sundries

[rm]

Merlin 2.11: Well, on one hand, filled with the type of choices I care about in fiction. On the other hand, low-rent Nazgul rip-off and more woman-hating. I keep watching because the show _could_ be good, and yet....

Buffy! It's strange to like a show this much and yet totally not identify with any of the characters. It's a nice break. We've seen through the hyena episode now.

Rumour has it Tennant's US series has been shot down.

Meanwhile, Could Alan Tudyk be any more adorable?

So what do you think, do we all just want a wife? The Times addresses the myth of the alpha wife in a series of blogs.

Fuck ComicCon, who wants to go to the Jaipur Literary Festival?

"Modern dandy" looks in the Globe & Mail. My biggest complaint? The clothes don't fit the models.

At work things are being done to my mac so I can do a project that is onerous because of timezones from home. This is wonderful, but I hate people I don't know well have their hands on the little machine that houses my novel, my fanfic, Plants vs. Zombies and from which I did not remove the "battle butler" desktop image before handing it over.

The New York Times writes on name changes for transgender people in NYC: "In one case, an appeals panel overruled a Manhattan civil court judge who had insisted on doctors’ notes giving reasons for name changes in transgender cases. The panel said there was “no sound basis in law or policy” for the requirement and noted that the law generally permits people to change their names unless there is some fraudulent intent involved."

Academic Bi is a mailing list for CFPs, internships, publication announcements and discussion about queer/bi/pansexual theory topics. Thanks to eumelia for the heads-up.

tearsinger needs a job. Will relocate anywhere. Can you help?

The Great Australian Internet Blackout is a protest to raise awareness of a very scary bill in Australia that if it becomes law (and it really, really may) will force ISPs there to censor the content users there can receive. This would cause Australia to be in the company of nations such as China, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Dictionaries banned in Southern California schools due to containing the definition for "oral sex". via yendi. No, this is not from The Onion.

Comments

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Rumour has it Tennant's US series has been shot down.

Not entirely surprised, I must admit; it seemed rather a weak premise for a show.

Could Alan Tudyk be any more adorable?

I'd be hard put to think how. WASH \o/

/eta: good to see that the NYT as well as the NYS legal system has finally become wise to how much the transgender name change issue can be quite literally a matter of life and death.

So what do you think, do we all just want a wife?

... I don't even. (And I was intermittently watching That Touch of Mink last night. Argh. But good for early-1960s NYC period detail.)

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Why is it anyone's business why someone changes their name? Also, I'm fairly positive that finding a name that suits you can be just as gut-wrenching as trying to find a doctor who suits you.

The Hyena episode was hilarious, also one of the most unsubtle allegorical eps in existence. Really, school posses and cliques are like a pack? Really?

In case you missed or were unaware; there's a new international mailing list Academic Bi (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/academic_bi/). I thought it might interest you (and your many readers).

[rm.livejournal.com]

Hyenas are also high on the list of animals that creep me the fuck out. Not-quite-dog animals that are clearly very smart are really,really disturbing. See also: dingos and wolves.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

I'm now curious to read your Lesbian Werewolf story!

It's mainly the laugh that gets me, 'cause it reminds me of the Joker and the fact that in the cartoon Batman: The Animated Series, Harley had pet hyenas who would eat (off screen) their victims.

Though really, I think they get a bad rep because they're not easily zoologically classified and anything anomalous of that kind is disturbing to us.

[sykii.livejournal.com]

PAINTED DOGS. Smarter than most human 13-year-olds. The horror.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I just saw your intro but didn't realize it was you at first and I was all "oh, weird, another queer Israeli chick -- I should tell eumelia."

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Hehe, the first introduction is a classmate of mine. So, we're at lest two Israeli queer grrls on the list.

She's quite a big local activist in the local community, way more than I am, I am lazy and busy, alas.

I always dread these kind of intros, I always think, oh god, I'm trying too hard, I'm pathetic, gah! You know, all that.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yeha. I'm sure mine was too self-promotional for the academic world, but pissing people off while trying to win friends and influence people is sort of what I do.

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

I totally get the not having a Buffy character one relates to. At first I thought it was Willow (I, too, was a teen-aged geek girl who made questionable fashion choices.) but it never quite fit, especially as the series progressed.

The hyena episode is one of the better eps in the first season; things that occur in "The Pack" are referrenced in later episodes in later seasons. I could say a lot more but I don't want to spoil you for things that happen in seasons 6 and 7. It's an interesting insight into certain characters.

