sundries

[rm]

Okay, Team Internet, here's another one: snufflesdbear has a friend who just lost their house in a fire. I've seen the news stories on this and have additional information I've been asked not to share, that compels me to post this. Take a look at the post and see if you have any help you can offer in the area.

The nomination period for a new award for authors' blogs is open. Anyone can nominate. vua reannon.

Coming Out -- The Epic. Yes. This. Totally. Cab drivers. Shop clerks. Can I be gay and still get what I want? And the way it can get tied up in our other -isms at the end of the piece -- I wish the writing had been a little more deft there, but I think it's a true thing that I often see where I have to work on my own biases because of who I'm concerned about outing myself to. via andrewducker.

The Washington Post is defending its front page publication of a photo of a gay couple kissing as equal marriage rights come to DC.

Also in the region, the new attorney general of Virginia has been aggressively working to remove the limited protections LGBTQ peopel currently have in that state. Scary stuff.

Forgot who I found this through, but Australia allows issuance of identity papers with N instead of M or F gender identity.

A badly written article about a sex study that perpetuates the belief that women don't really like or want sex, at least not as much as men do. Many of the quoted individuals try to explain reasons for the results regarding female sexuality including culture bias and training, so that's good. But the whole thrust of the piece still ticked me off.

Alexander McQueen's final collection has a lot of amazing stuff in it.

OMG, Corey Haim has died.

So last night, having watched the first episode of Buffy, season 4, we started watching Angel season 1. Now the first two episodes of Angel aren't great, but it was disturbing how much the show felt more comfortable to me. I've been loving the hell out of Buffy but even in its sucky first episodes and featuring a main character I don't even like Angel suits me so much better it's a little bizarre. Also, underground lair? broods on rooftops? really? That was a little funny.

That said, I've gotten to the point with both Angel and Buffy where I just look over at Patty sometimes and say "rapetastic plotline #873."

Last night we also, after going to one of our favorite restaurants, stopped in at New York's newest gluten-free bakery, Tu-Lu's. Go. Go there now. The cupcakes are about a billion times better than at Babycakes and since they use sugar instead of agave nectar, the icing is the texture you expect -- which is to say red velvet cupcake with cream cheese icing = heaven. NOW NOW NOW, people. SO GOOD.

Patty heads back to Ohio for about ten days as of tomorrow. And I will be lonely, but we're booking London tonight and it will be well and truly spring when she returns.

Comments

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

Corey Haim!? What fuckery is this?

That said, I've gotten to the point with both Angel and Buffy where I just look over at Patty sometimes and say "rapetastic plotline #873."

This. And you know, I still can't entirely decide if this is Joss perpetuating dumb things about culture or Joss being really savvy to real elements of risk and discomfort in the culture.

Stupid Joss.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I'm sort of at "neither" on that question. I think he, like many creators, has an obsession he can't work out, and keeps trying to work it out in his stories. Peter Jackson can't let go of romantic friendship. Baz Luhrmann can't let go of prostitution narratives. Sam Mendes is all about domestic horror. Whedon can't let go of rape, but I sure as hell don't know why -- the reasons could be reasonable or they could be revolting. All I know is that it reads to me like a preoccupation that shows up even when he doesn't mean it to.