All Mirth and No Matter

Further Ways the Spearhead Article is Made of Fail

2009-10-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

He seems to have a problem mostly with male-male homosexual relationships, and believes that their presence in sci-fi is purely for the titillation of a show's female viewers. He doesn't seem to have a problem with lesbian relationships...Perhaps because he believes these exist solely for the titillation of a show's male viewers? (And he's OK with that kind of titillation!) These relationships may, in fact, actually be there for the representation of homosexual relationships. Because it's not actually all about the heterosexual people all the time.
Granted, many of these homosexual, (both lesbian and gay), relationships do turn out to be very flawed representations, and are more about "OMG, boys/girls kissing! How HAWT!" than about a complicated relationship between two people who happen to share a gender. Of course, the "complicated relationship" part is also, apparently, what throws this writer off. He claims they do not exist in "real sci-fi." So, the complicated dynamic between, say, McCoy and Spock, (Spock's cold logic, which often covered up violent emotions, juxtaposed against McCoy's irascible nature, which nonetheless co-existed with his devotion to the Hippocratic oath), didn't exist? Despite the fact that it was often at the heart of the issues within an episode or film? OK, then.
Now, if he has problems with badly-written relationships, particularly romantic ones, I can agree with that. I know that many of the tropes used in romantic relationships, (love triangles and unattainable beloveds, for example), that have found their way into sci-fi bother most women sci-fi fans, as well. (I'm looking at you, Stargate : SG-1. Let me tell you, nobody cared about Sam's engagement, and it took away from valuable science-fiction time.)
The other problem I have is that people in the comments keep bringing up "hard" science-fiction, but in the article,
it's all about Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and Dr Who. None of those have ever been "hard" sci-fi. Ever. Even the original Battlestar had a lot more to do with fantasy, (but fantasy with robots), than it had to do with any actual science. Same with Dr Who, as the Doctor is really more a mythical being than anything else. Sure, writers occasionally like to throw in various theories on the nature of time and space in there, (with the end-result being that the Doctor has made many contradictory statements about space and time over the years), but there's rarely actual, physical science in there. The same is often true of Star Trek. Sure, they often get the words right, but many of the things done or said in any given episode of Star Trek are not possible. It is true that these are not "hard" sci-fi, and it is also true that these tend to lay a strong focus on relationships.
Now, it's true that hard sci-fi is rarely about relationships. It's usually about humanity in general. Or, it's about the psychology of a certain individual. Sci-fi, whether "hard" or "soft," is less about the actual science than the effects of the science on people, whether on a grand scale or a more personal one. It doesn't matter if you're watching Star Wars or Sunshine, it's the characters, and how they are affected, that is the real story. If the author of this particular article truly feels that recent endeavors has become too "soft," and focuses more on relationships, (especially romantic), to the detriment of other, "harder" forms of science fiction, well, that, I agree with. However, the article lays the blame for this at the feet of women and homosexual viewers of sci-fi, and the more I re-read the post, and read the comments, the more I see the article as merely an excuse to lay the blame on people who don't deserve it.

And now, I swear to God, I am done with it.

And there is Anger.

2009-10-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

I'm in ur sci-fi, wreckin' ur TV shows.

Apparently.

I linked it, but, really, read it only if you'd like your head to explode. Many of the comments are just as bad, if not worse, than the article itself. (One person calls Joss Whedon a "mangina." Also, feminists are out to destroy everything. In the world. Because feminists just hate men that much. )
Mostly, I find it amusing, (and, simultaneously, disturbing), the belief in the article and most of the comments that a show is automatically feminized by the mere presence of women in the cast. Any show that features a woman in a position of power, (or any position that does not involve kitchens or bedrooms, I guess), is obviously part of the "feminist agenda." You see, all those times we complained that a show was not representing women/minorities/homosexuals very well, we were wrong. So very, very wrong. I've heard the whole "you should be grateful that they're at all" argument before, but this is way more, "the very presence of homosexuality and women ruins it forever." We're invading their sci-fi, and we need to get out of it. (Also, we're apparently ruing the internets as a male-centric "safe space" for men.)
I wish I could be more coherent on this, but the more I read it, (and most of the commentary), the more I want to call these individuals the most vile names I have in my vocabulary, some of which includes Klingon, Russian, and Goa'uld.
I do have this to say this: Nerdiness is not a solely masculine trait. (Are you that guy who came over to my house once and kept insisting that all my Asimov books actually belonged to my husband? Because "girls don't read Asimov?") Even if you define "nerdiness" as being, on occasion, an illogical, unreasonable jerkass about anything they perceive as a threat to the sci-fi and fantasy they love so much. Because that still applies to people of both genders and every manner of sexual orientation.
But women can't be nerds! Homosexual people can't be nerds! Because then, they will steal our fancy engineering and science jobs! Horrors! News flash: lots of them do not want your fancy science jobs. And if they do want those jobs, and they gwt them, that meant that were more qualified for the job. Is that what frightens you? I cannot say that women are automatically better at science or math any more than men are automatically better at it than women. But, a larger pool of interested people makes for more competition. Do you fear that you can't compete in a (slightly) more fair job pool?
Besides, I simply cannot see how boys would become less inspired to go into science/engineering jobs. All I can see is other people becoming more inspired to go into those same fields. The only reason I can see boys losing interest in science/engineering is if they suddenly decide that that kind of stuff's "just for girls." I don't recall hearing or reading anywhere that sci-fi/fantasy or science/engineering needed to be "just for girls." Most nerdy women I know just want to be included in that world without being treated like some horrible "Other." I am reading, both in the comments and in the article itself, that people are ruining sci-fi/fantasy by turning it into a "girls-only" club. If interest in sci-fi/fantasy is linked to interest in science/engineering, then whose fault would it be that boys don't want jobs in science/engineering, because that "belongs to the girls." Not me. I never said we couldn't share.
Add to that, the whole article just reeks of homophobia. Russell T. Davies ruined Dr. Who? Well, not because of Captain Jack and Torchwood. Bringing the Daileks back once every season, (after they had been "destroyed forever" for the sixth time), might have had something to do with "nu-Who" being occasionally awful, or perhaps Davies' grating writing style, and tendency towards bombastic and outrageous plots, (see: "Voyage of the Damned," panned by large swaths of Dr. Who fans), might have, you know, turned a few people off. (I, personally, like the bombastic and outrageous stuff. How can it be Dr Who if it's not overacted and underplotted?) The presence of "scary gay people" has nothing to do with it.
So, really, I pent way too much time on this guy, but his whole "women and homosexuals are ruining science fiction and fantasy for the important people, you know, straight males," thing has my blood boiling a little. (OK, a lot.)

So, I've been reading Middlemarch...

2009-09-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

...I've never had to before. Come to think of it, in my undergrad/grad school career, I didn't have to read an awful lot of early female writers. Did do a whole class on Aphra Behn once, though. (By the way, "Oronoko" makes me angry. It's full of squicky racism, which may be excusable, given the time period it's written in, but the fact that it pretty much becomes the standard of a black man written by white people, after all these years, fills me with much anger.)
I've also had to read Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre, (both make me go "bleah"), not mention some Virginia Woolf and some Kate Chopin, but, up until recently, I have quite neglected George Eliot. This is sad, folks. Because George Eliot is awesome. I am truly loving Middlemarch.
My favorite character so far is Mary Garth, but I must admit to being able to see where Dorothea is coming from, sometimes. I imagine she would have done much better for herself in a place and time that would have provided her with more education. I do think, in the end, that was truly the most tempting thing about marriage to Mr. Casaubon; a new world would be opened up to her, through his learning.
Mary's still my favorite so far, though. I like how clever she is, without being too smug about it. I also like the way she stood up to Mr. Featherstone in his last moments. Sure, the results were bad for Fred, but had she burned the will, she'd have found herself in an awful lot of trouble. Plus, I think part of her just didn't want to let the old man "have his own way," one last time. After all he'd put her through, who could blame her?

9 Was Way More Compelling Than Terminator: Salvation

2009-09-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

7 was also waaay more bad-ass than Moon Bloodgood. 9 and Terminator: Salvation had similar feels to them. Both took place in a post-apocalyptic world, both involved an already-lost, (pretty much), war with machines. But if we're comparing female characters...Moon, a living rag doll can kick more ass than you.
That is all.

Oh, Blog, I'm So Sorry I Left for So Long...

2009-09-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

I'll probably do it again, and frequently, though.
Thing is, I just don't have as much time for you, blog. The boy takes up a good bit of my time, and I've made arrangements to continue my studies from home this semester so I can spend even more time with him. (Plus, it looks like I'll have a good chance at getting a job teaching at certain local community college, once they're actually able to start hiring again.)
Plus, I feel as if I'm a little behind the times. I almost never hear about anything until two weeks or so later. For instance, I just read two M. Night Shamylan interviews about the live-action Avatar. Apparently they've been floating around the internets for a while. My opinion about them?
Shamaylan says: "I'm going to take everything you though was interesting, different, and beautiful about Avatar, and remove it from the film. And then, I'm going to make Star Wars." Mr. Shamaylan? You suck. And why did you have to make fun of the martial arts in the show? Could it be because Sifu Kisu's been photographed holding a sign that says, "Caucasian, (or some other ethnicity)", and you just didn't like that someone involved in the cartoon is pointing out the film's racist casting? If so, that's awfully petty. Does that mean you're not going to use any actually existing martial arts styles? Or, are you just going to mash together whatever moves you think looks good, instead of giving each nation a different style, like they did in the cartoon?
You know what else sucks? District 9. Saw it with Mr. G, and boy, was it ever vile. Not only was it excessively gory, (which neither of us are all that into), but I'm not sure I've ever seen more sketchy racial stereotyping in a recent film. (Though, there's always Avatar to look forward to! Blegh.) "The Nigerians" bothered me immensely. I mean, seriously? Criminals and cannibals?(Not that having them as just one or the other would've been better, but the use of the "witch doctor" woman was so over-the-top racist, I couldn't believe it.) Not to mention "The Prawn," themselves. As an apartheid allegory the representation of the aliens is very....Skeevy. They're listless, prone to violence, and unintelligent. Except for "Christopher Johnson," the one that helps the white guy. Maybe they were trying to show the audience how badly their captivity had affected them, but when one of the aliens is unable to recognize what is and isn't his own technology, they only proceed to make the aliens, aside from "Christopher" and his precocious son, look stupid. And if you're trying to make a commentary about apartheid? Do not make your representatives of black South Africa look like dumb, violent animals. Because then, the only things that you're show are your stupid, and your racism.
See, all of that's pretty much just stuff other people have said before, and way, way better than I just did. (If I have, in any manner, seemed to have stolen from anyone, I apologize. I've done a lot of reading lately, and I've been influenced by many authors. Avalon's Willow in particular, however. But then, she always says everything better than I do.)
Well, folks, my little baby's nap has ended, and it's time for me to see to him.

I Take Back Every Bad Thing I've Ever Said About Gwen Cooper of Torchwood

2009-07-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

Because of my deep, deep love for Doctor Who, (stemming from my childhood), I made several efforts to get interested in its spin-off, Torchwood. All of these efforts were made in the first season, as, by the time that season was over, I decided it was time I faced facts and gave up on the show. I had not enjoyed a single episode, after all. I didn't like any one of the characters, either. (Which made me sad, as I adored Jack Harkness in all his Doctor Who appearances.) I found Gwen the most disappointing. I wanted to like her, I wanted to see her as awesome and badass, but every time she gazed longingly at Jack, or fussed over her affair with Owen, or was condescending towards Tosh, I just. Wanted. To. Smack. Her.
Then, last week, when the hubsand and I were bored, we saw that some kind of special Torchwood miniseries thingy was coming on, called "Children of Men." It looked interesting, (I love stuff with scary kids), so we decided to watch it. We then got hooked, and had to finish it.
I take back every bad thing I ever said about Gwen Cooper. She was badass. She was awesome. She didn't do the things she did because of her feelings, but because of her own sense of ethics. And plus, just about every time someone tried to keep her from getting involved in the action because of her pregnancy, she simply dismissed it. Gwen Cooper, you have managed to reverse my first impressions.

But...I LIKE Alex and Toggle Together!

2009-07-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I read the newspaper comics. All of the ones that appear in my newspaper, and many online. (When I have the time to do such a thing, that is.) So, naturally, I read "Doonesbury." Even when it's boring, even when it repeats itself, even when it focuses on characters I find repulsive or irritating. (I could go my whole life an be happy without ever having to read about Zipper, Zonker, or Duke ever, ever again.) But, I like Mike's young daughter Alex.
When she was younger, I found her irritating, but her time at MIT, and her recent obsession with politics has turned her into someone I would like to know better. And, I find her budding relationship with young war veteran Toggle to be the most adorable "courtship" between any couple in newspaper comics. Toggle lives in a trailer with his mother, suffers from aphasia, and seems to have joined the military straight out of high school. Alex is the daughter of a wealthy software company guy, (it's been so long, I've forgotten exactly what Mike did), has above-average intelligence, rarely stops talking, and goes to MIT. Alex has begun to wonder, how can she be so attracted to someone who's so wrong for her? As an example, she thinks of her mother and the man she ran away with.
Toggle is not like "Uncle Stupid-head," however, and Alex is not like her mother. Sure, both Alex and her mother can get a little, (OK, very), obsessive over things, and both tend to have delusions of grandeur sometimes. But, Alex is usually capable of bringing herself back to reality, while her mother tends to prefer to live in denial. Toggle is nothing like "Uncle Stupid-Head," either. That man is a slimeball, hits on every attractive woman he sees, selfish and content to live off of JJ. Toggle is sweet, apparently devoted to Alex, and has dreams and goals of his own. He also doesn't seem to be all that bothered by the fact that Alex is a great deal more educated than he is, and is likely to make significantly more money than he ever will. To him, all of that seems to be a non-issue. They like each other, they get along well, and they find commonality, (a love of music, for one), despite their differences. I like Alex and Toggle, Mr.Trudeau. I'd like to see them stay together.

Anybody Else Seen Royal Pains? Is it as Awesome as I Hope?

2009-07-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

So, I only caught bits and pieces of a couple of episodes of Royal Pains, but, from what I've seen, it looks kind of awesome. I admit, thought that what most interests me is the relationship between the Concierge Doctor and his Physician's Assistant, a woman. From what I noticed, they seemed to have absolutely no sexual tension between them. This makes me happy, because I hate the idea that seems to exist in television, that every man and every woman of reasonable attractiveness must have sexual tension with each other. I did see that the Concierge Doctor appears to have a romance going on with a Hospital Doctor, (or Administrator, I couldn't tell), but I like that he can have a friendly, professional relationship with his Physician's Assistant. The Concierge Doctor, (I have yet to learn anyone's names), has an Irresponsible Brother, and although I saw an episode that put the Physician's Assistant and Irresponsible Brother together a lot, I didn't notice a lot of sexual tension between the two of them, either. (Please, tell me I'm ot supposed to.) A show where a beautiful young woman doesn't have to have a romance with one of the men? Say it is so!

Giiirrrlllyyy Blogging: Polyvore Challenge

2009-06-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

From a cat of impossible color, a challenge from MLF and Fleur De Lice. It's based on this question: "How do you add your personal stamp to your outfit? If I asked you to slip on a pair of jeans, a simple top, a pair of flat shoes, and any accessories you liked, what would you come up with?"
So, here we go:

This is more of an everyday, running errands-type outfit. The headband's because my son's just reached a hair-pulling phase, and so I've been pulling it back, out of the reach of his little fingers. Plus, I have all kinds of hair clips and headbands with flowers on them. I love wearing flowers in my hair. The necklace is actually similar to one I own, and I own a Target brand version of those shoes.
I made another one, too:

For good or ill, that's pretty similar to the kind of outfit I'd wear when I was at school. I'm partial to shades of blue and green, so most of the clothes I wear fit in that color scheme. This is the sort of outfit one could wear on a fall day in Louisiana. The jacket and scarf would provide extra layers for a cool morning, but they also wouldn't be too stifling when it would warm up during the afternoon. I do not own a pair of purple shoes, but they are certainly on my shopping list, and that bag is the closest thing I could find to the big brown bag that comes with me nearly everywhere.
This actually wasn't really all that much of a challenge, as I tend to prefer to wear classic pieces in neutral colors, adding a few extra details in accessories and such things to make the outfits at least a little more interesting. I also tend to wear scarves and necklaces because I prefer to attract attention to my face.

So, I've Been Watching Brisco County, Jr....

2009-06-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

The show's got more cheese in it than my father's lasagna, (which is a lot of cheese), but I do enjoy the show so much. A lot of it's got to do with the acting, as you can really tell that just about everybody involved is having a good time. Nobody takes the show too seriously, which is a good thing, because, honestly, it's a sci-fi western. With Bruce Campbell in the lead.
That being said, my mind has been rather occupied with an episode Mr G and I watched a couple of nights ago. I don't remember the name, (and I'm too lazy to look), but it's the one with the tank, an in this episode, Brisco, Professor Wickwire, and, eventually, Lord Bowler ended up in an all-woman town.
At first, I was cringing. Especially when the female sheriff stated that there was a gun ordinance in the town. And they showed the sign that said "No Man's Land." Man-hating, ineffectual, pacifist ladies! They clearly just need mens to help them come around, right? Thankfully, however, that wasn't really the ending that materialized. Even though the bad guys had guns, and the women didn't, and they did need the help of Brisco, Bowler, and the Professor, they weren't represented as just helpless womenfolk. Besides, the idea of a town where women can go to escape the prejudices and abuse they'd suffered was a pretty neat one. And Brisco quite clearly didn't get the girl in the end.
But, you know what my favorite thing about this episode was? The German blacksmithing women. They were very attractive, but they were also really, really muscular. They had the biggest biceps I'd ever seen on a woman that's supposed to be attractive on a TV show. They had shoulders that could actually support their really big breasts. It was a small thing in the episode, but I was quite impressed.

Giiiiiirrrrllllyyyyy Blogging: Seeking

2009-06-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

Ever get it into your head that there is absolutely a certain kind of clothing item that you have to have, even if you haven't seen that particular thing anywhere? Well, I've got kind of an obsession with butterflies. (And dragonflies.) And I absolutely, desperately want a dress with butterflies on it. It's not a basic item, it's not crucial to my wardrobe, but I want one. Desperately However, most of the results that have turned up are way too ridiculously expensive for me. This has not deferred me from my search, however. Out there, some where, is a butterfly-printed dress with my name on it! And I will find it.

Movies Make Mana Angry

2009-06-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

Anybody else remember the 1997 animated film Cats Don't Dance? Man, I loved that movie. Gene Kelly-choreographed dance numbers, Natalie Cole's singing voice, a surprisingly talented Scott Bakula singing...What was there not to love? My favorite part, though, was probably the credits, over which you saw various classic, (and some not-so-classic), movie posters with the characters we'd seen throughout the movie, in place of the actors we were all familiar with. At first, I found it amusing....A turtle playing Superman, two cats in Singin' in the Rain, but, I will admit, it was also the first time I'd ever bothered to ask myself, "what if?" What if the faces I had seen in films like Casablanca looked different? Would that really take me out of the movie? For Heaven's sake, I identified with friggin' anthropomorphic animals, why did people think a human being of a different race would bother me? Kids: They're not dumb. They don't have problems with characters of color. I would also like to point to the animated Jackie Chan Adventures, Juniper Lee, and friggin' Dora the Explorer. Yes, because only Hispanic/Asian kids were watching those shows. (Possibly more on Dora later, as well.)
With that in mind, we have this business, still. It just makes me angry. Granted, I look at Noah Ringer, and I think, "What a cute lil' baby face!" Frankly, the kid's precious. I hope nobody's blaming him for this. He's a kid who's good at martial arts, loves the show, and decided to try out for the movie. But, he's not Aaang. Aang is Asian, and the more times I watch the show, the more flabbergasted I am that people cannot seem to see this. And if Katara is a white girl, then I will eat my laptop. (Seeing as how I'm not wearing a hat.)
In other news, I am terribly ashamed of myself. Transformers 2 comes out next week, and I already know I'm going to have a hard time keeping myself from going to see it. I hated the first Transformers film. It was racist, sexist, and downright stupid. If they had devoted any more time to the main character's hormones, I would have lost it. Not only that, but the enormous Transformer fan in me likes to point out that there was just not enough of those giant robots for me. (Plus, they killed Jazz, and the reaction is basically, "Oh, well." Yes, that's important to me.) Still, there's that voice, (that huge Transformers fan inside me), that whispers, "Giiiiiaaaaant rooooboooots. Yooooouuu caaannoooooot reeesiiiiiiiiist....." Then, I watch the trailer again, and see Megan Fox lounging sexily across a motorcycle and remind myself: This movie's not for me. (Girls don't like giant robots, right?) Meh. Maybe it's time to go finally finish Transformers: Animated. Though the female Transformers I've seen so far have been very much background characters, Sari looks pretty impressive, at least up to the point I've seen. Oh, and look: An Indian, female main character, and she's one of the most-liked human characters in any incarnation of Transformers, from what I'm hearing. Clearly, that's just a fluke, right? After all, we all know that audiences just won't abide by a lead that isn't a white male. Grrrrr.

A Slightly More In-Depth Look at Terminator Salvation

2009-06-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

....But, only slightly.
After all, I have to help you understand just why Blair is made of fail. At least, in my eyes. First of all, there's her very first "fight scene." That's in quotes because, seriously, it's really a scene of Blair getting beaten up. Then, Marcus steps in and saves the day, breaking nary a sweat. Of course this, (along with falling from impossible heights into a river and surviving), is possibly meant to show us that Marcus is no longer human, (at least, those of us that weren't spoiled by the trailer), but since perfectly human action heroes have done all that and more in other movies, I didn't find anything particularly shocking about all that. And then, the next thing Blair does is curl up on Marcus's chest, talking about what a good, strong man he is. Blegh. Then, she risks so much to help him escape, and why? What did she see him do, (other than save her, when she should have been able to save herself, if she was as awesome as she'd claimed to be), that made her think he was, indeed, more than a machine? Well, they cuddled. There was nothing in those scenes between them that made me think he could possibly be worth all that for her, but the audience was supposed to believe that she was willing to risk her life, her place in the Resistance, and all her friends for Marcus. Well, aren't women supposed to risk everything for their man?

The one thing I did like about Terminator Salvation? The way John seemed to cling to his mother's tapes. They were his guide, his comfort, his sense of direction. It gave Sarah Connor a presence in this film, despite the fact that she wasn't there. Since I didn't like the way Sarah seemed to be missing from Terminator 3, that made me feel better. A bit better.

Personal Dilemma.

2009-06-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I am mentally divided. Confused. I find myself asking a question I've never found myself asking before, "Do I want to go back to go school?" Even more shockingly, I find that, at least in part of my mind, the answer is no.
I love being a stay at home Mom. Way more than I've ever thought I would. I thought I would find it to be mostly stifling, frustrating and boring, but, so far, I'm truly enjoying it, even though it certainly has its difficult moments. (The colic and teething spring immediately to mind.) I have always seen myself as an academic. I love being an academic. But, I truly think I enjoy being a mother more.
The thing is, I've come so far, do I really want to stop now? Plus, we certainly can't afford for me to actually be a stay at home Mom, especially with my student loans to pay off. Not to mention the fact that being in school would actually permit me to spend more time with my son than getting a job right now would.
This still leads to the question of what to do after I finish school, however. Professorships take a lot of time. Do I want to spend all that time teaching, grading papers, writing papers, and everything else? I've never, ever thought the answer to that question would be no. Yet, for part of me, at least, the desire for all of that is gone.
There's another part of me, however, that doesn't want to let go of something that's been such an important part of my identity ever since I began college. I am a student and a mother, and while I know I can be both, I'm not sure I want to be anymore. I'm not sure I still want to be a student, or that I will still want to be a teacher.

Terminator Salvation Made Me Cranky

2009-06-05T20:19:00.000-07:00

Seriously, Blair risked everything to save some guy she just met, and why? Basically, because he was cute. Blair, you are full of fail.

See? I'm not dead.

Oh, my. It's May.

2009-05-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

Would you look at that. The month of April was completely absorbed by baby -- his diapers, his feedings, his utter adorableness, his colic. (Plus, the sheer exhaustion he has often caused.) That, and my laptop seems to have died for the final time, (sorry Lazarus, no emerging from the tomb for you), and we certainly haven't got the cash flow for a new one at this point in time.
So, here's a few random thoughts to tide you over:
Thank God for gift cards. Don't ever, ever let anyone tell you they're impersonal gifts. We got a huge Toy's 'R' Us gift card from Mr G's officemates, and we've been using it for diapers and wipes. That gift card has been our salvation. I dread the day when we run out of money on it.
Battle for Terra was surprisingly good. I liked it rather a lot more than I thought I would. Mala was not the best heroine ever, but I found her pretty impressive. I always like seeing girls as inventors, as well, as I was always a bit of a tinkerer in my childhood.
My post-pregnancy body image seems to be an improvement over my pre-pregnancy body image. I had to buy a new pair of jeans a few weeks back, as nothing fit me. I was a size 12 prior to my pregnancy. I am now a 16. There was a time when this would have made me cry. (Heck, the transition from size 10 to size 12 made me cry.) Not this time. My body is what it is right now.
What exactly do people mean by "looking like a Mom?" I've received this, apparently as a compliment, several times since the baby's birth. I don't feel as if my manner of dressing has changed much, so is it something else in my appearance? Or is it simply the child I happen to be carrying in a baby sling?
I've been reading a book called Arthurian Romances to keep my brain from melting into mush. It's a translation from a text by Chretien de Troyes. Lots of stuff in there I've never heard of, such as "Erec and Enide." I have no idea whether or it truly is keeping my brain from melting, however. Any opinions on that?

Oh, Stargate...Really

2009-04-04T11:11:00.001-07:00

Your two trailers for Stargate: Universe leave me cold. Are you trying to imitate Battlestar Galactica? Please, don't. Look, from what I've seen of Battlestar , it looks wonderful, but the people that like Stargate like it for different reasons. Even those that do like both shows, appreciate Battlestar for its seriousness and Stargate for its more light-hearted, adventurous qualities. Sure, there's angst in Stargate sometimes, but the overall feeling one gets from both shows is one of fun. Battlestar Galactica may be fascinating, but it certainly is not fun. The previews for Stargate: Universe so far have shown me pretty people who have angst. Please, that's what Battlestar Galactica has. Don't try to imitate it. For one thing, you're not likely to succeed.

A Children's Movie With an Awesome Heroine?! Wow, When's the Last Time We Saw That?!

2009-03-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

Coming out of "Baby World" for just a moment....
Just saw Monsters Vs Aliens, and loved it! Susan was an amazing character! My favorite moment in the whole film? She was captured and seemed defeated. This is the point where her male companions come bursting in to the rescue, right? Wrong. Just as Galaxar boasts about how impenetrable her prison is, she breaks out and becomes a nigh-unstoppable force as she chases after Galaxar.
Monsters Vs Aliens was totally Susan's movie. It was, no pun intended, all about her growth. Susan does start of as a weak person, both physically and emotionally. As time goes on, however, she gains a great deal of self-respect and toughness, and that's what the movie is all about. It's Susan that gets the big moment, where she saves the day.
The film itself was, surprisingly, much smarter than I had thought it would be. It had a very Dr Strangelove-ish feel to it at times that I absolutely adored. Stephen Colbert was brilliant as the President, as well. I loved all the little running gags that kids never would have gotten. At times, it almost seemed more light a light-hearted animated film aimed more at adults than at children.
All that aside, the presence of Susan, a kick-ass heroine that seems like an actual person, (not just someone's dream girl), as the main character is very important in these days of animated films. I mean, when was the last heroine on the big screen that wasn't a princess? Mulan? I loved Susan as a character, and I'm glad to have her around. Maybe she'll act as a hint to all the other animation companies: Kids can watch girls be the main characters, too. And they'll enjoy it.

Good News!

2009-03-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

No baby counter is up because the little fella was born on Tuesday! He's beautiful and healthy, and Mr. G and I just couldn't be happier!

'Nother Giiiiiiirrrrrllllyyy Blog Post: Travel Wear

2009-03-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about the concept of "travel wear" a lot lately, though I don't know why - it's not like I've had much chance to travel lately! (Or probably will for a little while.) Still, it's something that's been on my mind, what with the approach of spring, which usually means out-of-town trips for Mr G and I, (mostly for weddings), and that has me thinking about travel clothes.
"Travel clothes," to me, generally means clothing meant specifically for travelling. I think I first became fascinated with such an idea when I was in first grade. I was reading a book about a little girl and her doll that came to life. I remember little about the book other than the fact that all the doll's outfits were all described in excruciating detail. Though I paid little attention to my own manner of dressing throughout my childhood, I had a deep interest in fashion and costuming, and, the book taking place in the Victorian period, it was pretty much right up my ally. One outfit that seemed to particularly fascinate me was what was called the doll's "traveling outfit." I still remember that she wore a dark grey dress with a green plaid coat and a matching hat.
Though that was the beginning of my interest in "traveling clothes," it was certainly not the end. I developed a fondness for films from the 30's and 40's, (one that's never ended), and I noticed that, back in that time, they, too, seemed to have outfits worn specifically for travel. Reading Jane Austen books, or watching the films based upon them, and seeing Victorian-era period pieces revealed that they, too, had pieces of clothing meant often exclusively for traveling in. These viewings also caused me to come up with, over time, a set of "rules" I associate with travel clothes, though this is the first time I've ever put my (very much unwritten) rules down in any sort of order.
My "Rules" of "Travel Wear:"
1.) Travel clothes must be dark-colored, but black should be avoided. Go for dark green, grey, or navy blue. Sometimes, dark brown. I suppose this "rule" came about because, whenever I would see people in travel outfits, or read a description of them in the book, they always seemed to be clad in these particular colors. I suppose that in the time of coach or train travel, this would have made perfect sense: darker colors would hide all the soot or dirt you'd get on yourself. Though there's no dirt or soot to worry about in airplane travel, this is a rule that has become stuck in my mind, though heretofore unconsciously, as I always find myself dressing in dark grays, blues, or greens whenever I take a trip. Given my penchant for spilling things all over myself, however, it may not be a bad idea for me to wear things that'll hide stains more easily when I travel, however.
2.) Travel outfits must be worn with some kind of outerwear. All travel outfits I've noticed, from the Regency period to the 40's, seem to have coats or jackets that go on over whatever dress or skirt-blouse combination the person is wearing. My guess is that this extra layer acted as further protection against dirt, soot, and inclement weather. As it is, I almost always find myself throwing on a lightweight sweater or jacket before heading to the airport, even for summer and spring trips. (Thank goodness for 3/4-sleeve jackets!) However, lots of people suggest bringing/wearing a scarf/shawl that can double as a blanket or pillow for the trip. Since I would find a scarf-plus-jacket to be a little too much layering for the spring and summer, I might try leaving the jacket at home next time, and just bringing a scarf.
3.) Travel outfits must be fairly wrinkle-resistant. Whether you're getting to the destination by train, coach, car or airplane, travel involves an awful lot of sitting! It's important, in my mind, that the outfit not display just how much sitting I've been doing. Though I don't know exactly what the ladies of earlier periods did to keep their clothes from getting all wrinkly on long trips, but for me, this means wearing stuff in a jersey fabric or something similar.
4.) Travel clothes must look nice. While this is mostly something of a personal rule, it also seems to have applied to those travel-clothing-wearing ladies of old. After all, you will meet with lots of people, and new people, on your trip. You'll want to make a good impression. Besides, I'd feel uncomfortable having to complain to all those well-dressed airport workers if I were wearing jeans, a t-shirt and nasty tennis shoes. If I dress a little more nicely, I'll at least feel a little less intimidated. To me, this means no ratty jeans, no tennis shoes, and, certainly, no sweatpants.
5.) Travel clothes should hit at the knee or below. They also should display as little cleavage as possible. I have terrible posture. When I'm bored, tired, or uncomfortable, it tends to get worse. Therefore, I am leaning all over the place whenever I'm waiting at the airport. Lord knows what kind of an eyeful I'd give people if I didn't abide by this particular rule! Plus, airports and airplanes get cold. Traveling women of the Regency period to the 40's also seem to have used this rule, but then, they tended to be careful about just how much and how they were showing some skin. For me, this means I usually wear pants or nice jeans, though I've worn a knee-length dress on a plane.
6.) Travel clothes should be comfortable. This is definitely a personal rule, and, to my own mind, the most important. Again, traveling, however you do it, usually involves lots and lots of sitting. Anything that digs into your back, or your stomach, or is really, really itchy, should not be worn while traveling. (Or at all, to be honest!) You have to be able to breathe on the plane, (or wherever), so it's important to be comfortable. Though jeans are usually comfortable enough for me, I also like the idea of something like drawstring pants in a sturdy cotton twill. With the right top you'll still look impressive, and you can always tie it more loosely on the plane. (So long as you make sure they won't fall off when you stand up!)

My perfect outfit I think would be a pair of dark gray sturdy twill drawstring pants, a jersey fabric higher scoopnecked shirt dark green or navy blue, with a lightweight jacket or long, lightweight cardigan, and maybe a shawl worn as a scarf, with a comfortable pair of ballet flats.

Something That's Always Bugged Me About the Star Wars Prequels...

2009-03-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

All that advanced technology, and yet, there are, apparently, no contraceptives in that galaxy?!
I mean, seriously, if they had a marriage that they needed to keep secret, wouldn't it have been a good idea to avoid getting pregnant?! And yet, there's no mention made of any efforts they might have gone through to prevent pregnancy. It's just, "Oh, hey, look! You're pregnant! What now?" Maybe, just maybe, it would've been wise to think about that before they started makin' babies. That's all I'm saying.
That, and Padme knowingly marries someone that's already admitted to being a murderous lunatic. (Not to mention, someone with an apparent penchant for slaughtering children.) Her response to that is to marry him and bear his children?! What. The. Hell.

Yes; watched Episodes II and III the other day, though not for the first time. Felt the need to vent about those two little things, and they've bugged me ever since I first saw the films.

Brief Bit of Giiirrrlllyyy Blogging

2009-03-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

I think I'm in love with this website. Particularly, this dress:

Is it not gorgeous?
I have a deep, deep love for vintage-style dresses.

No Baby Yet

2009-03-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

I know, and I told you all I'd be having him any day now. Still, he'll be coming in a week, if not before. (My doctor's decided to induce, for various health reasons.)
By the way, I've been watching Lost all this week....And I so am!

Thoughts on Various TV Shows

2009-03-05T15:27:00.000-08:00

Psych
Well, I thought that having the serial killer "Mr. Yang" turn out to be a woman was awesome. It didn't strike me as being used for shock value, even though it was a surprise. (Well, weren't we all suspecting the creepy profiler fellow? I know I was, and I'm usually pretty good at figuring out the killer, as I all but grew up on Agatha Christie mysteries.) Having Ally Sheedy play her, however? Even more awesome. Also was excited to see Cybil Shepherd return. I love Cybil Shepherd.

Burn Notice
Oh, Burn Notice, even my love of Micheal Shanks can keep me from being disappointed in you, last week. You totally blew your chance at equal-opportunity fanservice. Micheal and Female-Sam undress at the same time, and you only give us long, lingering shots of Half-Naked Female Sam? For shame! Where were the long, lingering shots of Half-Naked Micheal? Would have made the scene more interesting in my estimation. Also, don't get me started on the "Old Girlfriend Pops up and Complicates Things for an Episode" storyline; I thought you would have been better than that, Burn Notice.

Monk
Oh, Monk, you still have me pissed-off! You could have made the big revelation in the episode all about the fact that it is very unusual for extremely pregnant women to get work, (or keep work, as a few women I have met at my OB's office can attest; they were the first to go in layoffs where they worked), which would have been a perfectly legitimate thing to notice. Instead, you had to make the pregnant woman an idiot, at least by Adrian's standards. (Am I the only one who found this woman far more sympathetic than she was probably supposed to be? She had probably had very little training in what she was supposed to do before both of her bosses disappeared; that can't be a fun situation for anyone. ) Granted, she was still presented as an obnoxious moron in a lot of ways, (pregnant women are supposed to avoid hot dogs in general, but not everybody knows that), but I couldn't help feeling bad for her, given the position she was in. She was very pregnant, and found what she thought was a good job, probably after a long and fruitless search. Then, her boss disappears, and the only other person who knows what to do goes on vacation. So, she's left alone in an office with the phones ringing off the hook, and, most likely, little to no training about what to actually do in her job. Then, to find out she was hired solely because she was pregnant? (Which would explain why she didn't know what she was doing; she wouldn't have been expected to, anyway. She probably would've been fired as soon as her boss' plan proved successful, anyway.) I think it's just a little unfair to characterize her as a "dolt", don't you? Not to mention the ickiness of the woman's plan to manipulate her married boyfriend into leaving his wife, by pretending to be pregnant. There's a storyline I think we can all do without.

I don't watch much TV, so that's pretty much it, for now!

Pregnancy and Body Image

2009-03-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

Well, the "Baby Counter" on the side image is, most likely, going to be inaccurate. Apparently, I need to change it to "Any Freaking Day Now." This is exciting, but it also means I means I'm likely to be an even more sparse blogger than ever, at least whilst we settle in. However, this led me to do some thinkery on the subject of pregnancy, and particularly my pregnancy, and how it has changed me. I decided I'd try to get these thoughts out while I still can, though be warned, I'm likely to be even less coherent than usual.
Not only has my body changed during pregnancy, but my views about my have changed, through this pregnancy, At times, it has felt as if my body was growing stronger, (after all, it was making a brand-new person, which is awfully cool), but at other times, it felt as is my body was growing weaker. (I normally have a very strong stomach and can deal with all manner of grossness with nary a flinch, but, during the first two trimesters, I suffered from "The Morning Sickness of Doom" and could not handle the smell of my own kitchen without feeling the need to race to the toilet.) Also, it's been rather frustrating to be treated as if I were some kind of porcelain doll, especially as I'm nearing the end of my final trimester. (In fairness, I was bed-rested for two weeks. That turned out to be a scary time for me, and all my loved ones.)
My thoughts about my body changed a lot at this time, however. I have heard from women who loathe their pregnant bodies, who can't wait to have the baby and get back to their pre-pregnancy figures. They are ashamed of the weight they've gained, and feel they've "failed," somehow, as a woman. I am not one of these women.
I have struggled with body image for most of my life. I am a short, petite woman with an hourglass figure, but I grew up with an older sister whom was tall, thin, and willowy. (Honestly, she bore an eerie resemblance to Audrey Hepburn.) In Hollywood, I'd be "the best friend," the quirky girl that ends up with the quirky male sidekick, if I got anybody at all. In my eyes, this was "not good enough." I wanted to look like my sister, or like Audrey Hepburn. I was incredibly unhappy with who I was.
As time has gone on, I've learned, gradually to accept myself, and my body, as it is. After all, there wasn't too much I could do to change it. Exercise wasn't going to change my fundamental shape, and I'm far too clumsy to go tottering about in high heels all the time. I'd fall and injure myself. However, I had "accepted" my body; I never truly "appreciated" it. Until the pregnancy, that is.
Part of it probably has a lot to do with the amount of compliments I've received; possibly more compliments than I've gotten at any other time in my life. (Excepting my wedding day.) Everyone tells me I make "such a cute" pregnant woman. I assume this is because I am "carrying" the baby all in the front; I look, in other words, as if I am attempting to smuggle a beach ball under my shirt. Though I, personally, do not find myself a "cuter" pregnant woman than any of the others I've seen, I am, as most humans are, very susceptible to compliments. If others feel the need to point out how nice I look, who am I to disbelieve them?
Aside from the compliments, there is also the fact that I have been informed, time and again, that weight gain is important, and healthy, throughout my pregnancy. Granted, this weight gain is supposed to come within certain perameters, (no more than 15-20 pounds if you're already overweight, for example), but, growing up in a world where gaining weight is often portrayed as a grave sin, (thanks to TV, magazines, peers and, sadly, often influential adults in our lives), any kind of weight gain being viewed as normal was something of a revelation to me.
I can also attribute the changes in my body image to maternity fashions. There are two kinds of maternity fashions: One says you should hide your enlarging body as much as possible, and the other says you should celebrate your body, especially your belly, as it grows larger. The former lays emphasis on huge swaths of very loose fabric, and usually start from your collarbone, going on down, turning your body into one large line. The latter seems to prefer empire waists, or anything that nips in at the end of the bust, giving the clothes some actual shape and form.
Thankfully, the former styles seem to be getting phased out, so even the fashion industry seems to be saying, "Pregnant women have no need to hide their bodies!" This is a good thing. I don't like being told to hide my body. My absolute favorite maternity shirt? A tight, empire-waisted, low-cut top with a very eye-catching print. It says, "Look at my pregnant belly!" Since I don't normally choose clothes that say, "Look at me!", this is a pretty big change in my wardrobe. I like the shirt because, to me, it says that, yes, I am pregnant, and I feel no need to hide the size of my body.
The real question, I suppose, is how I will feel about my body once I have my son. Will I look at my postpartum belly and feel remorse and regret? Or, will I still feel proud of my appearance, even though I probably won't be receiving as many compliments about how "cute" I am, anymore? What about how I dress? I look through the magazines, and most of the fashions I see are far from complimentary to the shape I was before, and probably will be after, the pregnancy. (Though, I am learning what truly does compliment my figure, and intend to shop for some new "post-baby" clothes with that in mind, once I can actually afford new post-baby clothes.) I hope that this change in body image will last past the pregnancy. I'll do my best to make sure it does.

I Rarely Read XKCD, But This Was Sent to Me...

2009-03-01T15:40:00.000-08:00

He's actually kind of got a point with this one.

And I adore The Princess Bride. I really do. I know it by heart.

Forge is White, but Nick Fury is Black

2009-02-27T20:33:00.000-08:00

My brother thinks that the new Wolverine and The X-Men Nick Fury is a combination of 616 Nick Fury, and Ultimayes Nick Fury. I just think, "Buh?"
He's also an ass, but that's no different from any Nick Fury incarnation.

That is all.

The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw

2009-02-27T19:17:00.000-08:00

I love children's literature. There's an element of sadness inherent in all good children's books, (for example, The Mouse and His Child, Peter Pan, The Little Prince, even the Oz books), that is not always present in adult literature. good children's books tend to make one fact clear: Life is a bittersweet proposition. You may get to go to Wonderland, but there'll be a lot of pain you'll have to face while you're there.
This bittersweetness is part of why I've become so fond of Eloise McGraw's The Moorchild. The Moorchild is the story of Saaski, a half-fairy, half-human child who becomes a "changeling": that is, she is left in exchange for a human couple's child that the fairies steal. Saaski is both fairy and human, and yet also neither fairy nor human. Though the book is dedicated to "every child who ever felt different," I do imagine it would hold something of a special resonance for any children whom are of a mixed-race desecendance.
That being said, the fairy folk are not based on any particular race, (thankfully, as they are presented as being thoroughly non-human), while the humans are clearly white Europeans. Saaski deals with obvious prejudice and hatred from the other children, at first, because of her very different appearance, and then later, because of her very different personality. I think anyone who's ever been referred to as "that weird kid" can relate to some of what Saaski goes through.
Saaski has no special skills, no truly impressive magical powers. (The book makes it quite clear that she is very, very bad at "winking out," the fairies' ability to disappear.) She is simply very brave, rather clever, and extremely good at playing the bagpipes. Saaski is also not a particularly perfect little girl; she is stubborn, often selfish, and prone to expressions of deep anger. Nonetheless, as she grows to love her adoptive parents, she also begins to realize the cruelty of the fairies in stealing their child and giving them Saaski. Therefore, Saaski decides to steal the child back from the fairies.
As I said, The Moorchild has its bittersweet elements. Many of them, in fact. The book doesn't shy away from the fact that raising a child like Saaski is difficult, not only because of the way she is, but also because of the fact that hatred felt towards Saaski is often directed at her parents. Though there is love, (or at least something close to it), between Saaski and her parents, there is also a great deal of pain felt by all of them in trying to keep Saaski. (There is also pain felt in the fact that Saaski cannot be kept.)
I sincerely hope The Moorchild is a widely-read book, especially by young girls, as Saaski is an excellent heroine. Saaski is neither perfect nor unlikably flawed, neither ruled by her emotions nor immune to them. Though there is Tam, the boy whom Saaski eventually decides she "belongs" with, (as neither of them seem to belong anywhere), there is no real hint of a romance between the two of them.
I loved The Moorchild because it didn't take the easy route in Saaski's story; she does not gain acceptance from either the fairies or the humans. Instead, she has to forge her own path. I feel the book has a good message for parents, particularly parents of "unique" children, as well. The message, to me, is that no matter how difficult, and how painful, raising that "different" child was, they will leave an indelible mark upon your soul; you will never be the same again. Often, that mark is a painful one, or at least one that leaves a bittersweet feeling, just as The Moorchild does.

I'm Aware of the New Casting Decision for the Live Action Avatar

2009-02-13T15:21:00.000-08:00

I must admit, the fact that we're not getting stuck with Jesse McCartney as Zuko brings me joy. Also, from everything I've heard about Dev Patel, he sounds immensely talented, and I'm tempted to watch the film only because I want to see what Patel does with Zuko.
That being said, it feels like, as Avalon's Willow states, "so many dry, thin bones" we're being tossed, to try to keep us quiet about the whitewashed cast. Not only that, but it reminds me of the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian movie, with the race issues inherent in some of their decisions.
I'm referring, to, specifically, their decisions to avoid controversy by representing the Telmarines as they are portrayed in the book: that is, vaguely Arabic or Middle Eastern. That was a good decision. In doing this, however, they cast the Telmarines as Spanish conquistadors, making the movie instead about the good, white Anglo-Saxon Europeans, (and their dark-skinned friend), battling the treacherous, hot-blooded, Mediterranean Europeans. In attempting to keep people quiet about one race issue, they only managed to bring up another.
I know this makes it seem as if filmmakers "just can't win" when it comes to race, but I'm not saying that. What they need to do is actually be aware of the race isues involved in their decisions, and actually act on those issues. When someone points out, "Hey, this movie about an 'Asian-based world' seems to have an all-white cast," someone, somewhere along the line needs to do more than just brush away the criticism. Someone needs to do more than just give us some stereotypically ethnic extras, and a single non-white character, particularly when he's a villian. (Or even the anti-hero; even if he is the most interesting character in the story.) Someone needs to say, "OK, it's time to stop using the 'these were the best actors we could find' excuse, because nobody's buying it."

I'm Going to Have to Give Coraline a Little More Thought...

2009-02-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

...Before I decide exactly how I feel about it.
Went to see it last night with some friends, and, mostly, I think it's an adorable movie. However, the "Demon Mother Who Devours You" plot point irks me sometimes. As, this time, it comes from Neil Gaiman, who, in "How to Talk to Girls," presents the female species as this scary "Other," I feel the need to give Coraline a little more examination before I give my complete interpretation of "The Other Mother." Linking her to "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" was a clever way of linking her with Arthurian legends, though.

Live Action Avatar, Just When I Thought You Couldn't Make Me Angrier

2009-01-28T13:07:00.000-08:00

I read about your extras' casting call. (Thoughts from the amazing Avalon's Willow here.)
So,the main characters have to be white, but the folks in the background can be ethnic? Not only that, but extras who are auditioning are encouraged to wear garments that emphasize their ethnicity, their "Otherness." Not to mention that the casting director does not even seem to be aware of the difference between Korean and Japanese. ("If you're Korean, wear a kimono." Except that traditional Korean garb is not a kimono.) What does it matter, they're all Asians after all, right? And they all look alike to us white folks!
Rage.

Oh, Those Poor Men of Underworld 3! (With Spoilers)

2009-01-28T12:16:00.000-08:00

Saw Underworld 3 with the Hub-sand on Saturday, and while it was good, it must be said that Sonia doesn't hold a candle to Selene. However that's OK, because the movie's not about Sonia, it's about Victor and Lucian. How silly of us to think that the female could play an important role in what is obviously a man's war.
Oh, I forgot: She did play an important role: She got pregnant with Lucian's baby. And then, she died. The dying is important because of how much it upsets both Lucian and Victor. She also needed to be rescued by Lucian, waiting until only after he showed up to draw her sword and start killing her fellow vampires. Selene, it must be said, would have waited for no one, before she started killing.
Also, does Victor give Selene Sonia's old leather corset? Because that, right there, is kind of creepy, folks. (Sonia being Victor's daughter and all, and Selene being viewed as something of Sonia's replacement in Victor's eyes.) However, Selene is more than a "replacement Sonia," she is, obviously, quite the improvement. Sonia had no agency, either in her life, or her death, (despite the film's attempts to show her as "stubborn and strong,") whereas Selene, in both films, is shown to have her own motivations for all of her actions, which may not have anything to do with the desires of the men in her life.
I loved the first Underworld, and I liked Underworld 2. Underworld 3, however, proved very disappointing. Because, while the first two films gave us Selene, this last one, once again, makes everything that happens to the woman it, really all about the men, and how they are affected.

MAS*H: Tracking Margaret's Path to Self-Respect (So Far)

2009-01-28T09:06:00.000-08:00

So, for Christmas, Mr. G bought me the collected M*A*S*H series, and we have been, slowly but surely, edging our way through the series. We've gotten about halfway through Season 3, so far, and, while I must admit that there are certain aspects of the show that bother me far more than they used to, I find I'm enjoying M*A*S*H just as much as I did when I was younger, and sometimes, even more.
The thing that's fascinating me the most in this newest bout of viewing the show is Margaret. Specifically, the question of whether or not there are "Two Margarets". Loretta Swit, the actress who portrayed Margaret for all eleven seasons, has always argued in interviews that there is only one Margaret, who, over time, learned to develop her self-respect and lighten up a little. I'm inclined to agree with her, especially as there are episodes, starting as early as Season 2, where we begin to see different sides of Margaret.
Season 2, Episode 10: "Carry On, Hawkeye." The camp comes down with the flu, and Hawkeye and Margaret are left to handle things. The two argue nearly incessantly, but, when it's over, Hawkeye shows Margaret genuine respect.
Season 2, Episode 14: "Hot Lips and Empty Arms." Margaret asks for a transfer, partially because she realizes that she'll never get what she wants from Frank. I believe this is our first sign of "Drunk Margaret," whom Trapper and Hawkeye discover is much more fun to hang out with than "Super-Sober Margaret." It's one step forward and two back, however, as Margaret forgives Frank rather easily.
Season 2, Episode 20: "As You Were." Margaret tries to talk Frank into getting surgery t repair his hernia. In this conversation, Margaret all but admits that she feels Trapper and Hawkeye are much better doctors than Frank. This is one of the first occasions where Margaret is not mad at Frank, and yet doesn't show him complete adoration, or agree with him without question, either.
Season 2, Episode 21: "Crisis." The 4077th is cut off from its supply line. Margaret treats her nurses with something resembling kindness.
Season 2, Episode 23: "Mail Call." When Frank believes his latest investment will make him rich, Margaret reminds him of a promise he made to marry her once he could cut himself off from his current wife's purse-strings. It wasn't the first time Margaret saw him back out of such a declaration, and it wouldn't be the last.
Season 3, Episode 4: "Iron Guts Kelly." A general dies in Margaret's tent, and she turns to Trapper and Hawkeye for help.
Season 3, Episode 9: "Alcoholics Unanimous." Frank bars liquor from the camp, and Margaret reveals she has a drinking habit of her own. "Drunk Margaret" returns.
Season 3, Episode 13: "Mad Dogs and Servicemen." A soldier is suffering from a case of "hysterical paralysis," and Hawkeye attempts an experimental new treatment of the psychological disorder. While Frank continually insists that regulations require the man to be sent to Tokyo, Margaret's point is that the treatment, (which involves refusing the soldier any assistance in moving about, or getting food, or using the bathroom), is rather cruel.
Season 3, Episode 15: "Bombed." The camp is being shelled, and Margaret and Trapper are trapped in the supply tent overnight. Margaret rebuffs Trapper's advances, but Frank proposes to her out of fear and jealousy. Margaret becomes almost resigned to Frank's behavior by the end of the episode. (Also, Margaret is shown to be physically stronger than Trapper.)
Season 3, Episode 16: "Bulletin Board." Margaret asks Frank for a loan of two and forty dollars, so she can help set up her recently-married younger sister in an apartment. As Frank stalls, Margaret reveals that most of her money goes to supporting her alcoholic, kleptomaniac mother. Frank agrees to the loan, but only if Margaret will pay interest. Margaret becomes enraged.
Season 3, Episode 18: "House Arrest." Hawkeye hits Frank, and Margaret acts as a witness on Frank's behalf, until Frank is caught with an older female colonel who begins screaming, "Rape!" Margaret becomes angry at Frank, and the colonel, whom she had previously admired, seems to have become less in her eyes.
Season 3, Episode 19: "Aid Station." Margaret, Hawkeye and Klinger all go to an aid station at the front. Margaret is the only person to actually volunteer for this mission, and does so almost immediately. She also rebuffs Hawkeye's attempts at "chivalry," when he protests her changing the tire on the Jeep, for practical reasons: they can't risk him, as the surgeon, hurting his hands. By the end of the episode, both Klinger and Hawkeye show a great deal of respect and admiration for Margaret, something which seems to surprise her. Trapper asks Hawkeye later "what Houlihan was like," and Hawkeye's response has nothing to do with what Trapper thinks: Hawkeye says she was "damn good," as a colleague, not as a sexual object. I think this may be the beginning of Margaret's turning point, into the "second Margaret" in later seasons.
The Margaret I see when watching M*A*S*H is a woman who's accustomed to being regarded as a sexual object, even though she sees herself as a soldier above everything. That's how I explain her sleeping around with several generals and other such men in charge: she feels that even though she'll never be allowed any real authority or respect in the Army, she can at least encounter it vicariously through the "stronger" men in her life. There's also the possibility that she attempts to cover up her strength, (which might be seen as "improper,") by an excess of stereotypical femininity. Yet, she also tries to hide parts of herself that she feels will be seen as "weak," with a greater emphasis on military protocol. When Margaret begins to be shown respect and friendship from the others, (particularly former adversaries), as a colleague and a person, not just a sexual object, or Frank Burns' attachment, (that often speaks for him), she begins to look at herself differently, and, perhaps, begins to realize that she is more than the military, and more than her body. Also, she begins to see that she deserves more than furtive rendezvous with men in authority and people mocking her authority.

