Christmas in Cairo, 1993 (Photo by Kacey Dewing)
I am intensifying my search for an agent and/or publisher, and am using this as a place to list the links for my stories (excerpts from two novels) which have been published.
The genre is creative non-fiction (a.k.a. true stories). These were all published in a handful of issues of Mused--Bellaonline Literary Review.
[Following are excerpts from Below Sea Level, novel about 10 years with husband suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder]
Shadow of the Mountains
Dog Day Afternoon*
Goodyear
Cycles
*Personal favorite
[Excerpt from The Agoraphobic's Guide to Cairo, about my year abroad in Cairo, Egypt in 1993-94]
Al-Abyaad - The White One (About the horse who did not kill me.)
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Interview:
Nancy Dietrich: In Her Own Words
Further unpublished excerpts can be found on this blog:
Kickback from Below Sea Level
Painting the Town Blue from Below Sea Level
Al-Qitta (The Kitten) from The Agoraphobic's Guide to Cairo
Bustan al-Hayawanat (The Zoo) from The Agoraphobic's Guide to Cairo
Any suggestions appreciated. Thank you.
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Thursday, April 28, 2011
My Published Stories/Novel Excerpts
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Jordan turns 5 years old today!!
Jordan with her buddy, Taylor
Happy birthday to my favorite 5 year-old in the entire world!! (And that includes a whole lot of 5 year-olds!) You have brought us all great joy and unbelievable tales in the last 5 years and we all promise to re-tell the best ones to you over and over again once you grow up! I could not love you more, Jordan.
Have a wonderful birthday, and save me some cake tonight!
And here's a toast to many, many more birthday cakes!
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Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Goodnight, Elizabeth
National Velvet, 1944 
Monday, March 14, 2011
Long Live Madison's Orpheum Theatre
SO good to see The Orpheum in Madison is still run by trouble-making Leftists!
Per Wiki:
Built in 1926 by Rapp and Rapp, the Limestone, Art Deco exterior and French Renaissance interior made the building an icon, with the "Orpheum" sign towering over State Street. There have been limited changes to the structure of the building over the years. The terrazzo floors, chandeliers, grand staircase, and statue of Orpheus overlooking the entryway are still intact. Partially financed by dentist William Beecroft, also known as "Mr. Theater," The Orpheum cost $750,000 to build and originally featured vaudeville shows and a movie theater, later featuring contemporary artists and film. The Orpheum sponsors the yearly Madison Independent Film Festival and serves food daily from its Lobby Lounge restaurant.
The Orpheum Theatre was the first building in Wisconsin to have air conditioning; the air conditioner itself takes up an entire room in the basement. Furthermore, it was the first building on its block between Johnson Street and State Street.
The Orpheum Theatre originally seated 2,400 people. After renovations in the 1960s to add "The Stage Door" Theatre, only six feet of the original stage was left, and 700 seats were lost, making the capacity 1700.
The Orpheum nearly burned down on December 19, 2004. It was the third attempted arson on the building. Several other Madison landmark music establishments such as O'Cayz Corral and the Club deWash had burned down mysteriously in previous years.
The Orpheum Theatre in Madison is on The National Register of Historic Places listings in Wisconsin
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Back in the 80's, we showed standard fare, such as Platoon, all those Lethal Weapon movies, and numerous other "classics." These days the popcorn and candy counter has been redesigned as a state-of-the-art kitchen and they serve lunch and dinner in the spacious lobby between the matching grand staircases that lead to balconies no longer coded to bear the weight of occupants.
They show mostly Indie films, and host musicians (Sevendust is a regular) and there has been a project underway for several years to try and save the building and its marquee.
Keep up the good work!!
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Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Michael Vick Still a Prick
Mel, dog rescued from Michael Vick and now owned by Richard Hunter
Richard Hunter has written a lot about Mel, just one of the dogs who survived Vick's torture chambers. His website is called The Richard Hunter Show. There are numerous newspaper interviews on his site detailing Mel's recovery from life as a bait dog--a dog used to teach other dogs to fight and kill.
To those who say "He served his time," if these crimes had been committed against humans--kids--would you still say that? Just wondering how much animal torture and murder it takes to equate to the same when a human is involved: 10 dogs to 1 human? 100 dogs to 1 human?
