The birdcage

"There is something about the newspaper business that teaches you some humility - you are so used to having something you wrote today winding up in someone's birdcage tomorrow..." - CARL HIAASEN, whose latest novel, STAR ISLAND, was released Tuesday, July 27.

Two Days in Cayo Hueso

I spent this past weekend in Key West, Florida, and in the course of two-and-a-half days there I a) saw actressKelly McGillis (who, I might note, looks much better in person than she does in her more recent made-for-SyFy flicks) at a drag show, b) drank with the forensic artist for the sheriff's department of a major Florida county, and c) swam with a shark for the first time in my life.

I can only imagine what could be seen or done there with an entire week...

Womenfest Key West

Less than 24 hours ago, I learned that I will be staying in Key West the weekend of the lesbian-centric Womenfest. I can only hope that the town will be overrun by cool lesbians of the gun-slinging, Swayze-quoting variety, and not just a bunch of sexless birdwatchers.

Sadly, though, I will arrive too late to attend the Womenfest luncheon honoring Kelly McGillis: