Me and My Red Stapler Against The World!

Some new commentary on Girls's Costume Warehouse

2011-10-05T08:52:00.001-07:00

Back in 2007, I worked for a now-defunct adult website.

In preparation for recording videos, one of my bosses ordered the big, phonebook sized costume catalogs from companies like Leg Avenue. I leafed through them with fascination, because, after all, I'm a costume geek at heart.

And then suddenly it dawned on me:

We, as a society, have so bought in to the "Halloween is the time to for women dress like a stripper" idea, that literally, we go to costume stores and buy actual costumes marketed to the adult industry the other eleven months of the year.

There is so much to be said here involving slut shaming, stigmatization of sex workers, the virgin/whore dichotomy, the commoditization of women's bodies, etc etc etc.

There's nothing wrong with sexy costumes, please don't misunderstand me. I just wanted to highlight the extremely literal manifestation of this societal idea.

Inspector Spacetime as Meta

2011-10-03T05:50:00.001-07:00

Does anyone else feel like Inspector Spacetime is one the best sporking of Doctor Who that's ever come down the pike?

Inspector Spacetime Confessions on Tumblr reads like the greatest commentary on Doctor Who's source material *and* fandom.

I'm just really blown away by how smart the commentary has been, and how seemingly in on the joke the creators of Community are with it.

It's like this perfect storm of amazingness.

Full. Body. Eyeroll.

2011-05-07T08:59:00.000-07:00

So there's been a lovely kerfuffle going on this week, the simple summary of which is, Can you be a hot girl and a nerd?

Leaving aside the irritating use of "girl" to describe adult women, I haven't really had any commentary other than a side-eye.

I finally figured out my response, left as a comment on the above linked post.

Here it is. Ready?

If you can’t be a hot girl and a nerd, what the hell have my best girl friends and I been doing since childhood?

Sheesh.

That’s really all I have to say on the subject, with a healthy punctuation of a full-body eyeroll.

There you go. There's my soundbite.

Confession

2011-02-23T13:09:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make, you guys.

My ventures to In-N-Out during my recent trip to LA really didn't impress me. The burgers weren't as good as I remembered, and the fries were just plain bland.

Even having my burger Animal Style couldn't save it.

There's a burger restaurant here in Austin that's near my office called Mighty Fine.

And my confession is this:

I like Mighty Fine better than In-N-Out.

We had an office lunch there today, and I was fulfilled in the way I usually only was once a year when I had my Cheeseburger Animal Style.

And I didn't even get one of the shakes!

Mighty Fine makes their shakes with Blue Bell ice cream, guys.

Om nom fucking NOM.

If you ever visit me, I promise we can go to Mighty Fine.

Because you know what? It is*.

*Apparently they're also really good about providing gluten-free service, too!

Cross-posting goodness! Comment where you wish!

Spirit Day

2010-10-20T08:24:00.001-07:00

I am against homophobic bullying.

I am against all bullying.

You are not alone.

If you find us, it will get better.

Please find us.

We're here, and we're looking for you, too.

Why "It Gets Better" is the wrong message to send--and why we should do it anyway

2010-10-07T08:22:00.001-07:00

When the "It Gets Better" project began a couple weeks ago, I didn't feel like I had anything actively helpful to contribute. As I said at the time, my not inconsiderable bullying had nothing to do with being queer--except maybe in the older form of the word. But, as we've now reached the "backlash" portion of the news cycle, I do feel as though I have things to say. Things, which I hope are helpful.

We have reached a point where not only has there been backlash over Dan Savage being the head of the movement (nb: that backlash happened immediately, I don't want to make it seem as though I've missed that), but where shitbags are posting things called "It Gets Worse." In these delightful musings, bigoted assholes co-opt the momentum of "It Gets Better" to further bully and hate-vomit on the QUILTBAG community.

But, sadly, that brings me to my next point.

"It Gets Better" is a terrible message, because it doesn't. It changes, sure. But as the blog 49percent asks, what, gets better, exactly? (The link referred to there is also well-worth reading.)

The answer, in short, is that as you get older, you are better able to choose your family and surround yourself with people who love, respect, and support you. So yes, in that sense, it's a wonderful message.

But it does precious little to help now.

"It gets better" is something I told myself for oh, about seventeen years. Or, from the age of five through the age of about 22. I said it to myself for differing reasons, and because of different hardships. I leaned on those words so often that by the time I was 27, and went through the worst fucking year of my life, they had lost all meaning.

They had become so devoid of power, that they became nothing more than pandering to my ears. In my destroyed state of mind, hearing them drove me to nearly ruining two of the closest and most important relationships of my adult life.

So we need to be careful what we're telling these kids. Because if, as an adult, without suicidal tendencies, those words drove me to extremes, I don't want to know how these kids will react.

"It gets better" is a placeholder. What these kids need are the tools and support to make it better now.

One of the other things that I find especially problematic about Dan Savage's "It Gets Better" project, is that The Trevor Project was already here. It was already here, and it was already inclusive to PoC and the whole QUILTBAG. While it's good to have more than one organization for an issue, Dan Savage is such a divisive figure, that it's diluting the message, not strengthening it.

And, The Trevor Project is all about giving kids the tools and support to make it better now.

So while I think it's wonderful and important to see celebrities filming videos telling us that they know where troubled youth have been, how many news cycles until It Gets Better peters out and these kids are left, once again, alone?

Let's make it better now.

GIRLS'S COSTUME WAREHOUSE

2010-10-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

Today I'm going to take the piss out of one of our society's oddest ills: "Sexy" Women's Costumes.

Sexy Peter Pan - Yeah, okay, Mary Martin was a bit of a cutie...OH GOD WHAT? This costume both manages to suck AND miss every point ever.

Sexy Willy Costume - Nope, it's not what you think! Or the other thing either! I bet she's pushing Slurm. WHIMMY WHAM WHAM WHOZZLE!

Sexy Phantom - Or, you know, you can be the creepy stalker character!

Sexy Washington - 1776! Performed by strippers!

Petite Glitter Tophat - This is actually pretty cute, and I want it. I just wanted to point out that it's nice to see Sarah Michelle Gellar getting work these days.

Sexy Chinese Takeout - Oh man. I actually think this is cute as hell, and I would totally wear it. Tiny Fortune Cookie Hat! The problem is that as a costume, this becomes mocking. Instead of "I look fierce in my outfit that references a common every day object" it becomes "Hurr! Chinese food!" and then devolves into Rosie O'Donnell Land from there.

Coral Clownfish - Hey! I found Nemo! He's at the Velvet Button and he goes on at 12:45!

Gold Digging Girl - Kanye already covered this one.