Or maybe, no living creature deserves to be tortured and/or murdered. It's just a thought.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Democracy protests bring down Egypt's Mubarak
!!الف مبروك يا قلبي يا مصر 
Reuters/Emilio Morenatti
Democracy protests bring down Egypt's Mubarak
By PAUL SCHEMM and MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Paul Schemm And Maggie Michael, Associated Press
CAIRO – Fireworks burst over Tahrir Square and Egypt exploded with joy and tears of relief after pro-democracy protesters brought down President Hosni Mubarak with a momentous march on his palaces and state TV. Mubarak, who until the end seemed unable to grasp the depth of resentment over his three decades of authoritarian rule, finally resigned Friday and handed power to the military.
"The people ousted the regime," rang out chants from crowds of hundreds of thousands massed in Cairo's central Tahrir, or Liberation, Square and outside Mubarak's main palace several miles away in a northern district of the capital.
...Thousands from across the capital of 18 million streamed into Tahrir, where protesters hugged, kissed and wept. Whole families took pictures of each other posing with Egyptian flags with their mobile phones as bridges over the Nile jammed with throngs more flowing into the square.
Abdul-Rahman Ayyash, an online activist born eight years after Mubarak came to office, said he would be celebrating all night, then remain in the square to ensure the military "won't steal the revolution."
"I'm 21 years old," he said. "This is the first time in my life I feel free."
[Click on title for full article.]
!!الف مبروك يا قلبي يا مصر
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Thursday, February 10, 2011
Mubarak keeps title but "transfers powers" to VP Suleiman, former henchman
I am outraged. These are quotes from the CNN Live Blog from today: translations of Mubarak's speech on State TV, which was received tonight in stunned silence by a crowd of thousands in Tahrir Square. They are not silent now. How many people must die before he surrenders? (More than we thought--see below...)
[Update 11:00 p.m. in Cairo, 4:00 p.m. ET] The crowd in Tahrir Square erupts into roars of "get out" as Mubarak announces he will not step down.
"I will not submit to any international pressures," he says. "I love Egypt, I I have worked hard for its renaissance and I have never tried to have more authority, and I think the majority of other people here know very well who Hosni Mubarak is and it hurts my heart when I see and I hear from my own people."
We HURT his FEELINGS???
[Update 11:05 p.m. in Cairo, 4:05 p.m. ET] "This guy is calling for more rage in the country," a protester in Tahrir Square tells CNN's Fred Pleitgen after Mubarak speaks. "This guy doesn't want to leave in peace."
[Update 7:49 p.m. in Cairo, 12:49 p.m. ET] The number of people killed in Egyptians' protests against President Hosni Mubarak could be two or even three times higher than previously estimated, a human rights activist on the ground warned Thursday. Human Rights Watch has confirmed about 300 deaths, said Hossam Bahgat of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. But independent researchers have not been able to get information from many places, he said.
Very exclusive picture of President Hosni Mubarak and Vice President Omar Suleiman after the jump.
Hosni and Omar after their very trying day today.
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Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Blood in Cairo square: Mubarak backers, foes clash
By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, Associated Press Hadeel Al-shalchi, Associated Press –
A man, [working as a medic] left, tries to calm down an Egyptian army captain atop an armored personnel carrier, who fired live rounds into the air to disperse anti-government demonstrators, who charged to clash with pro-government protesters in Tahrir square, in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
The clashes marked a dangerous new phase in Egypt's upheaval: the first significant violence between government supporters and opponents. The crisis took a sharp turn for the worse almost immediately after Mubarak rejected the calls for him to give up power or leave the country, stubbornly proclaiming he would die on Egyptian soil.
His words were a blow to the protesters. They also suggest that authorities want to turn back the clock to the tight state control enforced before the protests began.
Mubarak's supporters turned up on the streets Wednesday in significant numbers for the first time. Some were hostile to journalists and foreigners. Two Associated Press correspondents and several other journalists were roughed up in Cairo. State TV had reported that foreigners were caught distributing anti-Mubarak leaflets, apparently trying to depict the movement as foreign-fueled.
An Egyptian Muslim cleric cries in front of on army tank in Tahrir, or Liberation square, in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011. (AP/Tara Todras-Whitehill)
After midnight, 10 hours after the clashes began, the two sides were locked in a standoff at a street corner, with the anti-Mubarak protesters hunkered behind a line of metal sheets hurling firebombs back and forth with government backers on the rooftop above. The rain of bottles of flaming gasoline set nearby cars and wreckage on the sidewalk ablaze.
