’s voice-over-IP technology to join in the conversation. You can register here if you'd like to participate.
I'm looking forward to my first encounter with Paltalk, and Gary. He was a news director at CNN for many years, so I expect to be grilled. Recent guests and topics include Arianna Huffington, Plan B, and the New York City Council's N-word resolution.
Pierre Bayard's “How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read?” will soon be available in English. Alan Riding reports that translation rights are "under negotiation" in Britain and the US, having already been "snapped up" across Europe.
This was excellent, I thought. But wait, there's more, from the author himself.
As Bayard puts it, "there are many ways of reading a book. You can skim it, you can start and not finish it, you can look at the index. You learn to live with a book.” (My italics.)
Aha. Reading as a form of cohabitation. When I think of the happiest cohabiting couples, these turn out to be people who treat each other as Bayard would have us treat books.
So, what can we learn about HUMAN cohabitation from this approach? Well, when you live with another person, you may indeed encounter a difficult passage. A word you don't understand. The word you don't understand is easy enough to solve, but the difficult passage that wants to be read over and over again until you get it? No, actually, it doesn't.
If you get too hung up at this point, you might get discouraged too early and you'll never find out that the next passage -- the entire next chapter of your partner! -- is a breeze, filled with witty zingers, quotable gossip and bizarre insights into the human condition. So it's okay to skip ahead to the funny parts, if there are any, as if your partner were a collection of short chapters. (I'll try to avoid describing your partner as a text.)
If you don't abandon the entire text (sorry) you can always return, later, to the introduction. Having browsed your partner's index, you might find that some of the more opqaue bits are making sense now. Or you might simply decide that there are things you don't need to understand after all. (A common strategy of male "readers" when dealing with anything elusive and female.)
You make a relationship work by figuring out what purpose it serves in your life, and the same applies to your relationship with a book.
But that's not all. A book can create as much tension between two love birds as a mutual friend. That bothersome buddy your significant other keeps wanting to insert into your lives? What if that buddy is a book? "People often want their spouses and partners to share their love of a particular book. And when this happens, Mr. Bayard said, they can both inhabit a 'secret universe.' But if only one has read the book, silent empathy may offer the best way out."
So, sometimes, silence is a way of talking. To your partner. Or about books. posted by Tracy Quan
It just so happens, we're celebrating another Year of the Pig, and Synergy is our middle name. Female Chauvinist Pigs and other controversies are discussed in my current 5th Estate column, Raunch & Its Discontents.
Comments are welcome, so please feel free to join the discussion! posted by Tracy Quan
Friday, February 23, 2007 SAVE THE DATE: Weds., March 14, 2007 (New York)
SLEEPING WITH THE UPPER EAST SIDE...
at (where better?) a reading in the East Village.
Tracy Quan, who "straddles the threshold of the love-sex macroeconomic divide," will read from Diary of a Married Call Girl. Molly Jong Fast, daughter of New York City and Erica Jong, will "take us on a tour of her big fat Jewish bohemian upbringing."
Wednesday, March 14, 7-9 pm at Solas, upstairs lounge, (232 E. 9th Street, between 2nd and 3rd) New York, NY 10003 posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, February 15, 2007 Manhattan Event: $pread Benefit, Monday, February 19, 2007
Join $pread magazine for an evening of performance, featuring writers and personalities from their newest issue.
Plus, readings and multimedia performances from Diana Cage, Molly Crabapple, Melissa Ditmore, Sydni Ellis, Raven Koch, Sir Loins, Ignacio Rivera, Cristy Road, Simone Valentino, Virginia West, and emcee Astrid E. Allen.
Mingle with $pread staff and writers, win sexy prizes, and be the first to get your hands on the latest issue of $pread!
Monday February 19th, 8:00-9:30 pm Bowery Poetry Club 308 Bowery New York, NY 10012 Phone: 212.614.0505
At the foot of First Street, between Houston and Bleeker. F train to 2nd Ave or 6 train to Bleeker
Hmmmmm. So Maureen and Leon don't approve of pretty pink book jackets. And they think there's way too much light fiction in the shops. Breaking news? Not quite, but I'm a huge fan of Maureen, even when I don't agree with her.
That's what makes a great columnist. You want to know what she'll say (or do) next.
But this time, I think she's being short-sighted. And perhaps a bit disloyal to her own genre: journalism.
The most influential chick lit novel has been "Bridget Jones's Diary" which began life as... a newspaper column! At a UK broadsheet, The Independent. Chick lit has interesting roots, for this is one of the youngest of the UK dailies. It's the paper that won over a bunch of Guardian-type readers, even though it was founded by renegades from The Telegraph. When The Independent became a compact/comploid, okay... polite tabloid... others copied.
The Independent brought new energy to the UK newspaper industry and, through "Bridget Jones", made its mark on book publishing as well. It's the antithesis of the rather staid New York Times, but still. As Ron points out, there's something ironic going on.
Last year, when Bridget's diary returned to The Independent, I was obsessed with two columns: When I wasn't following Maureen in the NYT, I was following Bridget.
I loved it when (white, middle class, fully employed, 30+) Bridget couldn't figure out which boyfriend got her pregnant. Bridget's creator, Helen Fielding, made me realize how uptight and anxious we still are about paternity. Even though countless women have been in Bridget's kitten-heeled shoes. Even though we-who-know-better openly thumb our noses at Judeo-Christian morality. We still assume there's something ODD about not knowing which guy got you pregnant. Fielding makes this point without delivering a pro-sex feminist sermon. She does it with humor and with few words, because she's an artist and a journalist.
Maureen may object to Shopaholic rubbing shoulders with Shakespeare. She may think certain ideas should be segregated, but that's an artificial approach to the written word. You can't easily enforce those barriers, especially in a bookstore. And this speaks to the very essence of Bridget Jones ... who chatters about Princess Diana, Hurricane Katrina, Brangelina, July 7 bombings, whether Mum thinks she's a Winter or a Summer and, more than anything, Whether He'll Call, as if all these things were equally significant.
No coincidence, then, that chick lit = a less "bordered" feeling in the bookshops.
In her Saturday column, Maureen refers to British chick lit as a sub-section of the genre. Would you call this a dis? And if so, is the dis political? An explicitly anti-British thing? (Ireland has been called the first colony, with good reason, and I sometimes wonder if Maureen sees it that way.)
Clearly, the global thing we call chick lit originates in the UK. And that's because British publishers are very down-to-earth about what they do: books are not sacred objects, they're an everyday pleasure. And chick lit reflects that, even when it comes out of New York, Philadelphia or Atlanta -- where the idea of a sacred, self-improving text is alive and well.
Of course, there have always been books that resemble chick lit. "Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York" was/is quintessential '70s chick lit. Nancy Mitford's novels could be described as chick lit. "I Capture the Castle"(1948) is one story every chick lit freak should read. But chick lit, as I mean it, is a specific trend that got going in the '90s -- with the sales of "Bridget Jones's Diary."
What I'm getting from Maureen's column, and her conversation with Leon, is a feeling that books should be more precious and readers more aspirational. This is bizarre coming from a newspaper columnist.
As for Leon, literary editor of The New Republic, he thinks we chicks should spend less time obsessing about our hair and nails, and more time contemplating manly things like war. And yet, there is something schoolmarmish, and perhaps a little vindictive, about recommending The Red Badge of Courage to a chick lit fan. What is his point? To broaden horizons? Or to insist that reading isn't *always* for pleasure?
And surely, Maureen's recent book is a great example of sociological (or even polemical) chick lit. Granted, there is more red than pink on the cover of Are Men Necessary? --
Omigod. Is red the new pink? posted by Tracy Quan
Chickerati update
Kyra Davis responds here. I really enjoyed this! posted by Tracy Quan
Sunday, February 11, 2007 Anna Nicole Smith: Finally Someone "Gets" Her
My friend Mike Godwin sent me a link to this piece in the Washington Post. What would it be? Another irreverent pseudo-appreciation? Or just the facts?
However, when I clicked, I discovered this was neither.
Many, including women who sell sex, have mixed feelings about Anna Nicole.
New York hookers instantly recognize her as a type who would never be able to "pass" in Manhattan's polite circles. The sex worker next door she was not. But some of us envied her too -- for her financial success and her showgirl-style chutzpah.
She also made us aware of the tension between "exotic dancer" and "call girl" -- a tension that goes underground with the categorisation of us all as "sex workers."
Kennicott sees Anna Nicole, the modern courtesan, as part of a dying tradition. (I think that tradition is still doing its thing, but he's not wrong.) He points out that Anna Nicole very publicly "crossed a line." In a culture that idealizes a "happy marriage of loving equals" (Bill and Hillary, for example), Anna Nicole "made us very uncomfortable indeed."
Kennicott is also, in this piece, a gentleman -- one more cultural category that we must not take for granted. And, if this doesn't sound too hubristic, I believe that it takes a hooker to recognize one. posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, February 05, 2007 In My Mailbox Today
"What on earth is a SEX CLOWN and am I one?"
That's a one-line response to my review of Killing Johnny Fry in Washington Post Book World. posted by Tracy Quan
~~ This law is but one example of Sarkozy's "distorted vision," symptomatic of something larger. He is trying to push a center-right party farther to the right, and people have been comparing him to Napoleon. He recently won an election to lead his party in the next election. Nobody opposed him, which on the face of it suggests popularity. But only 69% of the party voted! (How typical this is for a party election, I don't know.) His anti-immigration stuff is fascinating: he's the son of an immigrant. Why doesn't this surprise me... posted by Tracy Quan
End of civilization/parenthood as we know it? Or just a harmless example of transgressive-lite?
In an effort to hunt down the URL where you, dear reader, can see this for yourself, I went Googling. I also found something on MetroDad of all places ("Poppycock from a cocky pop!") that went up almost a year ago.
Today, it seems, anyone can sport the mantle of pimphood without paying his dues. But, the real question, always lurking in the back of my mind when I encounter stuff like this... "Is it good for the sex workers?"
This remains to be seen. posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, January 15, 2007 What's Happening in the UK?
The grass is always greener. In the US, we think of Canada, Europe and the UK as zones of tolerance, at least where prostitution's concerned. Compared to us, they seem to have it better. In the UK, however, all is not rosy. There is dissatisfaction, and sometimes anger, about current prostitution laws.
I have just finished reading, in the latest issue of British Medical Journal, a very outspoken editorial from Linda Cusick and Michael Goodyear. BMJ calls on the prime minister to "show leadership and restore human rights by decriminalising all aspects of sex work now." Goodyear and Cusick argue that criminalisation limits access to health care "and contravenes United Nations' guidelines on human rights."
Also addressed are the new Swedish laws which have "influenced the UK government's philosophy" in completely wrong-headed ways. Basically, the Swedish model "criminalises men who purchase sex rather than women who provide it," a non-solution that appeals to many feminists. However, this "drives markets into more dangerous areas, as in Ipswich," the town where five sex workers were found murdered in December. Ironically, this anti-male approach makes it possible for the worst type of men to act out in more dangerous ways.
The editorial recalls "a media controversy over whether labelling [the murder victims] as prostitutes was dehumanising."
What's in a label? Recently, a group of us argued online about whether it was more appropriate to refer to the murder victims as "prostitutes" or "sex workers." (This was on a private list, so there are no links, sorry!) This may seem like semantics, but the parents of at least one murder victim had objected to the word "prostitute." One father apparently told the press, "Personally, I prefer lady of the night."
Some of us felt that "sex worker" was the only term that would do for now -- because "prostitute" carries so much negative baggage. Others felt that both terms should be used, interchangably.
To what extent should policies be shaped by the concerns of a deceased sex workers' parents? I don't think our families should be ignored at these moments -- after all, they must deal with the consequences after their offspring have died. I'd like to respect their feelings, but I think we can do this by using a flexible approach.
Sex worker is now the "safer" term; it sounds both polite and clinical. But we need to get people used to the idea that the murder of a prostitute is a serious matter. And sometimes you have to use politically incorrect language -- the uncomfortable words -- to get that across.
Meanwhile, at Fifth Estate, my UK pied a terre, we have been asked to discuss our "secret weapons of the bookshelf." Kate Hyde, our blogger-in-chief, is convinced that everybody has a "special book" that "nobody else has heard of." I was pretty convinced nobody knew of MY special book -- and I wasn't entirely wrong. But now that the secret is out, well, who knows? Could this be the start of a Milne Revival? Read about "Chloe Marr" here. posted by Tracy Quan
I'm lucky to know such wise and generous people. Thank you for contributing your Lessons of 2006. They are posted on Fifth Estate where I will soon be commenting on the issues of 2007.
If you think you've learned something that's worth sharing, please send it to me. Or, better yet, post it in the comments at 5th! posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, January 02, 2007 Reality Check '07: Dr Sketchy Meets Dr Boynton
My favorite nonfiction in 2006 was Queen of Fashion by Caroline Weber. Stay tuned for news of her paperback. I found Weber's biography of Marie Antoinette more accessible (and fun) than the Coppola movie. Though I think Coppola's flick has its moments, Weber's book is more lively. It also makes Marie Antoinette relevant to our era, and having it out in paperback will bring that point home. Reading about executions, accusations, and dresses trimmed in "Foulon’s blood" makes you ponder 21st c. democracy just a bit.
Other evidence that 2007 has begun:
Delectable Molly Crabapple was on Channel 11 this morning, discussing her new book! Dr. Sketchy's Official Rainy Day Colouring Book is a trip. THE perfect gift for the perv who has everything. She has an utterly bizarre sense of humour. Go to her next event (this Friday in Philly!) and tell her I sent you. Molly's heading toward Boston in February, then south to DC, North Carolina and Maryland. Keep tabs on Molly's book tour here.
