About time.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 04:27 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Or something. Code blue at the Weblog Awards!

Much as I have sentimental attachments to Beautiful Atrocities, Iowahawk, and Six Meat Buffet, there is the urgent business of getting Protein Wisdom caught up with the hipsters manqué at Jesus' General.

So until Jeff G. catches up with the Kossacks' Choice, I'd say vote for Protein Wisdom. Early and often.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 03:27 PM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
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. . . particularly if you are a libertarian/conservative, or a supporter of undiscovered blogs. There are a few good reasons I ask you to do this. Here's one out of my partisan bag:

The Weblog Awards, presided over by Kevin of Wizbang!, go to some trouble to be representative of the entire blogosphere, not just the pro-war side. Consequently, some care is taken to include left-of-center blogs, even out of proportion to the nominations received. However, because fewer nominations come in from the lefty blogs, fewer of these are represented. Of course, this has the effect of placing them in a stronger position, because the right/libertarian votes are split among more entries.

Please take a moment to survey all the categories and figure out which ones you feel qualified to vote in (some good choices: the humor category, the group blog category, and the ecosystem-based categories—particularly the ones down the list that grant needed recognition to smaller blogs).

Once you've selected a few categories that you like to vote in, do it every 24 hours until the voting closes. Because the evil people who support [insert name of blog you don't like because it's in competition with your fave] will be doing that as well.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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. . . with Radio Lone Star, who brought me some nice gun porn, including an entire special issue magazine devoted to the .45 government model. Naturally, we talked about how the gun industry has changed: there was a time when it was harder for publishing folks to "admit" that they worked for firearms-oriented magazines than it was to concede they work down the street at the Hustler offices. It started to change a little in 1999, when the underground "Y2K preparation" scare led some to re-examine their feelings about self-sufficiency in a number of areas, including home defense. But of course after 9/11 the public settled into a realization that all uses of force—even those that require hardware—are not evil in and of themselves.

That is, it might not be any more wicked to have a sidearm under your bed (secured so your children can't get to it) versus bondage equipment (which no one ever insists should be secured away from the kids).

Around the time we drift away from ordnance and onto media in general, the waitress comes by and I order a margarita on the rocks. No salt. Lone Star looks at his watch, which reads 12:40.

"Is this breakfast for you?" he asks.

"No. I had tea," I respond.

"But have you eaten today?"

"Well," I tell him. "There was milk in the tea. I think that counts."

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:18 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I still haven't raised my rates quite yet, so it's an extraordinary bargain: $20 for a week, or $45 for a full month.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:06 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Michael Yon just posted an extraordinary article about the birds that fly over Iraq's capital city: both the organic kind and those made of steel.

He's also sending a note around acknowledging the buzz being generated by the possible Bruce Willis deal, and assuring us that he'll let us know when there's real news to report.

Finally, he's re-printing his book, Danger Close, in a signed limited edition. If you want to read it, I'd recommend that you pre-order a copy off of his sidebar. Some of his photographs are also available there, most in signed editions. Naturally, I recommend supporting his work, since he is the only independent journalist reporting a lot of these stories, and we'd be operating in total darkness without him and the milbloggers. (As others have noted, the U.S. government should be paying domestic publications to print stories about progress in Iraq, since it isn't happening now.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:00 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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SoCalPundit has some more great pix from Mark Steyn's speech on Friday night, including some of the lumnaries who were there that evening. (Too bad we had to duck out right at the end of the event! I would have loved to meet Tammy Bruce, among others. Next time, for sure.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at 10:21 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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. . . has a suggestion for decreasing media enthusiasm.

Sometimes I think Israel will ultimately need to save us from ourselves.

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Mr. Google has let me down, and I thought it might be faster just to ask if anyone knows who does the opening theme music for Boston Legal. My mother and I are looking in particular for the segments that harken back to American folk music (negro spirituals and the like).

And, of course—I like a beat. My mother doesn't especially share my passion for bass and drums.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 04:47 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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For the Warblogger Awards, over at Right Wing News.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 03:19 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I'll throw some code in here later, or perhaps re-post the list with the links. But I did want to make sure everyone was aware that we have a lot of Cotillion members who are finalists in various categories, Vote here.

Best New Blog
Merri Musings
Atlas Shrugs
Common Sense Runs Wild
Soldier's Angel Holly Aho

Best Group Blog
The Cotillion!

Best Conservative Blog
The Anchoress

Best Culture/Gossip Blog
Knowledge Is Power

Best Canadian Blog
A North American Patriot

Best European Blog (Non-UK)
Free Thoughts

Best Top 250
My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Best 251-500
baldilocks
Florida Cracker

Best 501-1000
The American Princess
Armies of Liberation
reasoned audacity

Best 1001-1750
Maxed Out Mama
Right Wing Sparkle
Portia Rediscovered
Girl On The Right

When you have to choose among several Cotillion babes, just .. . . follow your heart.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:18 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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"And when you're in trouble, whom do you turn to? What would happen if someday you called me and I just wasn't there? Not very good, huh? Now run along and play."