Pro-government protesters (L) clash with anti-government protesters outside the National Museum near Tahrir square in Cairo early February 3, 2011. (REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis)
Some of the worst street battles raged near the Egyptian Museum at the edge of the square. Pro-government rioters blanketed the rooftops of nearby buildings and hurled bricks and firebombs onto the crowd below — in the process setting a tree ablaze inside the museum grounds. Plainclothes police at the building entrances prevented anti-Mubarak protesters from storming up to stop them.
The two sides pummeled each other with chunks of concrete and bottles at each of the six entrances to the sprawling plaza, where 10,000 anti-Mubarak protesters tried to fend off more than 3,000 attackers who besieged them. Some on the pro-government side waved machetes, while the square's defenders filled the air with a ringing battlefield din by banging metal fences with sticks.
In one almost medieval scene, a small contingent of pro-Mubarak forces on horseback and camels rushed into the anti-government crowds, trampling several people and swinging whips and sticks. Protesters dragged some riders from their mounts, throwing them to the ground and beating their faces bloody. The horses and camels appeared to be ones used to give tourists rides around Cairo.
A pro-Mubarak demonstrator tries to control his camel during rioting between pro- and anti-Mubarak supporters in Tahrir Square in Cairo February 2 , 2011. Supporters of President Hosni Mubarak, throwing petrol bombs, wielding sticks and charging on horses and camels, fiercely attacked demonstrators in Cairo on Wednesday after the army told protesters to clear the streets. (REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic)
Please click on the article title to read the full piece.
Welcome to Wisconsin in February
We got a little weather last night.
There is an unhappy Chihuahua dragging his leash and trying to open the storm door with his furry paw on the top step. That would be Dickens, who could not be less amused.
Turns out, Ginger was not amused, either.
In fact, she was quite perplexed at being completely blocked in by her "fun stuff."
She kept looking for a way out. The shovel is the key, but I was already beat.
I was not drinking. I wanted to be... And yes, the shovel is supposed to look like that. It's ergonomic, which means absolutely nothing to my back.
Follow the jump to see the back of the house.
Okay, we got a lot.
My Beetle is safe and sound in her kennel.
Drifts on lower back roof (no, I can't reach it with my rake but it's fine) and around the car kennel.
Getting the storm door open was NOT EASY with 3 ft of snow piled against it. Then I hiked to the neighbors to beg for help from their John Deere plow. Have money--will pay!! But this sidewalk remains to be done.
View from the car kennel. Biggest piles are from previous snow accumulations.
My path to the back door. Too narrow for snowblower so tackling that in half-hour.
Couldn't be more excited.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Egypt's military secures famed antiquities museum
Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, directly off Tahrir Square
Well, I was half-right. I said the Museum would not become a target. Turns out, it almost did. I forgot about unconscionable looters. Thank you to those citizens that stepped in and prevented the unthinkable to happen before the army could take over. It became vulnerable after the building housing the Democratic Party (Mubarak's) was torched nearby, causing chaos.
Egypt's military secures famed antiquities museum
CAIRO – "The Egyptian army secured Cairo's famed antiquities museum early Saturday, protecting treasures including the famed gold mask of King Tutankhamun from looters.
The greatest threat to the Egyptian Museum first appeared to come from the fire enguling the ruling party headquarters next door on Friday night as anti-government protests roiled the country.
Then dozens of would-be thieves started entering the grounds surrounding the museum.
Suddenly other young men — some armed with truncheons taken from the police — formed a human chain outside the main gates on Tahrir Square in an attempt to protect the collection inside.
"I'm standing here to defend and to protect our national treasure," said one of the men, Farid Saad, a 40-year-old engineer.
Another man, 26-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim, said it was important to guard the museum because it "has 5,000 years of our history. If they steal it, we'll never find it again."
Finally, four armored vehicles took up posts outside the massive coral-colored building in downtown Cairo. Soldiers surrounded the building and moved inside to protect mummies, monumental stone statues, ornate royal jewelry and other pharaonic artifacts."
Main Hall of the Museum
[My personal reflections on the Museum after the jump...]
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