Blue Babe Costume - La la la la la la, why isn't my face blue? Bonus creepy: The dude in the couple's costume.

Anita Sedative - Ahahahah! Because mental illness is SO FUNNY! Also, she seems to be posing with Johnny the Homicidal Maniac in the couple's costume photo.

Spoonful of Sugar - I don't know if I'd trust her with my kids. Practically awful in every way.

Dirty Martini - HA! It's funny because the PIMENTOS look like her NIPPLES!

Sexy Panda - Sexy Panda? More like Sexual Harassment Panda! AMIRITE?

Pippi Longstocking - The real Pippi Longstocking would throw a car at these people.

Spongebabe Squareskirt - There's a terrible joke in here somewhere about how her starfish is named Patricia.

Okay, that's enough of that misery. Here, have a palate cleanser.

See you next Halloween!

All The News That Fits

2010-08-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

-Took cat to the vet. He might have hyperthyroidism, but the vet's not sure. So, blood tests. I also picked up more Feliway. It might be snake oil, but at least I feel like I'm doing something. Also, one of the receptionists said she swore by it as a thing that keeps her cat from destroying her furniture. So hey, maybe it's not snake oil. ::shrug:: Either way, Morbo now has a very silly haircut because the vet had to buzz his bib to get at his thyroids.

-Via RM, Eredien points us at a blog produced by Tampax of a boy who wakes up one day and finds he has a vagina. And then gets his period. I don't know about you guys, but I had King Missle's "Detachable Penis" going through my head when I read this post. And the rest of the blog. I'm not sure where they're going with this, but it sure is bizarre.

-Flemco live blogged the Glenn Beck ridiculousness in DC. Good discussion happening in the comments thread.

-More commentary on Antoine Dodson: What's So Funny About Antoine Dodson?

-From Time.com: New Orleans, Five Years Later.

Yay Friday!

2010-08-27T08:29:00.001-07:00

-The cat was terribly generous this morning and let Josh sleep until the princely hour of 5am. I am looking into vets and I'm going to see who's open tomorrow. This shit's gotta stop.

-In world news, the Society for Creative Anachronism has seized control of Russia.

-If you're doing Atkins/South Beach/low-carb, I recommend the blog Unbreaded. It's run by a blogger friend and her bff back home, and it's written with a level of respect and consideration you don't usually see in diet blogs. It's neither slavish in its adherence to the diets, nor is it wishy washy or silly. It's a real and honest take on food, dieting, and self-image, with a nice dose of humor and feminism. You guys know I'm not one to push diet ideology, I just like the way this blog is written.

-Chris Sims knows weird. So he brings us ten of the weirdest pieces of erotic superhero fan art.

-Mayor Bloomberg was on The Daily Show last night talking about the Cordoba Center. (Is it Cordoba Center or Cordoba House? I've seen both.)

-Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away! Fun fact: my grandmother's uncle helped found Eastman Kodak. Did she tell me this BEFORE I started going to the University of Rochester? Nope, that would have been too helpful. Apparently said grand-uncle was one of George Eastman's best friends. I never did get around to researching that side of the family when I lived up there. Alas.

-The NYTimes has an interesting article on a hoarder, today.

-An artist in New York needs an oven in which to bake a bread bed.

-OH MY GOD WHAT.

Thursday Roundup

2010-08-26T09:36:00.001-07:00

-As I mentioned yesterday, it was my second anniversary with Josh. When he got home from work, there was a card stuck in our front door from our apartment complex...wishing him a happy birthday. (I got one on my birthday, too.) Seeing as his birthday is in April, we're not sure what happened there. My guess is they knew yesterday was somehow significant, and just took a stab in the dark.

-I knew all this obfuscation about what the Cordoba Center actually is would result in anti-Muslim hate crimes. I just didn't think it would happen this fast.

-Meanwhile, good hustle, Russell Simmons.

-Another day, another unnecessary photoshopping of Christina Hendricks.

-As linked around in other places, another high profile Republican has come out of the closet. Okay, look, Republicans. You do realize that we've come to the point where if you are loud and vocal about being anti-Gay, we're going to assume you've got a Platinum account at HotBoysInChaps.com. Because more often than not, we're right. Being gay isn't wrong, sinful, dirty, or a sign that they are immoral or want to corrupt your family. It's a sign that a person wants to have love and sex with other people similarly equipped as they are in the genitals. That's it. Sigh.

-The 1996 Doctor Who TV movie featuring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor is now available on DVD in the US. Uh...brb.

-Tron-a-Sutra.

Mundries

2010-08-23T07:15:00.000-07:00

-Weekend was lovely. Josh and I went to archery practice yesterday. My friend Katrina brought me a 20lb recurve that she doesn't use anymore to try out. OMG I LOVE THIS BOW. It's technically a kids' bow, and somehow even only at 20lb, has a hell of a punch behind it. A++, would shoot again! I also managed to forget to not hyperextend my elbow on my first shot, so now I have an awesome bruise on the inside of my elbow.

-Antoine Dodson will be on NPR this evening.

-For the three of you who hadn't heard, John Barrowman held a garage sale in Wales recently. was there.

-“Look, I’m sorry for blowing up earlier. It’s just…I can feel tequila…in my face.” Hungover Owls. Easily the best thing I've seen in days, sent to me by the awesome .

-There's a new Ask Morbo!

-ICYMI, I design nerded yesterday.

-I want these boots. And maybe also these.

-Remember that NYTimes article last week once again bemoaning the extended adulthood of "kids today"? Apparently someone on Salon opened their yap and were even more tin-eared about the differences in how far a dollar goes today, as well as the skyrocketed cost of living. Pandagon has an excellent rejoinder.

-There was a pro- and anti-Cordoba Center rally in New York yesterday.

-NYers be aware: There will be F-16 Flyovers today.

-Fast Food False Advertising, via Yagathai

Good Graphic Design

2010-08-22T16:35:00.001-07:00

You know what I love? Good graphic design.

Today I saw an incredible example of good design in such a common, everyday place, it made me grin like an idiot.

Here is what I saw:

So here we have a star, to denote Texas. The star is then broken into two pieces: A compass point, and a strip of road.

This image was set into the highway ramp walls as bas reliefs at standard intervals.

Some googling tells me this is the logo for the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, and that it was designed by Door Number 3 Austin design house.

Well done, guys. I was literally distracted from the road by the elegance of such a simple, every day thing. (I mean that in a good way!)

Saturdries

2010-08-21T08:50:00.001-07:00

-Josh is at the office for some OT. I'm going to tidy, pick up my license plates, and hit a yoga class. GOSH WE'RE EXCITING.