Dr Petra Boynton has issued her Sex Predictions for 2007. Each year (well, she did it in January 06; long may this habit persist), Petra predicts the sexual trends to come. For 2007, she predicts: some newfangled thing called "super sex" (sounds too tacky for words!); more self-testing for STDs (sounds interesting?); more hype about ethical sex toys; fewer medical services for transsexuals in the UK (sounds worrying); annnnd that "prostitution will become a media favourite" (for the wrong reasons.) You can read her predictions -- and explanations -- here.
I like the way Petra re-assesses her prior beliefs, and I enjoyed her sexual summary of '06.
This year, I'm looking forward to new editions of Manhattan Call Girl in Portugal and Slovenia. And a Danish edition of Married Call Girl coming soon from Leksis in Copenhagen. ~~~
Save the date! Come back for news of my February 13th reading in downtown Manhattan. And soon I'll post an update about Mansized. posted by Tracy Quan
I'm back! No explanations! But I have returned to New York and my computer is behaving again. I apologize to all who have tried to have consistent dialogue with me in recent weeks. It has been impossible. Sorry!
Sunday, November 12, 2006 In My Mailbox: Two Manhattan Events
Email from Nomi Prins about this week's upcoming menu: "Now that Congress got a facelift courtesy of the Dems, the real work begins..."
Monday, Nov, 13th at the Actors Playhouse: 100 7th Ave. South at 7PM, the new downtown hit, News to Me, where each week, 5 opinionated people entertain the audience with their take on current events. ("This IS the New Daily Show on stage!") Followed by a game show with proceeds going to charity. Admission is $15.
Tuesday, Nov. 14th at the Gershwin: 8 PM, Neke Carson presents, in association with Michael Wiener, “Live” from the Living Room of the Gershwin Hotel, 7 East 27th Street (Madison/5th)... an interactive conversation about where the country goes from here. Following a reading from JACKED: How 'Conservatives' Are Picking Your Pocket(whether you voted for them or not). Admission is $10. posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, November 08, 2006 Post-Election: après Mardi, le déluge
My desk faces a large UV-proofed window, and I have a great view of the Manhattan sky -- not the skyline, mind, just the sky. (I once had a 29th floor view, and yes, I see ...saw... the appeal, but this feels more interesting. And more exclusive, too. Only a few neighbors see what I see -- a strange architectural "folly" on a roof across the way, looking vaguely like an homage to ancient Rome; a pseudo-courtyard which I have no access to; lots of windows into other people's lives. Which would be claustrophobic if it weren't for that big patch of infinite up there. Somtimes, it's so bright and sunny, I have to close the blind in order to sit at my desk. I'm grateful for the sunproof glass (which others moan about because you can't grow plants on this side of the building.) Today, however, there's no sunshine -- it's raining hard in New York, one of those steady downpours that makes you sleep in. In fact, I was awoken by the man from Fresh Direct, bearing frozen peaches, lady apples and other necessities.
But my point, and I do have one, is: THANK GOD it didn't rain like this yesterday!
Who knows what might have happened around here? I rarely get excited or nervous about local elections, but this time I felt involved. As I recall, our former Mayor Giuliani was first elected on a rainy day. (I had very mixed feelings about a regular who arrived late for his appointment because he simply HAD to vote. He -- the regular -- was a nice fellow but there are some things I don't need to know. I mean, that he voted for Giuliani. Still, it does us no good to be surrounded ONLY by people we agree with. And yes, I genuinely believe that.)
I'm delighted with the results in New York! Hevesi, Spitzer, and so on. The Democrats have taken back New York State, after 12 years of the mind-numbingly awful Pataki, a governor I never liked, and I disliked him even more after his appalling performance during last year's Transit strike. My political sympathies have always zig-zagged (left to right to middle...) because I also dislike the excesses of socialism.
I've come to feel that the free market can withstand a certain amount of hostile tinkering from the left, as long as things don't get out of hand. And so-called conservatives (whether local or federal) are as meddlesome and dangerous as some communists, perhaps more, actually.
So, YAY!! re: the elections! Thank you for not raining on Tuesday, whomever you are. We definitely needed this outcome.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006 Election Day Round-Up: & Save the Date!
Nation:Nomi Prins, author of JACKED is planning a very cool post-election happening at the Gershwin next Tuesday, November 14. It all starts at 7:00 PM. You can read her comments on today's vote here. Hope to see you at Gershwin next Tuesday -- details will be posted here soon! ~~
World: Yesterday, Ian Williams (the Deadline Pundit) posted a link to this picture, along with some interesting advice for the Democrats: "should be on every Democratic candidate's web site and election material" to remind voters of who actually started the disastrous current war in Iraq. Read it here. ~~
New York: Eliyanna's Election Day Email is wonderfully direct. "As a State employee who is marrying my same-sex partner THIS WEEKEND, it matters to me a very great deal that Hevesi or another progressive Democrat is Comptroller... VOTE ALAN HEVESI FOR MY PENSION IF NO OTHER REASON!!!!!" Eliyanna realizes that a lot of people just don't know "what to do about State Comptroller" because of the controversy surrounding Alan Hevesi.
This, however, has been sorted -- in favor of Hevesi. "1. He's been a good Comptroller for New York; 2. Chris Callaghan (his Republican challenger) is not progressive, and does not have enough experience for a job of this magnitude; 3. If he's elected and then resigns or is forced to step down - either way - a Democrat will replace him."
MOST IMPORTANTLY, she points out: "4. Alan Hevesi is very LGBT friendly, and a few years ago he decided that the state pension fund would honor out of state same-sex marriages (from Canada, Massachusets, Spain, etc.) for the purposes of the pensions of New York State employees."
There's a few hours left! See you next Tuesday and vote for Hevesi! posted by Tracy Quan
Unless you're Ursula Brooke. I am loving UB's memoirish column in this week's New York Press: a '70s call girl who describes her past as "Boogie Nights without the palm trees." Wonderful, funny first-person take on New York prostitution pre-Nancy Chan. It's street smart and real. A must for lovers of Manhattan.
When Crawford made this comment about 17-year-old girls, he was still head of the FDA. Shortly after that, he resigned. Possibly because of some conflicts regarding his job and his investments.
Granted, the regulations affecting a man in his position are much harder to follow than the instructions on a packet of birth control pills.
Perhaps, while weighing the difference between Syscos, Walmart and Merck, he felt like a girl comparing coitus interruptus with -- well, god only knows. posted by Tracy Quan
I'm tickled to find that I'm part of this week's line-up on 5th Estate -- the groovy new blog hosted by Kate Hyde and Harper Collins in the UK. And I'll be posting there on a regular basis, so please do consider making fifthestate one of your permanent bookmarks!
Other fifthestate bloggers include Giorgio Locatelli (yum, I am actually quite hungry right now, so I can't bear to read the latest food essay, it is just too mouth-watering) and Karen Armstrong, an author I admire a great deal. I always read her opinion pieces (when/where ever I stumble across them) and find her work quite thought-provoking. posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, October 04, 2006 Foley's Follies, Re-examined
Well, the Foley scandal is yielding some very interesting stuff!
In today's NYT, a spicy op-ed by Jonathan Turley. His stint as a House leadership page in the '70s sounds quite colorful. Referring to "sexual deviants", "predators" and "pedophiles" (even though he is actually talking about situations involving 17-year-olds!!), he calls for a new system that will protect "our pages" from Washingtonian depravity. He mentions one Gerry Studds who refused to apologize in 1973 for having a relationship with a male over the age of consent. Given that Turley is a law professor, I am (to say the least) intrigued by this reference. What exactly is he trying to say here? About the age of consent, I mean. Should it be raised to 30? Could definitions of pedophilia be extended to include offenses against the "inner child" as well?
John Tierney asserts that pages are Washington's modern serfs -- the politician class being roughly equivalent to the feudal lords who once took "droit du seigneur" for granted. But previous scandals were about actually having sex with pages, whereas "the current one so far doesn’t involve physical contact."
And in my mailbox, some wry commentary from my friend Charles: "Now Bush and the Republican leadership are huffing and puffing that 'these children must be protected.' The only one who seemed to understand what was going on was an NPR commentator who said how slippery adolescent identity is, commenting that when an adolescent commits some horrendous crime (of which there is no scarcity) there is an outcry that they be tried as adults."
Hmmmm. Yeah. How about that? posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, September 30, 2006 Caught Snooping!
Golly, L'Affaire Pirro is just what the public needs, to take its mind off more serious Republican offenses. Jeanine (who always struck me as a rather INTENSE personality, you wouldn't want to cross her) has been discovered with her ear glued to the door, so to speak. The Times asks whether men get away with this sort of snooping more often than women do -- I'm not kidding. And one Karen Trindle told NYT that we ladies "are expected to have cleaner records than men.” Okay. This MAY be true. But any woman worth her salt can snoop in her sleep and never be detected. So who's kidding whom?? Clever women snoop every day -- it becomes second nature -- without ever confronting their partners. Instead, the information is put aside -- saved for a rainy day, like money in an ING account. You never know when your secret stash of intellectual property will be needed. So, don't spend the evidence right away. Sit on it.
Snooping is not always malicious. Sometimes the results are benign, though angry snoops give all snoops a bad name.
Only the shrewd should snoop. Confronting your wandering mate with evidence of wrong-doing is usually just a dramatic break-up strategy. If you're sneaky enough to snoop, end the romance enigmatically. It's far more sadistic.
And snooping on infidelity shows a lack of imagination. There are so many other things you need to know about your mate. Think about it. posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, September 28, 2006 Occupational Hazards
Thank you, NYRB, for publishing this eloquent letter from Hans Koning, about the intricate relationship between a sailor's life and a prostitute's job. And we can read it online, whether or not we subscribe. How cool.
Anorak's Delight: In My Mailbox This Week
I have just received my contributor's copy of Prostitution and Pornography: Philosophical Debate about the Sex Industry, edited by Jessica Spector, published by Stanford. Jessica has done a splendid job, with a TOC divided into four sections: Critiques of the Sex Industry; Liberalism & Prostitution; Liberalism & Pornography; and, finally -- The Limits of Liberalism. Fellow contributors are from the ivory tower (Ronald Dworkin, Catharine MacKinnon, Martha Nussbaum, for example) and the flesh trade. (Norma Jean Almadovar, Theresa Reed and Julian Marlowe have all been involved with the sex indy in various ways.) It's a quirky, but solid, collection of 18 different (mostly American) voices. Ronald Dworkin's essay is a classic. Theresa "Darklady" Reed sheds new light on "porn vs. hooking." And Julian's piece, "Thinking Outside the Box: Men in the Sex Industry" is worth the price of admission.
A must for all sex anoraks. Urge your library to order it today. posted by Tracy Quan
McClelland & Stewart celebrated its 100th birthday at the NY Public Library on Tuesday. We drank Ontario wine, inveighed against homework (Sara Bennet says it's reaching epidemic levels) and discussed Canadian identity. (Is there any other kind?) Douglas Gibson and Avie Bennet were charming.
Nancy Chan's Canadian godfather, Doug Pepper, was in excellent form!!
At the French Institute, later that evening, Caroline Weber was erudite on the subject of Marie Antoinette's "crossdress for success" strategy. I came home from the reception and crawled into bed with Caroline's gripping new biography, Queen of Fashion. My poor brain was buzzing with anxiety, excitement, curiosity, as well as champagne. The line was so long, I couldn't stay to get my copy signed, and the event was sold out. Whatever one might say about Marie Antoinette's fate, people do care about her -- or her story. Perhaps we identify with her mistakes and dilemmas, about which more later. Some of us may even identify with her outfits!
Wednesday night, PONY threw a party for the (complete!) release of an important new reference work. The Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work, edited by Dr. Melissa Ditmore, has just been released by Greenwood Press. The back room at Botanica was packed with EOP contributors, PONY members and various friends of the cause, all hoping to win a copy of the two-volume work in a raffle -- billed as a Librarian's Wet Dream ($225 value.)
Rebecca from Human Rights Watch won first prize. Although a contributor to the EOP, she hadn't yet been able to buy a copy so was thrilled to finally see her work in print. Others in the same boat clustered around the lucky winner and examined their entries.
The EOP is expensive but worth it: please encourage your favorite library, research facility or university instructor to order.
Next prize was a delightful and original art print by Molly Crabapple. Finally, a man I know only as John (well, somebody has to be called John) won a gift certificate donated by Come Again Erotic Emporium, home of the hypoallergenic vibrator. (Whether pro or amateur, you will find all your bedroom essentials at 353 East 53rd Street, near First Ave, in Manhattan. For store hours, call 212-308-9394.)
DJ Mr Fine Wine played numerous erotic-commerce anthems, including that PONY fave, Shorty the Pimp by the Larks.
Big thank you to Helen Wolff of Come Again for her generous donation and for making the evening special with free condoms. Of course, no PONY event is complete without free condoms! posted by Tracy Quan
There is nothing like a convert or a reformed sinner who has turned her life around.
Now that I have discovered the joys of TINY URLing, I think shrunken URLs should be mandatory. I may have posted or pasted horrendously long URLs in the past but no more will this occur. I am not ashamed of my past (though perhaps I should be); nor am I puffed up with pride over my newfound wisdom. But I have seen the light and ... IT IS TIME FOR EVERYBODY ELSE TO SEE THE SAME LIGHT AS WELL.
Tinyurl.com is my new best friend. posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, September 16, 2006 The Jacked Party on Thursday night was a delight! Author Nomi Prins looked great but frankly, that's no surprise. We snacked on a politically charged menu of witty alcohol blotters ("Pigs in Your Pocket") and right-on appetizers ("Shooting Quail") created by Marc Alvarez.
