Carly Milne

"I just thought, Homecoming Queen."

Tue, 06 May 2008 23:00:04 -0800

I was invited on to this press trip - the one that I'm currently on that took me from Seattle to Vancouver - about two months ago or so. When I noticed it coincided with my spirit mom's birthday, I asked if it was okay if I extended my ticket so I could stay a day or two longer. The company that sent me said, "No problem!" And then I realized I could visit with Shar and extended it further. And then I reconnected with Dayna, and then my dad made plans to drive in, and next thing I know I'm in the middle of a full-scale This Is Your Life-style reunion.

"We're back, Seattle. And in accordance with new station policy, we're going to be pandering to the lowest human instinct. In other words: Who wants to talk about sex? Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex."

Sat, 03 May 2008 21:27:49 -0800

My experiences in Seattle prior to the current trip I'm on have been brief. In the first, I drove though it via Greyhound bus on the way into Vancouver in 2000. In the second I was headed back to San Francisco and decided to take the train home instead of the bus - which was a painful experience, I promise you... and yet I had to take the bus from Van to Seattle to go through customs, and then hop on the train in Seattle.

But this trip has been much more informative and entertaining.

"You didn't think it would end like this didn't you?"

Thu, 01 May 2008 23:02:48 -0800

So yesterday was the last official day for the GBBMC.

What an amazing month.

"Hey Dirk. Still getting your mail. It's from the clinic. Somebody got themselves an STD."

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:01:59 -0800

Alright, so here's the story I was alluding to over the past couple of days.

"My schedule however, is as open as my relationship with my wife. "

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:23:09 -0800

Just a quick hit for tonight, as my day got swamped and I ran out of time... but I wanted to pass along some info from my friend and colleague Tristan Taormino, who has launched a brand new website in anticipation of the release of her new book May 1. OpeningUp.net is a website for people interested in open relationships of all kinds, including monogamy with benefits, nonmonogamy, partnered nonmonogamy, swigning, polyamory, polyfidelity, solo polyamory, mixed orientation marriages, and other relationships styles beyond monogamy. It features a blog, an extensive resource guide, message boards, and the Open List, a list of professionals (therapists, social workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, consultants, relationship and life coaches, doctors, lawyers, etc.) who are experienced and knowledgeable about alternative sexuality, lifestyles, and relationships. Check it out! It should keep you busy until I can post the story I intended to post tonight...

"Home stretch, baby."

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:28:58 -0800

This weekend didn't exactly go as planned. I thought I was going to spend it working and finishing a whole bunch of articles that I need to finish, but I was way more exhausted - from Barbados followed by a week of mayhem leading up to the reading - than I thought I would be. Couple that with a heat wave this weekend and aside from my L.A. Times Book Fair fun this afternoon (where I had the pleasure of finally meeting Ron, and getting introduced to the fabulousness that was Tina and Bridget), I was pretty much a quivering mass of nappage. Clearly I needed it.

But through all that madness I was starting to feel particularly guilty about neglecting all the bloggers in the GBBMC. I'd gotten into the habit of making at least twice-weekly rounds to catch up on what everyone was writing (and making a comment if I had anything to add to the conversation.) And for two weeks I wasn't able to do any. So I sat down tonight for a few hours and caught up on everything I'd missed. Below, a smattering of the links that resonated with me over the last little while...

"I've been reading up on my, uh, animal possession, and I cannot find anything anywhere about memory loss afterwards."

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:24:27 -0800

So the reading last night? Super cool.

"Road trip! Road trip! Road trip!"

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:20:03 -0800

So first things first for those who are blogging for the GBBMC: there is a little glitch with the RAINN donations page where it won't let PayPal users enter anything in the "in honor of" box, so they can't say they're donating in honor of your blog. If - and I repeat, if - you are concerned because you really want to win those prizes, you may want to consider asking your readers to share what they donated to PayPal and a transaction number. I realize this isn't really the most comfortable thing to do, so it's entirely up to you. Some of you have expressed to Kevin and I that you could give a hoot about the prizing, which is cool, but we just wanted to let everyone know just in case.

Now then. Last night I had the supreme pleasure of having dinner with my friend Nick, who is in from Toronto doing some work for City TV, interviewing fun and interesting people and engaging in entertaining drama. He took me out for dinner last night and we caught up for a few hours. And it got us talking about how we met. And really, it's all because of gay porn.

"Oh, I give up. I'm too exhausted to eat."