-"We have collectively taken a pratfall on a moral whoopee cushion." -Dick Cavett on the furore over Cordoba Center

-Tom and Lorenzo at Project Runway always crack my shit up. Their takes on the Miss Universe 2010 National Costumes (part one and part two) are no exception.

-Remember all that stuff about cigarettes sold on Reservations and how they don't have to pay NY State taxes for it? Bloomberg opened his yap and said something profoundly stupid. The Seneca Nation has called him on it, but Bloomberg hasn't apologized. Now, the Oneida Nation has called him a Nazi (::facepalm and fail::), but are also calling for a rally against him. This one will probably only get uglier.

-I can't decide if these amuse or horrify me. I *will* be getting the Lando fragrance for my brother for Christmas. (I like to get him a silly "me" gift, as well as something a little more serious.) I'm curious about how they smell.

-More pinup RDJ.

All I really have to say about the "Ground Zero Mosque" debacle

2010-08-17T10:14:00.001-07:00

...can be said in my friend Daryl's photo essay.

Also, it's not a Mosque, it's a community center, and the outrage is over something equivalent to putting a YMCA near the Murrah building in Oklahoma City.

End of story.

A Love Letter to Someone Else

2010-08-16T21:01:00.001-07:00

Spoilers for Scott Pilgrim vs the World

Tonight I saw Scott Pilgrim for a second time.

When I came out of it on Saturday, I was filled with OMG THAT WAS AWESOME. Tonight? Not so much.

Tonight I realized that regardless of all the references I caught, squees over the perfect casting, covetousness over various costume pieces and accessories...this movie wasn't written for me.

In fact, I am merely a coathanger to the plot of that love letter. I'm not an active participant--and neither was Ramona Flowers.

This movie (and the comic) was, quite literally, a story about how a woman's past just about killed the guy interested in her.

Josh, very astutely, compared this story to High Fidelity, noting that they were similar tales of different stages in "mens' lives."

Both sources are excellent, innovative, and honestly new takes on a yawn-inducingly tired story. One that, again, has nothing to do with me.

While she had a bit more "there" there in the comic, Ramona Flowers is nothing more than a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. No amount of hair color shifts, pithy one-liners, or awesome fight skills make up a character. Shit, even Knives had more character development than she did. (I'm referring solely to the movie, here. The Knives plot was resolved far sooner in the comic.)

I guess, in the end, I feel very hurt that a movie I was told was for me, wasn't for me at all. And in fact, doesn't regard me at all.

I'm not saying the movie was bad. My qualms aside, it truly was a hat tip to almost every subculture to which I hold a membership. Edgar Wright once again proved his brilliance.

I just wish...the love had been more inclusive.

Back to the Sundries

2010-08-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

-Josh and I leave for Pennsic tonight. His friend Mike is flying in from Seattle to make the trip with us. I told you we were nuts.

-Emma Watson got a haircut. I think it's freaking adorable, and definitely a smart move to distance herself from a character known for long, wild hair. Bart Calendar has a savvy theory, however.

-Elizabeth Bear has made an ass of herself again. But that's not the important part. The important part is that Ephemere has written an excellent piece about the Bataan Death March, and why the term "death march" is uncool to use casually. She also learned me something about Imelda Marcos. Jokes about how I share a birthday with her and its correlation to my shoe collection are suddenly a lot less funny.

-The National Unemployment rate remains at 9.5%. That means almost ONE OUT OF EVERY TEN PEOPLE are out of work. That's not terrifying or anything. OH WAIT. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.

-Bitsyrant wrote this excellent piece on Seth McFarlane's transphobia. I really want to like you, Seth McFarlane. Why you gotta make it so hard?

-The Amityville Horror house has been sold.

-9GAG.com is my new timesuck. Heads' up: If you think you don't want to read the comments on any given item, go with that instinct. Also, usual internet trigger warning for occasional bigotry, NSFW content, etc. But generally, there's LULZ.

Wednesdries

2010-07-28T07:09:00.000-07:00

-I did the gym again this morning, to slightly better results. Yay. My endurance is still worse than it's been in years. :-/ Upside? I made myself a breakfast taco! Mmm....

-My friend Dan is participating in the Echelon Gran Fondo Portland, a cycling event starting in Hood River, Oregon, supporting the LIVESTRONG Foundation and the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health and Science University, and is asking for donations.

-There was a post on Feministe yesterday about child-rearing, that, as these posts always do, ended up as a 300-comment behemoth about children screaming in restaurants. Karnythia wrote a fantastic response. (The essay is the same at both places, but naturally, the comments will be different.)

-This is fake, but fantastic and silly.

-Yo dawg...oh.

-Feeling down? Today's Picture Post Wednesday at SF_Drama is "Show us your pets!" themed. Yes, Morbo makes an appearance.

-When I was a kid, I watched the Flinstones, and I smoked Winston cigarettes. (via Liz Baillie)

Whoa!

2010-07-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

I hadn't heard of Cowboys and Aliens until just now, but oh my god, this image is amazing:

Tuesdries

2010-07-27T10:57:00.001-07:00

-Morbo seemed a little calmer last night. We got a diffuser with a calming agent that contains Feliway. (Also, hoshit, the stuff cost almost $50! Yikes!) We're still trying to figure out what's his damage. Josh thinks it may be because I'm leaving every day again, which he hasn't experienced in almost a year. You know, on top of all the other upheaval he's gone through since April.

-I got back on the workout wagon today. Let's not discuss how it went. That said, Populace in the Park (the weekly SCA gathering) is tonight, so I'll be doing fencing drills in the evening heat anyway. Whoo.

-Superstimuli and the Collapse of Western Civilization. An interesting read, for sure. I feel like the phrase "Western Civilization" is really ethnocentric and narrow-minded, especially since the issues discussed affect first-world countries, not just those in the West. (via )

- has an excellent essay on feminism and trusting women, and the ugly situations in which women aren't treated as full humans.

-Your Underdog Lovelorn Romantic May Be My Rapist, by Melissa McEwan over at Shakesville. Brutal and insidious, but definitely worth the read. (Major trigger warnings all over the post and the comments, btw.)

-Jailbroken phones now allowed. I'll still stick with my Droid, thanks.

- saw Joshua Jackson escorted out of SDCC for not having a badge. I admire Jackson's gumption, because undeterred, he hosted PaceyCon 2010! Dude, I totally would have attended.

Saturdries

2010-07-24T17:52:00.001-07:00

-Today has been rad.

-Make a meal plan based on what's on sale in your area!

-NYC has a Johnny AppleWEED

-The storm in NYC last night! I recommend watching the video. It's fantastic.

-BP uses inmate labor for oil cleanup. What's sad is that I'd be more okay with this if it was above-the-board.

-Are cats and dogs ruining us?

