Lezzing Out

Well, it’s certainly been strange this past week campaigning for something I was mortified to be called in gradeschool. But here I am asking one last time for your vote in The Lezzys for best entertainment/culture blog. Today is the final day to cast your ballot for your favorite lesbian blogs (remember to click the link in your confirmation email to make ‘em count). Thanks one and all to those who have voted (and have kept voting every day). And, don’t forget, everyone who votes can enter to win either the “Weeds” season five DVD or a review copy of the Indigo Girls, “Poseidon and the Bitter Bug.” Just forward me your confirmation emails by the end of the day today. Win or lose, you folks are fucking awesome – you big lezzies, you.

Total Lezzy

Awww shucks, you guys, you’ve done it again. Thanks to you, I’m up for another Lezzy Award for 2009 Best Lesbian Entertainment/ Lesbian Culture Blog. The Lezzys (started in 2008 as the Lesbian Blog of the Year Award) are handed out annually by The Lesbian Lifestyle. Those of you’ve who’ve hung around here long enough might recall that I’ve been lucky enough to win the last two years (2007 Lesbian Blog of the Year & 2008 Best Entertainment/Overall Lesbian Blog of the Year honors).

This year the awards will be handed out in 11 categories. They are:

• Best Lesbian Entertainment/Lesbian Culture Blog
• Best Lesbian Humor Blog
• Best Lesbian Parenting Blog
• Best Lesbian Engagement/Wedding Blog (new for 2009)
• Best Lesbian Feminist/Political Blog
• Best Lesbian Personal Blog
• Best Lesbian “Out later in life” Blog (new for 2009)
• Best Lesbian Sex/Short Story/Erotica Blog
• Best Lesbian Podcast
• Best New Lesbian Blog (new for 2009)
• Lesbian Blog Lifetime Achievement Award (new for 2009)

Also nominated in my category are Autostraddle and Fit for a Femme. The former is the glossy girl-on-girl culture chronicles of Riese and her homosexy staff (not to mention their intern army of, like, zillions). The latter is the chronicles of the daily fashion choices of, you guessed it, a Femme. Both are fabulous, both are formidable.

So many well-known and equally great blogs are up for awards in other categories this year that instead of picking and choosing, I’m just going to go straight (but not in that way) ticket and promote fellow Team AfterEllen nominees. For Humor, Grace the Spot. For Parenting, Mombian. For Lifetime Achievement, the mother ship, AfterEllen.

Now, onto the mushy stuff. Since I started this blog in 2006, I’ve been continually humbled by all of your support, encouragement and generosity. Clearly, I don’t write this site for awards (though, let’s not lie, who doesn’t like to win things). Instead I write it because a) sleep is for suckers and b) if I couldn’t write my head would explode and c) you’ve made it such a wonderful place to keep coming back to. People grouse all the time, and rightfully so, about what passes for discourse online these days. But I feel forever fortunate that together, we’ve been able to carve out a space that is overwhelmingly civil, respectful and engaged. I never take that for granted, ever.

OK, OK. I’ve put away my Kleenex. This is, after all, a competition. So here comes the nitty gritty:

1. Voting is now open.
2. You can vote once every 24 hours.
3. For your vote to count you have to click the link in your confirmation email.
4. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. EDT March 1 (technically 12:00 a.m. March 2, but people always get confused about which midnight that means and I don’t think that 1 minute will make or break anyone).

So, vote early and vote often, like an old-school Chicago politician. As fantastic as it would be to win again, what I’m most pleased about is that The Lesbian Lifestyle (and its founded Kelly, aka goldstardyke) keeps running these awards to recognize the wonderful diversity and depth of gay women on the web.

But, just to show you I do have some competitive spirit (I sucked at sports, this is my only shot), I’m going to sweeten the pot by running a contest. If you forward me a copy of your confirmation email, you’ll be entered in a contest to win either the complete season five DVD of “Weeds” or a review copy of the Indigo Girls double CD, “Poseidon and the Bitter Bug.” See:

The more you vote, the more times you are entered. And don’t worry, you don’t even have to vote for me to be eligible (confirmation emails don’t show who you voted for, so I’ll never know). Yes, I’ll even send it overseas out of my own pocket if someone abroad gets picked. Win or lose, that’s a thank you from me to you. Oh, and just to show how really, really competitive I am, this is also a thank you from me to you. Enjoy.

