This is the website of Penny Lane, maker of things. The kind of things you might like, if you like that kind of thing.

08/15/08 MAME FAYE ESSAY
I was invited to write a short essay for On The Issues magazine about Mame Faye. This month's issue is about prostitution & sex work and there are lots of interesting things up there. I think Mame is an interesting, if offbeat, addition to the topic. (What I initially wrote ended up being waaay too long for the magazine -- but you can read the pre-chopped-in-half version here if you like).

08/12/08 JUST SAYIN' HI
Hi. Uneventful summer, as fas as "internet updates" go!

07/01/08 YAY
I am just happy.

06/16/08 MAME FAYE FINALLY GETS HER DUE
Well, after 2 sold out shows and a last minute encore matinee screening, I'd say that we gave Mame Faye quite a weekend of celebration. The local news media freaking loved it, although not always for the reasons I would prefer. I think that Danielle Furfaro wrote the best article about the movie that I've seen yet. After I've gotten lots of sleep, I'll hopefully be more able to strategize ways to use the movie to provoke more radical discourse and less nostalgic titillation. But for now, no complaints from me as I bask (really! I am actually basking!) in the overwhelming success of this two-year project.

06/14/08 THE ABORTION DIARIES
It is pretty cool to be included on this list.

06/10/08 NEW DVD FOR SALE
The Sittin' on a Million DVD is very beautiful. Extra special love/thanks to Thom Stylinski for his excellent graphic design.

05/19/08 MISC SUMMER UPDATES
I am trying to cultivate my birdwatching hobby this summer. The Wren is about a bird, and it will be showing on EyeAm this July. Sittin' on a Million will be aired on WMHT (local PBS affiliate) this summer. I've just been hired as editor for A Steady Grind, directed by Victoria Kereszi. I am moving into a new apartment just next to Washington Park, one of only two privately owned urban ornamental parks in the United States (the other one is Gramercy). And finally... will I see you at Flaherty?

04/19/08 SITTIN' ON A MILLION PREMIERE JUNE 14 IN TROY!!!
Oh man it's finally true... as I write this Jesse Stiles is mastering the sound for Sittin' on a Million. You know what that means? IT MEANS IT'S DONE! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee. So, June 14 is the funtimes Troy premiere of this long-awaited documentary about Troy's most famous madam. DVDs are available for sale now.

04/11/08 I LOVE THEM IN TORONTO
She used to see him most weekends got a nice review in a Toronto newspaper during the amazing Images Festival last week.

03/27/08 ATHENS OHIO & FUTURE PLANS, PART TWO
She used to see him most weekends, The Wren and Men Seeking Women are screening at the 35th Athens International Film & Video Festival April 25-May 1. Athens, OH was once designated the alternate Capital City of Ohio in the event that Columbus was wiped out by a Soviet nuclear strike. Unrelatedly, I will be teaching video at Williams College next year, so I'll finally be back to living in Troy full time -- this time with a sweet commute through the Berkshires. Come visit!

02/27/08 ABORTION IN POP CULTURE, PEOPLE
A cool blog post about my abortion stories timeline project. Cindy Cooper even called my writing "snappy." Awww... shucks.

02/27/08 PHILADELPHIA & FUTURE PLANS
She used to see him most weekends is screening at the Black Lily Film & Music Festival May 1-4 in Philly. Also, I'm sad to report that I'll be leaving Hampshire at the end of this semester. We'll see what comes next for me. Yikes? Yay? Yeah!

02/17/08 THEY LOVE ME IN TORONTO, ALSO
She used to see him most weekends is screening at the Female Eye Film Festival on March 29 and Images Festival on April 7.

12/27/07 THEY LOVE ME IN NORTH CAROLINA
She used to see him most weekends is screening at the Carolina Film and Video Festival in Greensboro NC. The festival is Feb 20-23. Did you know that the Venus flytrap is the official Carnivorous Plant of North Carolina?

12/20/07 SITTIN' ON A MILLION UPDATE
Sittin' on a Million is screening a couple of times in January... sneak preview of the movie in whatever almost-hopefully-almost-done state it's in. I'll be showing it at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn and Time and Space Limited in Hudson NY. Super awesome bonus: Jesse Stiles is playing music too! He promises banjos.

09/29/07 CUCALORUS
She used to see him most weekends and Men Seeking Women are showing at Cucalorus 13 (Nov 7-10) in Wilmington NC. I'll be there! Cucalorus is way fun & the program looks really good this year.

09/03/07 BLIP.TV CHANNEL
I've put up most of my videos on Blip.TV here. Blip, unlike YouTube, neither imposes bizarrely restrictive ownership rules nor sticks their logo on my videos. I dig the player also; it's kinda classy. Thanks to Andrew Lynn for the tip on Blip.

09/03/07 NEW DVD AVAILABLE
I put together a DVD of my short videos (2002-2007) called Movies about searching for. I initially made it for my friend Rich Pell but then I thought other people would like to see it too. Want a copy? Lemme know.

09/02/07 UPCOMING SCREENING
She used to see him most weekends on EyeAm, Episode 12 9:30-10:30pm
Time Warner #34/ RCN #82 (in Manhattan) & streaming live at Manhattan Neighborhood Network.

08/15/07 SCREENING
The Sittin' on a Million rough cut screening at The Sanctuary for Independent Media was amazing!! Over 150 people came out and we sold about 40 advance copies of the DVD. It was a completely enthusiastic and supportive crowd. See awesome pictures here. The movie should be done in January and I am planning a wicked awesome tour in collaboration with Specific Recordings of Troy, NY. Pre-order a DVD here! And stay tuned for tour plans!

06/10/07 YAY FOR FUNDING
Annmarie and I received two grants recently to support the completion of Sittin' on a Million, a documentary which tells the sometimes-true story of Mame Faye, a world famous madam from Troy, NY. Super psyched to get this movie done - this winter sometime... we think! Thanks to the LEF Moving Image Fund and the Experimental Television Center for their support. This summer will be mostly devoted to this movie. Oh my.