TGI Sundries

2010-07-23T07:47:00.001-07:00

-I have gone from dressing super girly to...jeans and a Shaun of the Dead t-shirt. My co-workers are going to be so confused. (There was a mid-point yesterday of jeans and a nice, plain black t-shirt with a v-neck. One of my co-workers actually didn't recognize me in the lobby.)

-Well done, nerds.

-This is my new favorite website.

-Of lovers and potato mashers.

-Darth Vader has hit some hard times.

-Charles Ragnel charged with ethics violations. Gosh, what a surprise!

-Dear Alan Moore: Shine on, you crazy diamond.

-A run-down of Thursday at SDCC.

-Dammit, Helen Mirren, I can only love you so much before it becomes creepy and weird.

-Women featured at SDCC

-SDCC is now Klingon-compliant

Lunch'n Sundries

2010-07-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

-Day 2 at my new job!

-There's going to be a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender. No, no, the show. Here's an interview with the shows' creators. Best quote? "We just don’t subscribe to the conventional wisdom that you can’t have an action series led by a female character. It’s kinda nonsense to us."

-Two more accusers of Al Gore step forward. The meta around this situation continues to spiral out of control. I still remain neutral.

-lolsob

-The Ten People You'll Meet at SDCC

-11 Awesome Celebrity Nerds

YES. THIS.

2010-07-20T14:35:00.000-07:00

From today's Fandom Secrets:

I'm not going to SDCC this year, but please, someone, ANYONE make this happen!!!!

Kitty Krazy Sundries

2010-07-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

-Morbo has the kitty krazies this morning.

-Oil Spill: Gulf Water Sample Explodes When Chemist Tests For Toxicity

-'Almost All of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Workers are Dead'

-Forever 21 is now selling maternity clothes. Aside from the fact that's a store that tends to market to teenagers (and owl-obsessed women in their late 20s), it's testing out its new line of maternity clothes in states that have high teen pregnancy rates. h/t Bart Calendar, who also has good commentary here.

-A lesson re-learned on gender and space. Nothing new to many of us, but a concept always worth a read.

-The Doctor Ditches the TARDIS to Work the Pole. It's a burlesque routine featuring a woman in 10 cosplay, and she knows her way around a stripper pole.

-The Goon! The animation looks gorgeous.

-Time Out New York has an article on bespoke suits and the 50 best cufflinks and tie clips. Yeah, all right.

Monday Sundries

2010-07-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

-Those of you who follow me on Twitter and FB saw this the other day: 2+ weeks of bad sleep, continual heat exhaustion, and high stress have taken the inevitable toll: I have a cold. Ugh.

I spent all of yesterday on the couch playing Mass Effect 2, and I got a decent night's sleep last night. I actually feel better today than I've been feeling. My mom always said the cure to a summer cold was sunshine and salt water. I'll have to make due with sunshine and a poolside. Either way, the vitamin D can only help.

-Josh and I watched Black Dynamite last night. It's both very silly and very smart. It's also got some amazing one-liners, amazing costumes, and lots of pretty.

-Trans Job Discrimination in New York: Now with numbers!

-How the Media Should Treat the Sexual Assault Allegations Against Al Gore

-The photos in this post show great and rarely seen angles of the area around where I grew up.

-RM beat me to it, but it's too awesome to deny:
In a contest between Ben Franklin and Captain Jack Harkness, for shagging, charming, and being an all around bon vivant, who would win?

-There's an interview with John Barrowman at After Elton.

-Adam P. Knave gives us a delightful New York Tourists' Guide. DON'T BE A JERK AND YOU WON'T GET SENT TO QUEENS! (There's nothing wrong with Queens, but unless they're looking for the biergarten or the airports, tourists tend to not want to go there.)

-How to make a BLT.

Home Sweet Sundries

2010-07-16T09:27:00.001-07:00

-I am as bothered as most of my friends by the meme of "women who accuse men of sexual assault are liars," but the information emerging in the Al Gore case seems increasingly thin. If this turns out to be false, I'll be very angry.

-Goldman Sachs is to pay the $550 Million to Settle SEC Charges Related to Subprime Mortgage CDO Oh that's good. How many trillions have we lost since 2008?

-The exceptionally awesome comic book store, Rocketship, closed its doors. And that's terrible.

-The trailer for Social Network is far more interesting than I ever thought it could be. Bonus: Choral version of Radiohead's "Creep."

-Oh hey. BP was involved in the release of the Libyan terrorist involved in PanAm Flight 103. BRB, vomiting forever.

-Twattoos This is "new and noteworthy"? I've seen them before. Yes, in person. And not at all recently.

-The cap on the leak seems to be holding. I'VE GOT MY EYE ON YOU, LEAK CAP.

-An essay on the sweat shop labor involved in "Fast Fashion," and ensuing comments. Wow, that escalated quickly. I killed a guy! (comments closed, but still worth a peek.)

-So far, I've watched the new episodes of Leverage, White Collar, and Covert Affairs. All are good. RM said Covert Affairs was "exhausting for its relentless heteronormativity." I watched the first episode with that in mind, and my god, she's right. It seemed like every single motivation was inspired by heterosexual love or lust. I'll watch more--it has Christopher Gorham!--but if everything is so one-note as it is now? I'll stop. That said, I like Annie Walker's dialogue. She's got snark to her, not dissimilar to Buffy Summers or Veronica Mars.

Sundries-a-go-go

2010-07-14T08:15:00.001-07:00

-Morbo (my kitty) and I are settling into our new home. If his incessant purring is any indication, he'll be happy here.

-Can this be real? I want it to be real.

-In yesterday's Fandom Secrets post, there was this secret. It was merely text which reads, "I might not be an expert on this type of thing, but not telling me you were a guy until after we met at the con was a BAD MOVE."

In the comments, many people defend the friend for protecting his gender identity, but the OP comes in and clarifies that no, he was a straight cis-male who'd passed himself off as female. Even after the OP clarifies, there's a goodly number of comments still suggesting the friend was trans. It's an interesting read. (Note: I have no idea what the truth is, I just think it's a fascinating intersection of gender identity online vs. the real world, as well as the risks we take when we meet friends from the internet.)

-The Old Spice ad campaign has blown straight past "advertising" and into art. They are now responding to Tweets in Youtube videos. If we're supposed to let our money talk, then I will never buy any other brand of soap ever again.

-Improv everywhere does it again.

-This is going to get worse before it gets better. If it gets better.

-If this is true, I may vomit.

Sundries 2: Electric Boogaloo

2010-07-12T06:27:00.000-07:00

-AAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHH.

-More coherently, my plan for the day is this: Continue boxing and packing things, shower, take the boxes to FedEx (hooray granny cart!), hit Walgreen's for wee wee pads, and then CLEAN ALL THE THINGS.

Gee, when I put it like that, it seems almost doable. @_@

-A car full of people dressed as zombies crashed on Interstate 84 near downtown Portland on Friday, causing initial confusion by people who witnessed the crash (h/t Bart_Calendar)

-Being queer is not new. These pictures are amaaaazing. (h/t Supergee)

-There's a youtube vid in this link that I love. That is how you do a sexual violence prevention PSA.

-This essay, entitled "You people and your quaint little categories: Torchwood, Castle, Psych and modern male sexuality" is made of win, cheez-its, glitter, and awesome.

-I'd only seen the first image, but here are several photos of Lady Gaga in man drag. My love for her continues.

-Also, here is a
great essay about why she's great.

-Live near York, PA and in the market for a dog? I have it on good authority that she's a winner. OMG LOOKIT THAT FACE. She also has her Canine Good Citizen certification, so you know she'll be a good dog.

Sundries

2010-07-10T07:50:00.000-07:00

-My boyfriend just informed me of this. OH MY GOD AWESOME. I recommend the videos of some of the recording sessions.

-No seriously. When I get a car, I'm totally getting a TomTom GPS.

-We've all seen this, yes? Okay, good.

-The UK Supreme Court has determined that gay, lesbian and bisexual asylum-seekers cannot be returned to countries where they would face persecution, today.

-I need to think about this. I agree with her complaint, and with the ruling. Hmm.

-PUT THE GD PHONE DOWN WHEN YOU DRIVE, PEOPLE.

-We've also all seen this, right?

-It looks like X-Men First Class will be rated W. For "What is this, I don't even?"

Jamie Oliver: Champion of the People or Fatphobic Mansplainer?

2010-04-20T11:32:00.001-07:00

I confess, I haven't seen an episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

I've heard two very contradictory opinions from sources I trust.

One point of view says that he's addressing a very real problem about the quality of food in schools, the growing dependence on pre-made meals, and worse, the growing ignorance of basic cooking skills.

The other point of view says that he's a privileged wankadoodle who thinks money and time grow on trees, and what is it any of his business what people eat or weigh?

Not having seen the show, but having opinions about this sort of topic, I imagine the truth is somewhere in the middle.

On his website, there is now a petition.

In one box, it has this message from Jamie: "If you care about the health of your children and the food they eat please sign this petition now."

In a box next to it is has this message "from you" for the petition: "Sign Jamie's petition to save cooking skills and improve school food.

I support the Food Revolution. America's kids need better food at school and better health prospects. We need to keep cooking skills alive."

I feel like those messages are contradictory.

Jamie's message conflates weight and health, which is a HUGE issue.

"Our" message demands better and more healthy food at schools, and to improve education on how to cook. That's kind of important.

Not to quote a truly bizarre source, but uh...did any of you ever see the movie Heavyweights?

It's about a kid who goes to a fat camp that got sold to a fitness madman (played hilariously by Ben Stiller in an obvious precursor to his role in Dodgeball), the kids stage a coup, and run the camp their way.

In their renewed vision of the camp, they have a fucking blast being kids in a warm, positive environment, and one of the clips in the montage includes a cooking class. Not a "how to cook low fat meals" class, but an honest to goodness class on how to cook food that tastes good.

I've seen with my own eyes people eat more healthfully once they start to learn to cook because they're caring about the quality of the components they're using, not which frozen meal is on special that week.

I realize this veers back into the "money and time don't grow on trees" category. However, I get the sense that part of "The Food Revolution" is a movement to bring better food options to underserved neighborhoods.

Anyway, I hope that the good intentions of this show and movement aren't paving a certain road. I hope that there's an understanding that weight and health aren't one and the same. I hope that there's an understanding that sometimes living off of canned and frozen items is all a person can do.

But I really hope that this show isn't all the bad that I've heard, and none of the good.

D'awww!

2010-03-19T06:10:00.000-07:00

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 4x16 OF UGLY BETTY

On this week's episode, Justin had his first kiss. It was in a scene, but it was with a girl he liked, whose name is Lily.

Not long after, Justin has his second kiss. With his other friend from acting class, a boy named Austin.

I'll let the scene speak for itself.

It made me squee and it warmed my heart, and all I could think was OMG THEY'RE SHOWING A TEENAGE BOY HAVING HIS FIRST GAY KISS ON NETWORK TELEVISION. YAY!!!

I love that the writers "went there" with Justin. They've never pulled any punches with his character, and they've always written him to be a smart, kind, savvy kid, who's loved by his family no matter what.

It all makes me so happy!

Pups!

2010-03-16T16:38:00.001-07:00

My roommate Erin, our friend Eileen, and I went to walk doggies in the park today.

I got this love muffin:

His name is Versace, and he's up for adoption at Sean Casey Animal Rescue.

This buddy is mellow as anything, an absolute love, and strong enough to make it through a 90+ minute walk through Prospect Park.

Whoever adopts him is a lucky, lucky person.

It's in the bag!

2010-03-09T07:56:00.001-08:00

::facepalm::

A while back, I noticed that Forever 21 was suddenly ALL OWLS, ALL THE TIME. This was awesome.

I went to their website and searched "owl," and came up with dozens of lovely items. Mostly jewelry and the occasional printed tee, but then I found this:

Being in need of a nice, mid-size bag, I was ecstatic. Also, I've long coveted the Brooklyn Industries H-Bags, and not only was this an inexpensive knockoff, it was an inexpensive knockoff with owls.

I finally got around to ordering it, and it arrived today.

Imagine my surprise when I took it out of the packaging to realize it's huge.

In fact, it's of a size with the larger-than-necessary bags I was hoping it would replace.

Sigh.

Of course, I'm also a dumbass who didn't read the dimensions of the bag, clearly stated on the website.

Whatever, I have a cute owl bag. :-p

Misdirected Advertising -or- The Man I Could Smell Like

2010-02-28T16:42:00.000-08:00

Hello from Gallifrey One!

It's a touch early for a con report, so instead, I have this tale to share...

So on Friday morning, we took our Bataan Death March out to the Ralph's for provisions.

While at Ralph's, I picked up a bottle of Old Spice body wash just to be able to rejoin the group, hold it up and start quoting the commercial.

And then I opened it and smelled and realized, Damn! That smells awesome! I want to smell like that!

So now I, a woman, have purchased the soap that smells like "the man my man could smell like."

I mean, I suppose Josh could use this and smell awesome, but he smells awesome naturally, so it's not something that's really a priority.

But I like to smell awesome, and I prefer musky scents, and hey, yeah, all right.

