Happy Friday: I love candy edition May 16, 2008

This week’s been pretty gruesome … so how about a little levity?

Great day for equal rights! May 15, 2008

The California Supreme Court ruled today that the state ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Wonderful news for anyone who works for equality for all people!

New ‘PLAN’ for The Siren May 11, 2008

Well, it’s big news for your humble Sin City Siren founder and editor. I have been offered a job as the new Southern Nevada director of PLAN (Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada).

I am excited to start on this new path in my life (later this month)! It is a journey that began with me leaving journalism last year and stepping into grassroots activism and networking for the Fag Bug. But really it is a return to my activist roots that started in college.

For me this is a wonderful opportunity to work with amazing and passionate people on issues I care deeply (social, economic and environmental justice), be an activist and be more involved in my community.

As for The Siren … there’s a good chance it isn’t going anywhere, although I admit specifics have not been discussed. I’ll keep you posted!

For now, I’m enjoying some time with my family in the Land of the Midnight Sun. Stay tuned!

-Emmily

Happy Friday: When Elephants Fly edition May 9, 2008

Well kids, I’m heading out of town to The Last Frontier. Probably not going to have a lot of time for blogging so be patient with my lack of posts and if comments get trapped in limbo.

Until then, enjoy this scene from one of my favorite movies:

—E

New Green TV thing May 9, 2008

So I caught the sneak peak of the new Planet Green channel on TLC last night. They previewed two shows: Wa$ted and Greenovate. Overall, I’m for the concept of more shows educating the public on going green, especially in the more light-hearted way of Wa$ted, which shows participants how out of control their carbon footprint is and how to reduce it. But the other show, Greenovate, was interesting too. It seemed like an eco-version of the house flipping and remodeling shows that are popular on TLC and HGTV.

What I especially liked about both programs is that they were informative for people of different eco-levels. So if you don’t know anything, you learned a lot. And if you already know some things, there’s still more that you can take away from it. The one potential pitfall with programs like this is that people feel preached to, rather than compassionately educated. It’s important to be passionate about the environment but not smug or treating it like a fad, which is a fine line.

Liquidation May 9, 2008

Seems like a good time to air-out the old in-box, before these things fall off the desk completely …

• The Las Vegas water grab sucks. But this says it much better.
• The Clinton campaign is turning into Monty Python’s Quest for the Holy Grail “black knight” scene — it’s just a flesh wound! Thanks Gleaner!
• Nevada NOW is hosting a voter registration drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 10 at Doc Romero Park (at Cheyenne and Buffalo).
• You can support the QVegas Foundation on May 11 (Mother’s Day!) by attending a local taping of America’s Got Talent from 3-7:30 p.m. For tickets and info, send an e-mail to: earl@qvegas.com.
• Interesting News Hour with Jim Leher story about food crisis in Africa and the US’s inefficient attempts to help.
• AccessMyLibrary has created a page in honor of Women’s History Month with useful info, etc.
• The Bush-McCain Challenge — interactive game and learning all at the same time. (And it’s harder than you think. I only got 2 out of 5 right.)

Shopping for charity May 8, 2008

You know how much I love it when you can do double-duty with your shopping dollars. If you are going to buy something anyway and can give a portion of that money to charity why wouldn’t you? So I’m always happy to spread the news of new ways to do just that.

At nonprofitshoppingmall. com, a portion every dollar spent online with any of their retail partners will be donated directly to the nonprofit organization of your choice. (Find out more on their blog.) Retail partners include Target, Zappos, Urban Outfitters, Gap, Old Navy, Home Depot, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and many more.

And extra bonus: RAINN is their featured organization for May! I am a champion of RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) because any organization that tackles rape and incest is doing some of the hardest work out there.

Local feminist activist needs help May 7, 2008

I am so sad to find about about this. Local feminist activist Evelyn Flores and two members of her family were attacked and robbed. Her mother and brother were severely beaten.

In my years as a reporter in Las Vegas I had many opportunities to interview and talk with Evelyn. She is a bright, activist star in the community. She is incredibly inspirational.

I just hate it when bad things happen to good people.

Here’s the letter Anita Revilla posted on Myspace:

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday, one of our fellow activists and her family were robbed and physically attacked. Her mother, Chayo, and brother, Paco, were severely beaten. As Evelyn and her family were walking from their car to their home, a group of 3 attacked them and took their possessions. Furthermore, the money for their rent and bills for this month was taken. The family is very distressed and is in need of help.

We are working together and taking up a collection/contributions to help them. If you are interested in helping (with whatever you can) or would like to contact Evelyn, please email her at florese@nevada.edu, or on myspace.

Please re-post this, and if you are interested in contributing to helping Evelyn get through these hard times, please contact her or if you would like to make a contribution, she has a mailbox on the second floor of the Women’s Studies department (the casita).

Thank you,

Anita Revilla

Race for the Cure: Re-cap May 7, 2008

The 2008 Komen Race for the Cure on May 3 was an awesome experience! Despite coming down with a last-minute cold (boo!), I managed to run, walk and cough my way through my first 5K and raised more than $200 for the charity. Sweet!

Here’s some factoids from the local race headquarters:

Number of Participants: 12,575
Number of Teams: 578

Top Team Standings:

1 - Nevada Cancer Institute ($13,794.93)
2 - Mojave Electric ($8,670.00)
3 - Embarq ($8,181.50)
4 - Moms On The Move ($7,375.99)
5 - D G Team ($7,190.00)
6 - not so LAME Dam Walkers ($7,090.00)
7 - CSI for a Cure ($7,030.00)
8 - Team Turnberry ($6,022.60)
9 - Team Connie ($5,320.00)
10 - Diva Las Vegas Young Survivors ($5,244.98

Happy Birthday to The Siren! May 5, 2008

Tomorrow (May 6) is the one-year anniversary of The Sin City Siren! It’s been quite a year!

Thank you to all the loyal readers and fabulous guest writers over the past year! You rock!

From organizing the Fag Bug visit to Las Vegas in the first month of the blog’s creation to establishing ourselves as a political blog for Southern Nevada, The Sin City Siren has been a wonderful labor of love for me. I hope that along the way, this blog has been just what you’ve been looking for — well, maybe not for the people who find us using the search words like “sin city sluts,” “bitch barbie,” or “hillary cleavage” — and more.

As The Siren turns one, I wonder what is on your minds, dear readers:

Are you getting what you want out of The Siren?

Is there something you would like to see that’s not here?

And what is it about The Siren that keeps you coming back? What do you like?

Please, don’t be shy. Leave some thoughts in the comments. I really do want to know what’s on your mind.

Your humble Sin City Siren founder and editor,

Emmily