Mary-Louise Parker


Olivia Wilde


Rosario Dawson


Rachel Weisz


To truly be appreciated, that last one really needs to move.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE
(once every 24 hours, and don’t forget to click those email links).

Hail Mary

Jesus, Snarker, took you long enough. Many thanks for entering the Mary Tyler Moore giveaway, one and all. If I had 104 copies, you’d all get one. Alas, I only have three. But, rest assured, whenever a publicist wants to ply me with something shiny and new, I will happily pass it along to you kind folks. (Hint, hint, publicists: I will hawk your wares if you let me run a contest.) Anyhew, the winners of the “Mary Tyler Moore Show” season 5 box sets are:

• M.F.
• Roya
• Suazr

Thanks again to all for entering. And thanks, as always, for reading. Oh, and Betty White is the shit. Period.

Your winning ways

Don’t forget, today is the last day to enter the giveaway for one of three “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” season 5 DVD sets. To enter, leave your email address here. The contest closes at midnight tonight. Also, six?!

It’s you girl, and you should know it

I know I don’t say this enough, but thank you. Thank you for coming here. Thank you for reading. Thank you for commenting. That you for agreeing and arguing. Thank you for everything. As I’ve said before, I write Dorothy Surrenders largely as an exercise to get the voices to behave and wait their turn. But that you visit, day after day, is something I never take for granted. And while I can’t get back to everyone (either in emails or tweets or what have you) as often or as quickly as I would like, know that I read everything you send and take note.

With that said, when the chance comes along I also like to offer up a modest thank gift whenever possible. So when nice marketing folks ask me if I want to giveaway stuff for free, I say, “Heck, yes!” And when it’s something as fantastic as free copies of the “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” I say, “There isn’t a ‘Yes’ emphatic enough!”

So, today I am giving away three copies of the Season 5 complete DVD set of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” The three-disc set came out Tuesday of this week and features all 24 episodes of the 1974-75 season. In case you needed reminding, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” ran for seven seasons, won 29 Emmy awards and featured television’s first never-married, independent career woman as the lead character. Oh, and it starred Mary-freaking-Tyler Moore. And she threw her hat. God, that show was fantastic.

So, here are the details. If you want to enter leave your email address (you can spell it out for fear of the dreaded spam) in the comments section. If you want you can leave your favorite MTM moment, too. You have from today until noon 11:59 pm PST next Wednesday to enter. The winners will be posted by Friday, Oct. 16. So good luck. Who can turn the world on with her smile? You girls (and guys, I’m equal opportunity). So thanks again. And now, how about a sing-along? Hats ready and go!

UPDATE: Contest entry is now closed. Look for the winners on Friday.

And the winners are...

Whoo-doogie, there were a lot of you who wanted some free summer reading. I’m thrilled there is so much excitement about Malinda’s book. I can’t wait until the rest of the world get their chance to read it, too. “Ash” comes out Sept. 1 and is already available for pre-order. The winners of the autographed copies are:

• Dianna
• Angelina

Enjoy the book, ladies. And for all my overseas friends, Malinda said there might be another drawing when the UK version is released. So please stay tuned. Happy reading!

Smoke and “Ash”

Just to show you it’s not all hot girls in tank tops and lacy underthings (not that there is anything wrong with that, nothing at all), let’s talk books. And, to put a finer point on it, let’s talk one book. Let’s talk “Ash,” the first book by Malinda Lo. Many of you will remember Malinda as the former AfterEllen.com managing editor. She still writes the column Notes & Queeries and her vlog The Lo-Down will return next month. Malinda left the site last year to complete “Ash,” a lesbian retelling of Cinderella. Now it is set to come out in September. I’m about a third of the way through and can happily report that Malinda has created a lush, lavishly-descriptive universe that will immerse readers young and old.

Malinda has graciously agreed to giveaway two autographed advanced copies. But before you start clamoring for a copy, let’s find out a little more about the story.

A quick Q&A with Malinda about “Ash”

DS: Describe the story of “Ash.”
ML: In the most blatant of terms, it's a lesbian retelling of Cinderella.
Stepping back from that concept a bit, Ash is about a girl who is grieving the loss of her parents, who both die in quick succession when she's only 12 years old. That loss sends her into a deep, almost suicidal depression. The novel tells the story of Ash coming out of that depression and choosing to live. The fact that she falls in love with a woman, as opposed to a man, is almost secondary.