"The Next Doctor," You Leave Me Perplexed

2009-01-07T10:46:00.000-08:00

I'm actually referring to the recent Christmas special, (which I, bad Mana that I am, watched online), and not to the news that the new doctor is some fellow named Matt Smith. I enjoyed the Christmas special, even though the acting, (particularly that of David Morrissey), grated on me at times, but there was one thing that continues to bug me. That one thing is Miss Hartigan.
Miss Hartigan is a woman who seems to be running a children's home in Victorian England. We're led to believe she's smarter than most of the men she encounters, and well aware of it, but the society in which she lives keeps her in a frustratingly small role. When she encounters the Cybermen, she sees them as a way out, and possibly a path to power. At least, that's what I gather, as "The Next Doctor" is infuriatingly vague about her motivations. Even more perplexing than Miss Hartigan's motivations, however, are Russell T. Davies' motivations in portraying her in the manner he does.
We're given a woman with "a mind so remarkable that it conquers even the Cybermen," according to the Doctor, but we don't get much evidence of thast mind in action. And plus, from what I understand about the death of Miss Hartigan and her Cybermen, we seem to get shoved in our faces, yet again, the idea that a woman's emotions are stronger than her mind. (At least, that's what I got from her moment of "Miss Hartigan's screaming blows up all the Cybermen." Do people usually shriek like that in regret? I didn't think so...)
It bothered me because we are shown from the beginning that Miss Hartigan is a cold, ruthless sort of woman. Why the sudden horror and regret atb being shown "what she'd become?" She wasn't even all that physically transformed, (which I imagine would horrify any person), so I don't understand her sudden breakdown. Unless, of course, she simply a woman conquered by her emotions. This is bothersome, esxpecially since we're given an earlier scene of Miss Hartigan conquering the Cybermen partially with her own emotions. Those emotions, however, would've probably been more stereotypically "masculine" in the Victorian period: she mentions imagination and ambition, among other things. Therefore, she is a woman conquered by more "feminine" emotions by the end. That's at least one interpretation I got out of this special, and it's certainly not one that makes me happy.
I'm honestly not trying to say, "OMG, Russell T Davies is a misogynist," because I don't quite understand just what his intentions were with the Miss Hartigan character. If his intention was to show an intellegent woman on the side of evil conquered by her more "feminine" emotions, then I think we can safely call that sexist, and, perhaps say, "Oh, thank God your run's nearly over, Mr. Davies!" (Along with some other things.) I am, however, still left perplexed. I can't imagine that that was his intention, but I'm having a hard time seeing Miss Hartigan's character any other way. This disappoints me, especially as a woman with, apparently, such a remarkable mind, certainly did not deserve to be wasted on such a misogynistic ending.

Bringing the Family Together: Holidays and Emergency Room Visits

2008-12-26T11:45:00.000-08:00

Why is it that these two things, (holidays and emergency room visits), seem often to coincide, in my life? Perhaps it's because my mother went into labor with me the night of Mother's Day, nearly twenty-four years ago? Still, I have waited, with my family, as my niece had her leg put in a cast one Easter, I spent a Valentine's Day, two years ago, visiting Mr G in the hospital and waiting for test results, (a virus, but they kept him overnight, as it nearly killed him), Mr G an I, just this past Mother's Day, rushed to the hospital after his grandmother fell down some stairs, and this Christmas, my father-in-law broke his arm. Actually, he broke it on Christmas Eve, but this meant a very chagrined, (he loves to cook almost as much as my father, and my husband), father-in-law had to sit on the sidelines while Mr G and his sisters handled the turkey, stuffing, and other such accouterments. (I am often accused of "marrying into a family that cooks," on purpose, as, while I love to bake, my idea of "cooking a meal" tends to result in me slapping whatever meat or cheese I have between two slices of bread and calling it a "sandwich." If I really want to mix it up, I will use both meat and cheese. Also, as my father and mother both enjoy, and are quite good at, cooking, and I spent all of my undergraduate college years working in a restaurant where the cooks liked me enough to try to force-feed me, as I rarely stopped for an actual meal break, I have grown far too accustomed to having very good food without having to cook it. I do cook at my house; we share such duties...My meals are just not as yummy as Mr G's meals.)
So, as I said, Mr G's family decided to go through with the holiday celebrations as planned, for the most part. It turned out to b a much more low-key celebration than they originally intended, but that was perfectly fine by me, as I was still a little worn out from my family's Christmas Eve party and Midnight Mass. I even got to wear my jeans, and my brand-new favorite t-shirt: A maternity shirt, from thinkgeek.com, that advertises that I have a "Geek Inside." That was my present from my sibs. I find it so hilarious, and, frankly, it'll probably turn out to be true, what with the parents that are raising the little fella. I will admit that my favorite gift exchanges are nearly always the ones I have with my siblings. With the exception of my older sister, we all think in an eerily similar manner. We have our differences, naturally, but we share a sense of humor and an affinity for certain ideas and stories. (For instance: I and my younger brother share a passion for anthropology and Egyptology, we all find British humor to be the most brilliant thing ever, barring Benny Hill, the entire family has a deep love for science fiction, and my older brother and younger sister are both completely addicted to Hong Kong cinema. We all also share a hatred for mathematics, even though my youngest brother and younger sister are truly gifted at it.) Thus, I have never once, in all these years, given them a gift that's fallen flat, something I can not say for nearly anyone else in my life. (Mr G and I have just enough similarities that we don't laugh at each other's interests, and actually share many of them, but we remain different enough that a conversation with the both of us will never leave you feeling as if we are a single entity.) I truly enjoy the giving of gifts much more than the getting, (though I did receive some awesome things this year), so it's important to me that I can know a person so well that I will know just what will bring them joy. (Granted, in my family, it's usually books.)

R.I.P, Eartha Kitt

2008-12-26T11:12:00.000-08:00

One of the most beautiful women that's ever lived, even as she aged, Eartha Kitt also was the greatest Catwoman ever, in my opinion. (And was simply delightful as Yzma in Emperor's New Groove.) You will be missed, Eartha. There'll never be another one like you.

It's Begiining to Look a Lot Like....

2008-12-22T12:19:00.000-08:00

Wow....Hello, Christmas! You're on...Thursday. Yes, you are. That leaves me until Wednesday to purchase gifts for my sisters-in-law. What do you get for one woman whose greatest aspiration in life is to be a trophy wife, (I kid you not), or for one who wants to be Chairman of the Federal Reserve someday. Though I can identify with the latter much more than the former, let us face facts: I am a student of literature, folks. A student of literature who built most of her schooling around never having to take anything more than two Mathematics classes throughout her entire college career. Economics doesn't merely intimdate me, it is a large, angry monster in my eyes, one I dare not poke with a stick, or even approach. Most things I or Mr. G could think of for her would likely either be dismissed as frivolous, or be something she already has. Ah, well. Gift cards again, then! Let her pick out her own damn present.
The house is looking remarkably Christmas-y, as well, and I actually had very little to do with it. I'm frankly surprised at the enthusiasm Mr G has expressed for the holiday this year, as he normally doesn't get all too excited about it. It must be the fact that this is our first "real" shared Christmas; where we get to do all the decorating and deciding how we want to spend the holiday. (Christmas Eve is with my family, and dinner Christmas Day is with his. (I think we'll enjoy having most of Christmas, especially the morning, all to ourselves, as opposed to the mad dashing about we did last year. I'll miss seeing the sibs' reactions to their gifts from people other than me and Mr G, however. That's always part of the fun for me at Christmas: watching people's sheer delights at getting things that make them happy.)
I think Mr G will be quite happy with the fencing class he's returning to, as well as some much-needed new gear. Yes, my husband fences. He was quite good, too, until budget and time constraints forced us to drop the classes for a time. I'm looking forward to him starting again , as it was something he enjoyed, and, to be frank, I do swoon a bit over the swashbuckler types. (What's not to love about Cyrano de Bergerac, Inigo Montoya, The Count of Monte Cristo, Eroll Flynn, or Orlando Bloom in the Pirates movies? Very little, I tell you. But, then again, I find facial hair very attractive on certain men, including Mr G.) On an only-slightly-unrelated note, I really need to get myself a copy of the black-and-white Jose Ferrerre version of Cyrano. It's sheer brilliance, as a film, and I've never seen another actor as Cyrano that can hold a candle to Ferrerre's interpretation of the character.
It is unexpectedly cold today, as the pasty week had put our weather back up to the 70's. My heater, meanwhile, likes to vary the temperatures in my house between "blazing Hellfire of Milton's Paradise Lost" and "last circle of Hell,which, according to Dante, is ice." Either way, it's not exactly comfortable. (Make up your mind, heater! Which literary version of the Underworld do you most want to resemble? Just pick one!) Rumor has it will be warm by Christmas Day, however, and this kind of saddens me. What about snuggling up in a brand-new sweater or snuggly blanket and hiding from your family for the morning? (Not that I have ever done such a thing, but I was looking forward to it this year.)
Well, Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and to those who don't, have a great week!

The Day the Earth Stood Still Would've Been Great, If it Hadn't Been So Underwhelming

2008-12-20T10:24:00.000-08:00

That's my thought on the movie, anyway.
Went to see The Day the Earth Stood Still with Mr. G and his parents the other day, and I was fairly excited about it, from the commercials I'd seen. (It had Kathy Bates and Jennifer Connolly, and I will admit to loving those two as actresses. It also, however, had Keanu Reeves, and The Matrix opened my eyes to just how wooden of an actor that man truly is.
As far as gender goes, the movie's not that bad. Jennifer Connolly's astrobiologist character, (Mommy, I now know what I want to be when I grow up), has her own reasons for wanting to help alien Klaatu, and they don't have anything to do with romance. She is fascinated with him as a scientific subject, at first, seems a little like she's pulled along with the current for a while, but, finally, realizes the need to get through to him about not harming the human race. The relationship with her stepson, (played by the adorable Jaden Smith), is fraught with difficulties, but I never got the impression we were meant to see her as pathetic or helpless. She's a "strong" woman in the sense that she has flaws, but she never lets those flaws define her, or hinder her.
Kathy Bates' Secretary of Defense is another woman who is "strong" in terms of personality, drive and character, not in any physical sense. I don't know who wrote the script, but they need to do a "Suicide Squad" film; they'd write a spectacular Amanda Waller. Though Mr G wasn't too fond of the some of the decisions she'd made, I pointed out that she'd have been dangerously genre savvy...If The Day the Earth Stood Still had been an invasion film. Once she realized, however, exactly what form the alien's hostility was coming in, she also realized that there was remarkably little the government could do to stop it. Even as she watches everything fall apart around her, she never falls apart herself, however.
I can't exactly give the movie points for it, but I was rather pleased at the fact that the movie didn't present us with an all white male military. I know I counted at least two women of color in the film, and, while it's not much at all, it's more than I've seen in lots of other blockbuster movies. (See: Iron Man, Transformers.) The people of color in the film were not merely comic relief, as well, but intelligent, sometimes thoughtful folks living their lives and doing their jobs. There were a lot of females and people of color among the scientists brought by the government, as well, though we still ended up with a little bit of "the attractive white woman is the smartest person in the room," and we don't need to see any more of that, though, this time, we at least got see some of her being smart. (The beginning of the film has an impressive classroom scene.) Points are also taken away for the "mystical Asian as guide" stereotype, even if he was an alien. Still and all, the film did manage to present a lot more diversity than I usually see in such big-budget films.
For all that, the movie was, truly, rather underwhelming. I think it has to do with the reliance on special effects in the last half of the film. It felt as if the executives didn't believe anyone would see a movie with aliens unless we got to see some familiar landmarks get destroyed. ("But look at how much money Independence Day made, just by blowing up the White House!" Yes, and so many blockbuster films since Independence Day have brought us so much more of the same, that we'd all like something different. For Christmas, perhaps? Thank you.) I loved the first half; it was thoughtful, it was intriguing, it brought up interesting questions. Once the glowing orbs started taking in animals, and especially once GORT the robot turned into a plague of metal locusts, destroying human life and human creations, I really started losing interest. What was a good film, and a good message, was, to me, starting to get lost in the need for special effects.

Not Quite "Mood Whiplash," but Close

2008-12-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to point this out:

Compared with my previous post of rage.
Hmmm.....One can't acknowledge the very presence of Asian races, whereas the other emphasizes that there are different ethnicities in Asia itself, and discourages placing all people in one blanket stereotype.

Guess which one I prefer?

You Have GOT to Be God-Damned Kidding Me!

2008-12-11T08:23:00.000-08:00

Avatar, I am mad at you now. I mean, seriously? Are you kidding me with this?! Didn't we discuss this earlier?!
And, Jesse McCartney as God-damned Zuko?! Tell me this is a joke. You're going to take one of the most fascinatingly complicated characters that Western animation has ever seen, and you're giving the role to some pretty-boy pop star?! I really, really do not want to see what Jesse McCartney does to the character of Zuko.
I am disappointed. I had lists and everything of ethnic actors, (Inuit and Asian), and pictures of Inuit and Asian boys and girls, (no, not like that), that would have been amazing as Aang, Sokka, Zuko, Toph, and Azula, so don't even try to say there's no one out there! Did you even bother looking for non-white actors? Because, I'm starting to think you didn't.
There is so much rage.

EDIT: Some of the comments on this article make me angry. People are trying to insist that just because it's not meant to take place on Earth, that the cultures are not necessarily Inuit, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, or Thai in basis. That is what Mana G calls a "bullshit argument."

Let it Snow...When I'm Home and Safe.

2008-12-11T06:13:00.000-08:00

Well, looks like we've got quite the Winter Wonderland out there in New Orleans! Unfortunately, I had already been dropped off on campus by the time it started, and the campus is closing itself down! (I've already been informed by my advisor that there is, and I quote, "no way in Hell," he's coming out to campus today.) So, today's kind of a wash.
Also, it turns out such situations kind of give me panic attacks. Where everyone else is thinking, "Oh, look! Pretty snow!" I find myself thinking, "Oh, God, I'm trapped here....What am I going to do if (x) happens? Or what about (y)?" I always knew I tended to freak out whenever faced with a loss of control, but this was a little worse than my normal sort of worrying. I mean, I live in Southeastern Louisiana! We're not supposed to have weather like this!

EDIT: I am getting out of here, though. Mr G is borrowing a co-worker's car and coming to get me. (We carpooled in with some else today. Carpooling's our usual method of transportation.) However, this leads to a whole new set of fears. Will my husband be OK? Will the driving conditions be safe? I'll let yall know (at some point) when I'm all right.

DOUBLE EDIT: Safe and sound, folks! I even have hot chocolate!

Giiirrrlllyyy Blogging Part 8 Million: What I Wore this Week

2008-12-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm probably going to opt out of Wardrobe Therapy, as I'd be way too far behind to start right now. However, that doesn't free you, my poor, hapless readers, from the "Giiirrrlllyyy" Blogging! For instance, I've decided that on Thursdays, (as I rarely post on Friday, and I spend most of that day at home in sweatshirts, anyway), I'll start posting quick little "What I Wore this Week" posts. We'll see if, maybe, I can define for myself a sense of style, and perhaps improve upon the look. (Or, my readers can mock me when they learn what I wear on a day-by-day basis. Either way.)
Saturday: Black scoopneck t-shirt, black cargo pants, blue hooded sweater, black flats, tan scarf.
Sunday: Blue jeans, print shirt with gray and purple flowers, brown boots, and purple hoody (I felt like "The Purple Queen" all day!)
Monday: Blue v-neck shirt, (the one I mentioned purchasing earlier), burgundy camisole, navy blue twill pants, tan suede shoes, and my new charcoal coat.
Tuesday: Brown faux-collar shirt, (you know, the ones that look like you're wearing a blouse underneath a sweater, but the collar and cuffs are attached), blue jeans, charcoal coat, tan suede shoes, and a copper-colored headband. Also, my black gloves with the lovely buttons on them.
Wednesday: White long-sleeved shirt, purple hooded sweater, navy blue twill pants, "oatmeal"-colored beret, tan suede shoes.
Thursday: Teal sweater dress, charcoal thigh-high socks, black boots, trenchcoat and rain hat, green umbrella. (Mr G and I are going to a "high tea" charity event today, hence the dress.)

In other news, I think one of the reasons I ant my PhD is because I love college campuses so much. Where else would I get to drink free hot chocolate and listen to "Santa" crack dirty jokes?

One of Those Days

2008-12-04T05:42:00.000-08:00

I never should have rejected the impulse to stay in bed. I'm cold, wet, phone-less, and stranded. (Mr G dropped me off today, as he has to drive to a different town to pick up some papers for his job.) I'm phone-less because while we were both racing about packing up for the day, Mr G asked me where my phone was. I told him where it was charging, and assumed he'd grabbed it before we left. Turns out he didn't. Still, can't fault the man, as he did make me hot chocolate, pack my lunch, (veggies and bleu cheese dressing, which I love), and grab me an umbrella this morning. I can't expect him to be responsible for everything, after all. I'm just frustrated that both of us seem to have forgotten it.
I'm cold and wet because it's cold and wet outside. The sort of day that, frankly, just begs to be spent indoors with a cup of hot chocolate, (flavored with Bailey's, or maybe some Frangelico, if I weren't pregnant), a down comforter, and either a good book or the BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries. (Which I don't own. But it's only twenty dollars at Target! Maybe I'll pick it up one of these days. Mmm, Colin Firth....) As it is, I might soothe myself with a cheese danish from the coffee shop. Because pastries make everything better.

Also, I have come to grips with the fact that Stargate: Atlantis has been cancelled, just when it was starting to become kind of awesome. (They even had Dave Foley in an episode!) This leads me to wonder: did the show just happen to be getting kind of more awesome, (people actually expressing feelings and starting relationships, for one thing), as it was about to be cancelled, or, did they receive news of cancellation and decide, "Screw it. We're going to actually tie up some loose ends, then, just like we've always been told not to." I mean, the original Stargate's final episodes tied up exactly zero loose ends, in reality. Also, I'm not too keen on what I've heard about the new series. Stargate: Universe sounds an awful lot like Voyager to me, (on a ship, lost in some distant galaxy), and Voyager's usually only considered the franchise's second-biggest mistake because Enterprise was so God-awful to most people.
Come to think of it, Atlantis always seemed to me to at least have the potential to be like Deep Space Nine, and I loved that show passionately. Atlantis made a lot of mis-steps, though, and sort of lost some of that potential along the way. (I ask you, seriously: Replicators? Again? They are the Borg of the Stargate franchise, I swear. And that is not meant yo be a flattering comparison.) It really felt as it were re-gaining some ground this season, though, what with a potential to emphasize their political place in the Pegasus galaxy, and I always love politics. (In fiction. Ironically, my Minor in Poli Sci from my undergrad has left me cynical about the real-life process.) Politics in fiction fascinates me, however, and I would have loved to see where else Atlantis would have gone with that, especially since Mr. Wolsey is so perfectly suited for such a scenario.
Where will I get my new sci-fi fix from? There's always Dr. Who, and Mr. G simply adores Sanctuary, and we both enjoy Eureka, but none of those shows bring me the joy that Stargate, in its best moments, can bring. (Don't even mention Battlestar. I'm ridiculously behind on that show. I'd have to spend weeks catching up to it all on Netflix.) I'm open to suggestions, however, (and if you guys do swear by Battlestar, I'll try to catch up), so I want to know what you, out there, watch for your sci-fi on TV. And with that, folks, I suppose I'd better be heading on. Wish me luck. The weather's dreadful out there, today.

Told You There'd Be More Giiiirrrrllllyyy Blogging: "Black Friday" Shopping

2008-12-02T13:22:00.001-08:00

Two posts, in one day? This is madness, I tell you! Sheer madness! Yes, Ladies and Gents, whether you wanted it or not, it's more "Girly Blogging!" Like the crazy person I am, I got up early and did some "Black Friday" shopping at some after-Thanksgiving sales. It's actually been a tradition with my mother and me for years, now, and I couldn't very well abandon her this year, now, could I? We rarely do much actual "purchasing," we just tend to peruse, in order to come up with gift ideas, and, at some point, stop for breakfast, and probably even have lunch once it's over.
We hit:
Wal-Mart
Target
World Market
Belk
J.C. Penny's
But, none of these for partticularly long.
However, there were some purchases made at a few of these stores. The realization that I am rather excited about the vacuum I purchased from Wal-Mart saddens me a little. (We had a very cheap canister vac that had died what sounded like a very painful death. Seriously, it made all these wheezing and choking noises.) It's been replaced by a rather inexpensive bagless style that both I and my husband think works well, at least so far. (I'm crossing my fingers on this, that it works this well for a good, long while.)
Though there were some gift purchases in the mix, most of the shopping I did was actually for myself, and intentionally so. The big things I was looking for that day were some new bras and a new coat. It turns out that I've gone up a cup size. Though I knew the pregnancy rendered this inevitable, it still doesn't quite make me happy. After all, as a 36D, I was having a hard enough time finding bras that fit, especially as I'm very fond of colorful ones. I could only find two in my new size at Target, and they were white and beige. (There was a black-and-nude striped one that I liked so very much, but it only went up to a 36C in size. Therefore, I say, Dr. Doom style, "Riiiichaaaards!!!---I mean, Taaaaaaargeeeeeeet!!!!") Also purchased at Target: A few pairs of thigh-high textured socks. They look like tights, but have the advantage of not squeezing my midsection, as my tights currently do. This is good, because I imagine my son does not enjoy it when my midsection is so squeezed.
The other big purchase item for the day was to be a new coat. I had a coat, but it was growing ratty, and it was not in a style I usually enjoyed wearing, anyway. (It was too log for me. I hate wearing long coats. I prefer something that comes to about the middle of my thighs.) I will admit that I mainly went to J.C. Penny because of my cheapness. Coats were only fifty dollars! Things would have different if they had proven to be dreadful coats, but they were all of pretty good quality.
Perhaps not coats that would "make you feel like bottled sex," to borrow a phrase from Sal, but they would make me feel warm, and they looked pretty sturdy. Well, I found a simply adorable coat in a charcoal grey. (I have a deep, deep love for the color charcoal.) It has a zipper, and little silver buttons, and a removable, faux-fur-lined hood. (Yes, again with the hooded things!) It also falls at just the right spot on my body, so that it is neither too long, nor too short. It can't be zipped up currently, (as I intend for it to last well past the pregnancy), but I've rarely closed my coats, anyway.
There were other things I shopped for, but, alas, did not find. I'm still on the hunt for a nice maternity skirt, and another good pair of pants. (I am very, very picky about my pants, as I tend to think I look better in skirts and dresses.) Another "nice" top would do me very nicely, as well. You know, the sort one wears when one wants to make a good impression, as someone pretty/fun/nice to be around. (Not that I put too much pressure on my clothes, or anything.) I have a feeling that filling up my wardrobe with some more maternity clothes will cause me to rethink some of the pre-pregnancy stuff I've got hanging about in my closet, especially as my opinions about my body have changed a lot. Is it too late to sign up for Wardrobe Therapy?

Then and Now.

2008-12-02T08:27:00.001-08:00

Readers whom have stuck with me since the beginning, (and I firmly believe you're out there, like Santa Claus or The Great Pumpkin), may very well be beginning to ask, "Mana, what's with all this blogging about clothes and other such silliness? We don't ask much of you, but, perhaps, we could see a Sci-Fi/Fantasy or comics post, or, Hell, that article about Newsies that you wrote way back when? Some kind of vaguely clever analysis of something, and not merely your blather?" Yes, I wrote an article about Newsies. Don't judge me. It was for a magazine, but I had intended to post it on the blog at some point. I still might, if I can figure out which flash drive I've kept it on. (I am a ninja of the computer, never leaving my data in one place...Or something.) Well, sorry folks, today shall simply be more blather! (Yay blather!)
If the last paragraph did not clue you in, I am in an odd sort of mood today, and have been since the day before Thanksgiving. The end of the semester doth approach, and I am already beginning the mad scramble to finish things up. (Especially as I shall, for obvious reasons, be taking the next semester off, and seeing where we go from there.) Grad school has actually not been as bad as my undergrad schedule, but that is possibly because I am not doing any sort of full-time work. (I write grant proposals! They are achingly boring!)
Undergrad scheduling consisted of:
Monday-Wednesday-Friday: Get up at six-thirty to get a parking space for your eight o'clock class. At sometime around noon, you will get a "lunch break." This consists of shoving food in your mouth whilst you study. At about three-thirty, you get to go home, where you run and change, for your job at "The Restaurant that Gives its Workers Stress-Related Illnesses." You will work there until about nine o'clock. Go home. Eat something. Collapse in exhaustion.
Tuesday-Thursday: Wake up for five A.M, to open up "The Restaurant that Gives People Stress-Related Illnesses." Though you're only scheduled for a six-to-noon shift, you don't actually get to go home until three-thirty. This is because someone called in "sick," or didn't show, and you are ridiculously devoted to a job you loathe. When you do go home, it is time to study. Read, and write papers until your head falls off. At least you get to go to bed by ten.
Saturday: You open the restaurant again! Yay for you! Once again, your six-to-noon shift will probably prove to actually be never-ending. Sometimes, you will volunteer to pull a double shift, where you get one or two hours off, and go right back to work again, until eleven o'clock in the evening. This is probably because you are an idiot. If you do actually go home before the dinner shift, it will probably be at about five o'clock. Friends may call you and ask if you want to do something. Feel free to laugh derisively. Go home. Have dinner. Do more schoolwork. Maybe watch a movie. (Bonus points if you are actually halfway watching the movie and halfway studying.)
Sunday: Guess where you get to go? If you guessed "The Restaurant that Gives its Workers Stress-Related Illnesses," (a cook had to quit when her ulcer was linked to her job), then you have guessed correctly! Do you know where these stress-related illnesses come from? Sunday brunch! At least the restaurant closes early, so you're home at four! Your friends call you, and guilt you into spending some time with them. You fall asleep halfway through whatever movie you went to see. You go home, and study. You go to bed, fully aware of the fact you're going to go through it all over again, starting tomorrow. Sleep well!
My current schedule is significantly tamer. I'm at the university four days a week, and I still find myself getting up at ungodly hours, (why must the Fates do this to me, when I am certainly not a morning person), but I can devote a lot more time to my studies, and, even, to actual fun! Fridays, my "days off," are days I pretty much have all to myself. I can read, I can write those proposals, I can study, I can, (gasp), do some housework, and I can even go out with friends. (Not that I often do. I am an unrepentant homebody, and would prefer a good book or movie to another person's company, aside from Mr. G's, almost any day of the week.)
I think about other ways in which I was different then, as well. I sure as hell drank a lot more coffee. (This may have to do with the fact "The Restaurant that Gives its Workers Stress-Related Illnesses" was also partially a coffee shop.) I was a chronic perfectionist, and cried at my first B. These days, I am much more relaxed about school. I was also thinner then, (even compared to pre-baby Mana), but I'm a lot more comfortable with my body, now. I will admit that I dressed better then, though. Since my work uniform was jeans, a t-shirt (with the restaurant's logo), and tennis shoes, I tended to wear more skirts and such to class. The interesting thing is, while this marked me as an anomaly on "The Campus of Flip-Flops and Sweatshirts," I'd actually fit in better on this campus if I dressed the way I did then, as opposed to the way I do now. (Jeans or twill pants, flats, sweater. Nothing particularly interesting.)
I am so much happier these days that I was back then. This may have to do with the fact that I'm very happy with my Mr. G, or the fact that I no longer work at "The Restaurant that Gives People Stress-Related Illnesses," (and the fact that I spent some time in a job that I genuinely loved, to realize what I was missing), or the fact that I am no longer on "The Campus of Flip-Flops and Sweatshirts," where I was miserably unhappy for two years, though I didn't quite realize it until after I'd left. Or, perhaps, it's imply the root of all these wonderful things: The realization that I am a wonderful person who does not deserve to be stuck anywhere that I do not want to be. This may sound like a foolish idea, but once I got to be more comfortable with myself, I realized what a hole I'd let myself get stuck in, and why? Possibly, because I felt I deserved to be stuck in that hole.
I promise, Folks, that someday, I'll get back to blogging about important things. Things like Spider-Man, and Stargate. Though, there'll probably be more "Girly Blogging" in there, too.

Giiiirrrlllyy Blogging: Purchases

2008-11-26T15:44:00.000-08:00

Hello again, folks! Yes, purchases were made, and purchases have arrived. Purchases of: new clothes! Everyone loves new clothes, don't they? i'm sure they do! The purchases consisted of:
One sweater dress, turquoise (Sooo pretty, and comfy!)
One blue sweater (with horizontal stripes! I have been told my whole life that horizaontal stripes are "verboten" for someone with my shape, but i thought, "I'm pregnant, dammit! I can attract as much attention to my stomach as I please!")
One long hooded sweater (In burgundy! I looove burgundy!)
One pink hooded sweatshirt (Noticing a pattern yet? You will! Hint: I love hoodies!)
One purple hooded sweater (I never wear purple, but as this is the year's hot color, I thought I'd try it.)
One white long-sleeved shirt (Because I'm boring like that.)
One blue long-sleeved shirt (Which proved to be far more low-cut than the pictures led me to believe. Yay internet!)
One pair navy blue twill pants (Which, although they were bought in a size "short," still are far too long for me.)
Not purchased, but in the shipping bag anyways: One three-pack of underwear! (I love free stuff!)