It was an eclectic political mix. Mingling with our usual suspects (Democrats, Republicans), were members of IWW aka Wobblies), the NY Conservative Party and PONY (Prostitutes of NY.)
MANY thanks to the one and only Andrea Piccolo for making this night memorable (in a good way) and to the fantastic ladies from Bluestockings Books. posted by Tracy Quan
In today's NY Times, a rather muddled piece about how naughtiness (very broadly defined) leads to higher standards of cleanliness. Yes, hookers have known this for eons. We are always washing up -- before, after, even during, if we can get away with it -- but I'm pretty sure this is for practical or aesthetic reasons, and health reasons, as well.
However, the researchers assume that "liars, cheats, philanderers and murderers" are all tidying up for emotional reasons, to wash away their sense of guilt. Maybe this is true, but something tells me there are practical choices being made when, say, a philandering spouse takes an extra long shower. Shouldnt we distinguish between the transgressor who wants to avoid getting caught and the transgressor who uses antiseptic wipes as a kind of emotional talisman?
Instead of lumping sexual sins in with all the others -- stealing, false rumors, killing -- it would have been interesting to focus on sexual transgressors of all kinds. Do the cleansing habits of a prostitute differ from those of a civilian adulterer? In what way? Besides frequency, I mean.
What else is missing from this piece? Notably absent are people who imagine themselves to be more virtuous than average sinners. If guilt-ridden cheaters and liars are always washing their hands, does it follow that a Goody-2Shoes is LESS attentive to hygeine? And who would you rather be intimate with? A person so virtuous that he forgets to wash his hands? Or a scoundrel with spic and span habits? posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, September 11, 2006 If you're a sex worker of any kind, anywhere in the world you just might want to contact Judy Dunaway! She started this amazing new project, SWIRL webcasting, which sounds... so cool! You can read more about Judy's life and work here. She's a composer based in Boston who has worked with my friends Annie Sprinkle and Diane Torr. Check it out -- get involved. She's working with all languages, all regions -- let's make this an international project.
Jacked in NYC Nomi Prins has just published a new book! She'll read from "Jacked" on Wednesday, September 13, at Demos in New York, 12:15 - 1:45pm. Call 212-633-1405 x533 to RSVP. Or register here. The topic: how those so-called "conservatives" -- a highly misunderstood term which means something different every day -- are picking your pocket "whether you voted for them or not." Tories these are not. Where HAVE all the Tories gone? And what happened when the neos came to power? Nomi explores this from a US perspective in her new book.
I see that David Cameron has found it convenient to not-be-a-neocon today. What's up with that? And last month, we had him disavowing apartheid which enraged his elders and betters. The month before that, one word: hoodies! He just sounds more and more appealing every day, it must be a trick. I'm going to ask Nomi to comment on this phenomenon, among other things. Maybe on her blog, maybe on this blog. Who is the American David Cameron? Is there such a person?
Try it now, you long-winded pest! Me, I am a Tiny Come Lately. I just discovered the existence of this miracle, the Tiny URL, courtesy of my dad who is pathologically subtle. Not for him the direct approach. He kept sending me these Tiny URLs, and eventually I figured out on my own that this too could be mine. Until tonight, I had no idea that Tiny URLs were available to all. Bless! When a pal emails you a six-line URL? And you try to open it just to be friendly? Because look at all the trouble they went to? And you're not as efficient a paster as you thought you were? Don't you just hate when that happens??? And how about the friend who can't even figure out how to paste your TWO-line URLs? One visit to TinyURL.com could change your entire way of life. You know who you are...
Walmart Does Fashion Week I've always known there was something suspiciously kneejerk about my Walmart-hating friends. Then, I read about those white protesters in the midwest who were trying to banish Walmart from their suburb -- because it would bring too many dark-skinned people into the area -- and felt rather smug. "Just look who you found yourself in bed with! Ha! Not QUITE what you had in mind..." But I resisted the urge to crow because I, too, have found myself in bed ... well, never mind whom with. When it comes to the bed fellows thing, we're all revisionists. So now I stumble across this rather edgy Fashion Week piece by Trebay in the NY Times on the democratization of fashion. Of course, it's about Walmart: "Fashion is not just for a chosen few who have front-row seats in some elite tent somewhere." Emperor's new clothing line? Legitimate populist fashion statement? Help me out here. posted by Tracy Quan
I'm talking to Petra and Dotun on BBC Five Live at 2:30 am GMT Friday 9/01. If you're tuning in live from New York, Montreal, or similar, it's 9:30 pm Eastern USA/Canada Thursday 8/31. If you're near Los Angeles or Vancouver, it'll be 6:30 pm Thursday!
To listen live, go to BBC Five Live: www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive
We'll talk about relationships: are you in a snit over Notorious New Findings about ambitious wives? Are ambitious chicks better in bed? Or just too busy to have sex (with our partners)? You can email, call or text the show with your thoughts! I welcome all calls, questions, criticism. We'll also discuss prostitution and the recent AIDS conference but you knew that already.
If you're not awake during this tantalizing chatfest, you can listen again.
Up All Night is one of my favorite shows! I'm looking forward to it. posted by Tracy Quan
But lap dancing is just one aspect of the problem. He also cites air fares, post-wedding brunches and group baseball games. posted by Tracy Quan
Sunday, August 20, 2006 The Situation in Bangladesh
A sex workers collective in Bangladesh had 20 drop-in centers, providing sex ed, literacy ed, a place to wash and rest for up to 5,000 streetwalkers. Read about why they were closed. posted by Tracy Quan
Richard Ingham writes about the scene at the Global Village, "one of the most vibrant features of the global AIDS conference, a sprawling event held every two years that this year has drawn a record 21,000 people." And says nice things about my reading at the Stiletto Lounge! Read it here. posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, August 17, 2006 Conference Update: Interventions R Us
On Tuesday, I had drinks with Cheryl Overs, Australian founder of the NSWP, who couldn't wait to tell me about her ships-in-broad-daylight encounter with Bill CLinton at the conference center: "I saw Clinton walking towards us and called out, 'Bill! Don't you want to have sex with ME?!' and he smiled which means yes, as far as I'm concerned. All these women were cheering and egging me on. But his minders came between us..."
Cheryl is SUCH a redhead.
On Monday, Kartini Slamah (Malaysia) had a more serious confrontation with the other Bill. When Bill and Melinda came to the sex workers' networking zone, Tini took them to task for their inexcusable behavior: Mr and Mrs Gates have been supporting "rescue" raids by funding organizations which kidnap prostitutes. A big theme at this conference has been public and vocal rejection of forced rehabilitation and the brothel raids which are billed as "rescue" missions. Yes, the NSWP does support programs that provide other options for prostitutes -- without kidnapping, imprisoning or deporting us. The slogan seen on T-shirts everywhere is: "Don't talk to me about sewing machines, talk to me about sex workers' human rights." I was told that, in many cases, prostitutes are kidnapped, put into a factory and even forced to pay for their own sewing machine! Just another form of debt bondage, actually, not so different from the kind of debt bondage practised in some brothels. But these nefarious organizations get away with behavior that would land many brothel owners in jail.
I believe Bill and Melinda have their hearts in the right place -- but they should be more mindful of where their money is being spent. And they shouldn't let their handlers mislead them: prostitutes aren't as expendable or as easy to silence as they think. I've met sex workers from Thailand, Camnbodia, India, and elsewhere who are furious about these rescue raids. This is an amazing conference. I'm going back to the Global Village this afternoon -- see you in the Stiletto Lounge! posted by Tracy Quan
in the Global Village sex worker zone is cozy, well-managed and full of surprises! A bit like a brothel. I popped in yesterday with my host and dear friend Tim who (like me) grew up in Ottawa. Like most heterosexual Ottawa lads, Tim has an appreciating radar for ...certain aspects of Montreal. Within minutes of arriving in the lounge and surveying the scenery, he was installed on a couch conveniently near the girls from Stella, which is our Montreal sex worker group. Five Montreal hotties were sitting in a circle collating conference schedules and hookers' rights lit, right under Tim's nose. It was endearing! posted by Tracy Quan
Friday, August 11, 2006 AIDS 2006 Participants: Affordable Beauty Supplies!
If (like me) you left your favorite shampoo or hair spray at home, you will need to visit Cosmetic World at 623A Yonge Street (nearest subway is Bloor-Yonge.) They carry every product line under the sun including Rusk, which is hard to find in Toronto. For store hours, call: 416-964-6188. Stock up on brushes and other basics. posted by Tracy Quan
AIDS 2006: Floor Plan
For a floor plan of the Global Village, try: http://globalvillage.aids2006.org/admin/images/upload/1034.pdf
On Wednesday Aug 16 at 4:00 pm, I will be in the Sex Worker Networking Zone. The Sex Worker Zone is next to the South Asian Networking Zone - look for booths #805-807. posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, August 10, 2006 AIDS 2006 Update
If you're visiting Toronto for AIDS 2006 and need to exchange currency, I've been advised that the best rates are to be found at BENDIX. After looking around, I have to agree. $100 USD was exchanged at $111 CDN today.
Bendix is at 100 Adelaide Street (near Bay Street), open 9am - 4pm, on the street level.
I love Toronto!! posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, August 09, 2006 Scandalized in South Africa
What: A saucy reading from "Diary of a Married Call Girl" to benefit sex workers' rights! I will be signing paperback editions of both Nancy Chan novels ("Manhattan Call Girl" and "Married Call Girl.") All profits from book sales will be donated.
When: Wednesday, August 16, 2006 4:00-4:30 pm
Where: AIDS 2006 Conference, Global Village Sex Work Zone, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building Hall, Toronto, Canada
Free: This is a free event, open to the public. You do not have to be a conference delegate to visit the Global Village!
Why: A signed copy, personally inscribed, is THE perfect souvenir of this year's international AIDS conference. Autographed Call Girl diaries = special birthday or graduation gift for that subversive someone. And each book sale benefits a v. good cause.
Who benefits: We're splitting the profit portion equally. Locally, we will donate to Maggie's, the Toronto Prostitutes' Community Service Project. The other half will be donated to the Network of Sex Work Projects.
If you're attending this year's international AIDS confab and wish to reserve a copy, feel free to drop me a line! tq@tracyquan.net posted by Tracy Quan
Think of that extraordinary moment when Moll Flanders tells us of being carried to Newgate, ‘that horrid Place!’: for the invisible, anonymous author this was recollection, not invention.
Darklady has written to confirm that the conversation will re-broadcast at 12:01 am (Eastern USA) Sunday August 6, which means 5:01 am (GMT)on Sunday August 6, if you are in the UK. So basically, this will feel like Saturday night if you're in New York!
It will air again on Monday, August 7, 12:01 am (Eastern USA.)
This blog is up and running again. Thanks for your patience, people.
Gossip
Here's the latest news from Galleycat regarding Maura Moynihan's book launch ("Covergirl.") I had a fabulous time! Also spotted: Emmy-winner Howard ("Help Me!") Thompson and ... the one and only Neke Carson.
Noonerisms
Darklady's gonna re-broadcast our conversation, Weds. August 2 at noon (Eastern USA) or 5:00 pm (GMT.) You can listen here: YNOTRADIO.com
If you miss it, tune in again at midnight on Saturday, August 5, or midnight on Sunday August 6.
I know. Midnight dates can be so confusing. Is it Friday night going into Saturday? Or, um... I'll find out and get back to you. Stay tuned! posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, July 29, 2006 Weekend Worrier
Apologies for those who have been trying to stay up to date via my blog. And many thanks to those who drew my attention to various anomalies. The weekend has not been kind to my blog and we are fixing the problems! Thank you for your patience and support. posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, July 27, 2006 Breaking News
from Kerala: My first Indian edition of "Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl," has been translated into Malayalam. I wrote this introduction especially for the new edition which is being published this week:
~~~Kerala Comes to New York~~~
This Indian edition of my first novel is a 'love child', conceived in New York City, the product of a surprisingly chaste but happy union.
I am grateful to Gay Men's Health Crisis, Prostitutes of New York and the Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center for introducing me to Subhash Thottiparambil in the fall of 2003. His New York University lecture on sex work in Kerala attracted many local sex workers including me and helped to invigorate our branch of the prostitutes' rights movement. I didn't realize I was also meeting the man who would bring about my first Indian edition by translating my story from English into Malayalam.
Subhash is a remarkable advocate for prostitutes' human rights throughout India. His visits to New York are deeply appreciated: in these difficult times, sex workers in the U.S. are in danger of becoming isolated, of being misunderstood in other countries.
But prostitutes from different continents have a lot in common. Wherever we live, we rely on our bodies, using ingenious methods -- sometimes comical, sometimes perverse or illegal -- to survive. Like sex workers in India, we in the U.S. worry about health, safety, beauty, age -- in other words, economics. Prostitution is a venerable tradition but prostitutes are always adapting to new conditions and situations.
Subhash was determined to publish my book in Kerala. In 2004, while translating this story, he received and delivered sad news: Sabira, a pioneering sex worker and member of the Vanitha Society in Kozhikode, Kerala, had died of AIDS.
One of the first to declare "I am a sex worker," at a public meeting in the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram, Sabira was also the first to obtain a National Human Rights Commission enquiry based on a sex worker's complaint of police abuse. Despite many hardships, she was a memorable presence at the National Sex Workers' Conference in Kolkotta and at the Festival of Pleasure in Thiruvananthapuram.
This book is fondly dedicated to Sabira. posted by Tracy Quan
"Competition is hard in this profession... Interestingly, there are castes and levels among hookers and they distinguish on the basis of their own rules and ethics."
Married Call Girl was recently reviewed on IBNLive.Com, a new Indian website partly backed by Turner International.
