sundries

Patty has finished her comps. Yay!

I will try to finish my Dragon*Con panel roundups this weekend. Particular apologies to the people from the Alternative Regencies panel that are still waiting.

news has been updated and the ability to cross-post comments to other sites from locked posts will be removed with the next code push (that's two weeks away). ( Read more... )

This is a post about sexual assault and harassment at Dragon*Con. ( Read more... )

A lot of noise is being made about Citibank HR's list of things women do that hamper their ability to get ahead in the workplace. Playing fair, asking permission and apologizing, are, particularly the three people are finding most outrageous, and, taken to their logical extreme, that outrage, especially after the financial crisis of the last several years, is deeply reasonable. However, the list (which Citibank HR sources from a book) also has a point. ( my unpopular opinion, let me show you it )

Overall, however, the tone of the list is, of course, deeply, deeply insulting. Women aren't naive or children and Citibank is shooting itself in the foot in more ways than one if they think so. But many woman have received significant conscious and unconscious cultural training to behave in ways that can be perceived as that way.

The other significant flaw of this list is that it does not acknowledge the ways in which some behaviors when engaged in by women look different than when engaged in by men. These include things like aggression, the use of smiles and leaning forward in your chair (in a woman it can often look, not assertive, but over-eager).

Tomorrow tickets go on sale for the New York Film Festival. What do I want? And ah, I remember when this was one of _the_ events in New York City. Now, I feel, no one cares, it's all about the Tribeca Film Festival now. Which is a great thing for New York, but man, brings out the wannabe director douchebags like nobody's business.

I know Karl Lagerfeld routinely says things that offend many of us, but he's still an object of fascination for me. Apparently, I'm not alone.

A robot called Girlzilla.

You must remember this: Muslims and Islam were a part of life at the WTC.

The Twin Towers came down in September 2001; I went to Australia in January 2005. Guess which event feels more recent? That, right there, is my personal problem with the eternal-9/11 culture.

A piece of 9/11-related art I love: Wish You Were Here.

Another piece of 9/11-related art I love: I'm Falling for You. (note, this one offends the fuck out of a lot of people).

Two things I've written about 9/11:
America (written right when I came home from Australia)
untitled (written last year)

If you need a big dose of Where Were You When, I recommend the #wherewereyou tag on Twitter.

Finally, if you're going to hate someone or a group of someones, do it in your own name, not that of Jesus or Allah or the children or New York City or patriots or whatever is on your list today. Yeah?

On a cheerier note, fuck everything, here's some more zebra footage: Actually, otters (listen with sound and thank Patty) and turtles eating things!

And, sneaking a meme in here at the end: post a picture of you as you are, right now -- don't fix your hair, reach for the coverup or get out the Photoshop. ( Read more... )