It's A Boy!

2008-11-20T08:46:00.000-08:00

And, according to the ultrasound, a healthy boy!

I've Actually Grown Kind of Fond of the Giiirrllyyyy Blogging

2008-11-13T12:20:00.000-08:00

Yep, another post where Mana rambles about clothes and shopping and such. (And haven't you missed these ramblings? I know you have!)
Mainly I've been inspired by Dr Wende's Wardrobe Therapy she has going on over at "The Sky is Bigger There." (I'd link, but I seem to be having issues with the little tool bar on this post; I can only add pictures or check spelling.) Especially given the fact that I am growing steadliy larger, it occurs to me that I am going to need some new clothes, and winter-appropriate ones at that.
Mainly, I need pants. I have a couple of pairs of maternity pants, but one pair are rather too lightweight for the cold, (and yes, it does get cold here in the New Orleans area), the other are capris. I have, therefore, been all but living in my maternity jeans, and I'd love to be able to give them a rest for a while. I'm looking for cheap brown cuordoroy maternity pants, and I think, some cheap gray twill ones, as well. I want cheap things because, well, I'm not going to pregnant forever, so why spend extra if everything's got the same stretchy "belly panel" in it anyway?
I'm also in need of a few long sleeved shirts, and a couple of sweaters. Actually, my wardrobe is always rather lacking in long-sleeved shirts, as I seem to prefer to layer. But, I'm honestly not sure I want to be piling on layers, as, these days, I tend to get uncomfortable if I feel I have "too much stuff" on. I think a simple jacket or sweater over a long-sleeved shirt will do me just fine in the coming few months, provided I can find such suitable objects. I figure this will also offer me the opportunity to indulge in the latest trend towards purple, if I can find something I like in a deep plum. (Though I'm much more seriously looking for stuff in burgundy; it's my favorite color, next to navy blue.)
I'm on the lookout for what I call "Sunday" clothes, as well. With the holidays coming up, I think I'm going to need a couple of skirts or dressier pants with nice sweaters or blouses, to wear to all those parties. Perhaps even a nice dress, (cocktail-ish or close to it), for the inevitable office party. I'd like these to be inexpensive, as well, but since I don't like crowds much anyway, my physical and emotional comfort is key, here, too. In other words, the clothes need to fit comfortably, and also have to be appropriate for the occasion, as well as not being so frump-ifying that they seem to say, "This was the best I could do with my size." (Oh, by the way, now the "check spelling" button appears to be broken, so I apologize in advance for any egregious errors on my part.)
Let's not even go into the "underpinnings" issue. OK, let's: My bras are getting more and more uncomfortable by the day. I'm growing almost imperceptibly larger in the chest are; though I imagine it's only imperceptible because my stomach is so much more noticeable now that I've begun to really show. Still, I can feel it, especially after a long day, and I'm left with the underwire digging into me, or the back feeling rather tight. (I have good bras, that I take good care of, so I know it's not the underclothes themselves that are mutinying on me.) I'm rather more willing to splurge on bras than I am on other clothes, but even these need to stay within a reasonable budget. Also, the only stuff I've seen about all looks so...Boring. All white and peach. I like my colorful underthings, thank you! (Well, that was one subject I certainly never thought I'd feel the need to blog about.)
Obviousl;y, this leads to a need for a shopping trip. I am not a big fan of shopping, Ladies and Gentlemen. Or, rather, I enjoy window shopping, as I like to look at pretty things, but when it comes to picking things out, trying them on, weeding through likes and dislikes, and shelling out money for the "winners," I feel the urge to go back to bed halfway through the process. It is a bit better when accompanied by friends or family, (all my current maternity stuff has actually been purchased by oh-so-honest-about-what-looks-good on me and oh-so-generous mother), but shopping alone is, to me, only slightly more preferable than a root canal.
Well, folks, maybe if I find some things I like, I'll fill you in on what I got. (And aren't you all looking forward to that?)

Also, my "new," (as in, used but new to me), laptop was made by demons. Incompetent demons. That want to see me suffer. I need a name for my built-by-incompentent-sadistic-demons computer. Any suggestions?

Why My Husband Doesn't Like Watching Movies With a Tired Mana

2008-11-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

Greetings, everyone! How have you all been? Last week was fairly miserable for me, as I spent most of it recovering from a cold. It was so bad, that I spent Wednesday-Friday at home all day, and, since I was working the election on Tuesday, I had a lot of catching up to do when I got back to school on Monday. (Tuesday went well, though; I only had one person yell at me all day!) Needless to say, with all the work I've had to do, and the getting up early every morning and coming home late night every night so dar this week, I feel as if I've been going around in a state of near-perpetual exhaustion.
Well, when Mana gets tired, she becomes even more obnoxious than usual. Hence, the title of this post, as Mr. G last night suggested we wind down with a movie, and one we hadn't seen before. Though 21 had come reccomended due to my Hub-sand's tremendous Math-geekery, we were also assured it was a movie you didn't need to think about too hard. Therefore, it was excellent for a night when Mana needed to just curl up in front of a film and relax. However, I relax in front of movies by mocking them. Relentlessly. (Now that I think about it, I often do much the same thing with people.) Mr G should know this, as he should recall the occasion where he took a very tired Mana to see Eragon and was forced to hear "Binary Sunset" being hummed throughout parts of the film.
(21, in case you weren't aware, is a movie about an MIT student that counted cards in Vegas. It's based on a true story, though I understand that the actual student was Asian. He's played in the film by some white kid I'd never seen before. The only actors I recognized were Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne.)
So, here was me, watching 21:
"Aw, what adorable little geek buddies. I just wanna put 'em in my pocket."
"No, don't trust him, Young White Hero (trademarked)! He's Kaiser Sose!" (I'm completely obsessed with The Usual Suspects, but, then, who isn't? And yes, I did say the "trademarked" out loud.)
"Oh, you're in trouble now, Young White Hero (trademarked). Laurence Fishburner is on to you, and he has an ANGRY FACE. You are no match for either Laurence Fishburne's ANGRY FACE or his awesome voice! You might as well give up now!"
Blah, blah, romance with a blonde chick. Not that we've never seen that before. You know what would be different? If he ran off into the sunset to make romance with the Asian guy!"
"Yes, because suddenly buying crazy expensive suits is not a dead giveaway that you're getting copious amounts of money from somewhere potentially dubious. You people are supposed to be from MIT! Stop being so dumb!"
"No, that fountain in the background of the sex scene does not symbolize anything."
"Well, of course he betrayed you. You're dealing with Kaiser Sose. You're lucky he didn't explode you and everyone you've ever known in a massive fireball of death."
MR G: "Well, obviously, he's got to try to get the money."
Me: "And VENGEANCE! Sweet, sweet vengeance that tastes like a Margarita." (Reasons why vengeance tastes like a Margarita are too long to go into here, but yes, I do have reasons.)
"Young White Hero (trademarked) looks like Anthony Caine from For Better or For Worse, with that wig and pornstache. That just sort of mocks itself."
"Kaiser Sose, I am disappointed in you! Even these shockingly dumb MIT students would've been able to figure out that this was a trap! You are ruinging your credibility, here!"
"Not a bad plan. Even Danny Ocean would be proud. Maybe. Danny would have managed to keep the money through a triple-cross of some kind. 'B minus, says Danny Ocean. Way to try, though.'"
"Not even Kaiser Sose is a match for Laurence Fishburne and his ANGRY FACE!"
"And even the geek buddies get to come out on top, and the Asian Window Dressing, I mean Background Characters, look as if they proved that Kaiser Sose was dumb to not trust them to be high rollers in the first place."

Maybe we just shouldn't watch kinda-bad movies when I'm tired, so I won't find as much to snark on.

PSA For All Voters in U.S. Elections (Actually, More Like A Request)

2008-11-03T12:51:00.000-08:00

No, ladies and gentlemen, this is not about who you vote for. I don't care who you vote for. Just get out there and vote. However, when you do vote, I have one small favor to ask of you: Be Nice.

Be nice to your fellow voters, be nice to those people standing on medians waving signs, even if they are supporting the candidate you find abhorrent, (so long as they're not breaking any laws, they're not harming anyone), and please, please, I beg of you: Be nice to your poll workers/election commissioners/election judges/whatever you, in your respective states, call them.

These people are neither your enemies nor are they idiots. They're not trying to keep you from voting, if you are legally allowed to vote, and they're honestly not trying to make you miserable in the process. (In most cases, at least. I express my sympathy for anyone who's ever had to deal with the poll workers from Hell, especially if they truly are trying to prevent your vote due to prejudice on some part from the workers.)

In most states, they are required to go through some form of training before the election, where procedures and rules are made clear to them. In most places, the election judges/poll workers are elderly, a word which, in some people's minds, seems to be viewed as synonymous with "incompetent." (I've seen the way older poll workers are often treated, and it is not pleasant.)

I'm not saying it's impossible for poll workers to make mistakes, I know they do. You have the right to vote, (provided you meet all the legal requirements in your state), you have the right to have your voting experience go smoothly, you have the right to make sure your vote is counted, but you do not have the right to treat people working the election like crap.

These people give up their time to work these elections. Often, poll workers are volunteers, though many states do pay workers for their time. (In Louisiana, the pay comes to roughly fourteen dollars an hour.) Poll workers tend to work from twelve to over sixteen hour days, especially for a federal election. (It varies on a state-by-state basis.)

Each state has different rules regarding voter registration, identification requirements, and the sort of behavior and even clothing that is deemed acceptable at the polls. (Louisiana, for instance, does not allow t-shirts of candidates or parties to be worn in the voting area. Nobody's turned away; they just have to remove the shirt, cover it up, or turn it inside out.)

Sometimes, the national news media will say that voters can do things that may not, necessarily, be legal in every state. (Several states, for instance, require that a person be registered to vote thirty days before voting, whereas I've heard some news channels saying that people can register and vote on election day. This may be true for some states, but it is certainly not true for all.)

I advise voters to look up the election rules and procedures that apply to the specific areas in which they will be voting. Not only can you avoid getting some kind of nasty surprise on election day, but also, if you do end up with poll workers that don't know what they're doing, you should be able to make sure your voting problems are corrected quickly. Your County Clerk/Clerk of Court/Secretary of State should have the information you need.

There will be lines tomorrow. There will be crowds. I assure you, a good election worker's main goal is to make sure your voting experience is as quick and painless as possible. Again, many states require that these people go through training, and issues on the ballot, (and with the ballot), are usually covered. If you're confused, it never hurts to ask.

Really, folks, poll workers give up their whole day for little, (if any), pay, and, usually, no thanks. I know this campaign's been a dreadful experience for most people, and many just want to get it over with at this point. I can sympathize, and I can understand that waiting in a long line in order to vote is not exactly fun. All I ask is that you treat your poll workers/election judges/commissioners like the human beings they are, with kindness and dignity. Now, go out there and vote!

Nathan Stark is Totally Tony's Younger Bother

2008-11-03T09:29:00.000-08:00

Mr. G's birthday just passed, and, as I know his fondness for mad science, I purchased him Seasons 1 and 2 of Eureka on DVD. It's frequently sexist, which neither of us enjoy, but we're mostly in it for the pseudo-science, anyways. (And Henry. I think my husband has a man-crush on Henry's awesomeness.)

Still, the more we watched the show, the more we came to this conclusion: Nathan and Tony Stark have got to be brothers. They're both brilliant, both sexy, and, frankly, both tremendous assholes. I imagine Nathan as the younger one, bitter because his father gave Tony the company, eve, though Nathan is clearly the more responsible son.

They've also been engaged in furious competition with each other since childhood: over who's got the better job, the hotter date, the fancier invention, more awards, etc. This is part of why Nathan prizes his Nobel so much, as I don't believe Tony has one. Also, Nathan was, naturally, so upset over Tony getting drunk and hitting on his fiancee, Allison, at the rehearsal dinner, that he was only slightly miffed by the fact that Tony was so hungover the next day he missed the wedding anyway. Even if he was supposed to be the best man.

Also part of this bizarre theory is the belief that Henry is sort of the Captain America to Nathan's Iron Man. Mainly because, in the episode "H.O.U.S.E Rules," Nathan gives Henry this speech about how idealists like Henry need pragmatists like Nathan in order to get along in this world, especially in the government. I could imagine Tony giving such a speech to Steve, in an attempt to justify his actions, if "Civil War" hadn't killed Steve.

Besides, look at these two:

Totally brothers.

Stargate: Atlantis, You Never Cease to Amaze Me!

2008-10-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I am astounded by the levels of suck you can reach, (yes, I am still mad about Elizabeth), but, lately, I've been amazed by the show, you know, being kind of awesome. Seriously, in the past few weeks, I have seen you bring out a love triangle that actually might not suck, (though we're still watching that warily), evil Asgard, and, my God, was that a Boston Legal reference on Friday's episode? Two guys, sitting on a balcony, drinking scotch and smoking cigars after a hard day of lawyering? I think it was!

I think I'm most proud of what you seem to be doing with the Jennifer/Ronon/Rodney love triangle. People actually expressing feelings on an episode of Stargate? Two males who don't feel the need to "compete" for a woman and, instead, leave the choice up to her? Two men with mutual interest in a woman not, (so far), screwing up the friendships between any of them? Same woman deciding she was not interested in one male, based on personality differences? Bonus: A woman showing that she is not attracted to a man that feels it's OK to be overbearing towards her because he's bigger and stronger?

"Surely," I found myself thinking, "This is not Stargate. They can't actually be showing relationships between adults where said adults don't act like they're in high school." It's not perfect, (not by any means), but any improvement in the way (potentially) romantic relationships are represented in Stargate is laudable.

Princess Bride Quotes Make Everything Better

2008-10-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

Thus:

"Why do wear a mask? Were you burned by acid or something?"

"No, it's just that they're terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future."

"You truly love each other, so you might have been truly happy. Not one couple in a century has that chance, no matter what the storybooks say. And so, I think no man in a century will suffer as greatly as you."

(With some wording changed.)

"It's odd, but when I hired Vizzini to have you murdered on our engagement day, I thought that was clever. But it's going to be so much more moving when I strangle you on our wedding night."

"You wish to surrender to me? Very well, I accept."

I WANT.

2008-10-09T11:22:00.001-07:00

From Girl Genius, a trilobyte pin!

That is all.

Interesting and Pretty Cool

2008-10-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Coolest Jacket Ever! I kind of want one. Also, these look interesting, too. Wonder how well they'd work, though? (The ad for the shoes irritates me, but as a concept, they're intriguing.)

Oh, My. Hello, October.

2008-10-01T13:31:00.000-07:00

Crap in a hat, where'd September go? It went by, I suppose, in hurricane surviving, a trip to visit my younger brother, (his college is in such an adorable little town, I'm jealous), reading like a crazy person, writing notes like a crazy person, (I honestly don't know what I'd do without library search engines and online articles), ordering a new pair of glasses, (wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, my eyesight's actually improved), and puking my pregnant little guts out. (My doctor swears it should be over soon! Honest!) I've been reading other people's blogs like crazy, though, and have been, slowly but surely, adding more and more people to my reading list.

This is probably going to be one of my oh-so-random posts, as I haven't had much time to gather my thoughts together for blogging. (Yes, frighteningly enough, I tend to put actual thought into my posts, except for the ones where I don't.) For instance, I recently re-watched Willow, and whilst part of me loves Willow, because, yay, Warwick Davis, and yay, the most powerful people involved in the conflict are women, and yay, older woman that get physically involved in fights! (Instead of being treated as if they are useless because they're no longer attractive.) Still, there's another part of me that thinks, "Sortia, I don't care if it's a half-naked Val Kilmer in his prime! Show some self-respect! You were both treating each other like crap not ten minutes ago! Don't just fall into his arms! Come on, you were so God-damned impressive until now!"

I don't like examining movies I love for feminist content. I mean, I love Princess Bride. I can quote it backwards and forwards. But now, whenever I watch it, I start cringing over Buttercup. Could I sit an impressionable young daughter of mine down to watch this film? Maybe if I made her write me an essay afterwards on, "Why Buttercup Isn't the Best Role Model for Girls." Or, perhaps I should have said essay ready for my daughter after we watch the film.

I'll admit, Princess Bride made me create my very first "Mary Sue," in my imagination: I was a woman who had adventures with Inigo and Fezzick. I wasn't perfect, and nobody fell in love with me, but I saw a story that didn't have a character I really identified with, so I made one. I still cannot identify with Buttercup, especially now that I feel I have found my true love; I could never imagine him treating me as badly as Westley often treats Buttercup. Still, as awful as Princess Bride is regarding feminist content, it still holds a special place in my heart. I just remind myself, every time I watch it, that I'd much rather be like Inigo than Buttercup.

You know what looks like it's actually going to be pretty cool, a far as feminism goes? No Need for Bushido. Yeah, I know it has sexy ninja ladies, but the character of Ina has been developing into an interesting, well-rounded personality, and she's starting to display some real talent as a strategist. I don't know for certain, but I believe that whoever makes NNFB has been reading the internets, and has read lot of opinions that say, "You know what? There are many women in fiction who could stand to be more awesome."

I mean, the Bechdel Test is referenced in the newspost, which lends credence to the idea that the writer wants to improve Ina's character. Maybe the sexy ninja ladies will begin to develop into more complex characters, as well. I do think that whoever's behind NNFB has been paying attention to what it's readers want to see, and there are many of them that want to see female characters who are strong in more ways than muscle. I know, I know, one occasion where something like the Bechdel test is passed does not necessarily mean that there will be huge changes in the way women are treated in the story. It could just me a token gesture, a one-time thing, now let's go back to sexy ninja ladies. I don't think it is, but I'll be watching, NNFB. And if you disappoint me, I'll make sure to let everyone else know about it.

David Willis, maker of a bajillion comics, the latest of which is Shortpacked!, seems at least familiar with places like When Fangirls Attack and Girl Wonder, as he has, on a few occasions, made comics addressing the complaints that have come up there and in other areas. When it comes to reading Shortpacked!, I have something of a love-hate thing going on. I find the comic's attempts at drama to be, (generally), rather overblown, and, at times, downright unbearable. I've grown ferociously irritated with the behavior of every single character at various moments, (except for Mike, as he's well-established as an asshole), I don't feel the Ethan-is-gay story was handled well, and I find Faz to be an offensive stereotype, but there are times when I see really, really good stuff coming out of Shortpacked!

For instance, I'm really liking Amber's slow, but relatively steady, movements toward genuine self-esteem. She's had some setbacks, but between the new look and the dumping of her internet boyfriend, (complete with Anthony Caine mustache), she's making real progress. I know she seems to be almost-kind-of falling for Mike of late, but I've still got my fingers crossed that she'll quickly wake up and realize that she doesn't need to be treated crappily anymore, and get over Mike before we have to sift through yet further crazy drama. I've read that Amber reminds Willis of Dina, from his earlier comic It's Walky!, and he feels that character ended up getting a raw deal with her death, and Amber's new-found self-esteem represents the chance to redeem herself, the author, and even Dinah's memory. I hope it's a successful endeavor. I'll be watching you, too. And, damn you, I'll probably keep coming back just for moments like this week's adorable Garage Band-themed strips. (I am weak.) Actually, it just takes a lot to get me to give up on something entirely.

Well, if overblown melodrama and stereotypical characters won't get me to stop reading or watching something, then, my readers may wonder, what will? Nothing, ladies and gentlemen, turns me off of a story more than magically grown up baby girls, turned into hot sexy women. Am I the only one that finds the very concept to be incredibly creepy? Especially if there is a man that falls in love with the "woman." She may look like a woman, she may sound like a woman, but she was a baby/little girl just ten minutes ago! Also, ever notice how the baby-woman is nearly always portrayed as sexually predatory in some way? Is that what the writers want in a woman?! An emotionally stunted child-woman that always wants sex, or at least is always up for it? Isabelle having a sudden "growth spurt"and then appearing naked in Sean's office at the end of season two made me stop dead on The 4400, (I later learned that the grown-up Isabelle story ended up being almost exactly what I'd feared it would be), and only the presence of Claudia Black, (note to self: need Farscape DVD's), made the addition of Stargate: SG-1's over-sexualized Adria bearable. It's. Just. Creepy.

Speaking of creepy, has anyone else been reading the reviews for Breaking Dawn? I haven't gone near the Twilight series, (I took a class on vampire literature that managed to turn me off almodt the whole genre), but I've been hearing so much lately about how immensely popular the series lately, I thought I'd see what people had to say after all the hype had died down a little. They say very disturbing things about this book. WARNING right now: this paragraph has all the spoilers I read about this book. If you were planning on reading it, even as every fibre in my being screams, "Don't!", I must advise you stop perusing this post now. If you weren't planning on reading it, but want to see it snarked upon, well, enjoy.

Apparently, Edward and Bella get married, and have vampire-human sex. From what I've read, this sex is incredibly violent, and Edward gives Bella bruises all over her body. Bella passes out in the middle of their first time having sex. People: if you are having sex with someone, and they pass out, and wake up to find themselves covered in bruises, that's not something I'm going to call "love." (Guess what I'd call that. Go on, guess. Starts with an "R.") Look, I think rough sex can be OK when both parties are consenting and enjoying it, but there's got to be something seriously creepy about waking up and finding yourself all battered and bruised. (Not to mention potentially triggering for people who've been raped.)

Then, Bella gets pregnant with a human-vampire hybrid. Lord in Heaven, everything I've read about this pregnancy makes me feel bad for complaining about the "Morning Sickness of DOOM" I've been dealing with for the past week. The baby's kicks break her ribs, it is growing at an alarming rate, and it's drinking Bella's blood in utero. Bella, however, refuses to abort her little one, despite the facts that it is killing her, it will potentially be a vicious abomination, and nearly everyone is begging her to terminate the pregnancy. I'm actually pro-life, but even I see problems with wanting to carry to term, (which is about a month here), a terrifying hellspawn creature that is draining my life away. Just saying.

So, Edward offers Jacob, apparently the third member of this supernatural love triangle, the possibility of having sex with his wife so that she can have babies that won't kill her, and she'll be happy. Jacob, (Lord, he sounds charming), compares her to a movie rental, and thinks the offer is tempting. I have no words for that. Only angry, growly sounds of rage. (Apparently, like the werewolves in this book. Whatever. I make angry Wookie noises, thank you.)

Then, Bella has her hellspawn baby, (it breaks her spine, and have I mentioned that Stephanie Myers seems to have pregnancy and childbirth issues?), Jacob "imprints" on the daughter of Bella and Edward. "Imprinting," I gather, is something like falling in love at first sight, except without free will. The person that is imprinted upon becomes the center of the imprinter's universe. I swear, I read it from people who read the book; I can't make this up! A teenager, in other words, has just fallen in love with a newborn. (Remember what I said earlier in the post about how creepy I find the idea of a man falling in love with a magically grown up child-woman? I never knew that there was a place in this world where that could get even creepier.)

Bella becomes something of a super-powerful vampire, and everyone is obsessed with her baby. (I understand that baby-obsession is a rather common thing in the Twilight universe. If I ever have daughters, I will never, ever let them read this series.) Bella is even upset because Edward is spending more time with the hellspawn baby than she gets to. (Baby obsession. It's everywhere.) The baby continues to grow at a magically ginormous rate, they deal with some people called the Volturi, more people become obsessed with the baby, and Bella has some kind of super magic power that no one else has. (I very rarely toss around the phrase "Mary Sue," but this is getting ridiculous.) Also, the baby girl expresses possessive feelings for the teenager that's "imprinted" on her. What. The. Hell. Then, in the end, they make peace, (or something), live happily ever after in their fancy fairy-tale cottage, their hybrid baby gets to live forever, (or something), and Edward and Bella apparently have lots and lots of sex.

Ladies and Gentlemen, what the hell was all that?! There are so many things wrong with what I've read about this book, I don't know where to begin. The eighteen-year-old girl that gets married straight out of high school, with no interest in college, the sounds-like-rape-to-me wedding night, the baby obsession, (that officially puts Hippolyta's "Babies babies babies!" to shame), the incredibly disturbing pregnancy and childbirth, the magical, super powerful, super beautiful vampire Mary Sue that is Bella, the uber-creepiness of a teenager falling in love with a baby, the baby's possessive feelings towards the creepy teenager, and the fact that it sounds like they're all going to live happily ever after forever without ever having to suffer again, and I got all that just from reading the reviews.

I'm not normally a, "What message are we sending our children?!" kind of person, but, God dammit, eleven-year-olds read this series. Girls: It's OK if you pass out in the middle of sex and wake up battered and bruised afterwards, as long as the man who did it to you loves you. Marrying a hot man and having his babies are the absolute best things in the universe you can ever do and are the only things that provide your life with real meaning. You are, also, no good unless you are incredibly beautiful and have magic powers, especially if you use those magic powers to protect said baby and hot husband. However, be warned: pregnancy and childbirth are truly nightmarish experiences of pain and suffering. It will only make you love your baby more, however. A grown man "in love" with a baby girl is OK, as long as he doesn't do anything inappropriate with said baby girl. Also, the best kind of life is the one where you can spend forever together without ever having had to grow as a person. In your fairy-tale cottage. With your husband, baby, and baby's betrothed, of course. Where you'll look perpetually like a teenager.

Gah! Rage. And I haven't even freaking read the book. So many of the reviews from which I pieced together this information kept saying, "Edward is so awesome! Bella is so awesome! Jacob is so awesome!" Did the Oxford English Dictionary change the definition of "awesome" when I wasn't paying attention?! (OK, technically, "awesome" just means "inspiring awe," and I'm sure the sheer awfulness of Breaking Dawn will inspire much awe. And possibly skull fractures, after slamming one's head against the wall.)

Now, in case I hideously offend some huge Twilight fans, I'll admit, I did not read Breaking Dawn. I have not read any of the books in the series. You may perhaps feel that this renders me unqualified to pass judgement. Fair enough. However, everything I have read about the series, and especially about the final book, makes me want to never, ever be in the same room as those books. They don't just sound like terrible books, (and they do), they sound like simply dreadful things for impressionable young girls, because of all the incredibly creepy things I just mentioned, and the fact that the books seem frighteningly eager to turn those into good things.

Well, Ladies and Gents, my utter horror and rage over Breaking Dawn has made this into a longer post than I had anticipated! I've got crap loads of school-related reading to do and a scary amount of emails from one of my professors. (What do you want?!) So, I suppose I do have to get going. Remember: Read No Need for Bushido! And don't read Breaking Dawn!

Eeee!

2008-09-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

You scored as Barbara

You are Oracle. You are a strong, independent person, and although you've been forced through huge changes in your life, you've found a way to be content with the way you are. You are a brilliant researcher and your skills with computers are prodigious. Find someone that appreciates you, cause you rock.

Barbara 70%

Alfred 68%

Spoiler 65%

Dick 60%

Robin 55%

Batgirl 55%

Jason 35%

Batman 28%

Thank to this, through here. Yaaaay Barbara! I'm so happy.

Random Thoughts too Short for Individual Posts

2008-09-15T07:15:00.000-07:00

In a somewhat coherent "collection," of sorts.

