The Wall Las Memorias, an AIDS memorial in Lincoln Park

Mad Professah (and Governor Bill Richardson) attended the unveiling of a mural at The Wall Las Memorias (an AIDS memorial) in East Los Angeles on Friday. In the picture above, the Governor is surrounded by several ministers. Richard Zaldivar, the exexutive director of the organization, is in profile to the audience, facing the podium. Bill Richardson began his speech in fluent Spanish, and even after he switched to English, continued to include Spanish phrases in his text. He spoke about a friend of his, Billy Griego, who was the son of the Chair of the Republican Party in Santa Fe, New Mexico who was the first person he knew to die of AIDS. This happened within a year of Richardson's election to Congress in 1980. It was a powerful speech, a much better performance than his egregious appearance at the Visible Vote '08 forum sponsored by HRC and LOGO three weeks before.

Here are some pictures of the beautiful murals in Lincoln Park (yes, the same park the rock band Linkin Park is named after) which is about 5-10 minutes drive from my house:

US OPEN 2007: Men's Final Preview

Roger Federer SUI (1) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3). The 25-year-old top seed defeated Nikolay Davydenko for the tenth consecutive time 7-5, 6-1, 7-5 to earn his tenth consecutive Grand Slam final and fourteenth of his career. He will meet 20-year-old Novak Djokovic who is playing in his very first major final after defeating David Ferrer of Spain yesterday 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. Djokovic defeated Federer on hard courts (for the first time in 5 meetings) four weeks ago at the Montreal ATP Masters Series event in a third set tiebreak, with a drop shot (!) on match point.

Federer has grown accustomed to facing younger opponents in finals and has a stunning record of 11-2 in major finals. Although Djokovic clearly has the game and talent to defeat Federer, especially if "The Name" is not playing well, it is doubtful that "The Next Big Thing" will come away with the prize in his very first major final. Most tennis watchers and pundits do expect Djokovic to win a major title eventually (I suspect it will happen in 2008). Despite what Bud Collins thinks, Mad Professah believes Djokovic will not be able to prevent Federer from extending his US Open win streak to 27 consecutive matches and 4 consecutive titles today. That will give Federer 12 major titles, putting him in second place behind his idol Pete Sampras' total of 14 for the most Grand Slam singles titles.

PREDICTION: Federer (in 4 sets).

US OPEN 2007: Women's Final Preview

World #1 and current Roland Garros champion Justine Henin beat current Wimbledon champion Venus Williams 7-6(2), 6-4 in an uneven women's semifinal at the 2007 US Open, three days after eliminating current Australian Open champion Serena Williams 7-6(4), 6-1 in a powerful display of versatile tennis.

In the other women's soon-to-be World #2 Svetlana Kuznetsova beat soon-to-be World #5 Anna Chakvetadze 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in an error-prone, scratchy match marred by tricky weather conditions and nervous play from both players.

Henin is 14-2 head-to-head against Kuznetsova and beat the Russian 6-4, 6-4 in a 2006 Roland Garros final which was not as close as the score indicates. It should be noted that Kuznetsova did win their last encounter, on clay in Berlin in a tough 3-sets and won the 2004 US Open. However, Justine won the 2003 US Open and was in the 2006 US Open final and is the prohibitive favorite to win her 7th major title overall (a total one ahead of Venus, one behind Serena) today.

California Legislature Passes Freedom To Marry Bill (Again!)

Equality California is reporting that for the second year in a row, the California Legislature has passes a bill which would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. The State Senate passed openly gay Assemblymember Mark Leno's AB 43 by a vote of 22-15 earlier today while the bill had previously passed the Assembly 42-34. on June 6, 2007.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has stated his intention to veto the measure, again.

D.C.'s Free Condoms Found To Be Cheap and Shoddy

Mad Professah has been reporting about the free condoms distributed by cities like New York ("Who's Having More Sex? Angelenos or New Yorkers?") and Washington, D.C. for quite awhile now.