So now I've made a purchase, pretty directly influenced by a commercial, but as a woman, I've done exactly the opposite of the intent of said commercial.

And you know what? I'm sure I can't be the only one.

Awwww!

2010-02-17T17:08:00.001-08:00

Kevin Smith talks to Natalie, the woman who got fat-shamed on his second flight. Smodcast here.

It's so cute. I want them to be bffs.

FLY, FATASS, FLY!!

2010-02-15T09:58:00.000-08:00

While waiting for my connecting flight out of Atlanta last Tuesday (a rant of its own), I briefly spoke to a lovely young woman as we all tried to scout out the ever-elusive working outlet for our phones, laptops, etc. I say lovely because I thought she was pretty, and I really liked the shade of green she was wearing. Anyway, that's not important. What's important is she was heavy set. Once we boarded the plane I witnessed the following exchange:

Douchehat: Excuse me, flight attendant?

Flight Attendant: Yes?

Douchehat: Can I switch seats? The girl next to me is big. Really big.

Flight Attendant: Sorry, sir, you'll have to wait until the flight has boarded completely, and then you can switch seats if there is one available.

I must also note the flight attendant said this with her voice dripping with irritation. She sounded just as shocked and offended and I probably looked. Oh, and he was referring to that same woman I'd spoken to at the gate. Also, he said all of this loud enough that the back half of the plane heard him.

Nice, Douchehat.

The flight boarded, and there were a lot of empty seats (it was a late flight), and he ended up having the entire row right behind me to himself.

I almost wish I'd farted in his face.

So by now, you've probably all heard about Kevin Smith getting thrown off a Southwest Air flight on Saturday. (Link goes to the round up and discussion on Shapely Prose.)

I managed to catch the beginnings of this in almost-real time that night, thanks to Twitter. I was absolutely AGOG at what was happening. It was kind of a thing of beauty.

Here's a few other links you may want to check out, if you're interested in the unfolding of this beautiful PR nightmare:

The Smodcast, in which Kevin Smith tells his tale. Warning: It's an hour and a half long. Worth it, though.

Southwest's really awful and douchetastically titled "apology" post. Seriously, they TITLED it "Not So Silent Bob." IN AN APOLOGY POST. What?

More bloggery by Kevin Smith himself.

Linda, a Southwest Airlines rep wrote another apology blog post. It's better, but still not 100%.

Even more bloggery from Kevin Smith

So yeah.

There's a lot of discussion to be had over a lot of the stuff being said by both parties. Kevin Smith doesn't apologize for being fat, but he'll often use misogynist or fat-shaming language in his ranting. But then he'll also go on to tell the story of the heavy woman on the flight he was allowed to stay on, who was sitting in his row. The flight attendant came by and tried to take the woman off the flight. Hearing Kevin Smith's ire over that situation was amazing. He also acknowledged his privilege as a man, and a rich one at that. He acknowledged that the average fat woman experiences harassment and discrimination that a fat man never would.

I can't wait to see how Southwest weathers this. It sounds like a LOT of people are taking their business elsewhere.

Whoops

2009-11-11T08:18:00.000-08:00

John Barrowman is taking part in the Children in Need auctions.

Hey, Beeb.

That's not an American Flag.

FYI.

Apologies to the Religious Jews in the Audience

2009-09-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

Baruch attah adonai eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher k'dishanu bo'mitzvotav, vitzivanu lehadleek nehr, shel Mom.

I miss you, Mom.

May those of you who are observing Yom Kippur have an easy fast, and be written down in the book of life.

Borrowed from http://stakebait.livejournal.com:

"if I've done anything, in the past ever, that offended you and that we haven't talked already about, I would like to know if you want to tell me. I don't promise to apologize, but I promise to listen, and to explain if you want me to, and to wrestle down my defensiveness enough to at least consider the question of whether I ought to apologize or to change. And I promise that if I do, I won't expect automatic forgiveness."

I Watched the Watchmen

2009-03-08T00:03:00.001-08:00

I saw Watchmen this morning.

From the Cole and Dylan scenes from the beginning, to the final scene, yes. The music was perfect. The scenes were perfect. The sets, the costumes, the acting was perfect.

From the moment they announced Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach, I knew it would be okay.

It was obviously lovingly crafted Of The Fans, For The Fans, and By The Fans.

Obviously they wouldn't get Moore's blessing, but then, nothing would.

I almost believe this would.

I want to see it again. I want to read it again, then watch and critique and understand.

I loved it.

Because it was so clearly crafted with love, I was okay.

The music was AMAZING.

Not since High Fidelity have I felt so profoundly understood by the director's choice of music.

I do not make that claim lightly.

Every musical choice made sense. I do not often feel that way when I watch movies.

I do not know if non-fans would enjoy it.

As a longtime comics fan, as someone who has lived in that subculture, I can't say whether my knowledge affected my appreciation. All I can say is that I loved it, and that it told the story I hoped it would tell.

I suppose that is the best I can say.

If you are a fan, go see it.

If you are not a fan, I hope you enjoy it.

If you have no familiarity, I cannot project the outcome, but I still hope you enjoy it.

VOTE!

2008-11-04T07:04:00.000-08:00

...did somebody say something about voting?

In NYC it'll get you coffee, ice cream, and a sex toy. Seriously.

Oh, and probably a lot of smiles, too. [/cheese]

Oh, McCain. You fool.

2008-09-24T20:59:00.001-07:00

DON'T PISS OFF LETTERMAN!

THE BIG NEWS

2008-08-20T09:23:00.001-07:00

Several weeks ago, Valerie D'Orazio, the Occasional Superheroine herself, emailed me offering me an exciting position with Friends of Lulu.

I am pleased to announce that I am now the Convention Director for Friends of Lulu!

For those of you not familiar with it, Friends of Lulu is a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to promote and encourage female readership and participation in the comic book industry.

I am thrilled to have been asked to work with such a fantastic organization.

Expect to see me at the FoL table at a convention near you!

Cool Trivia Of The Day...

2008-07-17T10:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Tom Spurgeon, I just found out that my father went to the same high school as Will Eisner.

Of course, my dad was there about thirteen years later, but still. That's awesome.

Proof

2008-07-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my 26th birthday. People have been thinking I'm older than I am for years. In that sense, I'm looking forward to 30, because I'll finally be the age people think I am.

Over the last year or so, I've found myself significantly disappointed in the behavior of people that age and older. I know quite well that age is no indicator of acceptability of behavior. However, as children we are taught to "act our age," and it would be nice if that was something for which people still strove.

This leads, albeit loosely, into a moral quandary to which I have been witness. I won't go into details, but it involves a person who has to make the unenviable choice between doing "what is right," and martyring themselves, or acting in the sense of self-preservation, and being branded cold-hearted.