On Thursday July 27th between 5:00-6:00 pm (Eastern USA Time) I'll be chatting (live!) with the one and only Darklady. We will schmooze for about 45 minutes, somewhere in that hour, so tune in. I think there's a chat room you can join as well. And if you miss the live broadcast, she plans to air our conversation: 12 noon (Eastern USA Time) on Wednesday, August 2. Then Saturday, August 5 and Sunday August 6 at midnight (Eastern USA.) posted by Tracy Quan
For my NY readers: I want to tell you that London has been in the grip of a record heat wave. Overwhelming because very few environments are air-conditioned. And what is described as "New York style air-conditioning" by some Londoners is more like part-time AC to us. But then again, air conditioning is very bad for your complexion. Or so I tell myself when I find myself in these situations.
It may seem odd that, in the middle of this heat wave, I chose to indulge in my guiltiest pleasure. I. Am. Totally addicted. To Brora cashmere hoodies! Maybe I just need love and understanding. Or could I be a candidate for rehab? Of course these are summer cashmeres -- designed for balmy August nights -- but, in this kind of weather, you wouldn't want to be a Mongolian goat unless you were completely bald.
Highlights
I've had a number of yummy meals and questionable excursions while here. I will try to recapture this in chronoloical order.
Dinner at the Hoxton Apprentice in Hackney with an insider who explained their philosophy to me over olives. Local youth from the hood work alongside experienced professionals (executive chef is Pru Leith!) This is a charming alternative to outright gentrification (cynical displacement of local culture.) Hoxton Apprentice is located in a spacious square (Hoxton Square) which seems to be a massively popular dining/drinking magnet. I had a rather nice meal: Cream of garlic soup, steamed sea bream, and mashed potatoes with spring onions accompanied by... various wines (whites and pinks.) We opted to sit inside but if al fresco is your thing, this is your venue.
Nearby is a feminist-style sex shoppe called Sh! to which (according to my companions) males are admitted Only If Accompanied. I spotted my friend Candida Royalle's vibrator line and couldn't resist the urge to name-drop. I, personally, feel that vibrators need rationing -- but that's an editorial for another day.
The questionable part of the evening came after dinner, when we all went to Brixton and ended up at a place called The Fridge drinking absinthe. I can see why it drove poets mad. Not sure I want to endorse the absinthe vogue. (It is very big in Toronto, as well.) Once a philosopher, twice ... er, whatever!
I had a lovely meal at Como Lario on Holbein Place. Kudos to Ch. for discovering and to PR for remembering. Veal chop milanese highly recommended! And a very nice lunch at Osteria dell'Arancio (Kings Road) to which I'm becoming rather attached. A cozy meal at Buona Sera (also on the Kings Road) in one of their upstairs tables. You have to climb up a ladder to get upstairs... and the tables are tucked away, each with an individual ladder. Okay, you had to be there because I can see that this sounds precarious -- but it's very pleasant and the food is neighborhood Italian comfort food. The upstairs tables are just right for eating _a deux_. Downstairs for a larger group.
A truly scrumptious and convivial lunch was had at The River Cafe, which is quite gorgeous! My hosts very graciously plied me with strawberry prosecco, a gateway aperitif if ever there was one.
We sat in the garden under umbrellas, where I had a grilled chicken that was entirely perfect. I will say that, in Manhattan, chicken is viewed with suspicion by cooks and customers alike. The people who order it get no respect, the chicken itself... well, anyway. I have NEVER had a piece of chicken this good at any New York restaurant. Make no mistake, I have had some decent chicken dishes in my hometown.
But this free-range chicken lingers in my brain and will continue to do so for a long time.
My sense of chronology is shot, I'm afraid. One afternoon, but I can't remember which one, I made plans to meet an email pal from the IUSW (International Union of Sex Workers.) She's one of the founders and I had never actually seen her before, so naturally we decided to rendez-vous under the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus.
We hit it off immediately over sushi at Mitsukoshi, and then had quite good pastries at Maison Bertaux in Soho. Initially, we talked about law reform, marginal identity, and trafficking. Soon enough, we were discussing the best way to clean tea cups and champagne glasses.
Take a normal rectangular sponge and cut it into lengthwise strips for the champagne flute. Works like a dream! Cut into a small square or triangle for china tea cups. This is the best way to really banish those lipstick traces... an efficient redesign of an everyday item. And gives you such a feeling of control.
A well-known ex-pat columnist once told me that conversations between writers always end up being about sex and money. You would be surprised how often conversations between sex worker activists end up being about discontinued china patterns! Links and more to follow in a few hours. posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 More London News
My visit to Notting Hill Waterstone's was a delightful experience! A big thank you to those who dropped in before, during and after. And to Mark Farley for making everything go smoothly, and for showing me around Notting Hill.
After the book-signing, I had a late lunch at Geale's. Very peaceful and pretty. Get a table in the afternoon looking out onto the street which is incredibly clean and calm. The crab leek pie was tasty! As was the riesling I had with Mark an hour later.
Pictures from the afternoon will soon appear... I've been away from the web (and email) since Saturday, so please be patient if you are waiting for a reply from me.
Signed Copies of Married & Manhattan
are also at Waterstone's, Notting Hill Gate, 39-41 Notting Hill Gate, London W11
and at Borders Express, Fulham Broadway, London SW6 Tel: 020 7386 5451 open late until 10 pm most nights
Just heard
...that news of my next novel has appeared on this site. posted by Tracy Quan
Friday, July 14, 2006 Party Girl
Wednesday night was the annual Harper Collins Author party at the Serpentine. We stood behind a gigantic white structure which looks like a hot air balloon or a post-modern minaret, depending on how your mind works. Because of the weather, everyone pretty much gathered at the outside bar in their shades until the sun went down. I drank slightly too much champagne. Finally, I managed to position myself near the exit used by the catering staff and snagged a few delicious battered prawns. Also available were little mountains of accessible bangers served with a, what else, mashed potato "dipping sauce." It turns out to be a fairly efficient, hygienic finger-food item.
I had a fabulous time and can't remember all the names of people I spoke to. It's really embarrassing. I ran into John Walsh who interviewed me last year and met, for the first time, the one and only...
Doris Lessing. Though her back was turned to me, I recognized the iconic grey bun and thought, could that possibly be?? I was utterly tongue-tied and in a state of shock. However, when I was introduced, she was quite lovely and down to earth. I told her how I had first encountered her as a teenager, overhearing my mother and stepfather arguing about her Martha Quest books (a/k/a the Children of Violence series.) As I recall, their voices were a bit frosty and tense. My stepdad (an Iris Murdochfreak) was trying his best to be a literary snob about my mother's taste in fiction. La Lessing wanted to know who won, and of course, I don't think anybody wins those kinds of disagreements. At best, they are stand-offs.
Later, at 15 or 16, I fell in love with The Golden Notebook which, DL told me, was badly abused by critics when it first came out.
The high point of the evening came during a speech about the previous occupations of this year's Harper Collins authors... when Doris Lessing ... PATTED MY BUM, and said, rather mischievously, "former high-class what?" At which point, I wittered, "Oh but... I was actually middle class..."
I guess it was the champagne wittering. But I was so excited that, when I got back to my guest room, I started texting people in New York about the unexpected... encounter.
The next night, I attended a girls' night out at the St Martin's Lane Hotel organized by the fabulous Lizzy Kingston. Bearing in mind how tipsy one can get on champagne and finger food, I fortified myself with croissants from the Bluebird Epicerie and a reaaaally delicious salmon cake. Plus their excellent (homemade) tartare sauce. This is definitely what you want to have one hour before your next cocktail party. After two caipirinhas, a lychee elderflower Collins and a bellini, I was as sober as a judge. It would be indiscreet to name all my drinking companions but I do thank Lois from Kensington High Street for the correct spelling of Jeffrey's name! posted by Tracy Quan
I've had a lovely day and am now at an internet cafe on Kensington High Street, having just signed some books at Waterstone's on Ken High Street -- hello Geoffrey!
Selfridges, Oxford Street, Book Dept is in the basement next to Travel
Books Etc, across from Selfridge's, Oxford Street
Waterstone's, 311 Oxford Street
Borders, 203 Oxford Street
Hatchards, 187 Piccadilly
Waterstone's, 203 Piccadilly
Borders, 122 Charing Cross Rd
Many thanks to Eran, Julia, Marek, Abigail, Caroline, Dee, Graham, AND OF COURSE LIZZY! More news soon... posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, July 03, 2006 Tune in this afternoon!
Between 5:00 and 5:30, New York time, today Monday July 3, I'll be on WOR with Ellis Henican. We're discussing married call girls, absentee husbands, and other aspects of modern marriage. If you've been reading the local tabloids, you know what this is about! If you haven't... well, tune in.
Listen live: http://www.wor710.com Henican & White: http://www.wor710.com/henican_white.shtml posted by Tracy Quan
World Cup Reality-Check
Live (well, almost) from Berlin!
According to the New York Times, World Cup hysteria about soccer leading to sex trafficking turned out to be... hysteria. So-called "experts" who predicted a great big surge in paying customers (while spinning phobic tales about flesh importers and exotic sex slaves) were simply wrong.
The spectre haunting Germany -- hordes of sloe-eyed exotics overwhelming the mattresses of Fortress Europe -- did not come true. Germany's home grown sex workers barely have any business!
On sex work discussion lists, everybody has been in a snit for weeks. One colleague told me she was worried about whether the children of sex workers in Germany would be able to eat! The NY Times which is often (though not always) late to report on sex trends, has this to say: "Maybe they went out to a pub and drank instead."
Hmmm. Soccer fans are not the libidinous monsters anti-prostitution campaigners had hoped, feared or imagined. (I'm never sure which verb to use with these people -- there's a little bit of everything going on.)
A surge in tourism does not necessarily lead to big business for the sex trade. Or for other service industries.
In 2005, Christo's overhyped project (The Gates -- described by one serious windbag as "pure powerful magic") attracted loads of visitors to New York. Prostitutes and cab drivers told me they were neither impressed nor affected by the influx. In cities like New York and Berlin, tourism's an important factor. But people are incredibly naive about how it affects the economy (or doesn't) and how tourists stack up next to other kinds of travellers. It's possible that guest workers (read: migrants) do as much or more for a city's economy than tourists do; it's also been argued that business travellers are more helpful to New York than tourists. In other words, people who come to earn money or generate business might have something more permanent to contribute to a city's well-being.
I'm not saying it should be outlawed but we do have to recognize the limits of tourism. In some regions, tourists are important to the sex trade; in others, they are not. It's naive to lump all visitors into one category -- though politicians might like us to so they can exploit our economic fantasies.
As for the hysteria surrounding the World Cup and the use of "experts" to describe anti-prostitution campaigners... When homophobes are regarded as "experts" on gay sex or gay culture, reasonable people are appalled. Wake up! These people are not experts, they are hysterical bigots. posted by Tracy Quan
My latest appears in Financial Times weekend magazine. Feedback has been really inspiring! People are so eager to discuss how the body responds to different professions and life situations. I had always known this was a big issue in my life, but now, studying the responses from friends and readers, I am learning things I'd never imagined...
I just tried to upload a lovely pic taken by Mark Farley and sent to me as a JPG. Well, I may have goofed up and erased it. I don't quite know. Will try again! Wish me luck... posted by Tracy Quan
When I first came to New York, I met a girl who had been acquainted with the authors. Like me, she was a call girl who knew very little about the world of the street. But we knew some women who were part of the pimp scene. In the straight world, people assume that pimping was exclusively a street thing, but that's not true. Some of the madams in our circle had been with pimps, and there was peaceful coexistence. If you didn't have a pimp, you might still work with a girl who did. Some of my friends started out with a pimp but they moved on.
Occasionally, there was tension. Judgments were made on both sides. I now compare some of these cultural attitudes to the silent "war" between married women and singletons, where you encounter suspicion, discomfort, patronizing smugness, envy... or simple curiosity from the other side. You had to be careful about what you said, you didn't want to alienate another girl. Sometimes a girl might try to recruit new talent for her man, but I was only approached twice and nobody tried to force the issue. There was basic respect for difference, and everybody wanted to make money.
Pimps were definitely going out of style for call girls. The women with pimps were a little bit older, with a '70s view of life. It didn't seem like an '80s lifestyle to us, much less a '90s one, but I made friends with some girls who were part of that world and learned a lot.
I lost touch with my friend E, who showed me the 1972 edition of Bob's book. I imagine she is out there, somewhere, doing well in another life. (E was never a highly motivated hooker -- had a lazy streak and would therefore be an unlikely candidate for most pimps!) When I heard that "Gentleman of Leisure" was being published anew, it brought back lots of memories. Going on calls with E, hanging out at restaurants, celebrating E's first fur coat. Discovering bellinis, discussing our favorite positions, agonizing over boyfriends. Hanging around E's studio apartment which she was always in the process of redecorating...
and flipping through this book which even then evoked another era. I will visit the gallery, check out the photos. Maybe I will even try to locate E and tell her about it.
Howard Greenberg Gallery is at 41 East 57th Street, #1406, New York, NY 10022. Cross street is Madison Avenue. Open Tuesday - Saturday 10am-6pm. Call for more info: 001-212-334-0010 posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, June 26, 2006 Happy Endings, New Beginnings
Some people have asked me about Mark Farley's response to my first book. It's true, Mark was rather critical of my first Nancy Chan diary.
He did not like the ending.
I accept this verdict with mixed feelings. After all, if a reader is angered by your ending, it suggests an attachment to the protagonist. Or a sense of betrayal. (Shades of Jean Genet!!) Still, I feel this was the correct way to end my first book. Also, I ask all readers (and translators!) to pay close attention to the dates on the diary entries. They are not just trivial; they are, like nudity, integral to the story.