This week comes word that all is not well with the free D.C. condoms. NO, they're not too small for denizens of "The Chocolate City." (Well, maybe for some of them.) Or too big! Turns out they're just too damned cheap:

Tens of thousands of condoms provided free by the District to curb HIV-AIDS have been returned to the health department because of complaints that their paper packaging is easily damaged and could render the condoms ineffective.

Volunteers concerned about why interest had dropped began asking people who had picked up the condoms. They were told about packets ripping in purses or bursting open in pockets. As a result, recipients said they had little confidence that the condoms would offer protection.

In addition, expiration dates on some of the Chinese-made condoms were illegible.

"People were saying, 'These packets aren't any good,' " said Franck DeRose, executive director of an organization called the Condom Project, one of those involved in the grass-roots distribution system. A coalition that includes the Condom Project sent back 100,000 condoms to the city, about 15 percent of what the city says has been passed out to groups.

[...]

Concerns arose almost immediately after the program began. In interviews yesterday, officials at nearly half a dozen organizations that had been dispensing the condoms said they had received negative feedback from clients. Many said that the packaging seemed shoddy, they said.

The excerpt above is from the Washington Post article on the story which was printed on Wednesday September 5th ("Concerns Affect D.C. Condom Giveaway"). The next day, D.C. Department of Health officials responded with a statement in which Dr. Gregg Pane is quoted saying "DC condoms are safe and reliable and meet all standards for quality."

US OPEN 2007: Men's Semifinals Preview

The 2007 US Open Men' s emifinals are now set. Mad Professah did not write up a Men's quarterfinals preview because Wednesday night's amazing quarterfinal between Andy Roddick and Roger Federer (a reprise of the 2006 US Open Men's Final) is, in all likelihood, the determinant for who will win the 2007 US Open Men's Final. However, there are still two matches that have to be played before the title is decided.

Roger Federer SUI (1) vs. Nikolay Davydenko RUS (4). Federer has played Davydenko nine times and beaten the Russian Top 5 player in the world exactly nine times. The two did play a very low quality, very tight semifinal match at this year's Roland Garros which Federer won in straight sets 7-5, 7-6(5), 7-6(7). It's doubtful that Saturday's semifinals will be similarly unwatchable but it is very likely the ultimate victor will be the same. Federer's victory will give him a berth in his 10th consecutive Grand Slam final, every final since the Wimbledon 2005 (he lost in the semifinals of both the 2005 Australian and the 2005 French Open to the eventual champion both times) and the 2nd year in a row he has been in all 4 major finals. If he wins that final he will be within striking distance of ending the conversation regarding who is th Greatest of all Time, although most tennis pundits already know the answer to that impertinent question. PREDICTION: Federer in 4 sets.


Novak Djokovic SRB (3) vs. David Ferrer ESP (15). Djokovic is being called The Next Big Thing by the press and the fans alike. They appreciate his mental toughness, swarthy good looks and youthful brashness and energy. And he's got game. Lots of it. For the third consecutive major he will be playing in a semifinal, but for the first time his opponent will not be the long-suffering #2 player in the world, Rafael Nadal, who has twice this year denied the Serbian player his taste at tennis immortality but instead another player from Spain with an impressive physique and incredible quickness around the court: David Ferrer. Ferrer is in his first major semifinal ever and although he actually has a lifetime edge of 2-1 against Djokovic, both of those wins were on clay, and one of them was over three years ago. Djokovic took out Ferrer in two sets earlier this year en route to his first ATP Masters Series final at Indian Wells, where he lost to Nadal. He now owns two ATP Mastser shields for the year (both on hard courts) and is #3 in the world, but arguably the #2 player in the world on hard courts. At Montreal he had a career-making run defeating the World #3 (Roddick), World #2 (Nadal) and World #1 (Federer) in three consecutive rounds to take the title.

PREDICTION: Djokovic in 3 sets.

