Happy New Years, everyone!

I’ll never forget seeing the punk legend play at the annual New Year’s 24-hour poetry/performance marathon at a church on the Lower East Side, after taking her acoustic guitar out of the black garbage bag she was carrying it in.

Nothing says partytime to me like The Raincoats. Enjoy, everyone!

(Hi, everyone! Cate has kindly asked me to stay on as a permanent blogger after my guest-blogging stint in November. Pleased to be on board!)

This is an actual question asked by an Pennsylvania medical association in this article, which goes on to calculate Santa’s yearly caloric intake for cookies consumed in the state.

“Thanks to the magic of Christmas, [Santa] can avoid putting on that much weight,” said medical society spokesman Chuck Moran. But most people aren’t so fortunate, and will put on one pound for every 3,500 calories consumed but not burned.

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I asked if you were interested in a Lilith Fair 2010.
I asked if you were happy with the initial line up that was announced.

I’ve got one more question for you… Do you want to play Lilith Fair 2010?

“This year Lilith will give aspiring female artists the opportunity to perform a set at each of the 2010 tour stops in North America.

Upload your best original song into the “Lilith Local Talent Search” Channel for your chance to perform at Lilith and become a part of its music legacy.”

Any Shameless readers out there interested in playing Lilith Fair? Click here for more info and make sure to leave a comment below to let us know so we can vote for you…and maybe even see you there!

There are only 21 women’s bookstores worldwide, just three in Canada, and now, one is at risk of closing its doors for good. The Toronto Women’s Bookstore announced yesterday that it is so cash strapped, it may join the list of Toronto independent bookstores like Pages, that have been forced to close because of low sales and high rent. It’s not the first time the 36-year old Harbord Street landmark has had to overcome financial hurdles — among other challenges in the store’s rich past.

TWB started as a cooperative in 1973, and was accidentally destroyed by being in the crossfires of an anti-abortion terrorist firebomb that was meant for Henry Morgentaler’s abortion clinic formerly located beneath the non-profit store. TWB relocated,but was unable to balance its financial books, facing a possible closure on its twentieth birthday. Volunteer efforts made it possible to stay open.

The feminist institution is hoping the same thing will happen this time around. They are asking for donations and hope to raise $40,000 by January.

Donations can be made via their website, and a Facebook group has been created to support the cause.

“On December 17th 2009, sex workers and their allies across Canada will mark the 7th International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. This day draws attention to acts of violence that continue to be committed against sex workers worldwide, and to the stigma and discrimination perpetuated by prohibitionist laws against sex work, which endanger our lives and work.” - Rabble.ca

Check out more information at

Rabble.ca
SWOP (American, but with lots of good information)

and learn more about sex workers and sex workers’ rights in general at

Maggie’s (Toronto)
SWAN (American)

Over the last couple weeks, we’ve been reading applications for Shameless Wire with rising excitement. We don’t have any shortage of applicants, but a local organization has requested some more time to spread the word to their participants. That sounds like a great idea to us, so we’ve extended our deadline to December 31st.

If you have already applied, thank you! You will hear back from us shortly after the new deadline. If you are interested in the program but haven’t applied, there is still time to send us an email. If you are in the GTA, a young woman or trans youth, and 20 or under as of January 1st, we’d love to hear from you!

If you work with youth, or know anyone who works with youth, there is also still time to let them know about the project. Details about the program and how to apply are posted here. (Note that the PDF poster still has the old deadline on it - we will fix that as soon as we can. In the meantime, if you would like an updated poster, you can email us.) We’d especially appreciate it if you could get in touch with any teachers in your lives, but remember that there are only a few days of school left before the holidays. Depending on her schedule, our coordinator Allison Martell is available to drop by classrooms and youth groups to talk about the program.

It’s also not too late to donate to the program. While we’ve raised enough money to go ahead with the project, we still don’t have the capacity to take in as many participants as we’d like. Just $500 is the difference between running the program with 10 youth, and expanding to take 15. Every donation makes a difference.

A few weeks ago I posted about the return of Lilith Fair. Well, here’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for…

Lilith Fair has announced the first round of artists confirmed for Lilith 2010.

Here they are…
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Every other Thursday I profile a new incredible woman, each from a different walk of life. Different professions, causes, backgrounds, ethnicities, orientations, and anything/everything else!

So without further delay, let me introduce the wonderful Jennifer Cowan…

photo credit: Kevin Konnyu

Having written professionally for the past two decades, chances are you’ve seen something Jennifer Cowan has been a part of. With television credits that include writer and Executive Story Editor of Producing Parker, Show Me Yours, Traders and Big Sound; she also has written multiple scripts for the CBC/FoxKids teen soap, Edgemont, The Saddle Club, The Zack Files, Quads, and Ready or Not. On top of that, Jennifer has produced arts, pop culture and entertainment magazine programs and documentaries for CBC, CBC Newsworld, CTV, TVOntario and CityTV.

Her most recent accomplishment is the novel *earthgirl*, which follows the eco-evolution of 16-year-old Sabine Solomon, as well as a blog that is written in the character’s voice so that readers have an opportunity to explore the ideas in the book. As this week’s Shameless Woman Jennifer tells us about figuring out what needs to be done to make things happen.

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