Sometimes, a reader likes your first book, then hates it when your second book has some different qualities. Perhaps a change of pace, that sort of thing. But sometimes the opposite occurs: one who isn't completely convinced by your freshman effort gives the next book a chance.... Appreciates that both author and protagonist will continue to grow. Both reactions are flattering to one's work, in different ways. Praise is not something we can take for granted. Anyway, I'll be meeting up with Mark very soon, and I'm really looking forward to it! posted by Tracy Quan
Excerpts from the panel discussion we did are now in podcast form on Eyebeam's Journal site:
http://www.eyebeam.org/reblog/journal/ posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, June 20, 2006 Heather Mills McCartney: Was she or wasn't she
... a call girl? The recent uproar, manufactured by gossip-mongering wannabes and the tabloids, makes me wonder just how far we haven't come as a culture. I'm talking about "Whether Heather Has a Past" and all the attendant allegations.
Despite gay rights, condoms in the classroom and other positive signs of progress, we're supposed to be shocked if a woman married to a pop star is alleged to have turned a few tricks in her twenties? What century are we living in?
(In my perfect world, nobody would be outed as a sex worker or customer unless they chose to be public about it. We all need some privacy in order to stay sane, and I just don't feel this burning need to out my people. That said...)
I'll assume, if Heather says she wasn't a prostitute, that she wasn't. That's fine.
And what if she had been? I've read that she had such a rough time during her teen years that she sometimes had to sleep under bridges! If prostitution were a part of her past, wouldn't compassion, rather than voyeuristic condemnation, be a more fitting response? And would we really expect Paul McCartney to be so naive ("shocked") about this type of thing?
But the real issue isn't whether Heather was or wasn't. It's how hypocritical we still are about marriage and sex. Why should people be appalled if a married woman once worked in the sex biz -- before she was a wife -- when husbands of every type (including celebs, dads and the not yet divorced) routinely see hookers while they are married??
It is married men who keep the modern prostitute in business. So, in 2006, this particular double standard strikes me as infantile, mind-boggling, and foolish. I am ALL FOR double standards if they make people happy, and I especially like double standards which work to Woman's Advantage -- but this one makes no sense at all. (And, by the way, even rock stars have been known to pay for professional sex -- despite all the attention from groupies.)
Why assume that having prostitution in your past is negative or "unsavory" (as some tabloids have put it) just because you're married? True, prostitution might make a woman more choosy or critical. She's known lots of men, values herself as a companion and is well-placed to make comparisons. But prostitution is good preparation for other aspects of marriage. There's lots of truth in the cliche that "prostitutes make the best wives."
Should a woman's sexual past before marriage affect her divorce settlement? Unless Paul were expecting his wife to be a virgin, and they had some sort of weird contract about her premarital purity -- which seems highly unlikely -- I find it outrageous that anyone still talks this way about divorce. Who cares whether she had sex for pleasure or for money before she met Paul? It's actually quite insulting to Paul, if you think he's that narrow-minded.
I doubt very much that most male pop stars are shocked if a woman turns out to have some spice or commerce in her past. For god's sake, Paul McCartney's a working class guy who became enormously rich though the entertainment business and travelled all over the world.
There was a wee tragedy this week. I lost a lot of information due to a computer mishap. If you signed up for the mailing list in the past, please sign up again! Write to: mailings at tracyquan.net
It's taking awhile for me to respond to email... Please be patient! I recently got some very nice ones. However, I need to get re-organized and I do have these deadlines. But I will respond if I have your address. If you wrote to me in the last 12 months, don't hesitate to re-send your mails! They have all been zapped! Alas. posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, June 10, 2006 Rumor Has It...
that you might recognize me amongst the cast of characters in I Love Led Zeppelin, coming out in early July. Stay tuned for further tidbytes. I promise links, reviews, and similar fun. posted by Tracy Quan
What a gorgeous love letter from Daily Candy! "A nosey-parker’s dream full of saucy insider information, it’s more entertaining than anything you’ll find under your best friend’s mattress."
Been dipping into Michael McKeon's latest, mostly because I found the title so provo/ evocative: The Secret History of Domesticity. You don't say! This isn't light reading in any sense. It's almost 900 pages long and won't fit most handbags. You'll need a tote bag or one of those big Duane Reade shopping bags to carry this home. But it's beautifully designed, and filled with all kinds of hooker-centric tidbits. You can't, it seems, talk about domesticity (in the way McKeon does) without addressing prostitution. One chapter, Variations on the Domestic Novel, uses Fanny Hill as the starting point, and just gets juicier... I borrowed this from the libary -- but, if you're a bit of a Prostitution Anorak, you'll want it for your own collection. And it's fun! posted by Tracy Quan
Sunday, May 14, 2006 The Aphrodite Pickle
A big thank you to all the terrific people who came to Eyebeam yesterday! You're extremely wonderful.
I really enjoyed the panel. Melissa Gira's take on technology was very thoughtful. No longer in opposition to the prostitute's tradition but, rather, a part of it (or did she say "a tradition itself"??) Krzysztof Wodiczko's presentation was funny and briliant. There will be an Ipod link to all this, I think. (Speaking of technology and tradition: Melissa tried to persuade me that I need Permalinks but you can't tell that to someone who still writes in WP51. Still, I'm going to experiment with some new features on this site. I'm determined to keep this interface though. How rare to find a blog these days without Permalinks! Think of this as a rarity, not an absence. I can't call it a tradition -- the Permalink seems to be far more traditional at this point.)
Norene's shoe is beautiful. I hope there will be another chance for people to view it. About which more soon.
Dr. M. Hope Ditmore, editor of the Encyclopedia of Sex Work (forthcoming from Greenwood Press in August), showed up -- and gave me a jar of her homemade pickled okras. I can't wait to make another one of my traditional Okratinis. Over and out. posted by Tracy Quan
UK News: How do you really feel
... about "meeting the ex's new bird" (as my friend Rox puts it.)
All those things and more in my first Cosmo piece, which appears in the June issue --on sale now. posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, May 11, 2006 The ...32nd Sex?
I'm looking forward to seeing Melissa Gira this weekend. She'll be on the panel with me at Eyebeam (Saturday May 13) and this time, I hope I actually get to talk to her. We both did this radio show last spring, but not at the same time. We always seem to be zooming past each other. So near and yet -- as the saying goes.
Last time we were in the same room together, it was the $pread magazine Sex Worker Visions party. That was a madhouse, though certainly fun. I never did get a chance to experience '30 Second Sex' -- Melissa's version, that night. I suppose we've all... Never mind! Anyway, this is my chance. And yours too:
And I love the title they came up with for our panel: "Sovereign Whores and Seditious Technology." I believe this was Norene's but I'll ask.
The shoe itself is a work of genius -- old world artisanship meets the latest technology. Just like any urban prostitute, though I think ours must be an older technology. Didn't prostitutes precede shoemakers? (Come on, we must have.) All this and more on Saturday!
I met Jessica Spector at a speaking engagement in Hartford, Connecticut circa 2001. We were part of a mini-festival organized by Real Artways, featuring films and discussion about sex work. We shared the panel with a cop who trotted out that old chestnut --"nobody ever says: I want to be a prostitute when I grow up." (I corrected him.) He finally agreed that prostitution laws were ineffective, a view shared by many police officers.
When invited to contribute a short essay to her new anthology, I was intrigued. I'm pleased to hear that Prostitution and Pornography: Philosophical Debate About the Sex Industry will be published by Stanford U. Press this July! It will be fun to read the other essays and to see how people respond to this collection. (My own piece is in a section entitled "The Limits of Liberalism.") posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, May 09, 2006 In My Mailbox Today: A Letter About "V"
I have to check this out for myself but here are excerpts from an email addressed to Dear TQ:
Hi Tracy,
Just wanted to send you a quick note on "V for Vendetta"... I won't judge the movie, because I haven't seen it. However, there is one aspect of the comic book that I think they changed for the movie. In the comic book, Evey is a prostitute. In fact, she gets assaulted by the Vice Squad ...on her first attempt to make money on the street (which is when she is rescued by V).
"The Bush administration's point man on abstinence..."
I am not making this up. I need to explain to some of my UK and Canada readers -- this is not a hoax! Nor is it parody. It is just the way it is, according to Russell Shorto, but I was also puzzled by his intro. Shorto begins:
To me, it seems that Defoe is best remembered for that fictional harlot, Moll Flanders, who transcends her creator's religious and political hang-ups even today. Moll's "memoir" was published five years before the treatise on Matrimonial Whoredom -- wouldn't that be a more amusing juxtaposition? And in 1724, a year before the treatise, he published yet another harlot's tale -- Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress. I'm not sure why all this was ignored in favour of Robinson Crusoe but... YMMV. posted by Tracy Quan
Regina's protest raises some interesting questions.
If every prostitute or ex-hooker lived in shameful silence, would the world be a better place?
Does Regina feel, on some level, that a prostitute is not her social equal? Does she think that women like us should "know our place"? Retreat to the shadows of pop culture so she can pretend we don't exist? She's kidding herself if she thinks every Asian female strives to be a brain surgeon, lawyer or dentist. Some of us think formal education is boring. Some of us believe we were put on this earth to sell our bodies, a fact which may shock or offend the haters out there who are still paying off their student loans. Some of us think getting a pedicure is more important than swotting for an exam -- and we are no less Asian (or human) for rejecting these middle class values.
Is there a xenophobic aspect to Regina's comment about "non-Asian" men? Is it ever the case that "Asian" men make silly assumptions about us, too? And, when they do, is this more excusable simply because they're Asian??
And furthermore, what does it mean to be Asian or non-Asian? Is this all about how you look? Or how you think? I have an Irish friend who grew up in Asia. Cynthia was raised by a Cantonese nanny, and taught by Chinese nuns in a Catholic school. She is far more "Asian" in her outlook than I am. Although a product of Catholic education, she is (at heart) a polytheistic quasi-Buddhist because she was taught by nuns who never abandoned the local beliefs. Compared to Cynthia, I'm not very Asian -- and she thinks I'm a very uptight, monotheistic, judgemental Westerner, actually!
Another thing: Why are some Asian-Americans always encountering shallow, simple-minded non-Asians who are just stereotypical fetishists? I have a theory. You get what you put out. If you see other people in stereotyped racial terms; if you see the world this way; if you see yourself this way, you will attract a lot of stereotypical racism in your sex life and your social life. In other words, if you go around categorizing people as non-Asian, you will meet a lot of idiots who fulfill your expectations.
Okay. Yes: I have encountered racism when dealing with white cops. I have even met a few "non-Asian" guys with foolish ideas about the rules of attraction. But most of these encounters are superficial and (blessedly) brief.
Every human encounter can't be a brilliant or fulfilling one, but I suspect that I have more faith in humanity than Regina does. I attribute this to the years I spent in the sex trade having sex with people from all over the world, including a fair number of Asians.
Girl Talk (Part Two)
Recently, a reporter asked me, "Did you have a lot of customers who liked you for being exotic? How did you feel about that?" A fair question which I will answer here.
Many customers were white Americans, Brits or Europeans. However, I never felt like a stereotype. This surprises some people. Well, I never marketed myself as an exotic stereotype, that's why. I was brought up to see myself as an individual, an aspect of upbringing which I can't erase.
When I get email from guys who categorize me because of my name or my face, I'm puzzled because they seem... a bit childish. I don't recognize myself in their comments.
When I worked in the sex trade, I preferred (and mostly saw) customers who were into variety. My customers also liked blondes; they were also into meeting Latin American or black girls. The customers who had a thing for Asians-only were not my type. They were boring and I couldn't relate to them. They almost never became my regulars. The men who became my regulars weren't even hung up on a body type. What they liked was a personality type. I leave it to your imagination to figure out what that personality might be!
This may surprise the people who think you have to be a narrow-minded fetishist to have sex with someone from another race or ethnic group. The world is only like that if you think it is. posted by Tracy Quan
The Italian edition of Married Call Girl has just been released and you can check it out here. My spies tell me that cigarettes are becoming a no-no in Italy (about time!!) so ... the controversial jacket may add a certain sense of the forbidden to the whole affair.
Sex for pay; adultery; or nicotine. Which of these three is the greater sin these days??
I've had wonderful feedback from Italy for my first book ("Diario vero di una squillo di lusso a Manhattan" was a bestseller) -- and I will be posting news about the Italian sequel right here. Stay tuned.
Coming soon: Married Call Girl in the UK and in Dutch translation. The Swedish edition of Manhattan Call Girl in October. I will post links tomorrow.
I must go offline because I am having a new dishwasher installed. The old one was flooding. Back tomorrow! posted by Tracy Quan
Protestants, "appalled by the idea of confessing to a priest," saw it as an alternative method for "unburdening oneself to God."
(Those innovative Protestants!)
But here's the catch: "The pleasure of unchecked subjectivity...went to writers' heads, and by the 19th century the diary was essentially a personal political document, a chance for writers to reorder the universe according to their lights."
And when did bunny-boilers start dotting their i's with circles?
First Muriel Spark, now Jane Jacobs! The two (living) female writers I have admired most in recent years, these were my heroines. And they're gone!!
The Death and Life of Great American Cities was very much with me while I was writing my first novel. Everybody should read it. What impressed me about "Death and Life" was how much it felt like a novel, actually. Strange but true. I couldn't put it down because I wanted to find out what happened next to the Great City.
Just the other day, over cabbage strudel and coffee, I was discussing with a friend Central Park and Jane Jacobs. The conventional wisdom which has turned that park into a kind of religion -- and the amazing thinker whose writing challenges that kind of fundamentalism. Two days later, she died.
I was going to blog about plagiarism but that will have to wait. I'm going to lie in bed now and nurse my shocked mind to sleep. It is All Too Much.