Black Don't Crack!

Mel Melcon / LAT

The Los Angeles Times has an article about 1973 Mr. America Jim Morris, a 72-year old Black, gay bodybuilder who still lifts weights 6 days a week. It's not exactly clear why the article by Staff Reporter Carla Hall was published on Monday, but it was definitely heartening to see black, gay visibility in my hometown newspaper, an explicit acknolwdgement of bodybuilding's homoeroticism and the pervasive nature of racism.

But Morris' Mr. America win in 1973 propelled him into the Hollywood whirl. "I was living by the Hollywood sign, I was known in the gay community, I was invited to all the A-list parties," he said.

Morris, who worked as a Carnation food company sales representative until 1974, went on to do a variety of jobs: He was a bodyguard for Elton John; he had a small movie career (his various characters include a gymnast in the Mae West movie "Sextette"); and he opened his own gym with his companion of 20 years, Jimmy Brown.

The gym closed in 1985. His partner died of AIDS 15 years ago. And Morris has been a personal trainer since the mid-'80s, working at World Gym in the Marina for years. After its recent closure, he found a new home at Boditron.

There are multiple pictures prominently displayed on the Times website and the article was on the front page of the popular California section. Mad Professah is curious about the motivation of the editors in carrying this story, but happy to see it.

US OPEN 2007: Women's Semifinals Preview

The 2007 US Open Women's semifinals are now set. Mad Professah correctly predicted 3 of the 4 women's quarterfinal match results.

Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (4) vs. Anna Chakvetadze RUS (6). Instead of an all-Williams semifinal we have an all-Russian semifinal. Of course, these two players have been relegated to the bottom half of the draw and the less glamorous day-time schedule. Kuznetsova repeated her Pilot Pen win over Hungarian teenager Agnes Szavay, this time completing the match in straight sets 6-1, 6-4. Chakvetadze took out always tough Shahar Pe'er in straight sets by a similar score (6-4, 6-1). Now the two Russians will face each other in a Grand Slam semifinal, Kuznetsova's third and Chakvetadze's first. Although on paper and experience one would expect Kuznetsova to win but having seen Chakvetadze in person playing two matches this summer (at the Acura Classic, losing to Sharapova and beating Venus), I suspect she will pull out her first win over her older countrywoman to validate her sterling summer hard court season and solidify her break through to the upper echelons of the game. PREDICTION: Chakvetadze in 3 sets.

Venus Williams USA (12) vs. Justine Henin BEL (1). The top half of the draw has widely been thought of as containing the eventual winner of the tournament and this match will likely be the determinant. In order for Justine to win this tournament she will have to defeat both Serena and Venus Williams in the same tournament, something only Martina Hingis has done (and she ended up losing in the final). Justine has not played Venus in over four years (2003 Australian Open semi-final which she lost in straight sets during the Williams sisters' run of four consecutive grand slam finals) and has lost 7 consecutive matches to her. However, all these matches occurred before Justine won the first of her 6 Grand Slam titles and this will not be an easy match for Venus to win.

If the Venus that came out and blew the #5 player in the World, Ana Ivanovic, off the court on Monday in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 is the one that shows up for Friday's semifinal then she will make quick work of the #1 seed. But if it's the one that showed up against the #3 player in the World, Jelena Jankovic, and had 60 winners and 56 unforced errors to gut out a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) win it will be a long night at the office which I believe the Belgian will be able to tough out. There's no way that Venus will be able to hit 60 winners against Justine, but we all know that in any match the upper limit of the number of errors Venus can hit is unlimited. I suspect it will be the former Venus and not the latter Venus, which will lead her to the third time in her career attempting to pull off the Wimbledon-U.S. Open double (2000 and 2001).

PREDICTION: TOSSUP (with an edge to V. Williams).

