I am so very proud of a writer named Michael Heller today. Check out this review by Tim Wu in Slate:

The last decade has produced enough books challenging received wisdom to fill a small—and stupendously popular—library called the Compendium of Counterintuition. Here we find Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, which teaches that snap judgments are sometimes more accurate than studied observation. James Surowiecki’s The Wisdom of Crowds, almost a companion volume, argues that a bunch of random idiots can sometimes do better than experts. Chris Anderson’s The Long Tail makes the point that selling unpopular stuff can be a way to make lots of money.

The newest addition to the collection is Michael Heller’s The Gridlock Economy, which does for property rights what the Long Tail does for product marketing. The difference is that Heller, unlike most of the authors of counterintuitive books, is actually a leader in the academic field he is scrutinizing. As one of the nation’s leading property theorists, he has accomplished a feat. In an area that has generated very few nonacademic books, Heller has managed to pull off one of the most perceptive popular books on property since Das Kapital.

The review is titled “Move Over, Marx.” And the book’s author is not just any ole ex. He’s my ex-husband.

Michael worked enormously hard, I know, writing this book, and I am just kvelling over here to see him receive laurels so richly deserved. I’m looking forward to reading the book, and I urge folks to check it out.

Congratulations, Professor Heller. You are the best first husband, ever! I wish you all the joys in the world.

Last weekend’s nonfiction writers retreat at the Woodhull house in Ancramdale was very energizing, and I wanted to send a shout out to all the participants (hi Lara! hi May! hi Leeat!). I absolutely loved working with everyone. And here’s info on the next one:

Raise Your Voice
The Woodhull Institute Prepares Women to Be Leaders on the Page

Women are underrepresented as nonfiction authors and opinion writers. In a long weekend of writing instruction and one-on-one critique from expert instructors Kristen Kemp, Catherine Orenstein, and Deborah Siegel, participants gain fundamental knowledge of Op-ed pieces, features, book proposals, and pitching ideas.

When/Where: September 5-7, 2008 (Ancramdale, NY)

Early Registration: $455

Regular Registration: $495*

Learn more and register today! Substantial discounts are available to alumnae and members.

Argh – I didn’t make it here today. But heads up on some FABULOUS guest posting about to come our way from Claire Mysko who will be live blogging from BlogHer, and Gloria Feldt and Kristen Loveland and others who will be crossposting and guest posting galore! I’m off tomorrow and will do my best to post a “g’bye” here before I go. Til then…

Three quick hits this afternoon (courtesy Rebekah Spicuglia) regarding new info about women’s health here and abroad:

Saving Mothers, One at a Time
7/15/08
NY Times: According to a 2007 study of global maternal mortality rates, more than two-thirds of deaths among Malawian women of reproductive age are linked to pregnancy or childbirth – a larger proportion than in any of the 171 countries in the study.

Teen Sexual Behavior Does Not Predict HPV Risk
7/16/08
RHRealityCheck.org: A teen’s sexual activity doesn’t predict her future risk for HPV, and shouldn’t determine whether she receives the HPV vaccine, according to University of Michigan researchers. HPV, genital human papillomavirus, is the most common sexually transmitted infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Study Questions Breast Self-Exams
7/15/08
Boston Globe: Although most women are told to examine their breasts every month for lumps, new research confirms that the practice – on its own – may do more harm than good. Self exams, and those by healthcare providers, actually produce an increase in benign biopsies, but don’t get the patient into treatment earlier or save her life.

(Image is from Women’s Health 2009: The 17th Annual Congress)

A hearty congratulations to the members of the Final 2008 Class of Progressive Women’s Voices! The new participants will join us (we?) alumna of the program to ensure that women are visible and powerful in the media. Tidbits from the press release:

Launched in January of this year, Progressive Women’s Voices has provided 33 women from a variety of fields with intensive media training and ongoing support to promote their perspective and message into the national dialogue. Since the program began, the Women’s Media Center has already had an impact at the highest levels of the media. Participants have appeared on such media outlets as CNN and CBS Evening News, been quoted by The New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle, placed op-eds in national papers including the Washington Post, and blogged about issues from the economy to race.

“You can’t change the lopsided numbers of women working at top levels overnight,” said Carol Jenkins, president of The Women’s Media Center. “That’s why we created this year-long, intensive program that includes briefings from experts, conversations with media professionals, pairing with mentors-as well as pitching to media outlets. The women get on-camera and op-ed writing training, and constant feedback. They have a support system, and it shows.”

Participants in the third training class include authors, policy leaders and journalists – 11 women whose diverse backgrounds reflect the diversity of women’s experiences in the United States. They join 22 current participants, forming a stable of progressive women who will add their voices to the national conversation in areas of economics, politics, health care, immigration, women’s rights, workplace policy, and other important issues. The program is funded primarily by a generous grant from the NoVo Foundation and with additional support from the UN Foundation and other supporters.

A personal shout out to Veronica Arreola and Alissa Quart. For a full list of participants in the third class, click here.

Forgive me, GWP readers, for silence yesterday! Unprecedented, and I feel like a total delinquent. I promise to be back here today 🙂

And thank you to those who proposed guest posts for next week! I will get back to everyone today.

Here’s the link to Kate Torgovnik’s very thoughtful article about divorce parties in the New York Post’s Page Six Magazine called “Congratulations on Your Split!” I’m gulp, the closing anecdote.

Talk about timing! I love it.

(Image is from the mag)

This morning the dude and I went to City Hall to get our marriage license. Elsewhere in weddingland:

California Gays Ditch Wedding Gifts For Donations
7/14/08
Reuters: A month after California began legally marrying same-sex partners, thousands of dollars that might have been spent on toasters or dinnerware for newlyweds have been donated to the campaign against the November referendum that seeks to define marriage in the state as only between a man and a woman.

Weddings Are Big Day for Extreme Dieting
7/13/08
Women’s eNews: Questing for the perfect body has become a norm in the world of wedding preparations as a multi-billion-dollar wedding industry peddles the perfection myth more intensely than ever before.

HA! Not moi. I so pigged out this weekend (last one before the wedding) and enjoyed every minute….

A little slow to posting today…

A bit o history making over the weekend, as reported by Adele Stan over at Huffington Post: Sunday’s face-off between the McCain campaign’s Carly Fiorina and the Obama campaign’s Claire McCaskill on NBC’s Meet the Press served up an historic television moment; it was the first time in the show’s history, said moderator Tom Brokaw, that two women had appeared together on the show as the surrogates for opposing campaigns.

Nothing says “moving on” like the divorce collage.

Actually, these here doubled as housewarming projects. After having an awful experience (not a big surprise) with a Jewish divorce ceremony some years back, I decided to refill the frame that had held my marriage certificate or ketubah (left) with ad-hoc art work by my dearest friends. So I invited them over and we had a party.

That party will be part of a Page 6 story in this Sunday’s New York Post. And the timing couldn’t be more perfect. Because on Monday, Marco and I will be going down to City Hall to pick up our marriage license and officially change our names! We are becoming the Siegel-Acevedos. How’s that for a mouthful of fusion. I’m staying Siegel in print. Hey, do people still hyphenate these days, or has that already become outre? (Our thanks to the Wallace-Segalls for the inspiration…!)

And on Thursday, I will make my first ever visit to a modern Mikvah with a friend, which, from the pictures, looks more like a spa. Here’s to ritual new and old, tossed out and reclaimed and reinspired, updated and reinvented, I say.