An important lesson I've learned this year is that the only person whose happiness you are responsible for is your own.

It can be an honor and a joy to make someone's happiness and well being your concern. I do it for my friends and family every day; it brings me joy.

On the other hand, there have been people excised from my life whose happiness maintenance stopped being a joy, and became a burden instead. I supported them and wished for their happiness, knowing my support was being taken advantage of, and their happiness was in conflict with my own.

Sometimes it's as vicious as that, sometimes not. As with all things, context makes or breaks everything. That said, it's rarely worth it to mortgage one's happiness.

I'm not sure how to advise my friend, as the level of duty, history, and severity of that situation dictates far more than my experiences can provide. I find this sort of quandary fascinating, as I believe we are only beholden to ourselves, but I also understand the guilt that can come with wanting to care for others.

Happy Birthday, Charles Brownstein!

2008-06-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

My convention attendance this weekend is still up in the air.

I am attending a music festival in New Jersey tomorrow, and with the 91 degree weather forecast, it's anyone's guess what sort of shape I'll be in on Sunday.

That said, I'm going to try to make an appearance at both Big Apple Con and MoCCA, because there will be people at both I'd like to see. (Malcolm McDowell at BAC, and most specifically Randall Monroe at MoCCA.)

HOWEVER!

I will be attending Charles Brownstein's birthday party tonight.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and remember, whether you're on a corn field in New Jersey, or the sweltering heat of the Puck Building, DRINK LOTS OF WATER!

Let's keep fan heat stroke to an absolute minimum!

Not Leavin' On A Jet Plane

2008-05-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

The Comics Reporter posted this article today, about how the rising cost of fuel and airfare will affect Con attendance.

I know for my own part, a perfect storm of a shortage of funds and skyrocketing travel and hotel costs have made me reshuffle my Con calendar for this summer. Unlike the last two years, I won't be doing the Geekcation Double Header of SDCC and Pennsic. Instead, if I have the money and the time (in the blessed event that I get hired somewhere), I will be attending Terminus, which is the same week as Pennsic, and Dragon*Con. (Dragon*Con is confirmed, as I have purchased both my membership and plane tickets.)

Startlingly, even airfare from New York to the two biggest air travel hubs--Chicago and Atlanta--are already shockingly over $200.

Heidi McDonald has been watching with some sadness the airfare hullabaloo, wondering if this will bring about a return to train and bus travel. It probably will.

As much as I was hoping to take the train to Chicago, it is, frustratingly, comparably priced with taking a plane, and worse--takes 20 hours instead of 2. So onto the metal bird for me.

I hope that come summer of 2009, this will all have alleviated a bit. I'm not holding my breath, though.

Help Sell Out Superman #676!

2008-05-14T07:29:00.001-07:00

Benchilada said it best.

Short version?

Go buy Superman #676 today.

Do it for me, or if you don't like me, do it for Vito Delsante.

The Open Source Understanding Project

2008-04-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

The Open Source Boob Project has been a massive failure. It succeeded spectacularly, however, at exposing how far we have yet to go, even in supposedly egalitarian spaces.

The discussions that have come out of this are extremely important. In a way, I'm glad this happened. I have this vain hope that in six months, fandom will be a safer space for it. That too many women-fen are too outspoken, so that even casual misogyny in fandom won't occur uncontested.

The remarkable thing about this situation is that it's shown me that men who I've long considered feminist, or at least egalitarian, still have lots to learn about their male privilege. The first person I include in this is Ferrett himself. Because he, not his wife or the other women originators, was the one who wrote about the project. Because he tried to use creative language for something that should have been explained as basically, and in as simple terms as possible. Because he chose moments of the evening that were completely untranslatable, however he wanted them to be read. Because it has yet to be made totally clear whether the breasts in question were clothed or nude. Because though he used the word "we," and though he said it was what he was trying to avoid, Ferrett did speak for thirty nine other people.

I believe, I sincerely believe, that in the space and time it occurred, the OSBP was a wonderful experience. However, as many people have noted, it is highly unlikely to succeed in repeated attempts.

There was an extraordinary lack of foresight demonstrated. It shouldn't have been talked about in an unlocked LJ post. It shouldn't have been shoehorned into a formal activity. It shouldn't have been most vocally defended by the small number of people who did so, and especially not Ferrett himself.

I give Ferrett props for amending the post and apologizing. I can't even imagine what the Steinmetz house has been like the last few days. His language may not have been what everyone wanted it to be, but we're shifting paradigms here. Baby steps.

Again, this is what bothers me the most, but is also what's making me the most hopeful. There are a lot of men who aren't getting it. They're understanding why the OSBP can't be replicated, but not why women are uncomfortable with it. These are men who have begun to grok the radical notion that women are people. Unfortunately, this has given them a new blinder: Just because they respect the women they find sexually attractive, they take for granted that all men do as well. I think I can hear an entire planet of women saying, "Yeah, not so much."

Ok, great. These men are well on their way, but they're not there yet. And this whole kerfluffle has rooted out scads of these men. Women all over the blogosphere are recoiling in horror as they're realizing that men who they've trusted as allies don't understand simple concepts like "Womens' bodies are still considered public space, and that's wrong."

So now we have a choice. We can all get really, really angry and afraid that this is going to happen at every con ever from now on, like those Free Hugs people. OR.

Or.

We can start talking. We can talk about our positive group touching experiences (ranging from innocent hugs to parties that turn into orgies). We can start talking about people who've made us uncomfortable, and calling them out on their behavior. We start talking.

We start, as I imagine the Open Source Boob Project intended, empowering women to use their voices and agency in large group situations. And all situations.

We start talking.

And if people have learned anything from this whole debacle, they'll start listening, too.

Go Go Tron Racer!

2008-04-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

Having seen the new Speed Racer trailer, I find I'm compelled to ask the following question:

Is this a remake of Speed Racer, or Tron?

Milo Ventimiglia Is Dangerous With An Easel

2008-04-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of the weekend for me was when I got to meet Milo Ventimiglia. Of course, in true Stapler fashion, it happened in an...odd way...

He was lovely afterwards, however, and apologized to my friend and me. And then he took a picture with me!

NY Comic Con: Well Done.

2008-04-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

Oh my.

I count this weekend a success. I slept a total of nine hours the entire time, the alcohol gods blessed my liver with imperviousness (not always a guarantee), my mother demonstrated a level of fierceness I can only hope to achieve, and I had an absolute blast.

I saw so many people who I never get to see.