US OPEN 2007: Serena Upset By Justine

World #1 Justine Henin defeated Serena Williams 7-6(3) 6-1 in the first Women's Quarterfinal at the 2007 U.S. Open last night in New York. This is the third consecutive time Justine has beaten Serena at a Grand Slam tournament this year, on three different surfaces (clay in Paris, grass in London and hard courts in New York). The first set was a very tight, intense match-up, with both players earning set points (Justine saved a set point at 5-6, 30-40 with a clever slice serve to the forehand and Serena saved two set points at 3-5, 15-40 with powerful serving) prior to the tiebreaker. In the tiebreak, the very first point was won by Serena after a thrilling 23-stroke rally but it was Justine who upped her game afterwards and won three of the next four points and the tiebreaker 7-3. In the second set Justine broke early and then started swinging away freely, under coach and father figure Carlos Rodriguez' specific instructions.

After the match, Serena turned in an even more dismal performance at her mandatory post-match press conference. Here are some excerpts:

Q. Can you explain what went wrong out there tonight?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I can't. I'm sorry. Any more questions?

Q. Do you think fitness was an issue in this match?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm very fit. I can run for hours.

Q. So what do you think was the difference tonight?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I just said I can't explain that right now. I just don't know, so I can't help you there.

You guys I think watched it. Maybe you can analyze it better. I haven't been able to watch it yet.


Q. Can you describe your emotions after the match? Are you devastated by this loss?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No. I'm very happy.

Q. You fought pretty hard to get back into the first set. She played a good tiebreak. Second set, your level seemed to drop.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I just think she played better. I just think she made a lot of lucky shots, and I made a lot of errors. I don't think my level dropped.

Q. Isn't it making errors when your level drops?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I guess it is in a way, maybe my level did drop. I definitely made a lot of errors. I think she just played a little bit more aggressive and started hitting really, really hard balls.

[...]

Q. Did she play as strong tonight as she ever has in previous times you faced her?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, she played real strong tonight.


Q. Just talk about your serve. It's the one thing you can usually depend on. It wasn't one of your best serving days either.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it definitely wasn't my best serving day. Yeah, it wasn't my best today. I served better in my other rounds.

Q. Did you feel going into the match the way you normally feel when you're playing a big match against her or was there something missing?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I was really excited to go into it. I was ready. I was really ready to play.

Q. You've said you feel very strongly that when you're playing your best you can beat anybody in the world. Has this match done anything to change that feeling or do you still feel that way?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Do you think I played my best?

Q. No, I don't.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Okay, well, then...

Q. Are you saying that you lost the match rather than Justine won it?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think that's usually the case with me, that it's for me to win or lose.

Q. You seem much more disappointed than Paris or London.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Do I?

Q. You do.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Go figure.

Q. Figure what, though? Where is it coming from? Did you feel like you were peaking, this was your?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I mean, I'm just ‑‑ I really don't feel like talking about it, to be honest. It's like I don't want to get fined. That's the only reason I came (laughter). I can't afford to pay the fines because I keep losing.

Any more questions?

Serena has been widely criticized for these surly comments, especially the "lucky shots" remark. If you read the transcript it is clear she does give some credit to Henin, but her body language and tone were communicating her extreme reluctance to be there as well as disappointment and anger.

15-Year-Old Black Female Going To Ivy League

This story about 15-year-old Brittney Exline of Colorado Springs, CO who started school at University of Pennsylvania this week caught my eye. At first it was the headline which was noteworthy, but then the picture of Bruttney provided some more information not immediately offered in the wire report, namely that Brittney is African American.

Here is an excerpt of the standard wire report written by Kathy Matheson of Associated Preess that is running in many papers:

Brittney Exline is too young to drive a car or go to an R-rated movie, but the 15-year-old probably will not have much time for those things anyway now that she's starting her first year of college.

Despite the age difference with her 17- and 18-year-old peers, she said she doesn't really notice it - and neither do they.

"I didn't tell people right off the bat that I was 15," Exline said. "A lot of people were pretty surprised."

