The other day I realized, as a cold claw of pure fear squeezed my frantic heart, that I have been working as a video clerk for ten months.

This is a job that I took on a temporary basis for just a month or two until freelancing picked back up and I got my financial shit in order.

Ten months.

It has been a test of patience, humility, and character.

It has been a lesson in dealing with all humankind, including their personal bodily fluids.

It has been $6.50 an hour.

Thus begins Ali Davis's True Porn Clerk Stories, the engaging diary of an intelligent, open-minded, sex-positive young woman trying to come to grips with the absurd realities of human sexuality, as viewed from behind the counter of an adult video store. Written with equal amounts of heart and grit, Ali's diary is an absolute must-read. Brava, Ms. Davis!

The deportation of Julia Butterfly Hill from Ecuador, following her arrest during a protest of Occidental Petroleum's new Amazon oil pipeline, was reported on by no less than the Guardian. After reading about this, I dropped an email to a couple of hip guys from Amazon Watch that I met at the Ruckus Society tech camp who trek deep into the heart of South America armed with their wits and a couple of digital video cameras, and inquired how I might be of some assistance. I came across them at an absolutely fascinating three-hour workshop they gave at the Tech Camp on the care and feeding of high-tech gadgets in harsh jungle conditions, which I found quite inspiring. Thus far, they've just been asking for wi-fi advice, buti, in the meantime, I've decided to start learning Español.