Considering my generally poor cash-flow, I'm rarely in a position to buy artwork, and I imagine that in many - even most - cases, an artist is in a similar position. There are some great artists' sites around, but they're more often than not built by artists who have developed their own web (usually Flash) skills. My idea with The Oily Rag Project is to keep the sites as simple as possible, to make these kind of exchanges financially viable, and to put control over updates etc firmly in the hands of the artists, to avoid time-sucking piece-work later on.

Although I've got a few possibilities simmering on the back burner, the first of these ventures actually went live this weekend. I shared a studio with the artist, Christian Capurro, for several months last year, and so was familiar with his work (in fact, I collaborated on this particular project) and this meant that I was quite familiar with his artistic vision. I have to say that working for somebody with highly-developed visual skills is a real treat – Christian dropped by a couple of nights ago to look at my early versions of the site, and was able almost immediately to suggest changes that brought the whole thing together.

The upshot is that the first attempt has been a rewarding and enjoyable experience – from conception to online in just a (somewhat busy) fortnight. I've got lots of ideas about how I'd like to build the project over time, but not so much time to realise them at the moment... stay tuned.

Today: spongy tuscan bread with tomato, mozzarella, basil, salt, pepper and olive oil. Mmm. And a cup of tea.

And then there's Yahoo!

If there's anyone out there who can tell me how to list a site using the FREE submission service, I'd love to hear from you. So far, my experience has been:

• STEP 1: Go to Yahoo!
• STEP 2: Hunt for search engine submission; find it in the centre of the page, in a list which also includes "Recruit staff" and "Buy and Sell on eBay"
• STEP 3: Sense that there will be costs involved
• STEP 4: Click link; discover joyous page offering Yahoo! Express service (paid) and Standard Submission (FREE!). Note odd-looking non-aqua button for "Standard Consideration"...
• STEP 5: Click odd-looking non-aqua button.
• STEP 6: Arrive at page entitled "How To Suggest Your Site".
• STEP 7: Search in vain for link to free submission page.
• STEP 8: Search again (in vain).
• STEP 9: Rinse, repeat.

Me and my beautiful beeeeeeeitch in the back of that 'Bach
- Dirt Off Your Shoulder

If you havin girl problems I feel bad for you son
I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one
- 99 Problems

I feel that word like a slap every time I hear it. I think I find it even harder to take when it's used in a generally positive sense – as in "beautiful beeeeeeeitch" – because it seems to me like an attempt to justify blatant misogyny.

I love the sounds and feel of hip-hop and rap, but its language is often so defiantly angry and male that I feel excluded by it. In fact, I have a very clear memory of my first experience of this: I was eleven, and the boys I hung around with were right into NWA. One night at a party, they played a song - I've got no idea of the name of the song, or of the real lyrics - about gang-raping a woman and then killing her. These little boys were cheering, and it made me feel sick.

In a sense, it's okay that I feel left out: I'm a white woman, and rap's not really talking to me. But as it gains currency in the mainstream, I get a twinge of fear that some people - like my old grade six classmates - will take up the violence it implies and run with it, without understanding whatever ironies and cultural associations rap has defended itself with in the past.

An election can't come soon enough.

That said, it was good while it lasted. Vale Webmonkey,