Agatha Christie and the Internets

While I was evacuated, I read some mystery novels to pass the time. Specifically, I read Murder on the Orient Express, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, and Curtain. All three of these are Hercule Poirot mysteries, and Curtain is the final Poirot book. I've been thinking about "fandom" lately, and so I started to wonder about what a more recent Christie's "fandom" would be like. In other words: How would Agatha Christie novels face up against the Internet? Oh, I'm sure there are plenty of people who have a website, or fan fiction, or even art devoted to Christie's works on the Internet, but Christie was huge in her day. Poirot, especially, had an enormous fan base. Imagine if that fan base had had a way of communicating with each other, en masse, and instantaneously: how would they have responded, for instance, to Curtain? (Especially considering the fact that Curtain was one of the most ferociously depressing things I've ever read. I'm far from a big fan of Hercule Poirot, but even I found everything that happens to him in this novel to be rather heartbreaking.) I imagine there would have been a pretty fair share of fan blogs and forums that would have had a pretty nasty backlash going on. On another note: There absolutely has to be Poirot/Hastings "slash" fan fiction out there, somewhere. I'm not saying that the two were in any way a "couple," but they certainly display way more affection than the average, modern, heterosexual male would be comfortable displaying. (Yes, I know, we're dealing with a very different time and all, but that never stops the Holmes/Watson shippers, and trust me, they're out there.)

House Slyhterin Rant

Oh, J.K. Rowling, I must ask you: what the crap is wrong with having ambition?! And, seriously, not one Slytherin kid steps up in the final battle, because, hey, killing people is wrong, dammit! I have fallen just a little bit in love with the Harry Potter series, and all, but I have to admit: the kids of Slytherin fail to move me, as far as their "villainy" goes. They just don't usually make particularly convincing bullies, to me. I'm upset about the ambition thing, too, because I've rejected my fair share of gentlemen who were attractive, well-off, charming, and/or smart, because they all lacked any sort of ambition. Seriously. I dated one guy whose parents were very wealthy, and he, smart though he was, was perfectly content to not go to college, or get a job, or move beyond the comforts of his parents' home at any point in his life. He did not last long. He was smart, funny, and honestly had no need to work, at all. But it was the fact that he felt no need to work, or succeed, in anything, that bothered me. This is part of what bothers people about Anthony of For Better or for Worse: the guy had no ambition. None. He just sort of floated along. So, my point was....Somewhere. Oh! My point was that ambition is not a bad thing. So, stop making it into a bad thing. Being greedy, cruel, or conniving, those can be bad. But, being ambitious? Wanting to prove yourself, better yourself, or, just get richer? Not a bad thing! (NOTE: I'm not saying there's anything wrong with being content with one's place in life, if you're happy where you are, great! But, even people whom are content with their lives are usually still trying to reach some new level of achievement, even if it's learning a language, or playing an instrument, and it is this desire to achieve anything new that Anthony Caine seems to lack.)

I Did Not Become "Anti-Feminist" When I Got Pregnant

The result of an argument I had with a young woman in Women's Studies class. She informed me that, as I had gotten married and was having a baby, I had "sold out," and apparently no longer qualified as a feminist. Well, I suppose I'll just turn in my badge, then. This statement reads, to me, almost like "real" feminism. You know, you're not a "real" feminist unless you put aside the issues of race, sexual orientation, class, and ability, and focus exclusively on the needs of women. You know, white, middle-class, heterosexual, able women. (And, apparently, in this particular case, unmarried and without children, even children in the womb.) What. The. Hell. I'm certainly not trying to link the atrocious treatment lesbian, transgendered, disabled, lower class, and minority women can receive from people claiming to be feminists to my own rather frustrating argument. It's certainly not as big of a deal, it just made me rather stupendously angry.

I Need More Examples of the "Fantasy Son" Trope

But, I'm having a hard time finding any! Now, to explain what I see as the "Fantasy Son" trope: Your hero, (male), is living, probably, against his will, in a fantasy world, created by device or superpower or whatever. This world is perfect. All the problems about which the hero angsts are nonexistent in this world, and he has everything he's ever dreamed of: a great job that makes him happy, the love of a beautiful woman, and a perfect child, usually, a son. Now, when I say "perfect," this tends to mean that the son is a big achiever, (sports, grades), and admires and respects his father. Often, it is the presence of the son of our hero's dreams that causes him to accept the fantasy world completely, at least for a time. When he does reject that world for the reality in which he lives, (a reality where he is either childless or his child is not perfect), the most painful part of that rejection is the separation from his perfect son. I was struck by this, when watching an episode of The 4400 that follows this trope to a T. I was reminded of an episode of Justice League: Unlimited that hit all these same notes, as well, and in the back of my mind was the nagging suspicion that I had seen this trope in other places before, but I couldn't think of exactly where I had. Was it a comic book? Another cartoon or sci-fi show? I've checked tvtropes.org, (the only non-PhD-related research I've got time to do at the moment), but I couldn't find anything. (Not, I've noticed, that tvtropes.org is is the most feminist-friendly thing out there all the time.) I was hoping that, if anyone else recalled seeing a similar story played out in anything, they could direct me to where they found it. I'm also interested in seeing if anyone's noticed a woman or man with a "fantasy daughter" in a similar story. The concept has intrigued me, but I need to do more research on it before I come to any conclusions, and I'm hoping someone will be nice enough to steer me in the right direction.

I've Never Been a Big Fan of "Girl Power" Episodes

They always led to this question plaguing me in my childhood: If girls can be awesome and kick butt just like boys, why do they only get one episode in which to do so? You know the ones I'm talking about. Generally, they start with a male character, (sometimes one of the leads, but often not, if the writers want to always make the heroes look good), either displaying heretofore unseen levels of misogyny, the female(s) in the group might protest against misogynistic statements that might, previously, have not seemed to bother them before, or the female(s) in the group express doubts about their own abilities when compared to those of the males. Then, usually, the group meets either one seriously kick-butt female, or a whole group of them. These females may immediately dislike the males, or the males may immediately dislike the females, but much deriding of the other group's abilities is likely to occur. Sometimes, the female in the heroes' group joins the kick-butt girl group, if briefly, or, if there is no kick-butt female group in this episode, the female attempts either to better her skill set or prove her worth as warrior. In the end, either the female in the heroes' group saves the day, (usually with a skill she had already proven to good at, especially if it's a "girly" one), or the kick-but girl group saves the day, and the females and the males resolve their differences. Lessons are learned: girls can be awesome, but only for one episode. This was what my sister and I, (with groans of agony), expected from a recent episode of Stargate: Atlantis that featured an all-female team. Either that, or an anti-girl-power episode: all the women, except, possibly the "hottest" one, or the one that most conformed to the male ideal of femininity, would die. Atlantis, to my mind, managed to avoid both. We had the smart one, the leader, the one that "liked killin,'"and the one that did die, but, other than awkward flirting between Dr. Beckett and "the smart one" on the team, there wasn't much evidence of the usual "girl power" dynamics that almost seem inherent in episodes that feature all-female teams. (Except for a line by the team's leader early in the show, but that could just as easily be interpreted to mean that she doesn't see why an all-female team would be such a big deal when the Atlantis base has tons of all-male teams.) I must admit, I was most fond of the woman who said she left the Milky Way galaxy because there were no longer as many enemies to shoot, and I hope we see this team again soon.

I'm Tired of "The Average Guy Surrounded By Smart or Bad-Ass People" Tropes

Maybe we could replace it with "The Smart or Bad-Ass Person Surrounded by Smart or Bad-Ass People" trope? For instance: I like Eureka. It's a fun show, especially as it's more of an occasional treat, since I only catch it every so often. I like the character of Jack Carter, I really do. I also like John Shepherd of Atlantis, Mal of Firefly, Jack of SG-1, and many others. They're average guys, they don't "get" the science, or the mythology inherent in the stories they're in. They may be skilled as soldiers, but there's usually at least one more far more substantial ass-kicker on their team. They're useful, because genuinely confused characters can make the prerequisite "info dump" for the viewers more believably necessary. They're also, in theory, more relatable to the TV audience; less intimidating. Guys you can have a beer with. The problem is, I'd never have a beer with somebody like Jack O'Neill, or even somebody like Jack Carter. I might, however, have a beer (or wine) with a Simon, and certainly a Fargo. I thought about this after seeing commercials for Sanctuary, (though no, I haven't seen the show itself), and from what I can tell, we've got yet another story of an average guy surrounded by highly above-average people. It was kind of irritating to me, because I couldn't help but think, "Wasn't this supposed to be Amanda Tapping's show?" I'd love to see a version of Eureka that sees things from Fargo's or Jo's perspective, or, say, an Atlantis from Rodney's or Teyla's. (Or Radek's! I have a deep crush on that Czech!)

The Most Interesting Female Characters I Can Find Are on the Internet

In other words: Go read Girl Genius! Penny and Aggie's having an interesting run lately, Questionable Content's female characters have their ups and downs, but are generally pretty well-done, and Skin Horse has Sweetheart and Unity, who are made of awesome. Not to mention Tip: coolest transvestite I've ever seen in comics. Now, only if these women could find their way to more mainstream fare.

Blog/Live Journal Meme (From Kalinara)

2008-09-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

Frankly, because I'm pretty gosh-darned tapped out of "original" posting ideas, lately. Sorry, folks, but I'm giving everything to the studies, right now. Still, this looked like fun, and the use of a meme gave me an already-set format! Yay!

The Five Characters Meme:

1) Comment on the post

2)I give you a letter

3)Think of five fictional characters whose names start with this letter, and provide us with both the names and your commentaries on the characters

Kalinara gave me the letter "S."

1) Scrooge McDuck. I loved Duck Tales, as child, and even viewing it now, all these years later, I can see that the appeal of the show was totally Scrooge McDuck. Though much of the plotlines, (and dialogue), are pretty cheesy, Scrooge remains a rather endearing character, for a damned cranky bastard. I think this comes at least partially from the fact that you have to admire the guy, even if grudgingly. He found gold in the Klondike, built up a massive empire, (a running gag throughout the show was the kid's surprise that his company seemed to be innvolved in almost everything), and tried to raise his young charges to be responsible, independent adults, some day. (Sure, he wasn't the greatest father figure in the world, and he was one heck of a cheapskate, sometimes, but he did make it clear to his great-nephews that he wasn't going to carry them.) Scrooge certainly has his failings, and here, I am referring especially to his awful track record with women. Let's face it: aside from Goldie, (part alluring femme fatale, part rough-and-tumble, bad-ass), Scrooge had terrible, terrible taste in women. Also, as filthy stinking rich as he is, why does he never just hire a different pilot? I imagine that would be significantly cheaper than constantly having to buy all-new helicopters and planes.

2.) Sokka. Yes, yes, more Avatar: the Last Airbender gushing. I cannot help myself. Besides, Sokka is defintely one of the best "bad-ass normal" characters I've ever seen. For me, this is because his bad-assery is never over-emphasized. (You know, as they tend to do in nearly every anime with a "bad-ass normal" character ever made?) Sokka's smart, yes, and can fight pretty gosh-darned well, (and had awesome space sword, dammit), but he's also sarcastic, kind of childish at times, and loves shopping. In all honestly, I think it's the way all these traits were balanced that makes me love the character so much. If Sokka were all goofy sarcasm, he'd just irritate me, and if he were just all bad-assery, he'd be pretty boring. That, and he loves shopping. I must admit, I've never gotten over that, especially give the jokes about Sokka's obsessions with manliness. I love that, for all Sokka wants so desperately to be a "real man," that does not, in his eyes, exclude him from having a spiffy bag that matches his belt, goddammit. Another favorite thing: he never forgot about Yue, but he never dwelled in holes of endless angst, either. Though I was always more impresssed with Suki than Yue, it heartened me to see that Yue wasn't just some girl Sokka had a thing for, who then died, and was forgotten.

3.) Selina Kyle. I admit it. I have an obsession with Catwoman. Though she's had some pretty rough spots over the years, I still think she's one of the most awesome women in Batman's continuity, and in the DCU. Though she vacillates often between hero and villian, (depending upon what she's in, and who's writing her), the best Selina is the one that lives by her own moral code. Maybe she's stealing the diamond because she likes shiny diamonds, maybe she's stealing it because whomever she's robbing is an evil jackass, and they deserve a few money troubles. You know why she's absolutely not stealing that diamond? To get Batman's attention. Catwoman is too cool for that. (Unless, of course, she's trying o get Batman's attention in order to tell him something important, or to get his help.) I can understand how some people see her as "the ultimate femme fatale," but, since even the early stories also happen to have her as a really awesome cat burglar, I'll go with that. I must admit, I'm kind of fond of the Catwoman incarnation as a society woman who was really talented, and really bored, so she thought crime might be fun and challenging! (Rather odd, but given that the story takes place in the 40's, I guess we can go with that.) I love Selina's independence, her skill, and her brains.

4.) Suki. More Avatar, I know! But, this young woman is awesome. Watch "Boiling Rock," sometime. Trained as a warrior from, apparently, a young age, Suki leads her little band in doing what they can to help save the world. This involves escorting refugees across the water in a ferry, (hich I imagine takes a good deal of patience, helping the gAang escort other refugees through the Serpent's pass, which took a certain amount of badassery, and finding Appa and fighting Azula. (Which definitely took some badassery!) I must admit, I'm also a big fan of her relationship with Sokka. Not only are they adorable together, but Suki seems to have just the right sort of laid-back personality to deal with Sokka's often manic energy. Add to that the fact that she is just one of many kick-ass fighter girls in the story, and, well it makes me happy.

5.) Samantha Carter. Oh, Sam, Sam. Much of season four of SG:A redeemed you for me, I'll give you that. I liked seeing competent, intelligent, not actually all sexed-up Sam. Plus, Amanda Tapping got to have her longer hair, and I know she's wanted that for ages. It didn't quite make up for all those seasons on Stargate: SG-1 where she fawned irritatingly over Jack O'Neill, but it helped. No, in all honesty, I'm quite fond of her. She was smart, skilled, brave, and tough. I was, frankly, quite heartbroken when she was replaced by Wolsey at the beginning of this season, and I admit to a genuine fondness for Richard. Sam deserved that spot on Atlantis, and she proved she could handle it. Still, whenever I look back on episodes of SG-1, especially seasons five through eight, I see her behaving like an awkward little teenager around her boss, and that just doesnt sit right with me. There were moments, and I think those were in earlier episodes, where Sam would be the one to take a step back, so it upset me that they changed that about her later on. I'm thinking, specifically, of two episodes: the one where Martouf dies, (and I can't recall the name of that episode), and the one where the team's memories are erased and they're forced to work in some kind of underground facility as slaves. (The one where Amnesiac Jack is name Jonah and Amnesiac Sam is named Therra. Yes, I remember that, but not what the episodes were called. So sue me.) In the one where Martouf dies, after Jack goes through the memory where they're both trapped on opposite sides of the forcefield, and admits to caring more about Sam than he's supposed to, it's Sam that takes the first step back. She reminds him that Jack admitting to his feelings never needs to leave that room. In the episode with "Jonah" and "Therra," Sam is the one, after the two of them displayed genuine affection for each other, Sam's the one who steps back into the professional attitude first. When she calls him "Sir," I, at least, got the impression that she was drawing the line back to where it was. Then, at some point, Sam turns into this woman that just keeps showing up at Jack's home. The pulling back was shown, at least in these two episodes, to be Sam's choice, one Jack acquiesed to. But, suddenly, she's clingy, and breaking off an engagement with a man that just bought her a house.

Vasilia Vasilyevna Is Made of Awesome (And Another Russian Fairy Tale You Might Like)

2008-08-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

Most Russian fairy tales are not exactly "female friendly," if you know what I mean. There tend to be three kinds of women: "bad wives," (women whom do not submit to their husbands), witches and princesses. Witches can be wise or clever, but only if they help the hero. Princesses are either prizes to be won, helpers for the hero, or traps for the hero, and if they are traps, they are punished for their cleverness. "Bad wives" are generally nagging women, usually wanting power and riches for their husbands, or themselves.

Take, for instance, the story of "The Mayoress." You know why the "bad wife" is "bad" in this story? She takes an interest in public affairs. Seriously. She always want to know what's going on in the men's council meetings, and when her husband says they haven't picked a mayor yet, she offers herself for the position. Her husband agrees, because he wants to teach her a lesson.

As far as I could tell, the only things she'd done so far in the story was asking about the council meetings, and offering to be mayor, after her husband says they hadn't chosen on. (Which, I took to mean that nobody else had volunteered to take the job in the first place.)

She doesn't make fun of her husband, she doesn't nag him, and the story never mentions her being lazy or anything like that. Then, when she becomes mayor, she does the exact same e things the male mayors do: she passes rules and judgements, takes bribes, and drinks a lot. (I can assure you, this is no different from what the fairy tales describe other mayors as doing.) In the end, because she did not collect all the taxes on time, she hides in a sack, and is beaten by a Cossack. This causes her to tell her husband she no longer wants to be mayoress, and she goes home and is obedient to her husband from that point on. Yes, ambitious women are just awful, aren't they? They must be taught a lesson! I was so profoundly disgusted after reading that one, I couldn't even put it into words.

The tale of the mayoress especially disappointed me, I think, because it comes right after one really awesome story and one pretty good story, in the anthology of Russian fairy tales I've been reading. Both these tales are about women who are clever and dynamic, and are not punished for it. The first one, is the truly awesome tales of Vasilia Vasilyevna. Vasilia Vasilyevna is the opposite of stereotypical femininity. She's also clever, and receives no punishment, either for her intelligence, or for her actions. Considering that the actions seem to involve denying her king the chance to have sex with her, that's pretty awesome. (In other words, she's not made out to be some evil, evil cock-blocking shrew.)

Vasilia Vasilyevna is a priest's daughter. She rides horses, she shoots guns, she wears men's clothes, and she drinks lots and lots of vodka. Her behavior is "unmaidenly," so it seems that only those whom know her and her father well are even aware she is a women, and so call her Vasily Vasilyevich. (Yes, that's a boy's name. It's Russian.) Nonetheless, she is very pretty, and captures the attention of King Barkhat. Though assured by a servant that knows her that Vasilia Vasilyevna is, in fact, a woman, the king wants to know for sure. So, he asks a witch for advice, and she suggests a few tests.

The first test is to invite Vasilia Vasilyevna to dinner in the palace, and in the chamber, to hang on the wall a gun next to an embroidery frame. If she notices the embroidery frame first, she is a woman. If the gun first, she is not a woman. (I had not realized that my femininity hung on so thin a wire, especially as I like to look at guns.) Well, Vasilia Vasilyevna notices the embroidery, but instead of gushing over it, (as I believe she was supposed to), she instead berates King Barkhat for having such a frilly, frivolous thing in his chambers.

The king is confused. He still doesn't know whether or not he is dealing with Vasilia Vasilyevna, a woman, or Vasily Vasilyevich, a man. The witch suggests another test: invite her to dinner again, and make kasha stuffed with pearls. If she stacks up the pearls up and keeps them, she is a woman, but if she tosses them away, she is a man. (I will have to inform my husband of this, as his reaction in such a situation would have been, "pearls are worth money," and kept them.) Vasilia Vasilyevna finds a pearl, and throws everything away, both pearls and food, (I'd guess a real man would've kept on eating, and just tossed away the pearls), and again berates the king for putting such girly junk in the food. The king still doesn't know the true gender of his guest, so the witch makes yet a third suggestion.

The king is to invite Vasilia Vasilyevna to dinner a third time, but after dinner, the king is to draw a bath, and invite her to join him. If Vasilia Vasilyevna refuses, she is a woman. (Because, you know, we're modest and all.) Well, Vasilia Vasilyevna goes to dinner with King Barkhat a third time, and when the king asked if she'd like to come with him to the bath, she agreed. Then, while the king is busy undressing, Vasilia Vasilyevna takes her bath and leaves. (Note: the king asks her come with him to the bath, he never mentions joining him in the bath.)Vasilia Vasilyevna writes the king a note that reveals thst she is, in fact, a woman, to the king, and tells the servants to give it to King Barkhat once she is gone, and the fairy tale praises her for her cleverness, in making sure the king got nothing for his trouble. Pretty awesome fairy tale heroine, huh? I'd like to have a character and story based on her, some day.

The next tale, while it is called "The Wise Maiden and The Seven Robbers," spends the early part of the tale explaining the situation with her adoptive father, a poor woodsman. Though spending most of his time as deeply impoverished, (even when neighbors try to help him, in two scenes that I feel were meant to establish that the woodsman is not clever), he has the good fortune to come across a band of robbers' immense fortune.

He takes what he can carry, and brings his rich, but greedy, brother to the same place. The woodsman leaves when he has all he can, but the brother remains behind and is killed by the robbers. Once they realize they've been, ironically, burglarized, they decide to find the other thieves, kill them, and get their money back.

One of these robbers meets the woodsman, learns he is the brother of the man they killed, and finds the homes of both the woodsman and his brother's widow. These, he marks with red paint, so that the other robbers can find the homes, kill everyone, and get their wealth back.

Here is where the clever maiden comes in. The clever maiden, as I mentioned before, is the woodsman's adopted daughter, and she finds the marked doors suspicious. The woodsman's son does not see anything wrong, nor does the wife. However, the woodsman is quickly convinced by the maiden's suspicions. So, she gets her adoptive father to mark everyone's doors in the neighborhood, and the robbers are so confused that they turn on the robber that found the woodsman.

That robber has a new plan, however: he fills one barrel with oil, but hides the other six robbers in other barrels. Then, he went to the woodsman's house, and asked to spend the night. The woodsman's adopted daughter suspects something again, so she opens the one barrel and finds the oil. Not fooled by this, she goes to another barrel, where she hears breathing. She then proceeds to fill all six of the man-bearing barrels with boiling water, thus killing all the robbers but the scout that found the house in the first place.

The adopted daughter is rewarded by getting to marry the woodsman's son, but she is unhappy about the fact that they are still living in the same cabin, as she fears the robbers' return. When the last surviving robber does come back, disguised as an officer, the maiden is the only one that recognizes him. When this same man spends the night again, she takes an axe with her to bed, (I honestly think that's awesome), and waits up to see what the robber will do.

When the robber tries to kill her husband, she attacks and kills the robber with the axe. This finally convinces the woodsman that he should always, always listen to his adopted daughter/ daughter-in-law, and they move to a bigger house, and everything works out all right for them all. (Except, of course, the robbers, as they are all dead.) I thought this one was pretty cool, because the maiden is clearly far more clever than anyone else in her family, and she's never punished for this. However, as her story is also pretty much just about helping her dad, it's not as great, to me, as the story about Vasilia Vasilyevna.

In fairy tales that don't come from that bastard Perrault, women can what they want by being smart and brave, not just patient and kind. In "Vasilia the Priest's Daughter," in fact, and even, to some extent, in "The Wise Maiden and the Seven Robbers," they can get what they want by exemplifying exactly none of the more feminine virtues. In an anthology full of fairy tales about princess-prizes and "bad wives," these two stories were refreshingly different, and incredibly awesome.

Buh-Buh-Busy! (And Good, if Complicated News!)

2008-08-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

Hello, again, everyone! I'm obviously gonna be crazy busy these days, what with my doctorate stuff and all. I cannot promise too much in terms of regular blog posts, though I promise I'll try to make sure my posts will maintain the same level of quality they've always possessed! (Cue the screaming in horror.)

I'm also going to be extra busy these days, (and for the rest of my known life), as Mr. G and I are expecting. Expecting what, you ask? Well, here's a hint: it will be small, adorable, poop a lot, and make a lot of noise, and it is not a puppy, nor any manner of pet. (That was meant to be amusing, by the way; I'm not comparing my baby to a pet by any means!)

Yes, soon there will be a "Little G!" It's very exciting news, even if it does complicate things with my PhD a bit. I've known for a couple of months, now, but the pregnancy was definitely "unexpected." My husband and I are incredibly happy and excited, however, and I am very eagerly looking forward to bringing my little into the world and introducing them to new things.I am also very eager for the morning sickness to be over, it has kicked my ass on many occasions so far, and I'd also really like to be able to enjoy eating grilled onions again. (The very smell is making me sick these days, and I usually love onions. Can't get enough of them.

Also, the pregnancy has been great in helping me improve my body self-image. I am learning to appreciate and rejoice at the fact that I am growing bigger and bigger, and not lament over it. (As someone whose weight used to fluctuate frequently, that's a pretty big deal for me.) This also means, however, that I will need some maternity clothes, and as I've mentioned before, I don't really like to shop. Still, my wonderful, sweet mother has offered to take me shopping for maternity wear, (and buy me things! Yay for moms that still buy things for their adult daughters!), so I'm looking forward to that. (My brothers have also promised to buy me little Batman baby clothes, regardless of whether it turns out to be a girl or a boy!)

EDIT: I chose to inform you all because this is an important part of my life, and will probably affect the way I see many things in the future, possibly including my fandom. (I'm currently considering an article on all the practical questions Liz's pregnancy in Hellboy 2 brings up.) Nonetheless, my privacy matters to me, so it was a struggle to decide to share this news.

First Day

2008-08-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

It's a brand-new day and a brand new campus for Mana, folks! Just started my PhD program today! Here's some thoughts:

The campus overwhelms me a little. The school I attended for both my Mater's and Bachelor's degrees was much smaller than this one. Plus, I was there for six years! I knew everything about it and could walk it blindfolded, but I hardly know where anything is over here!

Ladies and gentlemen, I feel like such an old woman! I'm surrounded (on campus) by a plethora of undergrads, particularly freshmen. I felt rather awful, earlier, as a group of them seemed to get up the courage to ask me for assistance, (I believe they mistook me for a teacher), only for me to have to tell them I was just as confused as they were! (Today marked only the second time I've ever actually been on campus, as the administration is wonderful about doing things online and over the phone.)

The tradition of it raining during Mana's first day has apparently continued. (Seriously. It feels like it's happened every semster for six years. It's bizarre.) It's also been significantly cooler today than it has been for weeks. Yay for Louisiana and freaky weather patterns!

For such a large university, it's a surprisingly laid-back sort of place. (Of course, that may have to do with the fact that I'm not too much younger than a lot of the professors I've seen; most of them are just barely out of the PhD program!)

I love professors. I love Absent-Minded Professors. (Sincerely.) I do not, however, love being stood up for a meeting I arranged weeks in advance. While I certainly acknowledge that things happen, it was a half-hour wait before I decided I was wasting my time.

It is nearly impossible to avoid smokers on a college campus.

It is only slightly less impossible to find a bathroom that does not smell funny on a college campus.

This campus is not as pretty as some I've seen, (oh, UCB and University of the Pacific, how you've spoiled me!), but it's prettier than my old school. (At least, I'm sure it would be, if there weren't so many renovations going on! )

Buying textbooks fascinates me. I never had to do it at my old university, as we had a lovely rental textbook policy. (Though most English professors tended to forego the textbooks and make us buy novels, instead!) I am also an old textbook fiend. I love to find ones from as far back as the 40's! (My idea of "vintage," these days, tends to involve books.) None of these are that old, but I enjoyed wandering among the piles and piles of textbooks for a while, today!

They call me "Lunchbox Lady": I've brought my own food to school for about four years, now. Still doing it, though I've yet to be able to find a microwave I can use on campus. Will I be forced to stick with cold food all semester?! (Can't really afford to buy meals on campus, right now...)

All in all, it wasn't a bad first day!

Further Thoughts on Sexual Harassment and Comic-Con.

2008-08-21T08:56:00.000-07:00

This is in response to everyone whose thoughts on this subject were variations upon, "it's sad to think that we need this kind of policy," or "the behavior of these harassers must be stopped because they're making the geek culture look bad."

This is not about you. It's not about me, either, even though I mentioned in my earlier post that I'm now thinking twice about taking my sister to SDCC next year. This is bigger than that.

This is about making sure SDCC is a safe place for everyone. You know what's sad? Not that there needs to be such a policy, but, again, that there isn't such a policy in place. Many people have taken this issue and made it about a "bogeyman" sort of harasser; someone you're never going to see in real life. If this were a matter of people being harassed by ignorant troglodytes, then SDCC's policy could be, simply, "No Ignorant Troglodytes Allowed," and all would be well.

Nobody goes around wearing name tags that say, "Hello, I Am an Ignorant Troglodyte." People who harass other people, who grope someone without that person's consent, who feel artists/attendees/merchants can be targeted simply on the grounds of their sex or race or whatever, are, unfortunately, not so easy to identify.