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:49:23 -0800

Hoo lawdy. What a week. I took off last Tuesday on assignment to Barbados and got back last night. Believe me when I say I wanted to update while I was gone - no, really - but the freakin' hotel blocked me from my own website. I could check my e-mail, no problem. But post to my blog? Not a shot in hell. I took that as a sign from the divine that I needed to park my ass on the beach, so I did. And I have the tanlines to prove it.

Anyway, just a quick note for now because I had a big day of getting caught up and whatnot, but I'll resume more fleshy updates as of tomorrow. And just a reminder... this Thursday is the official launch of the book at Freddy and Eddy's. Details below. I'm really looking forward to it!

"No, this is the Valley. Finland is the capital of Norway."

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:31:35 -0800

So one of the announcements I've been sitting on is that the amazingly prolific and talented Rachel Kramer Bussel and I have teamed up to launch In The Flesh: L.A. For those of you who don't know, Rachel launched a monthly reading series in New York called In The Flesh that features incredible writers reading things they wrote about sex. About a month ago I approached her about launching a West coast version, put out some feelers to some readers, and before I knew it, all systems were go. All the details are on the In The Flesh: L.A. site. You'll have to wait for the reader list, though. But I'll tell ya, it's shaping up to be pretty damn cool. I don't tend to geek out about movie stars or musicians (except Madonna, of course), but my writer heroes? On the exterior, I'm cool as a cucumber. On the interior? I'm begging them to sign my bare breasts with a Sharpie. Let's just say I'm preparing to keep my inner flasher under wraps.

And a big thanks to Galleycat, who wrote about the fundraiser this morning. That was awesome.

Last but certainly not least, here's the third and final chapter of the Finland story (here's part one and two!)

"Wow, sugar puss, you've certainly been a busy little bee."

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 13:38:16 -0800

Wow. This week has been just incredible. I've been so busy that I haven't had the chance to catch up with all the participants in the blogathon (I'm making my rounds today!) or blog or do any of those things. Wonderful things are afoot at the Circle K, though, and there will be announcements forthcoming over the next week. I'm seriously beside myself with excitement.

I don't normally call out press attention, but the fundraiser landed some great hits this week.

First, Audacia Ray wrote about it on the Village Voice's new blog, Naked City.

Then, Jenny Block discussed it on The Huffington Post.

And last but certainly not least, it got written up on Fishbowl L.A.

If you have the time, it'd be awesome if you could "buzz" the HuffPo article and help it get attention so we can get more people involved in the fundraiser. All you have to do is click the little "B" in the list of cartoonish icons under the title of the story (this will open a new window), then click on the "buzz it" button under Jenny's picture.

Thanks, everyone. More soon!

"We're done here but no more rabbits. Keep the boys away from the girls."

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:21:54 -0800

I have been incredibly, joyously busy. I can't even begin to tell you what the last week has been like for me, and it's been all good... and I can't wait to share. But you'll have to wait.

Contrary to popular belief, I'm not spending all my time on Facebook... but I did have the shock of my life when I actually tracked down my best friend from elementary school. Of course, I had to tell her that she was in the book. And when I told her in what context, she - thankfully - laughed.

So in celebration of us connecting again for the first time in 20 years, I'm going to print an excerpt from the book that I don't think either of us will live down. Lucky for her she's pseudonymmed. (And once again, please remember to donate to RAINN!)

"I could use a good discussion myself."

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:08:09 -0800

Today I'm actually peeling myself away from the computer for a while to go venture out into the real world, so for now, just a discussion point.

Have you heard about the "I Was Raped" t-shirt?

What do you think about it?

"And in case you haven't noticed, baby brother, Finland is the bloody North Pole. Therefore, a very special gift for you this year."

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 12:08:46 -0800

So before I get started with today's post, a PSA. I have finally bowed to peer pressure and put together a Facebook profile. It's pretty much surrounding the book and related events that are coming up (which I haven't told you about yet, but trust me, it's all very exciting), but I figure it'll be a simple way for everyone to keep tabs on what's going on where. So feel free to send me a friend request here!

So today's post is a continuation of the Finland story, which started here (and then got derailed as we launched the fundraiser... which reminds me, don't forget to donate to RAINN. But instead of putting GBBMC2008: and the name of my blog, please choose one of the names from the participants list and give them some love instead.)

"And to 'shake your booty' means to wiggle one's butt. Permit me to demonstrate..."

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:35:22 -0800

Before we get started, I want to alert you to the Participants page for the GBBMC:08 RAINN fundraiser. This is where you can find everyone who's participating in the blogathon, and can I just say, I'm finding out about a whole schwack of blogs I should've been reading all along. More about those at the end of today's post, which is a quick one because I'm on deadline. But I'm also on a mission.