DS: Where did the idea come from?
ML: I chose to retell the story of Cinderella because as a kid, I loved reading Robin McKinley's retellings of fairy tales, and she never retold Cinderella. I wrote Ash because I wanted to read it.

DS: What was it about the Cinderella story that you thought was ripe for the retelling?
ML: I actually had no idea if it was ripe for retelling — I didn't choose it, so much as it chose me. It's always been my favorite fairy tale.

DS: Did you always want to bring gay storylines into your work?
ML: Funny you ask that, because the answer is no. The first draft of Ash was not gay at all — Ash initially fell in love with the prince. After I gave it to a friend to read, she pointed out that the prince was pretty boring. I looked at the story more closely and realized that Ash was actually falling in love with someone else, and that someone else was a woman — Kaisa, the King's Huntress.

DS: Was it hard, getting mainstream publishers to accept a lesbian storyline in young adult fiction? Was there any resistance?
ML: I haven't had any resistance at all. My agent was behind it 100% from the get-go, and we received offers from several publishers who were all very enthusiastic about the lesbian story line. My editor, honestly, encouraged me to intensify the romance between Ash and Kaisa.
What I find interesting is that my publisher, Little, Brown, isn't positioning the book as a lesbian book, really. If you read the cover copy, it's not even entirely clear that Ash falls in love with a woman. It's being positioned as a mainstream YA fantasy — even more so in the U.K. I just got the cover copy from my U.K. publisher, Hodder, and there's basically no hint that there's a same-sex romance in there.
I don't think they're trying to hide it, because they're very supportive of reaching out to LGBT readers. I just think they believe the gay part is mostly irrelevant.

DS: What do you hope readers, both young and old, take away from the book?
ML: I just hope they'll find an enjoyable story — that sounds really basic, but it's true. And since I didn't write Ash as a young adult novel (I just wrote it — the categorization came after it was finished), I do hope adults as well as teens pick it up.
Other than that, I must admit that I really hope lesbian/bi readers like Kaisa. Not that straight readers can't like her too! But I think she deserves to be crushed on. :)

DS: Are you working on your next one? What’s it about?
ML: Yes, I'm currently in the middle of revising my next novel, which is sort of a prequel to Ash. It takes place several hundreds of years before, but it's set in the same world, and it's about the first woman to become a King's Huntress. It's my version of a quest story, so there's a dangerous journey, powerful magic, ancient fairies, and romance — plus, of course, lesbians. Barring unforeseen circumstances, it should come out in fall 2010.

If you are interested in receiving a free copy of “Ash,” leave your email address in the comments section (spelled out if you’re worried about spammers) by noon Thursday PST. I will pick the two winners via my friend the random number generator and post them on Friday Monday. Find out more about “Ash” and Malinda at her website, www.malindalo.com. Happy reading.

NOTE: Unfortunately, this giveaway is limited to US and Canada residents. I believe it's for legal release reasons. But Malinda said she hopes to have another giveaway for all non-North Americans once the UK edition comes out. So please stay tuned and my apologies.

NOTE II: Entries are now closed. The winner will be announced on Monday. Thanks so much for your interest!

And TLW winners are...

Wow, the week got way away from me what with the big win and the big loss and the big life, liberty and pursuit of happiness thing. But I have winners, big winners, of The L Word DVD Giveaway. Thank you ALL so much for entering and supporting 8 Against 8. While we lost this one, we will not give up. One day we will win.

So here are the lucky winners, courtesy my good friend Random Number Generator Thingie:

• Stephanie
• Amy
• Kennedyismyhero
• Julia
• IrishFingJew
• J School
• Shari
• Leesh
• Pyewacket
• BJ

These would be some good ladies to get to know if you're looking to have a TLW watching marathon one weekend. Tell them you'll bring the popcorn. Works every time.

p.s. The extreme tardiness of this winners post should tip you off to the fact that I am wayyyy behind on just about everything. So if you were kind enough to have emailed me in the past two weeks, please take heart. I am not ignoring you. I have (and I am not kidding) 125 emails waiting patiently for me in my inbox right now. My apologies. I promise to get back to you soon...or soonish.