Sure, one can tell when one is being ogled/leered at, and one can generally tell the difference between accidental touching in a crowded area to purposeful touching in order to make the person touched feel powerless, but it's rare that one can tell, from a distance, whether or not someone's going to be out to harass you.

The point is, making the statement that "such behavior makes the rest of us non-gropers in the geek culture look bad," misses the issue entirely. As I said, this is about making SDCC a safe place for everyone, and making it clear that it is a safe place. I've helped to write enough policies on festivals, and I've been to festivals and conventions, where I've subtly subverted the rules by noting, "It doesn't say 'don't,' so it must mean, 'you can,'" enough to know that no spoken intolerance for such behavior basically amounts to an unspoken tolerance for it.

With that unspoken tolerance, it's not just the Ignorant Troglodyte, "bogeyman" harasser that will feel free to bother people. Because, as the rest of the unspoken context is, "as long as you don't get us into trouble," (trouble meaning lawsuits or unpleasant "big media" coverage), just about anybody with an overdeveloped sense of entitlement will feel it's OK to treat whomever they want, however they want.

That kind of tolerance for that kind of entitlement does not make a place where people feel safe. This isn't about harassers at SDCC making the other con-goers look bad, this isn't even about SDCC's lack of a sexual harassment policy making it look bad, this is about what every con-goer deserves. Every co-goer deserves the chance to go to SDCC without fear of harassment, and with knowledge that such a problem would be handled by people in authority. Every con-goer deserves to have their own needs for safety to matter to people in charge. Every person deserves that. That's what this is about.

Mana Needs to Learn to Not Press Certain Buttons!

2008-08-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

Had temporary technical difficulties last night and this morning when I accidentally deleted my entire blog list! (Eep!) All is well now, but if you got lost in the shuffle, don't think this means I've stopped reading! (Actually, I think I've gotten everyone, and added quite a few more!)

I can be quite the klutz when it comes to digital information, though I'm almost as bad when it comes to papers. I have a rare gift for losing things, unless I make it sure it has a specific folder, binder, or drawer to go into. It's even worse with digital information; I can't tell you how many times I've accidentally pressed the wrong button and lost an entire page of work! (In my sophomore year of college, I once spent half the day building the "perfect" schedule for myself, only to lose it all in a matter of seconds by pressing the wrong button, and leaving the site before I had saved my schedule! (It was always something, every year, at my old university. Lord, am I glad to be rid of the place!)

So, all should be well, now, in any case.

The New, Improved Elizabeth Weir! (Or Not...)

2008-08-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

SPOILERS

So, I saw the latest episode of Stargate: Atlantis, "Ghost in the Machine," a few days ago, and I must admit, I was not pleased. The character of Elizaeth Weir was in it, but Torri Higginson was replaced by Michelle Morgan. I had not heard that Higginson wasn't planning on returning, (after she was offered a recurring role instead of her initial six-year contract being honored), so I was surprised.

I was also disappointed. Michelle Morgan did not display anything near the talent Higginson brought to the show on a regular basis. What Morgan did ring was youthful, conventional beauty. I mention this because I remember reading posts on many of the forums, (particularly Gateworld.net), complaining that Higginson looked "too old" and her more angular features were "ugly."

Have you seen this woman? A link to her picture, if you haven't. Torri Higginson is neither old nor ugly. Nonetheless, her "replacement" was distinctly more youthful, and had rounder features. As there is never a mention as to why the Powers That Be chose not to honor her original contract, I cannot help but wonder if the reasons were at least partially due to feelings that she simply wasn't "pretty" enough. (I can't imagine it had anything to do with her acting abilities, as she is fantastic, and Michelle Morgan's acting just felt incredibly flat compared to Higginson's.

Meanwhile, in other Atlantis news, the Kanaan "retconning" continues, even as it occurs to me that I don't believe we've yet seen Teyla kiss the father of her child. True, he has been in two episodes thus far this season, and I actually rather like that he's a stay-at-home dad, but Teyla and Kanaan have, thus far, displayed remarkably little affection for each other.

Still, we are meant to see that Kanaan has always meant something to Teyla, when he is Elizabeth's second choice for father. (Her first is John Shepperd, which I'll giver her something of a benefit of the doubt on, as "John" is the child's middle name.) Convincing us that people who knew Teyla well also knew that she cared for Kanaan can be a pretty good start. Just, don't forget to show us that they care for each other now.

I think part of that comes down to the problems I listed in this post; we're not meant to see Kanaan as an important part of Teyla's life. That would force them to downplay the "shipping" going on over Teyla and John. The writers may not be particularly good at writing romance, but that's never stopped them before. (See: Samantha Carter and Jack O'Neill.)

I can understand that the writers felt the need to "wrap up" the story of Elizabeth Weir and the rogue Asurans. I can understand that, when Higginson decided not to sign on for those episodes, they had to do something to explain why Elizabeth Weir did not look like Elizabeth Weir. I can understand that, as Michelle Morgan had already appeared on the show as a Replicator, her presence made at least a little more sense. I'm just disappointed, because Morgan lacked Higginson's talent and warmth, because it would've been so goo to see Higginson again,and especially because she was given a pretty raw deal in the first place. And, I have to wonder why that was.

Sexual Harassment and Comic-Com

2008-08-15T12:59:00.000-07:00

This sort of thing makes me mad!

Read!

It's maddening to think there's no official policy on dealing with harassment. Or, at least, that there's no listing of the official policy. It doesn't exactly encourage the harassed individual to try and report the incident, does it?

It also make me mad for selfish reasons: I've secretly been saving up to take my younger sister to SDCC next year. (She's an aspiring cartoonist, she's applying to several art colleges soon, and she's always wanted to go.) However, I'm not too fond of the idea of her being treated in such a manner, especially as there seems, at the moment, to be little or no recourse.

Donna of Dr. Who Season 4 (Spoilers Abound)

2008-08-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

Mr. G and I finally got the chance to see the end of Season 4, and all I have to say is, "DOONNAA!!! NOOOO!!!"

Well, actually, I have got more to say, because otherwise this blogpost would be far too short.

I loved Catherine Tate. Truly. The character of Donna herself was also simply brilliant. Unlike the past two companions, (and most of the companions in general; whether male or female), Donna does not express adoration of the Doctor; in fact, her treatment of him is, frequently, downright irreverent. I was so delighted at her return in the beginning of season four, because I even loved her in "The Runaway Bride". The season with her was a sheer delight, and given how awesome Donna became, (even before absorbing part of the Doctor's intellect), I'm very sad to see her go.

Granted, I did see it coming. Once someone says they're going to travel with the Doctor forever, you know they're doomed. But, for me, what cinched it was "Turn Left," specifically the scenes where Donna's mother is berating her for choosing the temp, as any man she'd find there would still see her as "only temporary." In the first incarnation of that scene, Donna's response is a superbly confident, "Well, they haven't met me!" I loved that moment, and I loved that Donna. I would argue that that Donna was lost long before "Journey's End." She was lost at the end "Turn Left," when one Donna died to bring the timeline back on track.

I imagine that having a companion become something of a half-Time Lord was inevitable, given Davies' emphasis on the theme of the companions becoming more and more like the Doctor. (Jackie points this out to Rose, a couple of episodes before "Doomsday," we see Martha behaving increasingly more and more like the Doctor, such as in "The Doctor's Daughter," and the way she speaks to the Hath.) Therefore, Donna not only becomes more like the Doctor than any of his companions, but there's also a version of the Doctor out there now that is like her.Still, Donna's final episode broke my heart. Apparently, many others', as well. I do think that, in the end, the Doctor will miss her more than he's ever missed Rose.

Speaking of Rose, while I can recognize that this is truly the end of an "arc" for her, (I love you, Billie Piper, but, God, I hope it is), I just preferred the way we left it in "Doomsday," at Bad Wolf Bay. There've been hints throughout that what Rose truly wanted was to settle down with the Doctor and have a family, (in the first episode with the Ood they discuss buying houses and getting jobs when they think the Tardis is lost forever; in the Olympics episode, she is rather dismayed to learn the Doctor has actually been a Dad once, etc), but, seriously, how insulting is that?! David Tenant, you're pretty and all, but even I would prefer fighting aliens in my very own alternate-reality version of Torchwood, instead of just making babies with you. I honestly thought the whole point of Rose's arc was that she'd eventually grow out of her love for the Doctor, just as most of the fandom seems to have outgrown our Rose obsessions.

Someone who seems to have truly outgrown the Doctor is the ever-wonderful Sarah Jane. Having seen the "Genesis of the Daleks" episodes I understand the importance of her meeting Davros again, how much meaning her saying she's "learned to fight since then" truly has. I love Sarah Jane, I love The Sarah Jane Adventures, and I was glad to see her. (She, and Catherine Tate, were definitely the bright spots of the final two episodes of season 4 for me. Well, that and Harriet!)

Oh, Catherine Tate. I had never heard of you before, but I think you've made me into a big, big fan. She's been simply delightful all season, from her screwball-comedy-like, (in a good way!), relationship with the Doctor, to acting that proved to actually bring tears to my eyes, (in a good way!), in so many of her more emotional scenes. Catherine Tate, you made me understand Donna. You made me see her motivations, (Sylvia, by the way, be a better mother from now on), you made me see what was underneath the smack-talking and the bravado. You even made me love "Turn Left," which, if I had read a synopsis of it beforehand, I'd have told anyone who'd listen how much it was going to suck. Of course, Bernard Cribbins, (I wish my grampas were like that), and Jacqueline King helped me love that episode, too. (Seriously, Sylvia's descent into severe depression as the world fell apart was surprisingly heartrending.)

You know what? I even almost bought into the whole Donna-was-secretly-Romana rumor, despite the fact that Romana has never, ever behaved even remotely as awesomely as Donna before. I must admit, a lot of it has to do with the fact that, however awesome the Doctor may be, Donna was never in awe of him. She saw in him things so few others have seen, the capacity to make mistakes, even truly dumb ones, the need to have someone stop him, sometimes. She saw a friend, and a person, and who's the last companion to do that? (I do think both Rose and Matha saw the Doctor as way more "God-like" than would have been healthy.)

Donna's end just...It was sad, but it was so, so cruel, too. To take away from her the memories of everything that had made her a better person...To make it so painfully clear just how un-special Donna thinks she is, and then to take away all the proof of just how important she was....It almost felt mean. Add to this the fact that everyone else got at least a bittersweet ending, but Donna just got the bitter. It's frustrating; Donna's arc was clearly meant to be the building up of her confidence, but then, they take it all away in the end! So, here I am. Left with, "DOONNAA!!! NOOO!!!"

I Am Irrationally Irritated by Joss Whedon.

2008-08-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

I loved Firefly. I loved Serenity. I finally watched Dr. Horrible, and loved almost everything about it. (Guess what my "almosts" were! Go on, guess. Two hints: One starts with "fr" and ends in "idge," and one ends with "people of color," and starts with, "where the hell are!") I've never gotten into Buffy, (mostly because of my equally irrational dislike of Sarah Michelle Gellar; I am not an easy woman to please), but I've found it tolerable. So, I obviously like a lot that Joss Whedon's done.

And yet, I can barely stand it whenever the creator of these things that I do so love appears on screen, or is even heard. Watched the ultra-spiffy commentary on Firefly, and whenever Whedon spoke, all I could think was, "Blah blah blah. Want to hear Summer Glau." I love the worlds he's created, and am fascinated by them, but I have no patience for listening to Whedon's take on these world?

Why do I have such distaste for this man? I don't know. I've sat through endless interviews and retrospectives on George Lucas, even once I'd realized Lucas was a pompous jackass and something of a sellout, and I know, realistically, that Whedon can't be worse than Lucas. I feel he's a smug bastard, but as someone who's also created some pretty big phenomena in the geek world, he may be entitled to some smugness. Nonetheless, I am overcome with irritation whenever I am faced with seeing, hearing, or even reading Joss Whedon in interviews or other such things.

So, again, I find myself asking why. Even as I recognize his immense talent, and respect some of the ideas he's brought forth, (for instance, the blond cheerleader as something more than a victim), I don't like this man very much. (At least, as much as I can dislike a person I've never met.) So, why is it that he bothers me so?

I think there's something about his presentation that gets to me. Like I said earlier, he just seems so damn smug to me. He kind of reminds of guys I knew in high school and earlier years of college. They try really, really hard to be affable and seem down-to-Earth, but, in the end, you learn they think themselves to be the greatest thing since the deciphering of cuneiform. (What? I think that's pretty awesome!) It's as if he wants us to believe he's just an ordinary guy, but, deep down, well, we all know he's God, don't we?

Or maybe I'm just reading too much into what I've seen of the man, or maybe that's just the way he comes across in interviews. (In which case, I suppose I should change this post title to, "I Am Irrationally Irritated By the Way Joss Whedon Comes Across in Interviews," but I won't.) What do the rest of yall have to say about Joss Whedon, other than "his stuff can be awesome?" What do you think about what you've seen of the man himself? Love him? Hate him? Don't care?

To clarify, once more: I don't hate Joss Whedon. I don't even know the man. He just irritates me. Greatly.

Top Ten Favorite Things

2008-08-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

(Seriously, all the giiiirrlyyy blogging is not solely my fault, the fashion bloggers inspire me!)

This post got me thinking about clothes in a positive way, something I haven't done in quite a while. (The packing experience proved to be mostly frustrating, even though I do feel I looked good on the trip.)

So, Ten Clothing Items I Can't Live Without;

10.) Target long white tank top. It's great to wear as an undershirt when I don't feel like displaying immense amounts of cleavage, and it was only six dollars, so I can wear it out, replace it, and not feel bad about it. (Actually, it's pretty sturdy, so it's lasted me a while.)

9.) Old Navy white tie-front blouse. It's tailored, so it emphasizes my waist, which, with my figure, is an excellent thing. This blouse has lasted me years, and I love it.

8.) Black double-V sweater tunic, bought at a local boutique. I didn't think I'd wear this shirt as often as I do in the winter, but it shows that something an old boyfriend once told me does, in fact, ring true: I have beautiful shoulders. (I always thought it was an odd compliment, though.)

7.) Nordstrom's magenta tunic sweater. Another item I didn't think I'd wear that often, as I tend to prefer neutral colors. Still, this is probably what I toss on over my jeans most often, at least in the winter months.

8.) Delia's brown suede and tweed boots. I love, love, love these boots; they're so unique-looking.

7.) Brown shawl-collar sweater, bought in a little shop in San Francisco. I know, I'm pretty heavy on the winter stuff, but winter's definitely my favorite time of year. People, I got married in January, and had my honeymoon in snow-covered Colorado. Still, I love this sweater, probably because it's brown.

6.)Nordstrom's 3/4-sleeved red cardigan. I wear this sweater everywhere, even in the summer. (Mainly because the air conditioners are down so low everywhere.)

5.) Italian green linen pants. Yes, I bought these, (and even had them tailored), in Italy! They wrinkle with incredible ease, but they're so very comfy in summertime.

4.) Striped cotton skirt from Smart Bargains.com. I love this skirt because it has pink, orange, yellow, and white stripes all over it and it makes me feel like a lollipop. (Very, very fun!)

Anthropologie black sweetheart neck 3/4-sleeved t-shirt. It's so very flattering on me, and it looks great paired with #3 on my list, or jeans.

3.) Anthropologie white gauze skirt. Great for summer weather, as it's not too long or too short.

2.) Old navy at-waist boot-cut jeans. Two words: At. Waist. In the end, it wouldn't have even mattered whether or not this cut was more flattering on me than hip-huggers. (I think it is.) I'm just glad I'm not constantly flashing people my underwear anymore.

1.) Banana Republic black lace-trimmed tank. An elegant display of cleavage.

This has been a good exercise for me. It reminded me that, hey! Sometimes, I do know how to dress nice! Yay for me!

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

The "Fridging" of Male Characters?

2008-08-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

I got back from Boulder Monday, but I've been so busy with things that I haven't had time to post until now. Mr. G and I really enjoyed Boulder, by the way, and I think my husband's become more than a little bit enamored with the UCB campus. (It has everything he's ever wanted: green spaces, pretty buildings, little waterfalls...Poor man; stuck in Louisiana.)

So, as none of you probably knew this, I'm a writer. Even published, though it was a nonfiction article. Nonetheless, I've been writing ever since I was seven, and some of the ideas I came up with then, still find their way into my work today. (For instance, when I was ten, I came up with the idea of the crew of this battle spaceship all retiring together to run a farm after a long and bloody war. I still love the lead-up to the story that I came up with: You're expecting angst, blood and violence, and, instead, you get wacky hijinks! Of course, I'm easily amused.) One thing I've always had, and always kept, were strong female and male characters. Recent years, and a close look at some of my writing, leads me to ask myself a disturbing question: do I put men in refrigerators in my stories?

I'd like to start off by saying that I do think it's possible to do so. From what I understand, the definition of "fridging" someone involves killing off a character, particularly a one-dimensional love interest, for no other reason than causing angst/character development for the hero. So, I've been looking back on some old writings, and found the "big epic" that my brother and I wrote together, back in our early teen years.

It was a story that revolved around twenty characters, a big war, and "borrowed" from everything from Princess Bride to Lord of the Rings to the Redwall series to Willow. Since there were twenty main characters, (the number twenty bore a highly significant role in the world's mythology), we split them up and worked on plot points and character development for ten each, making sure nothing contradicted. While there were only two main female characters in the story, I did end up making most of the general supporting cast female.

Now, let's look at these two main characters. One was given, by my brother, five brothers and father but no mother. I, within the first chapter this female character appears in, killed all her male relatives, leaving behind, aside from herself, two sisters-in-law and three nieces. The reason given in the book was simple: she lived in a matriarchal society, and was actually about to take up the rule, when her family was slaughtered in the hopes that she'd take up a quest for revenge instead. (It didn't work. Instead, she headed in the exact opposite direction, in order to warn a third country about the other country's betrayal.)

Female character number two actually is princess of a fourth country that is allied with the "evil country." She and her mother refuse to believe in the evil of their allies, until her father is murdered. The princess joins the first woman on her quest, while the queen stays behind and battles the evil country.

Remember, I was given ten characters to work with, and only two were female. Of the eight men, six die, two in a sacrificial manner, (one was a distraction, the other took an arrow intended for a female character), and the other four were to show that the stakes were high. Female supporting characters dead in my brother's half of the story: Two. One, was the result of a long and debilitating illness that was important in the context of another story, as well, and the other was killed after a fight with the villian that she never possessed the skills to win, anyway.

Let's go to another story, that's something of a prequel to this one. (It involves an ancestress of the first female character I spoke of.) She is set to reclaim her throne, with the help of her mother, a male mentor, and a group of male and female warriors. Her love interest loses his fingers, her male mentor is killed, and several other, (mostly male), supporters die, in order to bury her under guilt.

The other female character is one known as "The Fearless." (No, that's not her name, just her title.) Her brother and her love interest both die so that she can descend briefly into nightmares and fear, and we can cheer on her triumphant return to ass-kicking. Her love interest lacks agency completely. He is a victim of his own body, because when in battle, he is taken over by a madness and becomes something of a Berserker, unable to control his own actions.

Jump forward a few years to a story about vigilantes. In this story, the main female character comes across five male characters defined almost solely by their relationships with other female characters. Guess what they do? Eventually, they die. And why? Because they were helping the main female character, and the villian tries to convince her it's all her fault.

I don't know if this is really "fridging" or not. I do know that, as I fear sinking into melodrama, I don't tend to focus on the grief/regret/angst of the female character for very long. The deaths of these people may begin by helping to define a goal, but they never define the person of my main female characters. Mostly, however, these deaths define the male. They are either created to die, or I decide to kill them as I'm building the character. These males in these situations rarely possess a real personality or agency of their own, and this bothers me. Because, just as much as women don't deserve that, neither do men.

What do you think? Does all that sound like fridging, or even just dangerously close? I'm curious what you'll have to say.

Seriously, Don't Make Them White. (Another Avatar-Related Post.)

2008-07-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

As regards the casting of The Last Airbender movie (Yes, I've been obsessed lately):

This is not a show about a bunch of white kids. In fact, the settings, the cultures and the spiritual ideology that the show is based upon are, in fact, decidedly. non-European.

The Water Tribe is based on the Inuit culture. (Yes, with Tai Chi thrown in.)

The Fire Nation is pretty distinctly Japanese.

The Earth Kingdom bears a strong resemblance to Imperial China.

The Air Nomads are based on the Shaolin monks.

What do they all have in common? Here's a hint: They. Are. Not. White.

Do not cast "tan" people as Katara and Sokka, do not try to pretend Zuko and Toph aren't Asian.

And really, really don't cast a white kid as Aang. He's the Avatar. The Messiah of the show. And the four nations do not need a white kid to save them. (Especially, if you cast all the others as ethnic.)

Why this bothers me:

Inuit women are beautiful. If you don't believe me, just do a google image search. Casting a "tan" girl as Katara, whom is supposed to be a very lovely young Inuit girl, says one thing: Only white girls are pretty. Don't send that message; girls of color get it plenty often as it is.

I'm sure people can argue that in fantasy setting, people can be pretty much any darn color the casting director chooses. Fair enough. Why are so many fantasy/scifi films still crowded with white people, then?

One of the biggest complaints about Firefly, (and rightly so), is that the characters are surrounded by Asian culture, yet never is there an Asian person shown in the show itself. Don't repeat Whedon's mistake. Don't put a bunch of white people in gis and kimonos.

The characters are very wide-ranging in their personality types and motivations. If you make just the mystic martial arts masters their proper ethnicity, we call that a fail.

As I said: Even if you cast the other characters as Asian or Inuit, but make Aang a white kid, you've missed a fundamental point. I've heard the argument before: Audience members -- the important ones anyway -- can't identify with people whom do not belong to their race. As the important audience members are obviously white males, that means we get movies like The Forbidden Kingdom, where the lone white guy, (I kept calling him "The Chinless Wonder"), saves the Asian world.

Don't do that. Please. Audience members can identify with people outside their sphere of race, class and gender; don't assume they can't. I'm sure the latest kind of baby-faced young white man would be perfectly serviceable as Aang, but , seriously, don't do that. You might even be praised for your "bold" casting decisions, (oh, yes, so braaave), but that's not why I want you to cast a genuinely diverse, ethnic film. You take away that diversity, and you take away so much that is the soul of the Avatar story. And don't do that. Seriously.

Avatar Season 3 Boxed Set

2008-07-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

I was going to get the boxed set, anyway, (naturally), but I just found that one of the special features is on "The Women of Avatar: The Last Airbender." Of course, we don't know yet what exactly the special feature's about, but I must admit, I want that boxed set so much more than ever, now. The show's always gotten lots of praise about its female characters, but I was bothered by the fact that we got very little resolution regarding the "sacrificed mothers" plot points in the end. I'm curious what the creators will have to say about Ursa and Kaya, if they say anything about them at all.

Last Post for the day, I Promise!

2008-07-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

I just got in my long-and-incredibly-nervously-awaited acceptance letter to my new school!

Yay!

It feels good to be accepted, sometimes.

Quick Impressions of the Avatar: the Last Airbender Finale

2008-07-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

"I am the Melon Lord!" Oh, Toph. I love you.

Sukki, I love you, too. This show is petty full of girls who are made of awesome. Yay.

Sokka, killing is easy when you're dealing with a melon, but I'd like to see you try to slice the head off of a person.

Azula is disappointed that she's missing out on Daddy-Daughter Destruction Day.

Yes, Aang. Talking to Momo helps us all out.

Jun!!! My day just got ever so much better. Jun tosses her sake in the air, beats up several people, and catches the sake without spilling a drop. Can I be her when I grow up?

"Gramp-Gramp" is what I will tell my children to call my father.

The Zuko and Iroh hug was one of the best culminations of everything they've been through together in the series I could have hoped for. And it was so sweet!

Iroh returns! Joy! I've missed you!

"I can't believe the Fire Lord remembered my birthday!" Snicker. Oh, Sokka. It's your simplest ideas that work best.

I love the implication that Avatar Kyoshi is the biggest hard-ass of them all. She doesn't negotiate or hesitate.

Toph metalbending herself some armor = Awesome. I think Toph was saving up all of her coolness points this season for the finale.

Azula's descent into madness is interesting to watch. Presumably, it was the betrayal of her friends, the only two people whom she actually trusted, that drove her over the edge. Though many of these scenes were played for humor, there is something kind of sad about it.

Sukki provides us with further coolness. She commandeers herself an airship!

You know, I think if I had to choose between drinking tea and playing a game all day, and running a country, I'd choose option A, as well.

I think Azula sloppily cutting her hair was a reference to one of her first appearances, where a hair out of place meant she was "almost perfect," and that wasn't good enough. From perfectionism to madness. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

So, Zuko has Daddy Issues, and Azula has Mommy Issues. Hmm. I need to ponder this before I decide how I feel about it.

Zuko, I know you meant well, but there really was no reason to jump in front of the lightning bolt. Katara can actually take care of herself.

The scene with Azula chained up and raving like a wild animal, was hard for me. In many ways, Fire Lord Ozai got a significantly smaller punishment.

I'd have liked to have seen Mai and Ty Lee do more in the finale, but at least they both got happy endings.

So, at no point did we get any real resolution of Aang and Katara's feelings for each other, and I am supposed to be satisfied with a kiss? Bad form, Avatar.

Earth kingdom outfits = Yay.

Yes, where was -- I mean is -- Zuko's mother? Poor Ursa. You exist as a plot point. (As does the only other mother in this show.)

I enjoyed it. It was good, it made me happy. Still, as Avatar's been a show that does its best to thwart cliches, I was upset by a few of the ones it ended on.

Further Giiirrlyyy Blogging

2008-07-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

Greetings, ladies and gents! I know it's been a while, but Mr. G's needed the laptop a lot, and I'm honestly a really lazy poster. Still, I'm kind of focused on more sartorial things at the moment, anyway. I've a (gasp!) out-of-state wedding coming up next week, and so Mr. G and I are turning it into a mini-vacation.

I told you I hate shopping. I have another thing to confess to you: I also hate packing. I never feel that I am particularly good at choosing what, precisely, would be the appropriate outfit for a certain event or location, so I'm in a slight tither.

I need outfits for:

One flight to Colorado

One casual-ish cookout/rehearsal dinner, that can move to:

Further partaking of alcoholic beverages at a bar, (I don't normally approve of getting drunk before weddings, by the way, but this one has certain,...."Special" circumstances attached.)

One informal wedding

One further evening of drinking at a bar (Lord, what this makes us sound like!)

One day of wandering about downtown Boulder

One fancy sushi dinner

One tour of a mead brewery (Yaay, mead!!!)

One trip to Six Flags (Mr. G loves roller coasters.)

One Sunday Mass

One flight back to New Orleans.

And, I need to pack very little. I'm talking about one pair of pants, (preferably not jeans), a few shirts, a skirt or two, and one pair of shoes.

Any thought, oh, far-more-fashionable-than-I, bloggers out there?

Thoughts on The Dark Knight

2008-07-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

Oh, Christopher Nolan, you've (mostly) brought "my" Batman to life! Now, if only there had been more Barbara and less little Jimmy, and you'd have had more strong women, I'd have been so happy!

Dark Knight was, as I had been promised, an amazing, beautiful, melancholy film. I am very, very glad Mr. G and I chose to see it on a sunny Saturday afternoon, as seeing it at the midnight showing - the choice made by various friends and family - would have given me nightmares. (As it was, we still chose to watch something "fluffy and happy" afterwards, and what better than Gummi Bears?)

Ledger's Joker was, indeed, truly amazing. I do feel he "got" the character, as much as anyone can "get" someone like that. I will admit to a strong dislike of actress Maggie Gyllenhal's general performances, and was hugely, vastly disappointed in the direction they took with the character of Rachel Dawes.