Jane! posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, April 26, 2006 At Home w/ Sebastian Horsley
Horsley also published this politically incorrect ode to the prostitute, which I enjoyed, in the Observer:
"In English brothels you shuffle into a seedy room so dim you can only meet the girl by Braille. But in New York last year I sat on a four-poster bed while 10 girls paraded in front of me one by one, like bowls of sushi on a carousel. 'Hi,' they would say, 'I'm Tiffany', 'I'm Harmony', 'I'm Michelle', and I would rise and kiss them. It was so touching, so sweet, so kind. There should always, no matter what, be politeness. It is the way the outside world should work, selfishly but honestly." posted by Tracy Quan
Friday, April 21, 2006 More Weekend Reading
I really want Bridget Jones to be rescued by Mark Darcy.
There, I've said it.
Everytime he gets close to saving her, my heart leaps into my throat, my pulse begins to race, I go all teary and soft. I am hooked on the current series which, as you may already know, appears each Thursday. It stays live for a week only.
If, for some reason, you miss an episode or two, as I did during my book launch, the ONLY way to get caught up is to order back issues of The Independent.. Well, I am THAT obsessed with Bridget's well-being, and the back issues, while pricey, are worth it. posted by Tracy Quan
So says Paul Streitz who will be speaking on Tuesday at 6.30pm: Institute of Historical Research, University of London, Malet Street, WC1. Wish I could pop over there and hear his talk but I am stuck in New York just now!
Kinsley goes after the NY Times Opinion machine, and it's good! posted by Tracy Quan
Friday, April 14, 2006 Vendettas
A few weeks ago, I saw The Inside Man and found it strangely pedantic, long, a bit tentative, perhaps even pointless, though I did like the music. Others argue that it was clever but I think cleverness isn't enough -- one must also entertain. The most interesting aspect of Inside Man was the use of masks to make victims and hostages indistinguishable from captors. An accidental prelude to V for Vendetta? I saw that last night.
During Inside Man, I felt lectured and found Jodie Foster's character cartoonish. What's wrong with cartoonish though? Last night, I was glued to V for Vendetta (which is a moving picture based on a comic book) and I completely lost track of time. But Vendetta wasn't really cartoonish.
Perhaps it's the difference between turning real actors into cartoon characters and bringing comic strip characters to life. (Or trying to. I see that Alan Moore, the author of V, is less than convinced.)
I'm not entirely up to speed on the difference between a cartoon and a comic book, or a comic strip and a comic book but they all seem to be related. (Yes, I know -- graphic novel! Fine, whatever.)
Alan Moore partisans might regard me as a dimwit, but I thoroughly enjoyed Vendetta. The Guy Fawkes theme is what pulled me in. I now live in New York but have some wistful memories of another city.
I remember walking around North London as a teenager, one night in early November. It wasn't very late but the streets were already dark and a small kid walked by pushing a toy pram containing an effigy made of old sweaters and rags, calling out --rather politely --"Penny for the Guy?" I had never seen this before. You could compare it to Halloween but it was more straightforward and mature because these children were not travelling in packs or with adults. I saw others that week, here and there, carrying effigies in their arms with a parental or companionable air. On the 5th, my overly protective (nominally Catholic) boyfriend advised me to stay off the streets due to random firecrackers exploding anywhere at any time. Guy Fawkes Day is a wonderfully ambiguous holiday involving any number of confusing messages... but it seems generally agreed that the anti-Catholic meaning has dissipated.
Well, I now read in Lloyd Groves' column that some anarchists will be protesting against various depictions in V for Vendetta on Monday. Curious! For me, this is a thoughtful, sympathetic movie. But if there's one political "depiction" that leaps out, it's the police state gov't which is a super-right religious version of the Conservative Party. A lot of people will be thinking "New Labour" as they watch -- including some longtime Labour supporters -- and I'm not sure where I stand on this. There are days when the post-Thatcher Tories look like a potentially humanizing influence, but I've been wrong before... posted by Tracy Quan
Thank you for coming to the Sex Work Matters Soiree at the LGBT Center last week! You know who you are...
I am still recovering from the conversational and other excesses of that week. It was great fun to meet people who have become friends via email. This always happens to me at conferences and I always forget that I've never really met these people. Spend ten years on a list with someone, and the difference between virtual and flesh seems quite irrelevant.
At the Soiree, I was interviewed by Gerry Visco whose gossipy New York Press report has me wondering what "not exactly unfamiliar" with the sex biz really means. "Intent on capturing the right angle during the photo op"? Guilty as pegged! Well, she was trying to convince me that my right side's better -- I don't think so. But the photo didn't appear, so never mind.
Later, Scarlot Harlot received an Aphrodite Award during a ceremony involving Mortar Board Pasties (reflecting the room's academic vibe.) Later still, I shared excellent pizza from Lil Frankie's with Andy, manager of a sex worker advocacy list-serve. His pathologically boyish smile was a bright spot throughout the conference. Another bright spot: martinis with Robyn & Co. at Botanica where Robyn was especially tickled by Fine Wine's obscure R&B selections. I made it to the CUNY Graduate Center next day and enjoyed the "Identity & Intimacy" panel.
Now this was my kind of panel: boyfriends under the sociological microscope!
A very "Allison" experience was listening to Professor Mindy talking about why strippers have such low-quality boyfriends. (L-Q: Mindy's term, not mine. I avoid such harshness as, I think, would our friend Allison.) Mindy assured us that "low-quality" was not a judgement on these guys but an objective assessment. In any case, many are quite unappreciative of their mates, so the L-Q label is not entirely unjustified. However, the boyfriend who DOES appreciate his stripper mate runs the risk of being viewed as less-than-a-catch because it's possible he might work in the clubs as a bouncer, DJ ...or fellow dancer. And men in those jobs often earn less than their dancer girlfriends.
Mindy had a lot to say about the stigma strippers deal with, but I left that discussion feeling sympathetic toward the boyfriends in her study. And wondering: do prostitutes find it easier than dancers to lie about their work to their husbands and boyfriends? Are the men in their lives happier as a result? I would love to see a sociologist's take on that question.
A big thank you to Rachel from Bluestockings for bringing my books to the Soiree!Please get in touch with me if you're reading this!
Signed Books in Manhattan: Downtown
If you are seeking an autographed copy of Married Call Girl or Manhattan Call Girl, there are some freshly signed books at Bluestockings on Allen Street!
Try Barnes & Noble on E. 86th Street between First Avenue & Second. Signed copies of Married Call Girl on the first floor; Manhattan Call Girl is to be found upstairs.
There are also a few left at the B&N on Lexington Ave. and 86th Street.
Saturday, March 18, 2006 Meet the author @ Sex Worker Visions: Weds. 3/29 in NYC
The reception (see below, Monday 3/13 post) will actually be from 6:00-9:00 PM. I was planning to sign books from 6:00 - 8:00 and then party for awhile. If anyone thinks this is a bad plan, let me know.
This promises to be a multipurpose celebration. Tasting menu!
A) It's the opening night of a very cool-sounding art show, Sex Worker Visions. Therefore, lots of arty sex workers in attendance and, I think, visual artists who are intrigued by sex work.
B) It's a soiree for the Sex Work Matters conference sponsored by CUNY and The New School. (Casting call for The Slutty Professor? Apologies to Jerry Lewis.)
C) $pread is a year old this month! First birthday party for the sex worker zine.
D) $pread's Spring 2006 issue is launching that very night.
E) Book-signings by Scarlot Harlot, Tracy Quan and others (TBA).
F) Meet your inner philanthropist. A portion of each Diary sale will be donated to $pread. Both Diaries will be available!
Char Miller's take on Michael Deibert's Notes From the Last Testament is well worth reading. And so is "Notes." Deibert didn't just report when he was a Reuters' correspondent in Haiti. He lived in Port-au-Prince, knows his stuff, and, I think, truly cares about the fate of "the Western Hemisphere's second republic."
I'm no expert and haven't been there yet. I've read only two other books about Haiti: "The Black Jacobins" and "The Comedians." (I also invented a cocktail which is named for the latter.)
"Notes From the Last Testament" is, for me, the natural, in-depth sequel to these historical and fictional treatments. Read the review and let me know what you think. posted by Tracy Quan
Two STDs are spiralling madly, badly and dangerously out of control: syphilis (from 141 cases in 1995 to 2,254 in 2004) and chlamydia (cases have risen by over 200%.)
Chlamydia is the biggest worry, though, and Caroline Flint, public health minister, is looking at some innovative testing methods. Self-test kits at your local petrol station, supermarket, and so on. They have already handed out 6,000 kits at Boots...
What happened in those ten years? Is this just coming-of-age demographics? A shift in behavior? In condom use? Yikes. posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, February 11, 2006 Bridget Jones: strangely germane?
It seems that Bridget was saving those thoughts in a Send Later folder and, lo/behold, quite by accident, sent 15 "mad, ranting e-mails" to the most important people in her life. She is many months pregnant, has alienated her best friend ("What previously seemed like interesting feminist theories now seem merely the tragic, bitter ramblings of a disappointed old bag.") and has been fired from her job at Sit Up Britain.
Well!
If you're looking for contrarian dish on Betty Friedan's life, Germaine Greer's The Betty I Knew will make you sit up, that's for sure. A feminist hero at home, Friedan was a problematic ally whenever she left her American turf.
Some Guardian readers were enraged by Greer's tale of a sisterhood that never was. But what do these Friedan partisans expect? Celebrity feminists are contentious, competitive creatures. Greer's obit may be one of the few which offers an international perspective on Friedan's decade.
For those who are miffed by Greer's evocative memories of a bygone era, here's a similarly atmospheric piece by Midge Decter (who famously opposed her feminist peers back in the day.)
This new political party sounds like fun. Taking Quebec separatism to another level and getting away from the divisive, ethnic approach: good idea. I spent some of my childhood in Quebec and grew up in a somewhat bilingual town, so this issue is close to my heart.
I've always had a perverse fondness for the Bloc Quebecois (the national separatist party) because I think they can play an important role in balancing out the party in power (whether Liberal or Tory.)
I don't agree with their desire to separate, and I don't identify with the extreme leftishness of the Quebec solidaire party, but I wish them well. As one Globe & Mail reader put it, "Good for them, keep stirring the pot."
I wonder how long they will last, as they refuse to have a traditional leader. They intend to have two spokespeople (one male, one female) and a 16-member committee. My experience with collectives has been mixed -- sometimes downright annoying! But I belong to a sex workers' group (PONY) which has survived more than ten years without a top-down leader, so I know it can be done.
What's next for the Quebec solidaire party? You can read the manifesto in English and French. I admit there's an eye-glazing quotient but yeah, good luck to them! And, as always, I'll want to see how they perform on the question of sex workers' rights.
I've had a totally different experience of sex and courtship with respect to color and race -- miscegenation is the norm for people like me and what I fear is its absence. So I was intrigued by Hayt's frank disclosures. This column provides a surprisingly intimate, uncomfortable close-up of a "white chick" from Long Island coming to terms with her true feelings. Worth reading! posted by Tracy Quan
Katharine Viner's ill-informed, bigoted tirade is entertaining in parts. But her desire to rid the entire pop landscape of words, stories, images and personalities that offend her is reminiscent of China's Cultural Revolution. I can see it now. Ex-hookers who have the nerve to make a living as newspaper columnists might be rounded up, put in re-education camps and forced to walk around wearing embarrassing signs confessing their incorrectness. I don't want to think about what's in store for self-confessed punters.
In Viner's perfect world, MTV's "Pimp My Ride" would also be subjected to her "zero tolerance" approach. But a show "which takes people's rusty cars and turns them into vehicles that -- well, look like they belong to a pimp," strikes me as the very essence of eco-friendly ingenuity. (Turning something old and rusty into something spiffy... really quite responsible, no?)
If Viner could see past her obsession with prostitution, she would realize that "Pimp My Ride" is really about cars, not pimps.
But, if she objects to prostitutes playing an important role in British culture, she might consider much older sources of entertainment. Why has Moll Flanders so often been called "the first English novel" -- and does Viner have a problem with that? Would she like to rewrite the history of her national culture and erase this iconic fictional prostitute from the literary heritage? Where are we going with this?? posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, January 28, 2006 Canada: Book Television, Sex-TV
Rumor has it that my interview with "The Word This Week" will air on Book Television this Sunday, January 29 at 9 PM. If I got the air date wrong, I'll update!
Well, Hamas got what the Tories couldn't -- a majority. Independent Palestine party won two seats out of 132. (Better luck next time.) For the next while, Hamas, Fatah and other well-known players will dominate the news. But I think -- hope -- we continue to hear about the various alternative players who won a total of 13 seats in this election. I'm curious to see which party will become the Palestinian "NDP." posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, January 25, 2006 Democracies, Part 2 or Cottontail, the New Kingmaker
So, Fatah reminds us of the Liberal Party and Hamas has more in common with the Conservatives than we'd expect. Should Independent Palestine (the new party led by Mustafa Barghouti) be compared to Canada's New Democrats??
As you may recall, Robertson Davies referred to Canada's three main parties as Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail. I couldn't help noticing, on the morning of Canada's 39th election, that Jack Layton (leader of the NDP) looked like he was having more fun than Harper OR Martin. (I call this the Cottontail Syndrome.)
-- New Palestinian party could be kingmaker: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060125.PALESTINIANS25/TPStory posted by Tracy Quan
Democracies
I love a Canadian election, the way some people love to watch a horse race. If the US had more political parties, I would enjoy our elections, too. But alas, we're stuck with this boring two-party dinosaur of a system and I just think US elections are, as the great diarist Adrian Mole might have said, "dead boring."