Exline grew up in Colorado Springs, where from an early age her intellect was evident and unexplainable. At 8 years old, she was in sixth grade; by 13, she had finished high school math. She turned 15 in February and graduated a few months later.

She is a high achiever in math and science, but is also interested in politics so she enrolled in a University of Pennsylvania program that will award her degrees from both the engineering and liberal arts schools when she graduates.

Interesting that the youth of Brittney and her academic interests make it into the first grafs of the news article but her race does not, especially when rates of college attendance by minorities is such a prominent and controversial national issue.

US OPEN 2007: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

The 2007 US Open Women's Quarterfinals are now set. While I have foregone my usual annual trip to New York to watch the matches in person in order to play in a local club tournament (semifinalist!), I have seen a fair number of the important matches on TV.

Justine Henin (BEL)[1] vs. Serena Williams (USA)[8]. For the third Grand Slam in a row the showdown between Serena Williams and Justine Henin is the most anticipated match of the tournament. In fact, some people have wondered if Henin hadn't skipped this year's 2007 Australian Open would the result have been different? I don't think it would have been, but I do hope that Serena is 100 percent fit for this meeting, unlike their Wimbledon clash where Serena claimed (afterwards) a thumb injury which took her out of the entire summer hard court season. Last time, I predicted that the American would overpower her opponent on the faster surface of grass, earning her revenge against Henin's victory in Paris. That didn't happen. In New York, as in Melbourne earlier this year, Serena has been playing better tennis with every round played. Justine has served up a bagel to every opponent she has played in New York while cutting through her draw like a diminutive scythe. Justine has held a match point against Serena on a hard court (after bagelling her!) but still managed to lose that championship match at the Sony Ericsson Open earlier this year. When it gets tight late in the third set at night on Tuesday both women will remember that match, and it will help the American come through victorious in front of the New York night time crowd. PREDICTION: S. Williams in 3 sets.

Jelena Jankovic SRB (3) vs. Venus Williams USA (12). This sparkling quarterfinal matchup should probably be the standout match of the four quarterfinals. These two played an amazing semifinal match at the Charleston clay court tournament (which Jankovic won 7-5 in the third set tiebreak) and Jankovic also took Venus out at this year's French Open when they split sets and then Venus ran out of gas and lost the third set 6-1. Of course those losses were both on clay. Venus went on to win this year's Wimbledon title on grass and there's no way she's going to run out of gas on the hard courts at the United States Open. Still, Jankovic has beaten Venus the last three times they have played so the American will be looking forward to getting revenge and a potential all-Williams semifinal Friday night. PREDICTION: V. Williams in 3 sets.

Agnes Szavay HUN vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (4). This matchup is a repeat of the Pilot Penn final the week before the U.S. Open in which the Hungarian teen had won the first set when she injured her lower back and had to withdraw 6-4, 0-3. This gave Kuznetsova her first title from four finals reached in 2007. The "most talented of the Russians" is the only player left in the bottom half of the draw to have previously won a major title (the 2004 US Open) and recognizes this is a golden opportunity to reach her third major final. She'll have to get through two younger and (probably hungrier) players to get there. I think she'll do it.
PREDICTION: Kuznetsova in 2 sets.

Anna Chakvetadze RUS (6) vs. Agnieszka Radwanska POL (30) Shahar Peer ISR (18). Chakvetadze came into the open as the hottest player on tour, despite the fact that Maria Sharapova had placed first in the US Open Series hard court season (All from winning the Acura Classic, her only title of the year). Unfortunately, for the WTA's "It Girl" she ran into a young, talented player in Agnieska Radwanska of Poland who knew she had the game to beat any player on tour, even the defending champion, and did so, to the delight of millions of tennis fans everywhere. Shahar Peer is a very tough customer, as Nicole Vaidisova found out in the 3rd round, in what was one of the best matches of the tournament so far 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5) ). After Vaidisova, Peer took out the young Polish giantkiller in straight sets the very next round. Peer served for the match against Serena Williams in Australia earlier this year in a thrilling quarterfinal but ended up losing 8-6 in the third. PREDICTION: Chakvetadze in 2 sets.