I'd love to see this whole story traced a bit more closely: it's hard not to wonder if this leak was part of the war going on within the CIA.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 01:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Just eek.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 11:53 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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. . . with the amazing Tammy Bruce, who of course now has her own blog.

I have to say that I'd love to read her most recent book, though it's in line behind Thomas Sowell's latest. (Actually, there are three waiting lists: political, crime, and "other.")

Posted by: Attila Girl at 11:02 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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It's just so tiresome: the continual requests for interviews. The paparazzi outside our homes. The continual demands for comments on the issues of the day. Al Jazeera on the line, again.

And, of course, the mentions in the newspapers.

Not everyone can handle the pressures of the Cotillion life.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 09:42 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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When Powerline links you on a Saturday morning, you may find that your usual "weekend slump" has turned into a sharp upward spike.

Gotta go. I'm looking for a Christmas ham to send to Tennessee. Who knew that this linking stuff would be so successful?

(Okay. Seriously, I just wanted to thank Hinderaker for the work Powerline did during Rathergate. We do owe him and other vanguard bloggers a huge debt for that.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:59 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Soon. Soon.

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Last night Attila the Hub and I went to see Mark Steyn speak at the Claremont Institute's Churchill Dinner. He was there to receive the 2005 Henry Salvatori prize—and, of course, to entertain the Institute's supporters with his amazing wit and insight. In truth, his speech was inspiring and sobering, and I'll have further details tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime I'd like to thank the Institute for inviting us. We shared a table with Flap, PrestoPundit, Gay Patriot West, Matt Peterson, who blogs for the Institute, John of Write Enough, and Matt of Flash Report, along with Kevin and his charming wife.

I also got to meet John Hinderaker of PowerLine, who is a Fellow of the Institute. Naturally, he got swarmed somewhat when he showed up near the blogger's table, but I believe we were all polite about it.

Tammy Bruce was also in attendance, but she was also seated at one of the Fellows' tables. And there was at least one well-known actress there, but I'm not sure she's out as a conservative, so I'll leave her name out of this post.

Special thanks also must go out to The Bear Flag League (the glue that holds conservative Californians together) and to Justene, who does most of the heavy lifting therein.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 11:28 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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But I have to survey my female readers, here. I read a story at writer's group last night (a little autobiographical piece about my relationship with my body) and mentioned that it was "fun" to get my first period, at the age of 14. The five others present—all female—questioned that word. My mouth nearly dropped open: sure, menstruating can get to be a drag in any number of ways after months and years go by. But I had a classic Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret? experience, and genuinely wanted that confimation that I was becoming sexually mature and that my body worked properly. It sounded like a grownup thing, getting periods, and like most teenagers I longed for the trappings of adulthood (stopping just short of responsible behavior, of course, like most teenagers).

Am I the only one who was thrilled and gratified to see those spots of blood for the very first time?

Posted by: Attila Girl at 07:45 AM | Comments (21) | Add Comment
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1 yes.

Posted by: caltechgirl at December 02, 2005 09:43 AM (/vgMZ)

2 Yes. I mean no. Wait, wrong thread!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at December 02, 2005 02:53 PM (QriEg)

3 Oh no! I was too! I was starting to worry by then. See, I started with the secondary sex characteristics at ten, stopped growing taller at 11, reached 34B status at 12, and still didn't have my period. So when I finally got it a couple months before my thirteenth birthday I was relieved. It was the only thing left undone and I'd been afraid it wouldn't happen. At the time this was precocious, understand, not like today where it's probably average to start at twelve. There's always that little handful, two or three girls, who get the first real bras and such. And it leaves one highly vulnerable. Where I went to school, the consequences of being an "early bloomer" were terrible. On top of that, I had horrible prolonged heavy sickening periods. Just awful. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I learned that fibromyalgia does that. I always figured it was endometriosis or something. Most of my life the pill was the only thing that got me through, turned those beasts into more *normal* periods. But at least I knew I'd made it. I was done. And when I could get away from harsh reality and back into what I thought things should be like, socially I mean, I was thrilled. I'd crossed that line, made that rite of passage. I greatly disliked being a child and now no one could really call me that any mroe. Even though, of course, I still was. And the funny thing is, when I read your post, I'd just been drafting up a post on peri-menopause. And on how nice it was to get a real period just now.

Posted by: K at December 02, 2005 07:09 PM (ywZa8)

4 Ahem. Okay, I am not a member of the, uh, other leading major gender. The, er, feminine one. And therefore blood from any orifice is a cause for immediate concern, if not frantic panic. However, I remember a page length comic in a National Lampoon issue, late '70s, on this exact topic. It was captionless, and featured two young women (girls, really) determined to try tampons for the first time, as a rite of passage. It followed their misadventures and discomfort and incredulity until the final panel, which had them walking proudly, a tiny little string dangling visibly between their legs. Incidentally, it was not graphically explicit. I have no idea who drew it... at the time it seemed merely weird to me. Still does, in retrospect. But weird was what National Lampoon did best, back then, when they were funny.