[nicoli-dominn.livejournal.com]

I think it's still possible to like a bit of art/entertainment without identifying with one of the characters. I couldn't even begin to empathize with most of the Buffy characters, but I found them all so lovable and real that it was easy enough to lose myself in the story and Joss Whedon's amazingly campy approach to sci-fi humor.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Oh it's totally possible; I don't think identification is required at all, but it's an extremely rare occurrence for me personally.

[nicoli-dominn.livejournal.com]

Ah...just the way you were talking about it, it seemed like the lack of identification with Buffy characters was a rare occurrence for you. Though thinking logically about it now, that really wouldn't make sense. :-P

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

God, I'm dying here... there is a character that I think you'll id with superbly eventually... but alas, it's a bit of a way off you're only in season 1!

I know, I know this sucks of me to even mention it, but I'm really looking forward to you meeting this character :D

[smirnoffmule.livejournal.com]

No. Alan Tudyk could not be any more adorable without creating an adorable vortex and sucking the entire universe into adorable oblivion. But honestly? It would almost be worth it.

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

Could Alan Tudyk be any more adorable?

Nope. Scientifically impossible. (Which is why he was such an inspired choice on V.)

And whoa! Awesome literary festival!

The name change article kicked my ass more than a little. My given name is a thing that's been a huge obstacle and a constant source of frustration, and the idea of fixing it is huge. When my first attempt got shot down, I struggled a lot to keep myself together. Every time I get the mail or have to call customer service or buy beer is incredibly uncomfortable. That constant background noise that says that who I am isn't real, or legitimate? Not something most people have to deal with.

Hell, half of my writing contracts have had to have The Name on them. Makes me ill. Ugh.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Can you get a d.b.a with your bank there so at least the contracts can be correct?

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

My relationship with my bank is complicated.

I can accept things as C.A., I can deposit things as C.A., my checks can be printed as C.A., but my accounts cannot be changed to my initials, and my debit cards have my full legal first name on them.

In re: contracts, it seems to depend on the market. One market (which is actually quite LGBTQ friendly otherwise) required me to give my full first name for legal reasons, which was really uncomfortable in spite of the fact that the editors involved are marvelous, understanding people.

I mean, I'm an out trans person. I talk about it in public. There's just a difference between discussing it when it's relevant and having it dragged out -- wrong name and all -- kicking and screaming into the light.

[fleur.livejournal.com]

I heart plants v. zombies. That is all.

[thunderemerald.livejournal.com]

I think I enjoyed Buffy all the more because I didn't entirely identify with anyone. Sure, I identified with bits and pieces and moments of probably every character on the show (inevitable, when they're as well-drawn as that), but as a whole, nobody really stepped forward and shouted "I AM YOU!" through the television. It was nice.

[rm.livejournal.com]

After the experience that has been Torchwood it's _soooooooooooooo_ nice.

[thunderemerald.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, I bet! :)

[jackolantern.livejournal.com]

NPR did a segment on the Jaipur festival (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122941003) this morning; it sounded really cool.

[delchi.livejournal.com]

I read that op-ed piece with more than a little wonder. What really caught my eye was this bit :

Still, a return to a life more like the 1950s, with one breadwinner and one homemaker, is an unreasonable expectation. It is particularly so since, as the breadwinner, I wish to be the husband, and hence what I’m looking for is a wife — a loyal help meet who keeps the home fires burning and offers uncritical emotional support when I, the gladiator, return exhausted from the arena. Who are the (actively listening!) men without money who can adapt to such a role?


What made my eyebrow raise was that a woman making this musing out loud makes me think of how society is mutating ( for the better ) and where once this kind of thinking would be heresy, now it's seriously considered.

The other thing that came to mind is, is a man was to make the same statement he would most likely be skinned alive and hung from the nearest tall object :)

The comments on domestic bits like the spatula being put out of reach by one member of the household made me laugh. This is living together 101 and not any huge reflection on reality. The few times I have lived with my relationship partner there were countless things like this that always ended up with a good laugh. Not the ever present and classic leaving the seat up bit, but more like milk on the left, juice on the right and for the love of all things Martha Stuart nothing left in the crisper for more than a week. I've had the same minor domestic quibbles with non relationship roommates as well. All said and done, two people - regardless of gender - trying to accomplish a task will have some elbow bumping and give and take until things work smoothly.

Maybe it's my unique point of view , being out of the relationship game, but many of the things that were covered were more like domestic adjustment than great change in society as a whole. I think whoever gets home first has the onus to make the drinks ( and please! G&T not Manhattans! ). Still by all means let's let go of the norms and shake things up. Letting go of historically supported gender roles should be no more difficult than letting go of Kipling's " Just So " stories after you turn ten. If anything, I don't get why this is so hard for people to do.