US OPEN 2007: Quarterfinals Half Set

On Sunday, Serena Williams beat 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-4 and Venus Williams beat 2007 French Open finalist Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 6-4 at the US Open. World #1 Justine Henin beat up on Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-2 and Jelena Jankovic outlasted Sybille Bammer 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

I'll have some predictions later when the Women's Quarterfinals are set.

US OPEN 2007: Ding Dong! Sharapova Loses 3rd Round Match

Agnieszka Radwanska celebrates her
3-set win over Maria Sharapova

30th seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland stunned defending champion and #2 seed Maria Sharapova today at the 2007 U.S. Open by winning their third round match, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, in a match which lasted over two hours and was televised live on network television. This was a pretty shocking result as Sharapova was in the lower half of the draw as the only serious contender when the upper half of the draw has Justine Henin, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic. Ivanovic and Venus play their fourth round match tomorrow. Sharapova gains the dubious distinction of being the first #2 seed to lose before the 4th round in over 25 years. Fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova became the first defending US Open champion to lose in the first round in 2005. She now has a very good chance of getting to the semifinal or final if she can get past Anna Chakvetadze (and Martina Hingis).

Iowa Gay Male Couple Gets Married Before Marriage Ruling Stayed

TowleRoad has pictures of a Iowa's first married, gay male couple, Tim McQuillan, 24 (left), and Sean Fritz, 21 (right), both Iowa State University students. They were able to apply for a marriage licence, pay $5 to waive the 3-day waiting period, receive the licence and appear before a Unitarian Universalist minister to have it solemnized in the roughly 9 hour time frame in which marriages were available to same sex couples in Polk County, Iowa thanks to a trial court ruling on Thursday. In its coverage of the story, the New York Times has pictures of Sean and Tim kissing (shown below).

Larry Craig Announces Resignation From Senate

Troy Maben/Associated Press

Senator Larry Craig has announced that he will resign his United States Senate seat, effective September 30. Towleroad and Bloggrnista have further details.

Reports Say That Senator Larry Craig Will Resign Saturday

Major gay news blog TowleRoad and other major media sources like The New York Times are reporting that embattled U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) will resign at 10:30am on Saturday September 1 in Boise, Idaho. The capitulation by the Senator culminates a week of shame that led to unprecedented action by Republicans to repeatedly break the 11th Amendment "Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican" and call for Craig's immediate resignation. Interestingly, the Republicans in the Senate have not made similar calls even though Senator David Vitter (R-LA) has admitted "sinning" after his name appeared on the "D.C. Madam's" client list.

Despite such unusual steps against a Senate colleague, Republicans took no punitive action against Senator David Vitter, Republican of Louisiana, after his acknowledgment this summer of involvement with an escort service that the police described as a prostitution front.

Party officials said Mr. Vitter’s case was different in that he faced no criminal charges and was not in the Senate but was serving in the House at the time. In the case of Mr. Craig, they said experience from a recent string of misconduct cases, including the House page scandal that hurt Republicans last year, had shown there was no time to waste if the political fallout was to be minimized.

Iowa Trial Court Rules In Favor Of Freedom To Marry

A trial court judge in Polk County, Iowa struck down Iowa's Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional in a legal ruling late Thursday afternoon and ordered the local clerk to immediately begin issuing same-sex couples marriage licences. The Des Moines Register reported:

Gay couples from anywhere in Iowa could apply for a marriage license from Polk County. The process takes three days, however.

Polk County is expected to appeal the ruling to the Iowa Supreme Court.

County Attorney John Sarcone said the county would immediately seek a stay from Hanson, which if granted would prevent anyone from seeking a marriage license until an appeal could be heard.