I heart the parliamentary circus up north.
However, another parliamentary election this week has my attention. While getting up to speed on the post-election malaise currently sweeping across Canada ...
Anyway, while doing so, my attention was drawn to a story far more exciting than Harper's arrival at #24 Sussex. Read this colorful account of today's first Palestinian elections in The Mop & Pail.
The first analogy which leaps to mind when I read this is a Canadian one (my ialics):
"Fatah, tainted by corruption after 12 years in power, was asking voters for another chance ... Hamas has focused on clean government..."
Fatah, like the Canadian Liberal party, is perceived as moderate, mainstream and, after too many years, corrupt. Both (Fatah; the Liberals) are seen as the safer, more dove-ish choice by self-identifying centrists.
Hamas, like the Conservative party, appeals to voters who are offended by corruption. They have other things in common with Harper's Conservatives: Both parties are seen as extremist; religious morality has a place at the table. And both (Hamas; the Conservatives) think it's important to spend money on weapons -- though Hamas has the track record when it comes to this sort of thing. (The Conservatives have floated the idea of expanding a "cash-strapped" Canadian military, but it's not clear whether voters believed the new government would make this a priority.)
Can you tell I was rooting for a Liberal government? They may be corrupt; they may be arrogant. And they do need a vacation. But they WILL be BACK. Despite their many vices, the Liberals were born to govern. The CPC exists solely for the purpose of giving the "NGP" a time-out when it starts taking its birthright for granted. posted by Tracy Quan
My interview with James O'Hearn for "Covered & Bound" (CHRY-FM) was a highlight of my Toronto book launch. It's now avaiable on his website, Engaging The Word.
I have been getting fantastic responses to my interview with Nigel Beale which aired on CKCU in the fall. CKCU (93.1 FM) is Canada's oldest alternative news radio station and Beale is one provocative, funny, surprising host. I will post a more direct link soon, but for now, you can go to:
Mini-brothels get go-ahead to operate on your doorstep: Despite the alarmist headline, this is interesting, surprisingly balanced, coverage. (Links to the sex workers' movement are not what Mother would have expected from The Telegraph, but things are changing.)
Go here to get a whole page of news, links and a chance to comment: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/18/npros18.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/01/18/ixnewstop.html
How will the new laws affect your life? Post your comment on the new prostitution laws in the UK: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=BLOGDETAIL&grid=P30&blog=yourview&xml=/news/2006/01/17/blview17.xml posted by Tracy Quan
If only David Brooks had a shrink like Wendy Kessel! (Big thanks to Charlie Peck, the wariest reader I know, for pointing this out.)
"The challenge of political life is to prevent the genuine self from being extinguished by the public image." David Brooks
"There's a naive idea that we have a true self and we're doing something wrong whenever we betray that self. But the true self is a problematic ideal." Dr. Wendy
"As the great Meg Greenfield once observed, prominent Washingtonians have two identities: their genuine self -- the soft, complicated person they once were -- and the public self, the broadly drawn pastiche of positions, poses, party affiliations, life-story clichés and ethnic ties that are presented to voters every few years."
Is it not more likely to be the other way around??? Try this:
genuine self = broadly drawn pastiche of positions, poses, party affiliations, life-story clichés and ethnic ties
public self = soft, complicated person presented to voters every few years (or whenever prominent Washingtonian deems urgent/useful)
Sound more like the, uh, real world? posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, January 17, 2006 When the spirit meets the letter
New law to allow mini-brothels: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article339175.ece
I have been reading about the UK Labour party's latest attempt to reform some very bad, irrational, outdated laws. Of course, the new prostitution law (summarized here in today's Independent) is imperfect -- but most laws are. Especially those regarding work, sex, urban planning or pleasure.
What I mean is, they have proposed to change the law which bans two prostitutes from working together. (A maximum of three would be legalized. While this seems puny to extreme liberationists, it would be an improvement -- given that many prostitutes work in pairs.) At the same time, a huge crackdown is proposed for johns who solicit (or get solicited) in their cars. This isn't entirely realistic or fair but many people will see it as a good compromise.
The new law is designed to "clean up the streets" in a sexual or social sense -- a dubious and hypocritical plan? Law reform is a painful process. Improvements are accompanied by sell-outs, while deeply unpleasant concepts are discussed openly. I, for one, cannot read this government minister's comment without shuddering: "we need to help them to shop the people who have exploited and trafficked them."
(For my US readers, to "shop" someone is to roll over, rat, snitch, inform and, some would say, compromise your soul.)
Many prostitutes have gone to jail when faced with the option of squealing. Many believe this is the right thing -- the only thing -- to do. There is something creepy about a system designed to turn prostitutes into informants, especially when this is presented as a form of progress. Turning migrant sex workers into tattling, beleaguered cowards, and then deporting them, is not especially progressive in my view.
There is also something insulting about being viewed as a potential informant just because you have sex for money.
That said, US politicians are nowhere near having this kind of public conversation about the sex trade. And this new law MIGHT improve the situation for many people working in the UK. --
Back in the US -- New York to be precise -- a different question about the law.
Naturally, I had to check this out for myself. Did the mayor of New York really boast about getting his company off the ground "all without permission, violating every fire law, building code and union regulation on the books"?
On page 59 of this rather schlocky-looking memoir, Mayor Bloomberg admits to all of the above, adding, "it's amazing we didn't burn down some office..."
Is this guy mature enough to be running a modern city??
I don't object to the way he started his business. I worry about the lack of discretion about his own past coupled with zero diplomacy. The mayor has a habit of invoking the letter of the law -- maybe he likes the way it sounds, but this isn't how you solve a conflict or make a city run more smoothly. Throughout the transit strike, Bloomberg appeared rather petty -- more concerned with his ego than our welfare.
What's really amazing is that Toussaint was so restrained about the page 59 confessions -- he could have made much much more of this but didn't. Preferring, perhaps, to concentrate on the business of getting a contract for his members.. posted by Tracy Quan
Thursday, January 12, 2006 Required Reading: Letters to the Independent
(with Alan Vorda) has just gone up on the Rain Taxi website. I feel quite honored to be in the same (online) issue as Woody Guthrie. How cool is that?? http://www.raintaxi.com --
From each according to her abilities
Now preparing for the $pread Reading tonight at Bluestockings, and looking forward to finding out about the subsequent Sex Work Olympics in the Slipper Room. Needless to say, I was not asked to compete. I will report/confess all over the weekend. See you at the Olympics! Or the Reading. posted by Tracy Quan
I have been getting lots of queries about the Sex Work Olympics at the Afterparty. Namely... what will the SW Olympics actually consist of?? I only know that it will be very inclusive of "all sectors" but as to the details, we will just have to attend if we want to find out!
When: Thursday evening, Jan 12
Double Event: $pread Coffeehouse Reading (+ Sex Work Olympics at the Afterparty)
Admission: Reading $4-8; Afterparty $7-10
**Special discount TBA for attending both events.**
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm: A Benefit Reading for $pread Magazine with Shane Luitjens, Audacia Ray, Jo Weldon, Tracy Quan and other $pread writers. Followed by a sizzling discussion. (I will also be signing copies of "Married Call Girl.")
Where: Bluestockings Bookstore, 172 Allen St (between Rivington + Stanton), New York, NY 10002
Phone: 1.212.777.6028 Subway: F, V to 2nd Ave ~~~ 9:00 pm - 2:00 am: Afterparty
Around the corner, at the Slipper Room, 167 Orchard St (corner of Stanton St.)
Sex Work Olympics will feature events to represent all sectors of the sex industry! Dance the night away. DJs spin till 2am. posted by Tracy Quan
I'm fond of Rona Jaffe's work and was sorry to hear of her death.
My first Rona Jaffe novel was "The Cherry in the Martini" -- overlooked in her Times obit this weekend, and out of print. In 1996, I found a copy of her first novel, The Best of Everything (1958)-- very battered paperback, barely intact -- at a yard sale in Teaneck, New Jersey. I devoured it in one weekend. -- Did you know that Robert Gottlieb, the editor of Jaffe's first book, is also an accomplished collector of plastic handbags? In 1988, he published "A Certain Style: The Art of the Plastic Handbag" -- it's out of print and hard to find but I am a very fortunate recipient of this lovely volume. I was reminded of his handbags while reading his comments about "The Best of Everything" and "Mr Right Is Dead." A certain sensibility. -- And, in 1999, Michelle Tea, author of "Rent Girl," received a Writers' Award from the Rona Jaffe Foundation (which has been supporting emerging writers since 1995.) posted by Tracy Quan
Saturday, December 31, 2005 My Next Reading/Signing: Thursday, Jan 12 7:00 pm
Afterparty: Around the corner, at the Slipper Room, 167 Orchard St (corner of Stanton St.) $7 - $10. Sex Work Olympics, featuring events to represent all sectors of the industry. Dance the night away. DJs spin till 2am.
-- Discount entry price if you attend both events.
Questions?: Email info@spreadmagazine.org posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, December 27, 2005 A Taste of Vinyl: On My (Newly Operational, Thoroughly What's Happening) Turntable RIGHT NOW
"The original recordings of Ruth Etting" (Columbia ML 5050)
What a heart-breaking voice. I admire the way this narrator sings about physical hardship ("Customers crush my toes") and the business side of taxi-dancing ("All that you need is a ticket") -- while admitting that "sometimes I think I've found my hero."
Ruth Etting was a big pop star for about a decade, from 1927 to 1937, though her career began around 1914.
I was first exposed to Ruth Etting's voice in the 1980s, on "the station that swings", WNEW-AM. Guess that should be swang, which it did, until a terrible darkness descended in 1992.
N-E-W was also the station that taught a young barbarian everything she barely knew about pop music, courtship, romantic disappointment/fulfillment and the meaning of love. Of life! WNEW-AM became my second home. I can still hear the anthemic call letters and the dial setting -- Eleven Three Oh, Eleven Three Ohhhh! -- and that gorgeous N-E-W chorus sailing right through the musically deprived Eighties until...splat. The best music. Just. Died.
Some say it died in '98 when the new WQEW closed down. (Explained here.) But it was never the same for me after the call letters changed.
This lovely collection of Ruth Etting favorites -- Love Me Or Leave Me; Nevertheless -- is helping me to recover from the long-suppressed grief I have felt over the demise of my listening home.
I haven't seen the film, so I've no idea whether that was a good or bad choice. But Mottram's attitude has me wondering...
Do Asians have to be nationalistic toward each other in order to be authentic?
When Mottram refers to the "rather myopic 'melting-pot' image of the continent," what is he saying about Asians who don't buy into the limitations of ethnic nationalism? posted by Tracy Quan
I don't know how the recent developments will affect Roger Toussaint's leadership cred. His members go back to work without a contract, without even amnesty for the fines. How does he feel about that?
He recently posted this comment on the mayor's use or abuse of the word illegal:
Wow! So I'm just now in the process of ordering the mayor's memoir. It's available, used or new, for about three bucks. I'm curious to see this with my own eyes. Aren't you? posted by Tracy Quan
I am glued once again to NY1. Randi Weingarten, president of the UFT (teachers union), is talking about why people become labor activists: to make life better for future generations. The NY1 host responds that of course people want this for their FAMILY, but it's not the same thing when you're talking about a workforce.
It's not? Why not?
What's a family?
Too many people have a narrow DNA-driven definition of family. Perhaps they can't imagine going on strike to protect a future generation of people who aren't even blood-related.
In reality, your kids don't always ending up doing what you do for a living. Many people, wanting their kids to be better off, will discourage their kids from following in their footsteps. Some don't bother to have kids, so why should this generational stuff matter? As a former sex worker, I've thought about this a lot. Were I a parent, I would want my offspring to find a distinctive new career path -- not to follow my own which is, in turn, very different from my parents'.
Whether your offspring will enter the same occupation/profession, whether you have offpsring at all, you CAN still care about the next generation of people who will be doing your job.
The urge to improve things (or not let 'em get worse) for the next generation is also an urge to give something back. It's the right thing to do. posted by Tracy Quan
Barricade Watch: What is a Blackout?
I just watched Brian O'Dwyer (a labor lawyer) talking to Roma Torre about the coming media blackout and other strike stuff.
Roma theorized that the blackout might give the transit workers more of the respect they feel they deserve. Brian talked about what respect might really mean (e.g., more participation in the disciplinary process) and what you can't/can say during a Blackout. And now we're hearing more about the internal politics of Local 100 -- tensions between Toussaint and, for example, "5 out of 7" vice-presidents.
So far O'Dwyer has not talked about:
Does the blackout apply to websites? Or just traditional media? Maybe that's a naive question but I'm curious. And if it DOESN'T apply, is it possible the language online would be less offensive, hysterical and racist? More radical, confrontational and thorough? Hard to say. More soon. I have a coffee date in 10 minutes! posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, December 21, 2005 Barricade Watch: The I-word
Last night, I watched Roger Toussaint in conversation with Bobby Cuza. Roger handled the issues well and sounds far more educated than any of his adversaries. I find that interesting. Unlike the mayor (who favors the use of catch words like "illegal" and "thuggish") Toussaint did not speak down to the public or resort to political babytalk.
The constant mantra from the mayor and others -- "illegal strike" -- should only remind us that unions were once illegal (and still are in some countries.) The I-word is as meaningless as it is inflammatory. Laws are not written in stone, they are always being revised and discussed. Laws, quite often, are unjust or even stupid. Thinking people should not, therefore, fling this word around just to demonize their opponents.
I'm as addicted as ever to Maureen Dowd! Today, she relishes the ascendancy of gay cowboys and sensitive-guy apes. I know quite a lot about sensitive guys, their ways and their means. I know less than nothing about sensitive APES.