Posted by: Steve Skubinna at December 02, 2005 09:39 PM (eguza)

5 Charming

Posted by: beautifulatrocities at December 02, 2005 10:16 PM (Af92j)

6 My mom was open and very matter-of-fact about periods (and all reproductive questions) for as long as I could remember. So I approached the day actually looking forward to it. Like you, it seemed to me one of those markers that annouced...Today you are a woman. Happened exactly 3 days after my 12th birthday. I was thrilled! It was a bright spot in the midst of all the physical changes I was going through....my 11th birthday signaling the start of puberty and a growth spurt that took me from 5 foot even, to 5 foot 7 inches when my period started. I was as open, approachable and matter of fact with my girls. No depressions or freaking out. Just "hey, mom, come see what happened!"...and upping the total boxes of pads and tampons to buy at the market

Posted by: Darleen at December 02, 2005 10:24 PM (FgfaV)

7 Steve, I'd love to see that National Lampoon bit. Guys, you seem to be dealing with this post with impressive fortitude.

Posted by: K at December 03, 2005 05:41 AM (6krEN)

8 It was another tedious purgatory at Aunty Viv's chateau in the Adirondacks, where I disappointed her by overturning china cups of tea & dragging my size 10 feet. Not allowed to wear pants, I was upholstered in a pink organdy knot bristling with lace & tatting. I had just sat down on a padded & priceless 18th Century chair - more like a stool, really - that had once been owned by Mary Shelley. Such a fuss!

Posted by: shirley w. at December 03, 2005 07:14 AM (+a4Oo)

9 What a trashy blog

Posted by: John at December 03, 2005 09:23 AM (SlouJ)

10 notice John left off the PERIOD?

Posted by: K at December 03, 2005 09:49 AM (M7kiy)

11 And who are you trying to start a blog war with with this this post?

Posted by: William Teach at December 03, 2005 10:06 AM (cuTsc)

12 supposed to be a smiley face on the end of that

Posted by: William Teach at December 03, 2005 10:19 AM (cuTsc)

13 No one this time, but I'm always open to a blog war, particularly if the other party is willing to, um, participate. I just knew it was a delicate subject. However, I had to enquire, because I had suddenly realized that my experience might have been a minority one. And as a writer, I wanted to know about it if that were the case. John, please come back next week, when I'll be discussing forensic entomology, and the progression of various species of maggots that breed in dead bodies. Either that, or how diet affects the texture of human shit. I haven't quite decided.

Posted by: Attila Girl at December 03, 2005 10:26 AM (zZMVu)

14 Oh. So you'll be linking to Bane next week then?

Posted by: Desert Cat at December 03, 2005 10:46 AM (xdX36)

15 Can't wait! Both delightly holiday themes!Who says the Algonquin Round Table has been turned to kindling? The new Golden Age?

Posted by: Darrell at December 03, 2005 11:43 AM (DpP47)

16 I think the fact that you wrote this post is pretty good. While it might not mean much to the male readers, the very fact that you posted something deeply personal is, too me, alot of what blogging should be about.

Posted by: William Teach at December 03, 2005 03:12 PM (AkiXU)

17 Try to get her started on the thermodynamics of breast-washing

Posted by: jeff at December 03, 2005 05:55 PM (uykCN)

18 Hm. I'm pretty sure that "Shirley" was Jeff/BA. But there's this chance it was Hubris. Of course, I could go check the IP log, and figure it out that way. But I'm far far far too lazy.

Posted by: Attila Girl at December 03, 2005 09:08 PM (zZMVu)

19 I enjoyed the subject. As a man who knows little about women, well actually a man who understands NOTHING about women, it was enlightening.

Posted by: Old Gary at December 03, 2005 10:50 PM (KL1S/)

20 And you are different from every other man how, exactly, Old Gary?

Posted by: William Teach at December 04, 2005 08:22 AM (AkiXU)

21 I wasn't thrilled -- guess because I'm a guy

Posted by: karl4hand at December 08, 2005 12:51 PM (guLWn)

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Lower right-hand corner, on the main page. (Backstory: the abortion-rights activist failed to yield the mike when it was Charmaine's turn to speak, and had to be [gently, we trust] nudged aside.)

UPDATE: Speaking of Charmaine, here's the video of her from Paula Zahn's show, making a very polished argument in favor of parental notification laws. (Yes, she and I are technically at opposite sides on this particular debate—another chink in my "conservative" armor—but notice the skill with which she turns the other woman's own argument against her position. Nice.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at 01:23 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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