sundries

[rm]

Nine teenagers have been indicted on a range of charges including statutory rape, criminal harassment and violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury in the case of a girl who was systematically bullied until she hung herself. People -- students and teachers -- knew what was going on, and did nothing. If you see something, say something.

Snyder's of Hanover is planning to market some "gluten-free" pretzels that won't actually be certified as gluten-free because "it's too much trouble." That's okay, Snyder's of Hanover, because it's not too much trouble for me to tell the Internet that I will never buy another Snyder's of Hanover product, even one that naturally includes no gluten-containing ingredients, because you don't care if I'm in pain, if I can't work, or if I develop cancer or epilepsy! In an interview with an executive they were incredibly disrespectful about the disease and the needs of people with it. You might want to write them a note (info at the link) or be all Google-bomby like me! Snyder's of Hanover has issued an update about their gluten-free product launch, however, it's still deeply problematic and we're waiting on more information.

The silence of Maghen David: Only 30 Jewish people are left in Kolkata, which once held thousands.

The time-travelers have relented and CERN finally seems to be working.

In an attempt to pass a bill that would prevent officials in Oklahoma from enforcing the parts of the federal hate crimes law designed to protect LGBTQ, the state senate has somehow managed to pass a bill that actually stops officials from enforcing the parts of the federal law about race and religion instead.

A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit against a New York school district with the district now agreeing to protect LGBTQ students from harassment. This was the case where before the settlement was reached the DoJ actually filed a motion to intervene on the student's, who was being harassed due to perceived sexual orientation, behalf.

Finally, for the news portion of the day, Half of Americans would support a gay president. *peers at Torchwood West Wing/The American President AU again* Apparently, a gay quarterback in the Superbowl would be even more okay. I live in a world with queer superheroes, so I'm not sure I even really understand why we need polls like this. Who anyone fucks: not about you, unless it is you.

Angel watch - 1.11, 1.12, 1.13

- 1.11: "Sonambulist" Pretty good, although I feel like everything that happened happened too fast -- Kate accepting vampires, Kate not trusting Angel, Kate trusting Angel, blah blah blah.

- 1.12: "Expecting" Loved this. Now is there anything RTD didn't swipe from Angel for Torchwood? Okay, I realize "fucked up alien pregnancy episode" is as required as much as "random Nazi allegory episode", but still! Lots of fun, seriously ridiculous. Wesley manages to NOT fuck something up. Actually, I'm impressed here, and actually in each of these episodes, how tender Wesley is with scared people. It's sort of out of nowhere, but it's rather lovely because it doesn't seem smarmy or like he's trying to get something out of them by doing it.

- 1.13: "She" Hrrrrr. I liked it. I suspect a lot of people hated it. There was a lot going on here, most of it disturbing, but the level of clutter in the episode made it harder to focus in on the elements of the thing, which was a shame. I'd like to see these aliens (wait, are they aliens or demons? I find the Whoniverse makes me call everything aliens. Demons?) and their culture resurface later. I also feel like when I finally get to Dollhouse, I'm going to want to come back to this episode to look at Whedon's issues. Episode was like a cross between the terrible Gor books at the St:TNG "gay" episode. Thought the episode would have been slightly more effective if the "unmade" girl had been more present and obedient rather than quite to empty. *shrug*

General stuff:

- OMG, Wesley/Cordelia/Angel is so still my OT3 of the week. Show me the fic, people.

- Wesley's self-hatred is being played for laughs, but it's hitting me where I live. I don't identify with him, but I feel really, really bad for him.

- Hahahahaha, the dorktastic dancing!

- I find myself developing a fond curiosity about Los Angeles. And I swear I hate it -- I've been there three times, and I keep it away from me -- I'm there for a job or a con and I go to the In-and-Out burger and then I go home. It's a bad place, the enemy. I can't drive; I'm not attractive or successful there. It's a terrible, frightening, specter of failure place for me. But I see this show, and regret a little that I never quite gave it a go, that living in New York has meant I never had to.

Comments

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

That Snyder's thing reminds me of a lot of companies that market to vegans. "We don't care at all about honesty; we just want to make a buck by slapping a trendy label on something." Except gluten-free is probably worse, since it actually makes you physically ill instead of just, y'know, violating your deeply-felt personal ethics.

I'm not fond of LA, either. New York is the better deal--no need for a car, and more interesting, diverse cultural options.

Heh, I forgot Kate was ever on Angel. She was a cliche, and I don't think she ever fit that well into the overall tone of the show. Have you met Lilah yet? She's incredibly awesome.

I don't know how likely it is that Angel really sheds insight into Whedon's writing. I always think of David Greenwalt (and later Tim Minear) as having way more influence on that show, at least until Joss got more involved again in the final season.

Wesley is so, so awesome. I was never a huge Angel fan, but your discovery of Wesley is making me want to rewatch it just so I can see his arc again.

[cinnamonteal.livejournal.com]

As someone with severe seafood allergies, there are times when vegan is the food option less likely to give me a trip to the ER, but not always ... because you're right. "Vegan" and "gluten free" are labels people stick on without doing their research or bothering to stick to the rules.

For example, my workplace cafeteria (if you ASK them) lists fish sauce and worchestire sauce as ingredients in several of their "vegan" dishes. Because if you grind it up small enough fish ceases to become fish?

*sigh*

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Having been vegan for fourteen years, I've been continually surprised by the number of people who apparently think that fish is a vegetable!

[cinnamonteal.livejournal.com]

At least I have my immediate coworkers trained to not offer me Chex Mix anymore!

It's understandable why people who don't share the same sensitivities don't know what to watch for or just how cautious we really need to be. Until I told them, none of my coworkers or family knew about kosher gelatin's components.

However (are you listening, Snyder's?), companies using a term (such as vegan or gluten-free) but aren't following through on what the terms imply? That's unbelievably wrong. We have big enough targets on our backs without those kinds of shenanigans :(

[natf.livejournal.com]

This WRT dairy rather than seafood.