8 Against 8: Last Day - L Word Edition

Today is the last full day of our 8 Against 8 fundraiser to fight California's Proposition 8, which would create a constitutional ban on gay marriage in the state. We've blown past our original $8,000 goal and now want a big final push (like maybe doubling our original goal, hey, we can dream). Our campaign will officially end at 8 a.m. ET/5 a.m. PT Tuesday morning. We need all the help we can get to fight the “Yes on 8” people's scare tactics and misleading commercials. And that means giving money to the No on Prop. 8 side. Donate to 8 Against 8 here.

And, just to sweeten the deal, giving could turn into receiving here at Surrenders (wait, did that sound vaguely dirty? If not, it should have). Remember when I said to “save your donation confirmations” if/when you donate? Well, finally, here is where that begins to makes sense. I have 10 (yes, TEN) free copies of “The L Word: Season Five” complete DVD box sets to give away. So if you have already donated or donate today, send me a copy of your confirmation email and I will enter you in the contest.

“The L Word returns to DVD with the complete fifth season on Oct. 28th in a collectible 4-disc set. DVD includes all 12 dramatic and deliciously provocative fifth season episodes from Showtime's successful long-running series featuring all the beauty, chaos and complexities of a group of women who inhabit Los Angeles' lesbian community plus behind-the-scenes special features.”

Now, in the interest of fairness and empty bank accounts, if you haven't donated you can still enter by putting your email address in the comments below. However, people who donate can (and should) also enter their email below for a second entry into the giveaway. Basically, if you've donated you can enter twice and therefore increase your chances of taking home Bette, Tina, Alice, Shane, Jenny & company.

In case you've forgotten what you're playing for in this contest, here is a quick refresher on the hotness that was TLW Season Five. (Warning: They get hotter the lower you scroll. Ahem.)

The contest is open to everyone (foreign and domestic), but winners outside of the United States and Canada will need to pay for shipping themselves (my apologies, but alas I'm Ms. Snarker, not Ms. Rockerfeller). I'll accept entries until Friday, Oct. 31. And, once again, my handy-dandy random number generator will pick the lucky winners.

Thank you so much for all of your support of 8 Against 8. If you can, please consider donating. And remember vote No on Prop. 8, California (and No on Prop. 2, Florida; No on Prop. 102, Arizona; No on Question #1, Connecticut and No on Act 1, Arkansas).

p.s. Each donation will get you an extra entry so go crazy, ladies and discerning gentlemen. Good Cause + Free Stuff + Lesbian Sex = Best. Giveaway. Ever.

UPDATE: Thanks for entering. Entries are now closed. The winners will be announced Tuesday Wednesday.

And the winners are...

Thanks to everyone (all 124 of you!) who entered the “Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan” CD giveaway. If I had 124 copies, I'd give you all one. I mean it. For serious. And thanks so much for sharing your stories, too. See, I told you lesbians love Sarah. Via the random number generator doodad, the winners are:

• Allison
• J9
• Penny Cillin
• AGM
• Ravaj

Congratulations! And if you didn't win, don't worry, more giveaways are coming. Please enjoy the music.

Better than ice cream

Lesbians love Sarah McLachlan. Through the years I've tried to dissect exactly why this is. I've listened to her crystalline voice for hours. I've stared into her big brown eyes for what seemed like an eternity. I've played my copies of “Fumbling Toward Ecstasy” and “Surfacing” until they became the de facto soundtrack to my college years. And, in the end, I think I can sum it up in two words: Lilith Fair. Oh, come on, you know you were there. Hell, we probably ran into each other and didn't even know it.

What made Lilith Fair, and Sarah, so important is simple yet revolutionary. It wasn't just that women could make good music. It was that women who made good music were good business. This was girl power not in just an artificial made-by-marketers sense. This was women working together for the enjoyment of other women. It seems almost cliché now but then it was kind of awesome. And talk about your gay women's paradise. Take an Indigo Girls concert and multiply it by 1,000. Yeah, that kind of awesome.

So, it's with fond memories and a happy song in my heart that I welcome the release of Sarah's new greatest hits album today. “Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan” features 16 songs including two new tracks. And, best of all, I have five copies to give away. So if you want one, let me know in the comments (leave your email address, spelled out is fine) from now through Thursday. I'll pick the five winners at random on Friday.

While you're at it, if you want to share your favorite Sarah song or story, feel free. Oh, come on, you know you have one. In fact if you or your girlfriend or the friend you wish was your girlfriend haven't at some point drunken karaoked to “Adia” then you are either not really that gay or lying. I'm going with the latter.

p.s. Have you seen her in a bikini recently? I'm going to make that a second, one-word answer to why lesbians love Sarah McLachlan.

