* FTM writer Jacob Anderson-Minshall was kind enough to give me a nice writeup in a paper he writes for, which will be distributed in Boston and San Francisco. The website has a complicated linking system, but you may be able to see the column here. If not, just go to http://www.baywindows.com, click on opinions & columns, and look for the TransNation column from Issue Issue Date: 1/05/2006, Posted On: 1/4/2006.

* A nice quote was:

“Hello, it’s me.” The feminine voice purrs softly.

I always like it when my interview subjects are prepared for my call, but none have ever greeted me so informally. Just as I’m about to reply, she continues. “I’m either on my motorcycle or in class right now. So leave me a message.”

I do as directed, wondering if I’ve gotten the wrong number. I try to imagine Calpernia Addams maneuvering a motorcycle through the streets of L.A. Instead I conjure up an image of the raven-haired actress lounging pin-up style across the spine of a bike. Before I can worry about my perverted mind, I remember I saw the picture on her home page.

When she calls back a moment later, I learn that her answering machine message is just a hint to Addams’s complexities. Thirty-four-year-old Addams is a biker chick, a Hollywood actress more likely to be called for her expertise than for a role, a fiddle player raised in what she calls a religious cult and a woman best known for enduring personal tragedy who considers herself “an old-fashioned funny southern girl.”