PLEASE FORWARD ALL BLOGS (Plus good story)

Dear Friends: People are asking if they can forward my latest blog.  Never ask.  Just forward.  I'd love to be spread far and wide.

Which reminds me:

Remember my just previous blog, about joining the mailing list notification if Mueller is fired?

Well, I got a phone call from a woman in Antigua, Guatemala. She was the friend of an incredible woman, Mary Lou (I think), who I met on the four-hour van trip from San Miguel de Allende to the Mexico City airport last year.  Mary Lou is an American archeologist who rediscovered the ancient jade mines of Guatemala, which were lost in the jungle.

So anyhow.  Mary Lou agreed to be on my blog list, and she was forwarding all my blogs to her friend (can't remember her name, sorry), who is an activist.  So... Guatemala has a VERY strong activist movement, which forced the impeachment of their President.  (Hmmmmmmm...) 

Sooooo... Mary Lou's friend wanted to know the technical platform for the Mueller protest campaign so they could do something similar to immediately notify Guatemalans of emergency demonstrations!  I directed her to MOVE ON, who I'm sure will give her the wherewithall.  Needless to say, I couldn't help her with anything technical.

But my blog helped Guatemalan activists!  I'm so proud of myself!  As Ai Wei Wei says, "A small act is worth a million thoughts."

Terry

  

The Ceanothis  is starting to bloom!  (I'm a blue freak.)

TERRY BAUM

LILITH THEATER San Francisco

547 Douglass Street

San Francisco, CA 94114

415 648-5244

www.liliththeatersanfrancisco.com

www.terrybaum.blogspot.com

Dear Friends: People are asking if they can forward my latest blog.  Never ask.  Just forward.  I'd love to be spread far and wide.

Which reminds me:

Remember my just previous blog, about joining the mailing list notification if Mueller is fired?

Well, I got a phone call from a woman in Antigua, Guatemala. She was the friend of an incredible woman, Mary Lou (I think), who I met on the four-hour van trip from San Miguel de Allende to the Mexico City airport last year.  Mary Lou is an American archeologist who rediscovered the ancient jade mines of Guatemala, which were lost in the jungle.

So anyhow.  Mary Lou agreed to be on my blog list, and she was forwarding all my blogs to her friend (can't remember her name, sorry), who is an activist.  So... Guatemala has a VERY strong activist movement, which forced the impeachment of their President.  (Hmmmmmmm...) 

Sooooo... Mary Lou's friend wanted to know the technical platform for the Mueller protest campaign so they could do something similar to immediately notify Guatemalans of emergency demonstrations!  I directed her to MOVE ON, who I'm sure will give her the wherewithall.  Needless to say, I couldn't help her with anything technical.

But my blog helped Guatemalan activists!  I'm so proud of myself!  As Ai Wei Wei says, "A small act is worth a million thoughts."

Terry

GoddessZilla & Medusa Do the Women's March

A year ago, I was planning to join friends who were going to Washington D.C. for the protests of Trump's inauguration and the Women's March.  And then I got the flu and missed everything everywhere, even in San Francisco.  I listened to reports on the March on the radio and read everything about it in the SF Chronicle and the NY Times.  I rejoiced the the NY Times' spectacular photo essay of marches all over the world.  All from the comfort of my warm, cosy flat.

So when Carolyn said she was going to finally bring GoddessZilla to life for the Women's March this year, I knew I wanted to do something absolutely wonderful too.

About GoddessZilla:  We had come up with this concept in 2008, when we first became The Crackpot Crones.  She's a a female monster who rises out of the ocean depths to protect the environment from destruction by humans.  We saw her as paired with Fembo, a good old down-home radical dyke.

These two would somehow conspire to save the world.  But we never could quite figure out how.  The only public outing of the team was at a women's open mic -- and was a distinct failure.  GoddessZilla and Fembo were filed in our very large box of failed ideas.

But that didn't keep me from ordering monster feet slippers and a tail from a mail order catalog -- or Carolyn asking Val Von, our costume coordinator, to somehow construct breasts and torso for our Monster Feminist.

And then there was my Medusa helmet.

I don't know about YOU, but when I find a Medusa helmet on sale at half-price, I GOTTA HAVE IT!  That was a few years ago, and it has rested in my costume closet next to the birthday hat that I always forget to bring out on anyone's birthday.

And then.... and then I was going to the Women's March with Carolyn because SOMEBODY had to go with her if she was going as GoddessZilla.  And then I remembered the Medusa helmet.  And THEN I remembered that Medusa was a total victim of vicious sexual oppression, having been turned into a monster herself because her great beauty had provoked Zeus to rape her!  Admittedly, she was cursed with snakes for hair by Hera, Zeus's wife.  Yes, women have been complicit in oppressing women.  We know that.  And how many women have been blamed for provoking their own rape and then punished for it?  How many?  It's time for Medusa to join the Me Too movement  --- and a whole lot of other mythical women too!

Eve in therapy with Dr. Lilith, to overcome 5000 years of guilt

Let's just start with Eve, blamed for the downfall of humanity, when she's the one who had the guts to give birth to CONSCIOUSNESS and KNOWLEDGE and HISTORY itself!

About my Medusa drag:  Would you believe I already HAD it?!?  Ages ago, my mother had given me this wild hostess gown (yes, this was a fashion thing long ago), which she'd never worn.  It's hard to imagine she ever had the courage to buy something diaphanous and shocking pink and gold.  I've been meaning to send it to Good Will for at least a decade, but somehow could never toss out such lusciousness, even though I KNEW absolutely KNEW I would never use it.  And then I found the pink purse on the street.   Unbelievable the things people throw out.  The shocking pink gloves were bought at Cliff's the night before the march, when I went to buy elastic for Carolyn and me.  I also bought salmon pink sequins which ended up on GoddessZilla's nipples.

Carolyn, with the help of Matthew, her husband, stayed up late getting those wonderful nipples just right.  They used egg carton compartments as the base.  She and I sewed tiny pink pussy hats for all the little snake heads, but they were too small.  Only one person noticed them.

And we were off to Oakland, where we met Julie, Carolyn's friend, who took all the photos, except the one she's in.

It was Julie's very first political demonstration, and she was on the verge of tears the whole time. she was so moved.  What a great feeling to be with all those joyous rebellious creative people!  Thousands and thousands.  And so many wonderful children!

And I got a chance to speak on a very small stage as Medusa.

And the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Band sounded beautiful.

And SO MANY people took our picture, 

including this CBS photographer who only wanted Carolyn's feet.

And we went home exhausted and very happy campers.  GoddessZilla made a friend on BART.

And Medusa fell asleep on the bus.

THE END

NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW—MUELLER FIRING RAPID RESPONSE

I'm inviting you  to join me in signing up for this brilliant plan:  To be notified IMMEDIATELY if Dude45 fires Special Prosecutor Mueller, and to come to a protest in your city -- or one near you -- that will be happen ASAP.  As you will see when you click the link below, there are literally hundreds of cities and towns throughout the country that have committed to this immediate protest. 

https://www.trumpisnotabovethelaw.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response/search/?from=@

I am not one to endlessly sign online petitions.  But this is different, and it's a brilliant use of the Internet.  No, we don't wait for a month or even the next Saturday.  We hit the streets within 24 hours, coordinated with folks all over the U.S. 

We're all traumatized by the events of last year.  And we face 2018 with ... I don't want to use the word "fear" but I AM frightened ..... this is something that demands we ACT IMMEDIATELY if this crisis unfolds.  It gives me hope and comfort to sign up for it. 

Below is a photo I took at a demonstration against the invasion of Iraq.

Terry