That being said, I will admit to having been not at all impressed with Rachel's character in Batman Begins, either, where many seemed to love her, as I saw little of the "toughness" everyone's been talking about. Granted, I got awfully caught up in my argument for Batman Begins, that a comic book canon full of strong, or at least, potentially strong women, (Selina Kyle, Vicki Vale, Renee Montoya, Katherine Kane, heck Talia), that there was no need to create a new one, especially one that, comparatively, kind of stunk. (Personal vote: Kate Kane, as a lesbian. Therefore, she can actually be a partner, and in no way, a love interest. Still, as these films seem to "need" love interests, I would've gone for Talia in the first film, and maybe added Vicki Vale for the second? Or, were they trying to avoid Vicki, because that would've led to connections to the Tim Burton film?)

I'm far from condoning the way they shoved Rachel into a refrigerator like that. It was definitely the low point of the film. Also, I want my Montoya! I was disappointed when the Latina cop, (one that both Gordon and Batman clearly very much trusted), turned out to be someone else, though not as disappointed as when she turned out to be a traitor.

My Monotoya, as she would have been in this film? Well, maybe she did once belong to the mob, but she changed her ways, at great personal risk, and now belongs to the "inner circle" of people in on Batman and Gordon's plans. Still, she's under constant investigation by Internal Affairs, and her main antagonist is Harvey Dent, whom doesn't believe people can change like that.

Anyway, so maybe she's named by the person who "really" took Rachel, or maybe she was supposed to take her, and there was a switch at the last minute, but when Harvey confronts her, he's naturally not willing to believe any of these facts. Montoya responds by kicking his ass, and racing to inform Gordon and Batman of Harvey's "switch." Harvey escapes her, however, and goes on to try to kidnap Gordon's family.

Still, I didn't write the script, (and, for the most part, you can all be thankful about that), and I really did enjoy all the rest of the film. This film, as Mr. G. pointed out, is not a film that makes you want to be a hero, however. It's just a film that makes you grateful for the people willing go be heroes. All in all, recommendation? Go. See. Lament Rachel Dawes. Still, enjoy.

Heroes' Journey for Three (What Bothers Me About the PTOC and Spiderman Franchises)

2008-07-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

Greetings, again! I didn't expect to be posting again, today, but Mr. G is at a class this morning, so I've got a few hours to myself! Hours I should be spending doing laundry, or dishes, or studying for classes, but instead, here I am, enjoying a beautiful day, listening to Car Talk on NPR and blogging. (I am such a Clik and Clak fangirl. Anyone else get really excited when they did the voice work on Cars?)

Anyway, I've been thinking about Spiderman 1-3 and Pirates of the Caribbean 1-3, lately. Especially, I've been thinking about the concept of "the hero's journey." I first read about the concept of the hero's journey back in high school. Basically, the hero begins at his journey at a sort of medium point, and goes down and down, until he hits bottom, and then, gradually, comes back to the top. (Yes, an excruciatingly simplistic version of the hero's journey; there's really so very much more to it than that.)

Most trilogies run along these lines, as well. Think of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. Think of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. All three of these tend to have the pattern of setting out on the journey, hitting the nadir or lowest point, and "resurrection," or revival, and victory.

The Pirates of the Caribbean and the Spiderman franchises have similar journeys. Pirates, especially, interests me, because I really don't feel there's any one hero in the story, and though one can definitely see the titular character of the Spiderman franchise as the obvious hero, I can't help but think that both movies involve something of a hero's journey of three, or, at least, that that was what the filmmakers were attempting.

The three in the heroes' journey in Pirates are, naturally, Elizabeth, Jack, and Will. The heroes of Spiderman are Harry, Mary Jane, and Peter. However, the three main characters in each of these films do not only go through the heroes' journey, but their relationship goes through the journey, hit a nadir, and (supposedly), reach a resurrection point.

However, what bothers me about both of these films is that, while one can see that, perhaps the filmmakers were trying for something of a "heroes' journey" for their friendship, well, it kind of fails. Actally, really fails. You can see how, in the relationships portrayed, that they might be trying for something like "beginning the journey, hitting the nadir, and then resolution," but all you get, instead, is "people being kind of crappy to each other, people being even more crappy to each other, and people kind of being less crappy to each other."

This all popped into my head because I was watching Spiderman 3, and Mary Jane said the one line I now recall really irked me when I first saw the film: "We have to forgive each other. Or, everything we've been to each other will mean nothing." And then, I wondered. What exactly have those three been to each other? Petty, selfish individuals who hide things from each other and never seem to treat each other well? I mean, seriously, had the audience, at any point, seen the three of them actually, truly enjoy being together? At any point in the entire franchise?

I can only guess that the end of Spiderman 3 is meant to be moving, as Mary Jane and Peter say goodbye to Harry, but I felt myself completely unmoved. I ask you again, was the audience supposed to believe that Harry, Mary Jane and Peter actually cared about each other? The last film certainly didn't lead us to believe that, but the first two didn't seem to help us see any real friendship there, either.

Now, perhaps it can be argued that Harry and Peter did in fact have a close friendship. One that started to go out the window, however, when Harry began to hide the very important fact of his relationship with Mary Jane from Peter. It really went out the window when Harry began to sink into his obsession over Spiderman, and it didn't improve until the very last possible moment of movie number three. Mary Jane and Peter's relationship was never, ever much better. I ask again, what, exactly, were these three meant to mean to each other? Because, I certainly don't see anything.

The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is not much better, and, in many ways, far, far worse. I think I'm more disappointed in the way the three Pirates films represented the relationship of Elizabeth, Jack, and Will. The last film especially disappointed me. Where did that resolution come from? I ask you this seriously. Was the audience meant to see Elizabeth and Will's wedding coming? Well, yes, I did, but that was because I felt it all to be part of "The Immutable Laws of Film."

What I think we were "supposed" to see in Pirates was, once again, a "hero's journey" in the relationship between the three. First, they develop their respective relationships: Grudging respect and eventual friendship between Jack and Will, awkward friendship wrapped up in sexual tension for Elizabeth and Jack, tense romance for Elizabeth and Will. In the end, however, they are something of a team. Then, by the end of film two, they have sunk further and further and further into distrust and betrayal, a cycle that continues until, after all they went through in film three, they learn to trust each other again.

This, however, doesn't happen. Instead, all we see are three people treating each other worse and worse until, in the end, they inexplicably risk everything for each other, and two of them get married. This is no "hero's journey." It's simply confusing.

These films, to me, attempt to "hit" on the hero's journey, and make it fit for three people. It fails because, (as is a frequent complaint of mine), the characters in both franchises are not treated like characters so much as puppets. Had the filmmakers chosen to create a true "hero's journey" in these films, it might have been more compelling.

Quick Post of Randomness.

2008-07-11T14:13:00.001-07:00

I know, it's been over a week since my last post, and I would have posted prior to today, were it not for the fact that our laptop's been possibly fried, and I've been forced to, instead, tool away on ancient PC. (I didn't mean "ancient," I swear! I also find it's a cantankerous thing.)

Saw Hancock, and it was beautemous, as I was promised. Loved how they managed to have the classic "Climactic Scene in the Rain," whilst indoors. Very clever. Still, I was bothered by the fact that no one seemed to bring up any of the race issues inherent in casting Will Smith as the hero, and then practically surrounding him with white people. I mean, I've heard that the script floated around for a while, but I feel the film missed something when they cast Will Smith and then pretended that no one would've made his race an issue in the story. (Not even a mention of his memories of what it must have been like saving people eighty, even thirty years ago, where I imagine he faced a pretty big share of racism.)

That all is a shame, too, because the movie did some amazing world-and-character-building. Mary/Angel intrigued me, as did her and Hancock's various drawings in the film. I could see this story as a beautiful, and somewhat haunting, sort comic book series.

I'm not going to get to see Stargate: Atlantis' premiere tonight, which disappoints me, but I'm very much looking forward to the return of Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender next week. I have a fair deal of sadness, as well, however, as I know that the last episodes of this beautiful, brilliant show airs on the nineteenth. I've been keeping myself pretty spoiler-free on Atlantis, (so I'm nervous about how exactly they'll resolve certain current story lines), but I was just too addicted to help myself when it came to Avatar. (I am restraining myself from examining Avatar until after the very last episode, airs, however.)

As I said, these are random thoughts, but still: One of these days, I am going to find every last person whose ever said that women don't enjoy looking at men the way men enjoy looking at women, and slapping them with Susan Bordo's The Male Body, especially all the parts on "gaze." (Full disclosure: I've never read it the whole way through, just certain passages involving the male gaze and similar things.

Also, my husband is made of awesome. We received baseball caps as gifts when we got engaged; "Bride" in pink, and "Groom", in black. Yesterday, when we went out running, he suggested we switch the hats.
That's all from Mana, for now!

Who "My" Superman Is.

2008-07-03T12:46:00.000-07:00

I will admit, I have not, over the years, given nearly as much thought to Superman as I have to Batman and Wonder Woman. So, I have been trying to come up with who "my" Superman is, and I think much of it has to do with what helps "the boy from Kansas" in becoming "the man from Krypton."

As I said in my post about Batman, the big three are, to me, all about respect. I do think much of this has to do, in my mind, with the JLA. As Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, are frequently leaders of variously-named Justice Leagues, I felt that they could not have formed those teams if they did not at least feel some respect for their fellow cape-wearers.

Also, as I mentioned before, I also feel that Clark's upbringing has a lot to do with that idea of respect. I think that that used to be part of why I loved early Adventures of Lois and Clark so much. You can't tell me Dean Cain's Clark Kent wasn't getting funny looks for offering his seat to pregnant women on the bus. Still, that was how he was raised, and that was part of why "my" Supeman became Superman : it was the decent thing to do.

"My" Superman is smart. Though many have, over the years, tried to characterize the "Man of Steel" as all brawn and no brains, let us not forget that Clark Kent is not a seperate entity from Superman, and Clark is an investigative reporter. For, apparently, one of the best newspapers in the world. He is also partnered with Lois Lane, whom, we are led to believe, is made of awesome when it comes to reporting. Journalism, as I understand from friends who are journalists, is not exactly an easy degree to get. Also, (and this is hearsay), one's first job at a newspaper tends to be grueling, miserable, overworked hell. If Clark Kent got through all that, and was good enough to get a pretty top job at the Daily Planet, then he is not an idiot, and shouldn't be treated like one.

The way I see Superman, he's become a symbol, a Captain America without the government's approval, the newsreels, but still some of that lovely propaganda. All of that, I feel, freaks the ever-loving crap out of Clark Kent. After, all, the way I always felt he saw it, was that he was no different in his cape and tights than he was in his suits and ties.

One of my absolute favorite things in Justice League and Unlimited was the fact that you saw how mild-mannered even Supermasn could be, on occasion. Betwen his gentle ribbing of Batman and his childlike glee during the Christmas episode, (and don't tell me his whole, "You mean Santa wrapped them," wasn't one of the cutest moments ever), you can tell, that Syuperman and Clark Kent are pretty much just the same kind of guy. And that guy is just so remarkably nice.

"My" Superman, while a nice guy, does, of course, get pissed off about things. Nearly everyone does. What I think would piss Superman off more than nearly anything, though, are A): Being used, and B): Being betrayed. Both of those things have to do with trust, because, "my" Superman is a rather trusting individual.

I also think "my" Superman has learned to get pissed off by people in nprivilige, probably partially thanks to Lex "I'm a rich, powerful, white male genius; no, the law can't touch me," Luthor. I would like to believe that Superman was pissed off by people throwing their privilige around before Luthor, but I don't know yet whether or not I feel he could be.

Yes, my Superman is flawed. He can get a little caught up in his own priviliges, after all, occasionally believing he always knows what the right thing to do is. However, I feel that while "my" Superman may believe he is always right, deep down, he tends to know that that cannot be the case. Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, "my" Superman, for all his nearly-godlike abilities, is, deep-down, actually rather humble.

You will find this is a common thread in nearly all "my" superheroes: "My" Superman cares about people. All people, even his villians, though he'd admit that he does care about the helpless standers-by just a little bit more than he cares for the people trying to atttack him. Still, he cares.

And he listens to people; their ideas, their opinions, and sometimes, he actually incorporates them. He also gives advice. (Thank you, Justice League comic! The story about the dishes was awesome, and so very "my" Superman!) "My" Superman, in many ways, is, in short, all about kindness and compassion. I think he feels he has to be; as someone who is so much more powerful than most of the other people he even knows, it's sort of his responsibilty. And yes, when he loses sight of that responsibility, he feels guilt. Still, "my" Superman does not wallow in such guilt. He pulls himself back up, and does his best to make up for it. That's who "my" Superman is.

It Takes Two -- Generally -- To Destroy A Relationship

2008-07-02T11:09:00.001-07:00

Yes, more blogging about 9 Chickweed Lane.

9 Chickweed Lane used to be fun. It used to be clever. It even used to be sweet. (Seriously, when was the last time you heard something described as "sweet?" Not "Sweet! Did you see the way he threw that car at that other guy?!" but, "It was really sweet of you to make me soup when I was sick.") When is the last time you heard two characters in any form of media being described as having "a sweet relationship?" You know, between two people whom you can actually tell cared about each other? Well, at one point, there was 9 Chickweed Lane. (I am thinking specifically of the whole "running away to New York" story that introduced Seth.) Amos and Edda were stubborn, though occasionally forlorn, but the reader could tell that, whatever had happened between them, they still wanted to be close, and they each still wanted the other to be happy.

And, well, here we are now. Now, Edda and Amos have always had a volatile relationship, but there was a point in their relationship where they were actually romantic, and, yes, even sweet. Sadly, those days seem to be gone. As much as the degeneration of it all bothers me, I must admit I am even more bothered by the fact that all the blame seems to be resting on Edda's shoulders. I do not understand that.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am confused. What part of this is "all Edda's fault?" While, yes, she did respond with extreme jealousy, and sort of went off the deep end at a lot of points, but what about this lovely moment from Amos, among so many others? Haven't we all been taught that that is not the way to accept an apology? Amos has been just as insensitive, and childish, but somehow or another, this has become all Edda's fault, even down to Mark and Seth breaking up.

There may, perhaps, be occasions when a break-up between two lovers is the fault of only one of the said lovers. Perhaps in an abusive or controlling relationship, or one in which one member decided they were simply in love with someone else, or not in love with the other individual anymore. Yet, even in those cases, can we see some cause for the end of that relationship in both people involved in the relationship itself? So why then, does Edda get all the blame?

It took two to split up Edda ad Amos. So why all the anger invested at only one?

You Tube? I Canoe!

2008-06-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

Hehehe...Mana's an easily amused on, she is! None the less, go here! Watch these! Especially, How Spiderman 3 Should Have Ended, and How Dead Man's Chest Should Have Ended!

Man, both of those movies annoyed the friggin' heck out of me, and the people whom made these videos get so much of what irritated me out of these films.

A Quick Review of Wall * E (Oh, yeah. With Spoilers.)

2008-06-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

Friday night, Mr. G and I went to go see Disney-Pixar's latest film, Wall * E, and I must admit, it was delightful. It had me simply grinning from ear-to-ear, from the moment I heard the first strains of music from Hello, Dolly!, to the beautiful and fascinating art that went over the credits. (No, I'm not kidding about the Hello, Dolly! bit. An excellent addition to the movie, really.)

I did get a little nervous after watching some of the more "in-depth" trailers; fearing that the film would be about the titular robot saving his "damsel in distress," Eve. Though Wall * E does "race to the rescue," it is complicated by the fact that, not only does Eve not need rescuing, she is more than capable of saving Wall * E at several points throughout the film. In fact, in the end, Eve and Wall * E, with the help of a few other robots, manage to help save the human race. (From themselves.)

Wall * E is helped out, significantly, by being a simply beautiful film. I have always bee a tremendous fan of animation, and the intricate details of the robots, the ship, and the junkyard simply blew me away. Though I do feel I will always, always have a soft spot for hand-draw films, (and how I miss you!), I simply could not deny the loveliness that is Wall * E.

I am a sucker for tales of true love and high adventure, and Wall * E fits this category surprisingly well for a children's movie about a robot. We fall in love with Wall * E falling in love with Eve, and I, at least, fell in love with seeing Eve fall in love with Wall* E. In that moment, as Eve sees the bumbling little robot in a new way, it reminded me, somehow, of Charlie Chaplin's City Lights; I cannot quite explain why.

The character of Wall * E is often very Chaplin-like, and Keaton-like, as I'm sure everyone has heard or read in others' reviews, by now. As the main characters communicate mostly through blips, beeps, and a few words, the humor is mainly visual, and often, surprisingly subtle. In fact, with the simply huge amount of dialogue used in children's films these days, I had almost forgotten how many different feelings could be gotten across with simple changes in inflection.

I also greatly enjoyed Wall * E because, for a children's sci-fi story involving robots, it deals with surprisingly large amounts of grey areas. (Compared, for instance, to Robots.) We are presented a society that is neither simply utopian or distopian. The humans are neither oppressors or slaves of the robots; they are, simply, shamelessly self-absorbed. The robots, themselves, are not slaves on the cusp of rebellion, nor are they using the humans as eerie meat-puppets, doing their best to keep the people they "serve" as helpless and dependent on them as possible. Robot and human just co-exist, and continue to peacefully co-exist, even, (as we see in the credits), as they go on to form their truly utopian society on Earth.

As I said, Wall * E is at its heart a story about love, especially the transformative nature of love. We watch Eve develop in her personality, both as she embraces her affection and eventual love for Wall * E, and as she comes to realize the true importance of her task, and not simply see it as part of her "directive." We see Wall * E awake a woman to the world around her, the sight of the stars, and the idea of true love. Wall * E does the same for a man, as well.

There are things about the movie that do bear warning: It fails the Bechdel Test, (sigh, so few movies pass it), there are two female characters, total, (Eve and human lady who name escapes me), and though I, personally, do not feel this to be the intention of the story, one can read into the Wall * E and Eve part of the story that Eve is learning to relinquish control to her bumbling-but-devoted Wall * E. (As I said, I personally don't believe that to be true. I don't think Eve does relinquish control, nor do I feel the movie encourages her to. She is always the more capable of the pair, though she and Wall * E do work together.) All in all, Wall * E is a sweet, beautiful film, and I highly reccomend it for anyone, of any age.

I Am in Love With Neville Longbottom

2008-06-30T06:28:00.000-07:00

Spent much of the week finishing up the Harry Potter series, and I must say, I am quite impressed! The Deathly Hallows, especially, was surprisingly sophisticated. (I did not expect to open up the book and find quotes from The Libation Bearers and William Penn, but it was a pleasant harbinger of what was to come.)

Of course, the books had been growing steadily more complicated as they went on, and as Harry's (and the readers') worldviews were becoming more complicated. Villains could no longer be simply Evil with a capital E, they needed to be human beings, as well.

For instance, in both Dolores and Umbridge and Bellatrix Lestrange, we saw the dangers of obsession, for were these two not, in some way, simply two different sides of the same coin? Of course, as we saw in the last book, while Umbridge's loyalties are easily swayed by whomever is most powerful, Lestrange's devotion to Voldemort is far stronger.

In fact, Bellatrix is at times an almost more sympathetic character than Dolores, (as much as I can feel sympathy for someone whom caused such pain for poor Neville), for she, at least, also cares for someone other than her "Lord and Master": Narcissa. Granted, if it ever came down to a real choice between her loyalties, I do fear poor Narcissa would lose, but, as we saw in the beginning of Half-Blood Prince, there is still at least some affection between the two sisters.

I had heard that Deathly Hallows was a bittersweet novel, but that certainly didn't dissuade me, as I quite like such things in children's stories. (For example: The Mouse and His Child and The Little Prince.) I love both of those novels for precisely the melancholy element that's inherent in them, an element I was surprised to find so strong in Deathly Hallows.

I was aware, by the time I had read it, that Harry does die at some point, and I even expected that moment to make me at least tear up a little. I was not, however, quite prepared for so very much bitter, and so little sweet. Particularly from the adult section, as so many of the characters whose true emotions were previously enigmas to us, (Snape, Dumbledore, Petunia), are revealed. We finally see where they are coming from, and it is not a pretty place. For Petunia, it was a childhood of closeness to her sister that turned into envy, bitterness, and rejection. For Snape, it was a profound sense of loss of only the person whom had ever truly made him happy.

Add to that a deep sense of guilt, for he was responsible for that loss not only once, but twice. (I do think that Snape's worst memory, as seen in Order of the Phoenix, was the fact that Severus had, with one little word, irrevocably pushed away the one true friend he had ever had. I don't believe he would have ever forgiven himself for that moment, just as he never forgave himself for revealing the prophecy to Voldemort.)

For Dumbledore, of course, it is a long-standing obsession and a self-awareness that took many years, and much pain, to reach. This same self-awareness was reached by Harry at a much younger age, and Dumbledore is knowingly, willingly, sending him to his death. Though not a good perso in his youth, Dumbledore had grown up to be a good man in his old age, if a manipulative one, whom tends to live in his shades of grey.

In fact, I realize now that I should have picked up the Harry Potter series much earlier, for it has one thing I simply adore: young heroes. I especially love the idea that, if a young person learns the idea of true heroism at a young age, then they will become a far better adult than their current mentors. (Harry Potter has this in spades; in fact, it practically defines Harry's relationship with Dumbledore.)

The series also has Neville Longbottom, and if you couldn't tell, I have a deep, deep fondness for dear Neville. (And dear Luna, and, yes, dear, dear Ginny.) I am generally more interested in bacground characters, and Neville's growth, from a bumbling, forgetful companion, to the leader of the rebellion at Hogwarts and the slayer of Nagini, all the while maintaining his sweet, loyal personality, iis truly delightful.

Some days, I REALLY love Shortpacked!

2008-06-25T08:30:00.000-07:00

My thoughts on the whole Spoiler thing run pretty much along these lines.

Who "My" Batman Is.

2008-06-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about the DC" Trinity," as I find others have been, as well. In thinking on the three individuals in the Trinity, and reading others' takes on them, I realized that my Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, the ones that immediately come to mind when I think of those three, don't actually exist.

They are an amalgamation, of comic books, movies, cartoons, fanon, and my own personal interpretations and feelings. I have very distinct ideas of who these three are and aren't, what they would and wouldn't do, ideas that are occasionally, distinctly, contradicted by established "canons."

I thought that, perhaps, if you are tolerant with me, I might examine "my" Batman, "my" Superman, "my" Wonder Woman, perhaps, even, "my" Trinity. Crack them open a little, see what my ideas are, where they might come from, and, perhaps, how they compare to what has been established. I thought I'd begin with Batman simply because I have given him the most thought over the years, (though of late, Diana's been giving Bats a run for his money), and, therefore, my thoughts on Bruce Wayne are the most developed.

I must admit, (as if you couldn't tell), that I am an extremely lax comic book reader. Though I have read a few comic books, I rarely follow them religiously, so most of my knowledge of recent events in the comic book world comes from scans_daily and other blogs. The cartoons, though...Man, I followed the Bruce Timm universe like crazy! (Which is probably why, when I do read a comic w/Bats in it, I still hear Kevin Conroy's voice in my head.) So, what I'm saying is, a lot of my ideas of who Batman is comes from the cartoons, but not all of them.

It's probably easiest to start off what with who Batman isn't, to me: He's not a complete jerk, he's not a total psychopath, (yes, I'm looking at you, Frank Miller), and while he is self-absorbed, he is not someone who has absolutely no concern for others, or someone who treats all others like the dirt beneath his boots.

"My" Batman, the Amalgamation, the one that often seems to exist solely in my head, is one who has respect. (In truth, the Big Three have always been, in my own mind, all about respect, for others and themselves. How could they not be? Diana is a princess raised for peace, Clark was raised by a somewhat old-fashioned Kansas farm couple, and Bruce was raised by Alfred, and if Alfred is not a man who understands respect, I do not know who is.)

Batman's respect does not always necessarily extend to others, I will admit, (particularly if those others are criminals or police officers on said criminals' payroll), but he certainly has a profound respect for life itself. This makes sense to me: Batman's desire is not simply for vengeance, after all, but to do his best to guarantee that no one else would ever have to suffer the kind of loss he had suffered. It was part of why I had always felt Micheal T. Weiss, (of the most excellent television series Pretender), would have made a good Batman: He seemed to get that. (Actually, Jarod of The Pretender was one of the best live-action interpretations of Batman that wasn't Batman at all.)

Ahem. Back on the topic: Batman, in my mind, has always had a profound respect for life. It's often the center of his own internal conflicts in the comic books, (as to why the Joker is still causing havoc), and it's the centerpiece of two of the most moving moments in Justice League Unlimited: One, is Batman's reaction one he realizes that someone was killed by his hands, (even though his body was possessed), and the other is when he sits with a young girl as she dies, so that she will feel neither frightened nor alone. "My" Batman feels sorrow over the loss of even a villian. That is "my" Batman.

"My" Batman is also someone who cares, dammit, about individuals, from the downtrodden and abused, to the members of his own "family." A lesson learned, again, from the comics: You want to piss Batman off? You go after the people who can not defend themselves. (There was one episode involving children that I specifically remember, where Kevin Conroy made the rage simply palpable, as well as another delightfully enraged response to the abuse of the homeless in another episode.)

Batman cares about people, not just vengeance, not just the bottom line, and those people do actually include his "family" and his co-workers. He can be crazily awkward/bad at expressing that caring, but it is still there. An example I remember from actual comic books is in a Barbara/Jason Todd team-up book. Not only does he ask Barbara to team up with Jason because he wants her opinion on him, but he even bothers to try to comfort her, regarding Dick's at-that-time relationship with Starfire. ("That thing with the alien...It won't last.") It is an awkward and lame attempt at comforting, (and he does, basically, dismiss Barbara's opinions on Jason in the end), but he does make the attempt. He's not completely self-absorbed...Just, mostly so.

Not that I'm saying "my" Batman doesn't deserve a good punch in the face now and then, (thank you, Hal), or even to be mooned, (thank you, Guy), in fact, "my" Batman quite frequently deserves it. It is part of his charm; that irritating stoicism, that periodical smugness, that abrasive personality, that unnerving monomania that Batman so clearly possesses, and that so clearly drives his teammates up the up the wall and makes them very sincerely desire to hit him, on occasion.

Though Batman may respect and (gasp!) care for his teammates and "family," he has, indeed, a tendency to believe he knows what is best, for themselves, and for everyone. He is one of the smartest people, and one of the greatest detectives in the DCU, so he frequently does know what's best, even if that only proceeds to make him more irritating. Still and all, the important thing about "my" Batman is that he will try, with people. He'll play chess with his fellow JLA members, he'll lecture Jason about chili dogs, he'll attend charity events and fight what's right in his own board meetings. It may be a waste of time in his mind, he may be awkward as a friend or even a leader, but he does it anyway.

"My" Batman is an actual detective, not just a man in a costume. He receives information not merely from his Bat-computer, nor even from straight-out intimidation, he uses several methods and many sources in his gathering of information. Though, perhaps to most, watching Batman dig through old insurance claims would be dull, (though I am leaning more towards, "unintentionally hilarious,") "my" Batman is a thorough investigator, not some haphazard thug that hangs people off of the sides of buildings.

"My" Batman does believe in true love, and, yes, "my" Batman has had several "true loves" in the course of his life. All these women are different, yet they are the same in one way: They are -- and are treated as -- the equal of "my" Batman. Sometimes, they even best him, and acknowledges this. I will admit to a fondness for Talia, (from the cartoons), but my favorite "Bat-lady" is still Catwoman. She is one who often bests the Caped Crusader, and he knows it. Yet, "my" Vicki Vale, "my" Selina Kyle, "my" Talia, "my" Diana, "my" Zatanna, all share that inability to be intimated by Batman, and, frankly, that is what "my" Batman likes about them so much.

