sundries

[rm]

Made it to Ohio -- YAY. Flight was harrowing. We shall not be discussing it.

We saw Tangled and it was made of PURE AWESOME. I say this as someone who doesn't like animation and had two weird brain misfires during the film -- one, like Tron this has a major character named Flynn (crossover! crossover!); two, Flynn in this movie is a perfect animated rendering of.... a dude I used to fence with. It was kinda weird. BUT AWESOME. Will write about it on other blog later.

azn_jack_fiend highlights some of the Not Right happening in Torchwood fandom. Nothing new, but damn tiring and uncool.

Pakistani women start going to work. And it's not easy. I can't even IMAGINE the social pressures they are up against.

New York forgoes Civil War remembrance.

The UK is expunging the convictions of men who have had sex with another man over the age of 16 next year: "Consensual sex between two men over 21 was decriminalized in 1967, but it wasn't until 1994 that the homosexual age of consent was reduced to 18. In 2000 it was finally changed to 16, which is the same age of consent for heterosexuals."

Comments

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Glad I don't hang around in Torchwood fandom -- neither of those were my narratives, actually; Gwen was all right, although there were things I disapproved of her doing (or, people, namely Owen, because I REALLY disapproved of Owen); Jack was very handsome, but also somewhat untrustowrthy, even though very appealing; and Ianto fit right into my own well-worn Perfect Boyfriend narrative, which is all about being handsome and kind and giving LOTS AND LOTS of service. He brings coffee! He makes with the hot sexytimes! He puts on rigger boots and a hard hat and rescues Jack from entombment in concrete, and then BRINGS HIM A NEW SIGNATURE COAT! Totally right up there with the Perfect Boyfriends I tend to write, who bring coffee, sit up with you when you're sick, and figure out how to bring you back to life when you've hidden your soul. (What? We anticipated Horcruxes. It followed logically enough.) I adore Ianto, but it doesn't make me feel one way or the other about Gwen.

I'm very happy to hear about the expunged convictions. I remember when the age of consent laws were a big enough deal for Bronski Beat to dedicate a whole album to the issue.

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

I LOVE that album. One of my desert island records (or tapes, really).

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

The DJ played "Smalltown Boy" at a club night I was at (this summer, I think, I don't get out dancing enough) and I RAN for the floor at the opening bars. My boyfriend followed, somewhat bemused. "Have you never seen the video?" I asked him. (He's somewhat younger than I am.) He hadn't. "It will BREAK YOUR HEART," I told him, and made him watch it when we got home. (Hooray for YouTube!) I tried to explain to him what a big deal it was to SEE that narrative in 1986, right there in the mainstream. I think he got it. But you sort of had to be there, I guess.

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

I first heard "Tell Me Why" on the soundtrack of Parting Glances (God, I love that movie.) I got on our campus BBS the very next day, after having scrutinized the credits, and asked "Does anyone know anything about Bronski Beat?!" I had never heard of them, and was blown away. I got a quick response that they were a British band that sang about gay rights and issues, and that Age of Consent was brilliant. I bought the album, used and on tape (and in perfect condition, thank heavens), and was ecstatic when I found out that the very first song was "Tell Me Why".

I think I need to listen to that album again, and remember. Thanks.