UPDATE: Entries are now closed. Thanks to all who entered. I'll post the winners Monday.

And the winners are...

Thanks to all who entered for the giveaways of Bryn Christopher's EP. And if you watched the premiere of “Grey's Anatomy” you know I wasn't lying about the fast-forwarding stuff. Though Yang getting impaled by the icicle totally made me stop and press rewind. But, without further adoing, the winners are:

kennedyismyhero
The Red Hot Paprika
Sarah in Chicago
chapin
byrneme

All winners were picked with the help of a random number generator doohickey (yes, that's the technical term). Thanks again to everyone who entered and stay on the lookout. Who knows when more goodies will fall into my lap.

And the winner is...

First, thank you all (all 195 of you!) for entering our little True Colors Tour ticket giveaway. Y’all really wanted to go see a show. If I could, I’d give each and every one of you tickets. But, alas, there can only be one winner. And that winner is … drum roll, please …

MissAkilahC, a.k.a. Akilah Crossdale.

Congratulations Miss Akilah! She will be she-bopping at the June 28 Los Angeles show. So if you see her there, be sure to say hi. And, win or lose, I hope everyone tries to make it out to one of the stops on the tour. Why? Well, a) It’s super gay. And I mean gay in the best, most fantabulous way possible. And, b) It supports us super gays. Which means it raises awareness and funds for GLBT issues and causes. And finally, c) All the fucking great music. Duh. But don’t take my word for it. Take the B-52s word.

Seriously, how awesome is this show? Thanks, again, everyone for entering. And, just in case you were wondering how the drawing worked, I numbered everyone off chronologically via entry and then used a random number generator to pick the winner. You can even watch, if you have 30 seconds to kill, just to prove it was all kosher. This also proves that I’m probably crazy. But that’s another story for another day.

Don’t be afraid to … go to a show

So, today marks a historic first here at Dorothy Surrenders. No, I’m not going to shamelessly fish for blogiversary compliments again (though, thank you one and all who posted and emailed with your lovely blogday wishes). No, today is the day when reading this silly little site finally pays off. Today I’m launching a contest to give away a pair of tickets to any show on the 2008 True Colors Tour. Yes, that’s right. Free. Tickets. The friendly folks involved in the tour were nice enough to offer me the tickets to help promote the casuse. If you’re not familiar, the True Colors Tour raises funds and awareness for gay rights. In short, it’s awesome. But don’t take my word for it, take it from its fabulous mastermind Cyndi Lauper.

Cyndi was sweet enough to record a similar shout out for ye olde blog last year. You know, me and Cyn, we’re likethis now. This year’s bill features Cyndi, as well a revolving lineup that include the B-52s, Regina Spektor, Andy Bell of Erasure, Tegan and Sara, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Indigo Girls, Joan Armatrading, Deborah Cox, The Cliks, The Puppini Sisters, Nona Hendryx and Girl in Coma. Comedians Rosie O’Donnell, Wanda Sykes and Kate Clinton plus fashionista Carson Kressley will also appear. The tour begins May 31 in Boston and ends July 5 in Colorado.

So, how is this contest thingie going to work? Well, it’s really pretty simple. I have one pair of tickets available to any show on the tour, your choice. I will pick the winner from a random drawing of everyone who entered (I’m envisioning a hat with names in it…) The who, what, when and hows of the contest:

Who is eligible: Anyone who can make it to one of the True Colors Tour dates, one entry per person
What will you get: A pair of tickets to the show of your choice.
When to enter: Now until 11:59 p.m. Monday May 5
How to enter: Post your email address in the comments section

I will notify the winner via email Tuesday, May 6. So, who wants to let their true colors show ... at a show?

UPDATE: Dang, folks, y’all really want to go to a show. Given the number of you who have entered already, the hat idea is probably out the window. I’ll probably go with Jess-Nutt’s idea of a random number generator to pick the winner. You’ll be numbered chronologically based on post order. And, of course, feel free to put your email in the spelled-out format. I don’t want to be the cause of an influx of emails in your inboxes with the subject lines like: “Get rock hard,” unless, of course, that’s your thing.

UPDATE II: Submissions are now closed. Thanks for your entries. The winner will be announced Wednesday.