Cynthia Erb, author of Tracking King Kong, told Maureen:
"This time, he really seems to have the qualities of a hero in a woman's romance - he's distant, he's suffering, he's aloof."
BUT, Dowd points out, if Kong's more sensitive, the Ann Darrow character is (surprise!) not exactly sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring. Ms. Erb explains:
"She goes from a naïve, innocent, screaming, virginal character in the 30's to a sexually free, liberated feminist woman in the 70's... she has the benefits of feminism and is the one who in some ways initiates the courtship. She actually works to earn his interest."
WORKS to earn ... his interest?
That's a benefit?? According to what deranged school of thought?
The only women who should "work" to earn male interest are women who get paid for their sexual favors.
I'm so exasperated I just might join the screaming-innocent-virgin brigade. If they're naïve enough to let me in. posted by Tracy Quan
Friday, December 16, 2005 Barricade Watch: Unborn Again
No longer do we hear of The Great Unwashed -- a concept almost Unknown in affluent societies. Now, it's The Great Unborn.
Both Kalikow and Toussaint are defending (some say exploiting) their unborn constituents in conversations with the press:
"...that would be a disservice to both our riders and the city, now and still unborn." -- Peter
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/nyregion/nyregionspecial3/16cnd-mta.html posted by Tracy Quan
Recent Discoveries: Phantoms (and Fannies) of British Columbia
Last night, a delicious meal at the Atlantic Grill on Third Ave: 7 kinds of oysters. My favorite, the Phantom Creek, hails from British Columbia. This Northwestern bivalve has "the tough shell of a beach oyster" combined with a most excellent flavor.
Another favorite oyster, encountered at Quatorze Bis (on East 79th btw 1st and 2nd), is the Fanny Bay. Beloved, also, by a certain character known as Jasmine (who can tell you why oysters go much better with a martini than a Chardonnay.)
The mind-palate problem: I never think about a new oyster's regional origin, preferring to taste each briny critter with an uncluttered mind. I'd LIKE to think my favorite oysters come from the East, from Prince Edward Island perhaps. But they don't. My two current faves are from BC.
And yes, I did something very girly and had my first round of oysters with a glass of Chardonnay. There were two on offer: something Hessian ("fruity 'n' forward") from California and one from South Africa ("buttery bordering on benign"). I tried, liked, and will therefore recommend, the buttery South African to go with your Phantom Creeks. posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, December 14, 2005 2 The Barricades!!
Last night, I went to the Demos holiday party (hosted by Senior Fellow Prins) and met two lovely social justice wonks, Cole Krawitz and Dara Silverman. I ran into Michael Deibert and ended up having a very fruitful discussion with Heather Rogers about which ID carries the greater stigma: Bimbo? Or Marxist?
I also had a chance to harangue Doug Henwood about the idiotic use of labels like Liberal and Conservative. It's one thing for TV shows to invoke this kinda lingo but people at parties? Call me old-fashioned, but are you a lefty, a neocon, a centrist or a wingnut? A Marxian bimbo? That's what I want to know. Don't tell me you're a liberal. What KIND of liberal?
I consider myself a reformed neocon. Which is almost as disreputable as a limousine liberal (remember those?) but... I don't take a lot of limos. Yes, of course, I have been in a few, but not as many as you might think. In New York City, the norm for people like me* is to rely on a combination of yellow cabs and MTA buses. I can handle the public transportation system up to a point, because I find the Manhattan bus system rather genteel. Actually.
(*People like me: girls who are often in a rush to get somewhere in open-toed shoes; however, because a freelancer, am almost never in a hurry when wearing my sneakers, so that means I can/should take the bus.)
As a consequence, I have -- whether dabbling in right or left-wing thought -- always been rather sympathetic to the organizations that represent cabbies and transit workers. I am fiercely in favor of giving NYC cabbies their due -- they are a private sector extension of our public transit system -- and I was bitterly opposed to the previous mayor (Giuliani) because he dehumanized and harassed our private sector public transportation workers.
As you contemplate the looming transit strike, read about the man whose political skills could turn your holiday shopping into a viable occasion or a short season in hell:
Yes, I have posted Pidduck's link in the past, but I really want everyone to read it. The MTA workers deserve our support. They keep this city and our economy ALIVE. Even if you're a bit of a union-basher, you should make an exception for them.
The battle for available cabs will turn brutal this weekend if the MTA doesn't come to an agreement with Mr. Toussaint.
I'm glad someone is speaking about this -- and the broad political implications -- but grateful not to be raising kids in the environment she describes. Eep. posted by Tracy Quan
Two radio dates in Toronto this week!
On Monday Dec 12 (later today)I'll be on CHRY-FM in Toronto: Covered & Bound. Tune in between 4-5 pm Eastern Canada/US time. To listen live: http://www.yorku.ca/chry/
Wednesday, December 07, 2005 This afternoon: Court-TV I just found out that I will be on Court-TV this afternoon - Weds Dec 7 at 5:30 pm Eastern USA Time. I'll be discussing a recent news story on "Catherine Crier Live" with a panel of experts... wish me luck. If you tune in, let me know what you think! posted by Tracy Quan
Tuesday, December 06, 2005 Ice Queens If you saw those infamous penguins (yeah, those penguins) on the big screen this summer... and followed the public conversation about the Emperor penguin's raison d'etre, you'll want to read about, uhhhh, career-girl penguins in the latest issue of $pread.
Eliyanna Kaiser refers to this phenomenon of nature as "the coldest profession." In fact, if I understand this correctly, $pread is working a theme because these, in fact, are married call girl penguins!
Check out the latest ish of $pread for Rachel Aimee's commentary on another kind of married call girl... news from Canada ... midlife crisis of a pimp...and more.
You have to get your copy now, before they sell out (in the quantitative not qualitative sense.)
http://www.spreadmagazine.org/subscribe.html http://www.spreadmagazine.org/ posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, November 28, 2005 Recent Discoveries This Week Heathering. Muffin-Stalking. A Memo from the Since When? Department.
Help me OUT here! Have you seen the latest DWR catalog? When did heather become... a verb??
Oh, and that heathered bedside saddle? NOT the kinky accessory some of you had in mind: http://www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=7986
While Design Within Reach remakes the modern bed -- a certain amount of heathering's inevitable -- Katagiri continues to modernize its muffins.
If you like food, and live/work near East 59th in Manhattan, you absolutely HAVE to pop over to Katagiri. What is this thing called... a Mugwort Bun? Sounds like something right out of Harry Potter. Looks like a green tea muffin. I had to snag one and did.
Katagiri, a venerable establishment (since 1907!) is also a local treasure. It's one of my favorite food shops, enigmatic and cozy and comforting. Their Mugwort Bun is light green with little red beans embedded in a sponge-cake base. It comes cleverly packaged for a longer shelf life. Email from a discerning sampler: "tasty but kind of weird. i don't think i would make the mugwort my 'everyday' muffin. that said, i enjoyed it."
Tasty but kind of weird. The best things in life can be that way.
Where is Katagiri? http://www.katagiri.com/index.shtml The story of Katagiri: http://www.katagiri.com/hist.htm Mugwort explained: http://www.allnatural.net/herbpages/mugwort.shtml posted by Tracy Quan
Wednesday, November 23, 2005 The view from my in-box today
1) Re: BUMPSHOP this weekend in Manhattan
When: Saturday, November 26th, 2005 10pm - 4am Where: APT, 419 West 13th St. (btw 9th & Washington) NB: Bumphop is downstairs Admission: $8 Web: www.aptwebsite.com
Really why?: His book discussion will also include a rum tasting!
When: 5:30 pm Where: Club Quarters, 40 West 45 Street New York RSVP: Call the OPC at 212-626-9220
Review: "... as inviting, biting and spirited as rum itself.” Santé magazine
Executive Summary: The molasses colonists bought from French plantations in the Caribbean was manufactured into rum in New England. Williams makes the case that when Britain began taxing molasses, tensions between the home country and the colonies began to accelerate, leading to the French and Indian War, and then the American Revolution. posted by Tracy Quan
At this time of year, some of us worry about hat hair. But I, in cold months, worry much more about turtleneck hair.
Especially when donning a turtleneck BODY SUIT which is always much tighter around the head than, say, a turtleneck SWEATER. The body suit in question has a name; it's called the COLORADO and is made by Wolford. I wear the full panty version but, if you think that sounds too much like a chastity belt (complete coverage from pelvis to chin, anyone?) by all means try the Colorado "string" which is their groovy euphemism for a thong. I think there's something perverse about that particular combo. Think about it. Thong panties morphing into a turtleneck. Sounds all wrong to me.
I used to think my favorite winter body suit was named after a high rise building in my 'hood until I noticed that another favorite is called the Jamaika. Actually, all the Wolford "bodies" and "string bodies" (as they are called) are pretty much named after cities or small countries with various, ah, reputations. So the carefree, comfortable tank style is named Jamaika; the short-sleeved resortlike "body" = Bahamas... and the skimpiest, lightest, slinkiest thong of all is the Odessa string body. The ideal body suit for wearing under a t-shirt ...in August, but it's too cold, these days, for Odessa (unless you're staying in, of course.)
But we were talking about hair-fear. I'm getting to that.
After having your hair blown, it's quite terrifying to contemplate the damage to your virtual helmet ...while slipping into the Colorado. The solution is Wolford's Berlin body which has long sleeves and a scooped neck (but not so scooped that you'll freeze to death.)
And that's how I've solved the problem of turtleneck hair.
http://www.wolfordboutiquelondon.com/ posted by Tracy Quan
Monday, November 21, 2005 My Dad sez... I've been a cultural laggard! Blogs need constant (or at least weekly) attention and, he says, people expect to see activity. Like taking care of your lawn. It's funny because my dad was the sort who would let his lawn go untended for weeks but now he lectures me about blog upkeep?? How things do change.
So.
I apologize for my absence but... I ... AM ...BACK.
My reading at Rocky Sullivan's went well! Big thanks to Lisa McLaughlin, curator of Rocky's Readings, for inviting me back and making everything go smoothly. To W. for being "counterintuitive." And to Leigh at B & N for supplying books!
The audience discussion -- ranging from crack addiction to literary trends -- was a delight (at least for me) and I will post details of my next reading right here. Stay tuned. posted by Tracy Quan
Tune in at 12 Midnight Eastern USA Time. Tonight Monday 10/17. Or earlier, if you're farther west... You can listen online. Or on various radio stations around the country... We'll be taking calls, too. Let me know what you think! posted by Tracy Quan
Philadelphia: Reading Wed., October 5 7:00 PM Barnes & Noble 1805 Walnut Street (Rittenhouse Square) Phone: 1-215-665-0716 --
Manhattan: Meet the Author Thu., October 6 4:00 - 6:00 PM Come Again Erotic Emporium 353 East 53rd Street (near First Avenue) Phone: 1-212-308-9394 --
Ottawa: Reading (Optional Veggie Dinner) Weds., 10/19 7:30 PM The Table 1230 Wellington St. (at Holland) Dinner will be served before the reading. Sponsored by Collected Works To call Collected Works: 1-613-722-1265 To call The Table: 1-613-729-5973 --
Manhattan: Reading Weds., 10/26 8:00 PM Rocky Sullivan's 129 Lexington Ave (between 28th-29th Streets) Phone: 1-212-765-3871 posted by Tracy Quan
Sunday, September 25, 2005 A Love That Dares Not Broadcast Its Price
I wonder what Tipper Gore would make of that?? She probably finds it to be a quaint, rather sensitive, and highly literate, song about a lady of the night. But, yeah, it's kind of defiant: Better far than they. And Billie Holiday, who recorded it in 1945, had once worked in a brothel.
Whatever the reason, it was shocking then. Something to keep in mind, as newer media evolve and more shock factors emerge. (Cole Porter's witty showtune Anything Goes, has the last word on "shock value.")
I love the many versions of Love For Sale, Ella's being a notable one. As a teen hooker, I listened to it night and day because it appealed to my Inner Drama Queen. Bigtime. But my current favorite is by Dianne Reeves -- it really hits the spot. You have to have it. Soooo audacious. I needed it then but have it now. posted by Tracy Quan
Friday, September 23, 2005 Book Tour Updates
This Sunday! Radio date in Philly with Peter Solomon: Sunday morning 9/25 at 6:10 AM Listen live at http://www.610wip.com/ posted by Tracy Quan
To directly benefit those affected and displaced by Hurricane Katrina: Fundraiser at Frank's Cocktail Lounge starts at 7:00 on Sunday night, and will persist until at least 12 midnight. DJs Jockomo (Jacob Blick) and WFMU Soul Expert Mr. Fine Wine will combine their vinyl resources to deliver a serious dose of real New Orleans Soul and Rhythm 'n' Blues!
100% of door proceeds are going to local Louisiana churches and organizations who have been directly responding to the crisis. For more details: http://www.33-13.com/
Complimentary Creole food provided by Restaurant New Orleans
$8 minimum donation
Sunday, September 25 7PM – 12AM or later FRANK’S COCKTAIL LOUNGE 660 Fulton Street, Ft. Greene Brooklyn, 11217 1-718-625-9339 http://frankscocktaillounge.com posted by Tracy Quan
Do you have a book idea that feels like it's almost there? Come to Barnes and Noble, Fifth Avenue @ 18th Street, Manhattan on Thursday, Sept 22 @ 6:00 pm!
How to: * Choose the right idea * Perfect your pitch * Come up with a blockbuster title * Create an airtight book proposal * Locate and land the right agent * Understand your contract * Get P-A-I-D on time!
Arielle runs the San Francisco office of the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency. David's the best-selling author of Chicken plus three forthcoming books: two young adult novels (to be published by Dutton in 2006 and 2007) and
