I know many of you only visit this site in Bloglines, or NewsFire, or whatever your favorite RSS reader is. I am happy to have you read; really, it is all I ask. The actual prettiness of the site (or lack thereof, which I'll get to) is beside the point.

But if you've been reading from your RSS reader and not the site itself, while you've been spared some wonky-ass-ness from old code, you've missed the phenomenon of the UMAmeter and its meteoric rise.

Even if you've only read via RSS, you've had access to Uma and her bizarre tale of woe: a series of seizures a month ago in a New York bed; (not) waking up in a stage 5 coma at the St. Vincent's neurological IC unit, surrounded by doctors and worried loved ones; the green hearts on UMAtine's Day, at the very least.

So I'm-a spell it out for you about UMA: this is a girl who wants to L-I-V-E. She has beaten all odds, she is fighting her way back like a champeen, and soon, so soon, she will be wending her way back to L.A. via air ambulance at the staggering price of $20,000. That's, um, one-way.

What you've been missing these past coupla days, my RSS friends, is the aforementioned rise of the aforementioned UMAmeter. To the tune of $10K in two days. And this girl is theater-actor, MediCal poor, with broke-ass L.A. theater friends. But the call has been sounded around the world, and one ignores it at one's own loss.

My prediction? Even with slowing returns, we'll hit $15K in one day, maybe two. DO NOT LET THAT STOP YOU!!! She has got a staggering fight ahead of her, with staggering attendant costs. I know; I was sick once, four years ago, and my bill came to $80K and change. For 11 days. And I had good insurance!

I'm posting a big-ass thing on blogging.la tomorrow that covers the story in detail, so I won't belabor it here. Go. Give. All you people who asked what you could do for me when I was sick, and I said "no, it's covered"? Give now. Give to Uma. She needs your help. The people who are helping her need your help.

Be a part of a winning trend! Be able to look back years from now, when Uma is president or Chief Troublemaker or whatever Major Thing she's destined for and say, "uh, yeah, I made it happen." Go here now and give, bruthah!

And then mosey on over to fernando_graphicos, designer supreme, who graciously sent me the fresh code for the communicatrix website so it'd look purty for all you people. Oooh and aaaah over his juicy design goodness and uber-mensch-ness.

And then get on back to your regular lives and raise some fucking hell. Because that, more than anything, is what Uma wishes she was doing right now.

xxx c

Give to the Uma Fund. Go to blogging.la for more details ~~(on Feb 28)~~ now!