an update from Jill

I have been very, very bad with writing ever since the Yahoo blog (The Provocateurs) ended. I liked having deadlines. And there has been so much to talk about: My time at the TED conference, Client number 9, and... making my "nextrecord" goal!

I actually can't believe I did it. I thought maybe I would get half that amount. Or, there was the fear that I would embarrass myself, and just my mom, my cousin Steven and my two loyal fans from Germany would donate. I am so, so grateful.

I didn't realize the press I would get (CNN, MSNBC, New York Times, and more). Most people saw it as a good and interesting new model for artists. Of course, there were a couple of naysayers and curmudgeons. I know it's not healthy to google yourself, find nasty blog comments, and then write to defend yourself, but I did. Usually it's best to leave them alone, so they don't think you care, or that they are important enough. I have to say, with the exception of one big asshole, I got back very favorable responses. Especially on the prog rock site, where he did admit to not wanting to offend any girl that would ever visit such a site.

Here were a few of their responses:

"I may have been a bit unfair in my caustic assessment of her career. After she commented, I did some due diligence and checked out some of her post-1995 albums. They're not as Kate Bush or Elliott Smith as I would personally like, but they're fairly interesting and way better than Jewel."

By the way, he did then donate $10.

"Sorry for the way I was on the Birds and Moons thread regarding your album financing... some of us are just a bunch of 'never was beens' and I'm sure there's more than a touch of jealousy on our side.... the more I read it, it was pretty petty."

My favorite comment on my donation site was:

"I am donating, not because of the music (the music is good, but not really my kind of music), but because I think it is a worthy project. The idea of using the Internet to get small donations from a lot of people is great, and once you have a small fan base it is doable. So I am giving a small tip in the hope that you one day make a great album."

Oh, I should add that Perez Hilton, that beacon of grace and light, put up a very unflattering picture of me with dollar signs, insinuating that I was desperate and begging. And all he knew was I Kissed a Girl. I was kinda bummed until the next morning when I saw the tote board had risen big time. So, it's either thank you or fuck you, fatty.

Now that I am off Yahoo, I can say "fuck you fatty."

Just leave it to me to pick out the very few negative things when I received so much love and support. I guess it was to point out that good can come out of something bad, or that I was born Jewish.

Enough about me. On the Provocateurs, we dealt with the election a bunch. In one way, I am glad to have taken a breather from it all. It has become so friggin' ugly – from Geraldine Ferraro to the hoopla about Obama's pastor. I am cringing at the news that there will be two more debates. I just want it over. I bet the Republicans are loving every moment of this.

Thoughts?

Every year I go to the TED conference, which is hard to explain, but has really made a huge impact in my life. It is like going to 4 day master class with the smartest and coolest people in the world (cool, in the sense of people doing creative and good things for our planet. In fact, no one dressed very "cool").

Here is a video, just posted on the TED website, of one of my favorite speakers this year. Jill Bolte Taylor. She, as she describes, had the great luck and opportunity, as a brain scientist, to have experienced herself a massive stroke. You have to see this:



Back to me. If you are interested, here is a TED talk from 2 years ago debuting the song Manhattan in January. Notice the ovation from Al Gore at the end?

Anyway, you can comment on my MySpace blog and/or on the transitional Provocateurs site.

Cheers, jill

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Huckabee, The Gays, Predictions, And A Song

(Originally posted by Jill on Dec 31, 2008)

I just saw a clip of Mike Huckabee on Face the Nation yesterday morning. I like his demeanor- his easygoing manner. He seems like such a nice guy.

And, he has a sense of humor-as opposed to Giuliani whose only funny moment in the campaign, so far, was wearing the red vest in his Christmas ad. It was not intentionally funny, I think. Huckabee also seems more of a populist than your average creepy greedy tax cutter. And, Huckabee did have a more humane stance on children of illegals (well, compared to the other Republican hopefuls). Although in the last few days he has flip-flopped and has become more hard line, tying the Bhutto assassination to illegal immigration.

Okay, so he doesn't have foreign policy savvy, but he can hire someone who does…like Bush did (yikes!).

So what's my problem with Huckabee?

Well, I am not usually a one-issue kind of person, but I do have one test:

How one feels about… the gays.

I think it says a lot, no? And, my stance has some leeway. For example, if I have to, I'll accept Edward's statements about not being ready for gay marriage. But he is against a constitutional amendment, as well as against job discrimination and "don't ask, don't tell". And, he is fine with civil unions.

Huckabee has gone far and beyond the usual "marriage is just between a man and a woman". Here is a good quote from 1998 that Russert brought up:

"It is now difficult to keep track of the vast array of publicly endorsed and institutionally supported aberrations—from homosexuality and pedophilia to sadomasochism and necrophilia.”

I love how he compares, say, boring lesbian couples that have been together for years, to going all the way with a dead person. Here's another one from back in the 1980s where he believed we should quarantine Aids patients:

"If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague..."

And another:

"I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk."

Okay, so these are his religious convictions, and some say I need to be more tolerant. But, is that like being tolerant of Mel Gibson's dad's church where they believe that the Jews are still responsible for killing Christ?

And, I so wanted to like this man from Hope Arkansas…like the other ex-governor from Hope.

So, do any of you have any predictions for Iowa? I have no clue like everyone else, but I'll just take a stab: Edwards and Romney? No, I just can't commit.

Oh, here is a very short old song of mine on the evils of the gay agenda:

"under the disco ball "