The case will be appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court, which could refer it to the Iowa Court of Appeals, consider the case itself or decide not to hear the case.

Des Moines lawyer Dennis Johnson represented the six gay couples who filed suit after they were denied marriage licenses. He called the ruling "a moral victory for equal rights."

Johnson argued that Iowa has a long history of aggressively protecting civil rights in cases of race and gender. He said the Defense of Marriage Act, which the Legislature passed in 1998, contradicts previous court rulings regarding civil rights and should be struck down.

Johnson called the Defense of Marriage law "mean spirited" and said it was designed only to prohibit gays from marrying. He said it violates t he state constitution's equal protection and due-process clauses.

Lambda Legal, which spearheaded a same-sex marriage drive across the country, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the gay and lesbian couples in Polk County District Court on Dec. 13, 2005.

REVIEW: Octavia Butler's FLEDGLING

Octavia Butler's twelfth (and last) book came out in paperback recently and I got a copy for my birthday in May. Some of you will remember that I knew the author personally and blogged about my encounters with her previously.

fledgling is a brilliant re-imagination of the vampire myth by one of the most creative writers in the genre of "speculative fiction."

The story begins with a young woman who wakes up, bruised and burned in a cave. The woman leaves a cave and discovers a razed village nearby and meets a young man who she bites, feeds on and then has sex with. One of the many unusual aspects of this tale are the details that the young woman appears physically as a pre-pubescent, dark-skinned female while the man is white and in his 20s.

Eventually we learn that the name of the young vampire is Shori Mathews and although she looks like a 10 or 11 year old she is actually 50-60 years old, which is young (but equivalent to an adolescent or teenager) for her kind, the long-lived symbiotic, vampiric species known as The Ina.

Butler weaves a suspenseful plot around these basic story ideas, as we learn more about the unusual nature of Ina culture and society while the book progresses to a pleasing conclusion.

Some of the idea this "genre fiction" novel grapples with are miscegenation, gender-stratified societies, the nature of addiction and racism. As always, in creative and enthralling ways Butler excites and intrigues the reader with her vision and insight of her final book. It's one of the sadnesses in life that we will not have the opportunity to experience any new works by this gifted author, one of the few African American females writing speculative fiction.

GRADE: A.

My Assembly Person The Next Speaker?

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and Senator President Pro-Tem Don Perata are both termed out in 2008 unless voters pass a proposed initiative to modify legislative term limits. In today's Capitol Weekly, there is a report on who the next Speaker of the California Assembly may be.

A look at the fundraising totals provides a pretty good clue as to who is
in the top tier of contenders to replace Núñez and Perata. Leading the way is
Freshman Kevin De Leon, D-Los Angeles, a close ally of Núñez and organized
labor. The caucus' second-leading fundraiser, Culver City Democrat Karen Bass,
also has close labor ties. And, like De Leon, Bass is frequently mentioned as a
possible successor to Núñez.

Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) Denies He Is Gay

Yesterday, Mad Professah reported that homophobic United States Senator Larry Craig, Republican of Idaho, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct resulting from an arrest by a Minneapolis police officer for lewd conduct in a men's bathroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport this summer. Today, 62-year-old Sen. Craig gave a press conference with his wife Suzanne by his side where he said "I am not gay. I never have been gay.”

An excerpt from MSNBC's coverage:

He had “overreacted and made a poor decision” when he was apprehended by an undercover police officer in a men’s room at the Minneapolis airport and later pleaded guilty.

“While I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct in the Minneapolis Airport or anywhere else, I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in hopes of making it go away.” He said he kept the information from his friends, family and staff, adding, “I wasn’t eager to share this failure but I should have anyway because I am not gay.”

Nor did he hire a lawyer, Craig said, although he now has retained counsel “to review the matter and advise me on how to proceed.”

“I have brought a cloud over Idaho and for that I seek and ask the people of Idaho to forgive me,” he said.

People in Idaho seem doubtful.