"My" Batman, while much more aware of the shades of grey that exist in the world than many of his fellow DCU-dwellers, does not let those shades define him. Though he does not live in absolutes, there are lines "my" Batman does not cross. He cares, about his teammates, even about (most of) his villians. (Need I say, but "my" Batman wouldn't have cared whether or not he had two team members in a same-sex relationship -- aside from his usual dislike of "workplace fraternization" in general -- and "my" Batman would have put up a memorial case!) That is "my" Batman, the one I think of when I think of Batman, the one that does not exist in any one place.

In Which I Blog About Giiiirrrllyyyyy Things....

2008-06-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

...As in, I suppose, hair, shoes and clothes, as these are topics very much on my mind at the moment, for four reasons:

1) I've been reading lots of fashion blogs lately. (They are ever so much fun, though they do cause me to feel somewhat frumpy!)

2) Mr. G and I have been invited to six, count them, SIX weddings in the coming months, half of which have already also included several invites to such things as rehearsal dinners, bachelorette parties, bridal showers, and luncheons, and such gatherings always cause a bit of fashion-related panic in me!

3) The possibility of getting an "office" job, where I will no longer be allowed to wear my sweatpants or rattiest blue jeans and t-shirts, and I am beginning to feel my current wardrobe is not "professional-looking" enough, though this may also be mere panic.

4) I've a little bit of extra money, lately, and there are so many things out there that just look so lovely!

I am aware that my nearest and dearest will love me regardless of whether or not I am flawlessly dressed, but I would still like to look nice. Weddings, however, have always disconcerted me, as far as clothing goes. The only times I have ever felt entirely comfortable with my appearance at a wedding were the two times I've been a bridesmaid, and my own wedding. (Actually, the second time I was a bridesmaid, I was told to choose my own dress within a certain color, and I was in a dreadful state until I'd received help from another bridesmaid.) This post, from The Sky is Bigger There, outlines the trouble for wedding dresses quite nicely. However, one of the weddings has me particularly affrighted: it is a fancy evening affair, requiring cocktail-ish attire. "But," Mana nearly sobs, "all my cocktail dresses are black!" (No, my friends, I fear I am not particularly inventive, and I am fond of black, dammit.) As I simply cannot bring myself to wear black to anyone's wedding, the solution seems to be to find myself another dress. I do not like this solution, however, as I. Simply. Hate. Shopping.

Shoes are also proving to be an issue, as my most-beloved flats are finally beginning to reach the ends of their days, and I have yet to replace the brown sandals that were eaten by my brother's rambunctious little puppy. Of the few things I have purchased of late is a lovely, brown linen skirt, but I have not yet any shoes to wear with them.

It is the idea of "office" attire that has me most worry. I often have difficulty finding blouses that fit properly, (damn my bust size), and things that would seem modest on others are a little to "sexy secretary" with the somewhat hourglass-ish shape I have. More "flowy" things, however, occasionally make me look like a balloon. I know that one thing I do intend to purchase is a vest, (oh, how I love the look of vests and pencil skirts!), but I have found few I really like. I did find a nifty one in seersucker, but there doesn't seem to be a skirt or pair pants that matches, and would fit my hips. I am considering a short-sleeved turtleneck, but common sense may be intervening in that regard, as turtlenecks rarely complement me.

I chopped off my hair this past Saturday, as well. Though this isn't the shortest it's ever been, it is pretty damn close. I do tend to vary between extremes, however, as prior to the haircut, my locks were at the longest they had been in many years. In other hair-related things, I must admit that I love fancy hair accessories, particularly anything with flowers. I am, however, a contrary enough individual to pair my flower hair-pins with sneakers, jeans and a t-shirt.

In comic news: WHY Teen Titans Go?! Why?! I'll miss yooooooouuuu! God, TTG was one of my favorite team comics! (And the cartoon show had excellent team interaction, as well.)

Well, that's a relief!

2008-06-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hello, peoples! Not a lot to say right now, except:

1930s Marital Scale

As a 1930s wife, I am

Poor

Hm. Good to know.

In watching the DVD's of Labyrinth and The Last Unicorn, Respectively...

2008-06-05T14:40:00.000-07:00

....I had some thoughts occur to me:

1) Labyrinth is one of the few children's stories/films I can think of that encourages the viewer, through the main character, to embrace his/her own autonomy. No wonder I preferred to everything that seemed to have the message, "Family or true love is all! Independence is nothing! Submit to the unit!"

2)Jareth the Goblin King has all the earmarks of an abuser in the final confrontation scene between he and Sarah. Why do the (online) shippers not see this?! He justifies all the pain he has put her through by insisting that she had wanted it that way, he promises his "devotion" to her, but only if Sarah allows Jareth to own her. I understood this even as a child, so I was disturbed when I discovered people who write love stories about Jareth and Sarah on the internet. I first saw the movie when I was five, and then I understood: Jareth doesn't love

Sarah. Nothing Jareth says or does indicates love. Jareth wants to use Sarah.

3)The dialogue in The Last Unicorn is some amazing stuff. I've seen few children's films this well-written. Man, Rankin & Bass, you are awesome-ness.

4) Geez, I always identified more with Molly than the Unicorn. As I am so much older (and, alas, less innocent), now, I understand her more clearly than ever. One must wonder whether Molly would have become what she was had she seen a unicorn "when she was new." I would guess the answer to be no, as a unicorn obviously represents something very important to her, again, I would guess some kind of encouragement to maintain her innocence or virginity. I have never read the novel, and now I want to. Not for the Unicorn, but for more about Molly.

5) Again, I have not read the novel. Therefore, I have made an assumption about the relationship of "Lady Almithea" and Prince Liir that probably won't hold up against what is written in the novel. Still, the movie makes Liir such a cardboard cut-out of a character, it's hard to imagine Almithea, (no, I didn't bother to check spelling), falling in love with him unless either

A: They have had a good deal more off-screen interaction than we are aware of, and we are supposed to assume this, or (what I feel more likely)

B: Almithea clings to this relationship with Liir out of fear and desperation. Uncertain of who and what she may be, unable and unwilling to remember, she is frightened and lonely and confused. Liir obviously worships the very ground upon which her tiny, light feet tread, and that is appealing even when one does not feel so desperately isolated. Possibly, Almithea clings to him in hopes that Liir's love can "save" her; she will no longer feel alone, no longer feel like there is something missing, not if Liir loves her. The fact that she sings her little song about her fear and loss, (and fear of her loss), as Liir sings of his love for her sort of clinches that thought for me.

6) Watching some of the older special features on The Labyrinth made me sad. Not because of Jim Henson, but because of George Lucas. In all the interviews, he had so many wonderful things to say about puppets, and real sets, and I just have to wonder what happened there.

7)I've been hunting through Amazon for cheap copies of The Last Unicorn, and found one that also had the short story, "Two Hearts," in which Molly, Liir, Schmendrik and the Unicorn all make an appearance. Apparently, it's sort of a sequel. Guess which book I plan to buy?

8)Man, watching this stuff now, it's no wonder to me that I ended up being the way I am. From Labyrinth, for instance, I learned this lesson, among others: Life doesn't have to be fair. From The Last Unicorn, I learned: You do not need to be afraid to lose things, or to regret that loss.

But, But...She Didn't Kiss Him in the Book! (Prince Caspian Review)

2008-06-04T13:44:00.000-07:00

Meant to finish and post this yesterday, but Mr. G. decided it would be better if I joined him to see the marvelous Irma Thomas at the "Wednesdays in the Park" concert series.

I had considered seeing it again, to get a really good review out of it, but I just haven't the money or time for such things. As it is, I did a good deal of thinking about the movie, and I feel it's got its good and bad points.

First off, I loved The Chronicles of Narnia series as a kid. I've read every book at least twice, and my three favorite famales in the books were Polly, (The Magician's Nephew), Jill, (The Silver Chair and The Last Battle), and Lucy, (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and Voyage of the Dawn Treader); all of whom are -- as far as C.S. Lewis ever really managed to create -- pretty strong-minded little girls.

That being said, I remember it had always bothered me that the girls never really got to participate as much in the battles themselves. Therefore, I was excited to learn that Susan was actually going to get to use her bow and arrow more in the film. Squee-ness, yes? Well.....

The film is beautiful, truly, and so are the Pevensie children. (Edmund looks as if he kicked his cocaine habit from the previous films, good for him!) It begins with Susan trying to read a magazine in peace, which, to any sensible young lad, means she's just begging to be flirted with and have her alone time disrupted! Though the film's ostensibly about Peter's struggles to define himself, (but wait, the book's kind of about Lucy, and everyone's struggles with faith), there's kind of an interesting sub-message buried beneath the Caspian/Susan flirting. Namely: well, Susan's not bloody likely to find anybody even remotely like Caspian in the real world. (Handsome, chivalrous, smart, etc.)

Oh, and Caspian is the prettiest person in this film, (that's saying a great deal), and, if I were fourteen years of age, once more, I'd have been in little teen fandom LUUUUVE. (That accent of his wouldn't have hurt any, either!) That being said, I was highly irritated by the frequent flirting between Susan and Caspian, and when they kissed, I just thought, "Vut der hey?!" (Ah, thank ou, Swedish Chef, for incomprehensible interjections.)

Sure, it was a sweet, innocent little kiss, and it even had a sad feeling to it, as Susan was never to return to Narnia again. But, I am a prudish young married woman, as I was actually also a prudish fourteen-year-old girl, (ridiculously so, at times), and so, I found myself asking, "But...Why was that kiss deemed necessary?!"

On to things other than the kissing: Well, casting the Telmarines as, basically, Spanish conquistadors was interesting, but, as that leaves the Narnians as "noble savages,"(especially what with the much-hyped appearance of a black man as a centaur), well, it's problematic at best. Add to that, Narnia's apparent need for a group of white, British children to come and help them, and we have a story that's been told ad nauseam, and grows ever more insulting with each re-telling. ("We need the good Europeans to save us from the bad Europeans! You know, the ones who are from areas nearer the Mediterranean!") Still, that was some sweet-looking armor the Telmarines had on. I loved those beard-mask things.

Also Luvy: Where were you? Granted, the film-makers decided that the fighting would be so much more interesting to watch than Lucy and Aslan romping around with Bacchus, but man, I missed you, Lu. Too bad that, when the director decided he wanted to let the girls be more involved in the battle, he didn't actually mean you. I bet you could have done a lot of damage, even with just your little knife. (NOTE: Watch the terrified faces of the Telmarines as they look accross the birdge. Aslan hasn't even shown up yet. They're scared of a little girl with a knife. Though, to be fair, little Lucy's "come and try to face me" expression in that scene is quite fearsome.)

Also, and I know this is one hack of a rambler, as far as reviews go, but the film did have Reepicheep, and that's a big plus to me! I was always with Lucy on the whole overwhelming-desire-to-cuddle-Reepicheep thing. And, it was good to see Edmund get a little more of his due, here, which I felt to be kind of lacking in the first one, even at the end. (Edmund was always my second favorite; I loved how he seemed to have maintained his sarcastic personality even after his "conversion.") But, still there were many moments of, "Gee, I don't remember that in the book," though the one oment I completely knew was absolutely, positively not in the book the moment it was shown on screen was the kiss. I mean, I was glad Susan got to participate a little, and be kind of awesome with her bow and arrow, but did she really, truly, have to flirt with Caspian all the time? Did she really have to kiss him? I mean, was that moment necessary?

Also, Peter was far more whiny than I could deal with. The urge to slap that boy around was even worse than any urges I had had to slap Edmund around, even in reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, or seeing the film version. And that's a bad thing, because you're really suppoed to want to slap Edmund around in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, almost as much as (I'm sure), we'll all want to slap Eustace around once we get to Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

All in all, the film was enjoyable. It was pretty, it was exciting, but I found myself asking, "Who are these children?" Excepting Lucy, they didn't seem to be the Pevensies I remember reading about. Susan, especially, was not. In many ways that was good, (I have never quite forgiven Mr. Lewis for excluding Susan in The Last Battle, and if that film is ever made, I hope the filmmakers disregard it), but, in other ways, (the flirting, the kiss), I just didn't like it.

Rant Rant Rant Rant Rant Rant

2008-06-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

I swear, by all manner of deities in this world, that if I hear one more person tell me that I "should be grateful" for my youthful appearance, and that I'll "appreciate it when I'm older," I will beat them to death with whatever happens to be the heaviest book I have on me at that moment. While I happen to like my looks in many ways, the fact that I look a few years younger than I actually am presents many inconveniences, and not just the fact that I am always carded at bars.

Nothin' Says Love Quite Like...

2008-05-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

....Shouting at each other. At some point, way back when, Edda and Amos had a genuinely sweet relationship going on, but that, of course is not nearly as entertaining as this.

Actually, I believe the word for this is not "entertaining" so much as it is "dreck."

Again, BLEGH.

Catch-Up and Random Thoughts

2008-05-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

Back again! Me and Mr. G have been having internet issues of late, so I've had a great deal of catching up to do!

Good news, by the way, ladies and gents : I have passed my M.A. program! My husband's been calling me "Master Mana" for the past week, now, and I must admit, it's been making me giggle!

I've got a couple of summer classes lined up, but as they don't start until July, I have a great deal of time to catch up on all manner of geeky things! (It's been years since I've actually had something close to a summer vacation; I feel I'm getting quite spoiled!)

One of the first things I've been catching up on is the Harry Potter series. Yes, shocking, I know, but I am apparently one of 16 people in the known universe whom has yet to read Harry Potter. I've simply never had either the time nor the inclination; though I am exceedingly fond of children's literature, most of what I read are either classics, (Peter Pan, fairy tales, The Little Prince, etc.), or tended to have either animals or females in the lead role. (Robin McKinley's stuff was always popular with me, and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH has been a personal favorite since childhood.) I just finished the first book, and am currently hunting for my husband's copy of the second.

I'm also in the midst of Jane Austen's Emma, a translation of The Mabiginion, and a book on archaeology. (I try to cram as much reading as possible into my breaks, as I especially love learning things when I don't have to take a test/write a paper on it. Though, I often do. See: my article on children's literature, another reason I'm reading Harry Potter.)

I'm also catching up on two sci-fi series, The 4400 and Firefly. Though The 4400, as far as the first two seasons go, isn't bad, I'm definitely preferring Firefly. (Biggest beef with The 4400: Lilly is defined as a Mommy, and only a Mommy. She just lets her world revolve around vaguely-creep baby Isabelle; it's just not healthy. Biggest beef with Firefly so far: the Saffron episode rubbed me the wrong way in all kinds of ways. Mainly, though, my husband and I took issue with the impression given in the episode that all men are helpless in the face of submissive women offering sex. Mr. G has never understood the trope that men cannot control their hormones, or the belief that they don't have to.)

Also, I finally read Spider-Man: One More Day. I must admit, that while I am tremendously sad about the destruction of Mary Jane and Peter's marriage, (again), I found myself mostly amused by the comic itself. Especially, as by the end of it, I was quoting The Princess Bride over the dialogue.

MEPHISTO: You truly love each other, so you might have been truly happy. Not one couple in a century has that chance, no matter what the storybooks say. So, I think no superhero in a century will suffer as greatly as you.

MARY JANE: Peter, you and I are bound by the bonds of true love, and you cannot track that, not with a thousand Kingpin henchmen. And you cannot break it, not with a thousand contracts with the devil.

See? It works!

I've been catching up on my writing, as well, as my sister and I have been collaborating on a webcomic for a while, now, that we've yet to get off the ground. What with all the reading I've been doing of When Fangirls Attack, and various women of color blogs, it's made me take some really hard looks at some of the characters I've created and plotlines I've developed. I've taken to re-working a lot of it entirely: changing characters' backgrounds, relationships, etc. When you've done stuff with a character for a while, you can get kind of proprietary of them and lose any eagerness to change things that aren't working, so it's been a bit like pulling teeth.

EDIT: Oh, by the way: I'm currently working on a Prince Caspian review. Working Title: "Gah, But She Didn't Kiss Him in the Book!"

Not Objectified, Nooo...And Jane Austen SUPER-heroines?

2008-05-16T07:44:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I think we're just not looking at the same things, here. Can anyone seriously look at any of those images and tell that those are good female role models?! Came up, because I did a Google search for superheroines, and came up with this. (Over half of the pages on the first page are bondage/peril sites! GAH!!!)

I know, I'm awfully behind in the game, as this has been covered 200,000,000,000,000 times before, but....RAGE.

My search for "Jane Austen Superheroines", an unintentional search, wielded more interesting results. Not that any of those are actually about Jane Austen characters as superheroines,, but, especially the comments on Occasional Superheroine got me to thinking. (And by now, you that is a dangerous, dangerous thing.) I was personally amused by the question that "It's not as if we go around saying how Jane Austen adaptations could use empowered male characters, right?"

I could respond by pointing that Mr. Darcy and Col. Brandon so totally are too empowered, and quite empowered, but as the comment is finished up with, "Some movies, like some comics, are just made to be male," and I think we've gotten to the point. (Clearly, Jane Austen novels are made to be female, which I'll inform my brother about, the next time I see him.)

No, I'm seriously not trying to rag on the poor guy, as I've quite possibly ripped that one little quote of a series of other comments where he neither means nor implies anything of the kind. I don't know. Can't find more of his commentary at the moment, so who knows? That's not the point anyway.

So what's the point? Well, there are lots of things that could be the point in all this, like my male friends' derisive comments when I acknowledged that I liked Jane Austen's novels. (I was, apparently, allowed to be a girl and like sci-fi & fantasy, if only I didn't also like "girly" things.) Or the point could be about theories of the idea of the "female hero," using literary articles on Jane Austen and Emma Thompson's commentary on Sense and Sensibility.

But, well, all those wonderful, fascinating points kind of get lost in the thought of, "You know

what would be sweet? Jane Austen characters with superpowers."

Yes, I know, it is quite possibly The. Dorkiest. Thing. Ever.

Still, imagine how dangerous Marianne Dashwood would have been if she were telekinetic. She'd have thrown knives at Fanny, killed her, and bee done with it. And I'm sure there were moments when Elinor would have wanted to set Lucy Steele on fire, though of course, that wouldn't have been sensible, so she wouldn't have done it. Lucy Steele, of course, releases chemicals that make her irresistible to people with weak minds/little willpower.

What powers would Lizzie Bennet have? I think she had had any significantly harmful powers, she'd have killed Miss Bingley and Mr. Darcy back in the first chapter they spoke to her in. Emma Wodehouse would control the weather. Plenty of sunshine for lots of picnics!

In fact, I'm surprised that I couldn't find any comic book companies that seemed to have had this idea.

"We have these girls and they like comic books, but they don't like some of the stuff in comic books. How do we get them off our backs?"

"By giving them something else they like, too?"

"And what else do they like?"

Good...Stories?"

"No, you fool! Jane Austen! And what would make that even better? Superpowers!"

Although, I suppose the other option could be to take existing characters and cast them in Jane Austen stories, like Marvel has done wonderfully with its "Fairy Tales" line. Jean Grey and Scott Summers in Pride and Prejudice? Barbara and Dinah in Sense and Sensibility? Selina Kyle in Mansfield Park? Kitty Pride in Persuasion?

Option #3 could also be to create all new characters, give them superpowers and place them in a period setting. That would give it the option of being much more culturally diverse, (something which Jane Austen distinctly lacks), and offer the chance at much more interesting storylines.

Well, any thoughts? Questions? Comments? Desires to place my head on a pike?

Food For Thought

2008-05-15T17:43:00.000-07:00

I'm working on an article for a grad student magazine about children's literature, and, this afternoon, came across an article called "Manufactured Agency and the Playthings Who Dream it For Us," by Susan Honeyman. This one paragraph caught my attention:

"Until we abandon our mythologizing of children into innocents who cannot be responsible for what they do not understand, who must be dependent and carefree as Hollywood promises in the end they can be, we cannot escape the pull of our rhetoric to hailing neediness and surrendered agency." (127)

Sound familiar? A little Virgin/Whore dynamic mixed with Damsel in Distress mixed with female competence issues?

Replace the word "children" with "women" and you have exactly what many feminist bloggers are fighting against. Women are being treated like children; Hollywood encouraging them to surrender their autonomy for "true love."

Food for thought.

Iron Man Displays a Clear Prejudice Against Bald People

2008-05-15T11:25:00.000-07:00

I mean, just look at the treatment of the bald Obadaiah Stane compared to bouncy-haired Tony, or Pepper, with her flowing red locks! Even Rhodes, who gets to be Tony's buddy, but only because he's got a close-cropped haircut, and even he spends a lot of scenes whining to Tony over his lack of respect. The message is simple: Bald people are relentless fuddy-duddies, but people with hair? Man, they are cool. Even Nick Fury, emminent bad-ass, shows up in only one scene, and sounds as much like a fuddy-duddy as Nick Fury would be capable of. And why? Because he's played by the bald Samuel L. Jackson!

(Not mocking anyone who wrote wonderful articles deconstructing the gender and race issues in Iron Man. I promise. At least, I hope I'm not. I'm sorry if I am.) Merely a futile attempt to be clever. I loved the movie, even though I saw a lot wrong with it. (I wasn't as bothered by the heels thing, because I've actually managed to run in stilletoes, before; it was just excruciating afterwards, and certainly don't reccomend it.) However, I was severely bothered by the way Afghans were demonized in the movie, and the fact that Pepper and the soldier woman who gets blown up were apparently the only mostly-competent females in the whole of Tony Stark's world. The rest were just eye candy and sex toys.

In other shtoofs...The weather is crazy nasty around here. (Thus necessitating an avatar change! Man, I've got a ton of those.) Also, tomorrow's my last day of testing! Yay! Which means, I have a few weeks until I start classes again, which gives me time to paint some rooms in my house! Yay! Nothing says "summer fun" quite like spending all your time indoors!

Went ahead and splurged on a Batgirl t-shirt, as a belated birthday present to myself. I did get other b-day presents; my husband bought me the first season of the wonderful mecha anime, Big O, (even called in a favor from a distributor to get it), and my mother gave me some clothes, in a lovely gift bag. (I have inherited from my mother the tendency to just hand over gifts in the bag I bought them in.)

This article on the gendering in giant robots got me thinking about the gendering in Big O. See, the "mega-deus" Big O is so ridiculously masculine: giant piston arms, rivets everywhere, everything that they can use to make you think "manly." There are two other mega-deuses that appear within the course of the show that are built the same way. There are, in fact, only three female-formed giant robots that make an appearance within the show itself: Dorothy-1, Glinda, and Big Venus. Dorothy-1 and Glinda are pretty severely out-matched by Big O, but Big Venus is, reportedly, the most pwerful mega-deus ever. She demonstrates this not by fighting, however, but by re-working the world to fit her wishes. (Or so we think. The show's hella confusing.) It's something I think I'll have to look further into; maybe do a post about.

In other news, Girl Genius continues to make me happy. I've even gotten my husband obsessed with it! I have a deep, nefarious love of mad scientists/mad science. (Yes, I've read Narbonic. And Miracle of Science. Casey and Andy was never my thing, though.) I remember finding it odd that I thought Gil would look so hot with his paper-doll goatee, but then I realized that, as my husband has a goatee, Gil would resemble him greatly. (I think such knowledge would comfort "Mr. G" greatly!)

Hehehe....

2008-05-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

David Willis is, frankly, quite far from my favorite webcomic artist, but sometimes, he manages to rock my socks.

This is one of those times:

Went over to TNI, though, and saw this one:

For. The. Win.
.

Quick Thoughts on the May 2008 Vogue (Superhero Edition!)

2008-05-07T10:12:00.001-07:00

I am not what one may call an "Avid Reader" of Vogue magazine. I am, personally, more fond of Vanity Fair, though In Style may capture my occasional attention, and Cosmo and Glamour do as well, but very, very rarely. Nonetheless, magazines such as Vogue are occasionally a guilty pleasure of mine. I say "guilty" because I recognize much of what is wrong with them: they can cater to, and play up, female insecurties about what their femininity "should" be, in terms of fashion, design, and general forms of the lifestyle. These magazines can, and often do, put up an elaborate, unattainable "ideal" of the female, that no real living woman could reach.
That being said, I enjoy these magazines, though only in small doses. Many of the articles are interesting and informative -- I had never even heard of Virginia Lee Burton before, though the book Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel had crossed my radar in my youth, and now, thanks to Vogue, I do. The photo shoots and photo spreads are usually my favorite part, however -- I've had a fascination with costume design since a young age, and I love to see what's being done, creatively, with couture. Vanity Fair's photo spreads and shoots are, for my money, the most creative out of the bunch, (I'm absolutely in love with the Alfred Hitchcock poster remakes they did a bit back), but Vogue can have some pretty inventive ones, and some interesting articles. Let me start by saying that Isabel Fontana, ("Wonder Womanly Looks for Night,") is absolutely stunning, though slight, and if she were allowed to build up some muscle, she'd make an excellent Wonder Woman in her own right. Most of the dresses and jewelry had a definite Grecian inspiration, (though what? no silver cuffs?), and there was, in fact, a dress or two I could see Diana wearing in her off-time. (My money'd be on the gold silk cowl-neck dress; it's just so elegant, and sexy without actually feeling the need to show a lot of skin.)
The Gwyneth Paltrow article's pretty standard for an actress who's returning to film after kids. (I swear, they all get called "Supermom" no matter how involved they may or may not be with their own children.) The photo shoot itself is rather uninspired. Since I've heard so much good stuff about Pepper Pots in the Iron Man movie itself, (haven't seen it yet, myself), I didn't like how the photo shoot instead chose to represent Paltrow as this decorative object surrounded by all the Iron Man gadgetry. All the things they could have done with the concept -- they could have recast her as "Tony Stark," for instance -- and they just put her in a ball gown and surround her with wires.
Maryna Linchuk and Tom Welling, (whom I just discovered was thirty-one -- my God!), model --for my blood -- ridiculously expensive work clothes in a spread called "Making Headlines." The story obstensibly behind the spread is a reversal of Superman: Linchuk is the mild-mannered Clark Kent/Superman and Welling is the suspicious, and lovely, Lois Lane. The clothes are admittedly beautiful, but, then, my closet has always held a soft spot for pencil skirts, tweed, pumps, and sweater sets, even if I still only wear jeans and a t-shirt 82% of the time. This spread's a bit more creative, though I'd have preferred some sort of representation of "superheroic" action on the part of Linchuk. (My favorite photo spreads, if you couldn't tell, are generally dynamic.)
The article on the Costume Institute's exhibit draws nice parallels between fashion -- especially couture -- and the world of superheroes. Fashion can be transformative, at least so my Fashion & Design friends can tell me, and the way that's applied to the fashion of superheroes in the article is fascinating. I do wish that the fashion workers quoted didn't seem to view the superhero world as so far "below" the fashion industry, as I feel they are, or can be, both art in their own forms.
The spread that Vogue makes to go with the article, ("Daring Do"), is...OK. I like the idea of designers trying their hands at superhero costumes, and I was quite awed by most of the results. The Nina Ricci Poison Ivy is stunning, and I personally could see Selina Kyle at least having a Swarovski-Crystal-encrusted-mask, or even one with actual diamonds. I'm completely unfamiliar with either Dawnstar, Aurora, or the Little Mermaid, (is that seriously a Marvel character?), and I would have wished they'd done more at least slightly less obscure characters. (Raise your hand if you would have liked to have seen a couture version of the Scarlet Witch!) My favorite had to have been the Rick Owens cashmere and leather ensemble, apparently inspired by Batman.
I have a good friend who's in Fashion & Design, and she tells me that couture, for the most part, is meant to be impractical. It's strictly a beautiful article of clothing, a work of art, and rarely are the ensembles and dresses presented within meant to be "workable." (Though this Vogue has an article about "everyday couture," so maybe she'll have to rework that theory.) That being said, I was surprised at how "workable" a few of the ensembles were, and even more so than a few of the outfits actually worn by female characters in comics.
In short, though Vogue could have used a little more inspiration and a little less condescention, it was, overall, a respectful and intellegent magazine on fashion and superheroes.