I got to people watch at a convention, which really? Is one of my favorite things to do. The beauty of conventions is that people totally let their id out. Or at least, their inner Spiderman. Or Indiana Jones. Man, there were a lot of Indiana Joneses. And even though I personally have no problem with it, I know many people will be overjoyed to hear that I saw more normally-dressed Princess Leias than Slave Bikini Leias. (Leia choked Jabba with her chain. If that's not owning it, I don't know what is.)

I was pretty impressed with this show. Each year, Reed Exhibitions gets the hang of running a large scale comics convention a little more. They needed more floor space, yeah, but hey, even San Diego could use more floor space. The only problems I saw this year were a shortage of people managers and bad panel scheduling.

A friend of mine was in line to meet Milo Ventimiglia on Saturday, at a booth near Aisle 1500. I stood with her for a bit, and was appalled at both the way the line was completely blocking the aisle we were next to, as well as the sheer rudeness of the people trying to get through. People pushed, shoved, and knocked us with bags, with barely a mumbled apology. I stood with her for a good fifteen minutes, and it was only towards the end of that time when a member of the Con Staff showed up with some volunteers as she struggled to explain line control and traffic management to them. (Really? It's that hard to understand the concept of "Separate the line from here to here so that people can get through"? Seriously, the kids she had with her totally didn't get it.) I'd had enough of that particular shenanigan, so I moved on when the other friend who I'd directed to my location arrived. I have a sneaking suspicion that line control was an issue in a lot of places.

For instance, I also almost got caught in the Saturday 4pm Panel Kerfuffle.

I was hoping to hit the Quickstop Entertainment panel, not for the Kevin Smith content, but to see Jonathan Coulton and Paul & Storm. When I got downstairs to the hallway, I made it only so far before I was told I could go no further. No explanation was given.

I walked around to a different area, and discovered a potentially dangerous situation. The hallway was being blocked off, and the escalators were not running. Behind the escalators was about 20 feet more of hallway, and then walls, and the security team was barking at the amoeba of people I was in to "move back! move back!" This made me nervous, as there were easily about 30 people around me, and not much further back to go. I made the executive decision to go back upstairs to the con floor, because it was too easy to imagine that situation getting worse. I got more nervous on that point when the security guard told me I had to get back as I was trying to get around the escalator to walk back up on it. Thankfully, he let me pass when I said that was my intent, but well, that could have gone pretty badly, you know?

I didn't find out what had caused the problem--bad panel management--until today. Much as NYCC wants to be, it's not SDCC yet. I'm not sure it can ever fully be so. I don't know the full offerings of the Javits Center, but it doesn't seem to have its own version of Hall H or Ballroom 20. One of the saving graces of the SD Convention Center is that by having several such large spaces, it removes a few thousand people from the traffic flows with each panel. Furthermore, the center's staff, as well as the convention's staff have traffic flow down to a science. I know that neither the Javits' nor the convention's staff have the experience to handle that yet. The larger issue, however, is that I'm not sure that the Javits even has the layout for such specialized crown management. You can't simply just go in one door and exit the other side like in San Diego.

So uh...I guess maybe scheduling two "Women in ______" panels against each other was the least of the worries?

COMIC CON AHOY!

2008-04-18T07:03:00.000-07:00

Soon, it will be out the door with me!

If you see a 5' brunette with a red stapler tote bag, hey! That'll be me!

Feel free to say hi. :)

Cute, NY Comic Con. Very Cute.

2008-04-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

Due to a good news/bad news sort of turn of events, I will be able to attend lots more of next weekend's convention than originally planned.

In perusing the schedule, I noticed something that really isn't cool.

Friday, April 18th
5pm - 6pm Room 1E07
Women in Comics

Friday, April 18th
5pm - 6pm Room 1E15
Women in Fantasy and Science Fiction

I see.

Well, given that I am not a time traveler, a Time Lord, nor in possession of a Time Turner, it looks like I'll have to choose. I know I certainly can't be the only person who wants to go to both.

Scheduling these panels against each other severely divides their attendance. Obviously, many conventions have panels which compete with each other. That being said, why, in this climate of "Bringing The Womens Into The Comics/Genre/Fandom," would they do this?

The really ugly thing about this is that when programming gets planned next year, one or both of those panels may get cut due to low attendance. I hope the panels are next door to each other, otherwise I'm going to get really tired running back and forth.

I'm also slightly perturbed by the creative choice to list "Fantasy" before "Science Fiction" in the title for that panel. Given that the "generally accepted" shorthand is "SF/F" or "Science Fiction and Fantasy," why list Fantasy first? Alphabetically? Somehow, I think no.

I'm glad both of these panels are happening. I just wish it didn't come with another example of "What? We gave you panels, what more do you want?"

What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate

2008-03-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine whose blog I read linked to this article. I don't think I have ever been so appalled by someone who, initially, I would want to agree with.

I was almost willing to go along with the essayist's ideas until she started saying Joss Whedon rapes his wife. Yes, she really said that. And not just once, but several times, both in her essay, and in the comments.

"Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Joss uses his own wife in this way," from the essay.

"I feel awful for Joss Whedon's wife. From what I've read about him and the interviews I've watched, I'm fairly certain that he rapes his wife and abuses her in various other ways." from this comment

These are the most tasteless, baseless, unnecessary statements ever put in an essay. If she was so bent on focusing on the pilot episode--something she asserts in the comments, why throw that in there? It is an ad hominem attack, even ignoring how inappropriate it is.

"What the fuck is this feminist man trying to say about women here? A black woman calling a white man ‘sir’. A white male captain who abuses and silences his female crew, with no consequences. The women are HAPPY to be abused. They enjoy it. What does this say about women, Joss? What does this say about you? Do you tell your wife to shut up? Do you threaten to duct tape her mouth? Lock her in the bedroom? Is this funny to you, Joss? Because it sure as fuck ain’t funny to me."

If I tilt my head to the right and squint a little, I can see her argument about the racist and sexist take on the Mal/Zoe/Wash thing, as well as the Kaylee thing. But just because I can see it, doesn't mean I agree with it. At no point in the series or the movie, do I get the impression Zoe would put up with an ounce of disrespect from either man, directed at her or anyone else.

I find it very disingenuous that the essayist totally glosses over the fact that the reason Zoe is "violent," and the reason she calls Mal "sir," is because she is a soldier. During the war and on Serenity, Mal is her superior. These facts have nothing to do with his maleness or her skin color.

Lastly, I found her take on Inara and the Companions thoroughly repugnant. She went past hating sex work, and straight to hating sex workers, which is really unconscionable. According to her profile, all comments to her journal which are pro-porn or pro-prostitution will be immediately deleted. Likewise, she says in a later comment, "I would argue that most 'sex' between men and women, in the contemporary 'sex-positive', pornographic, male-supremacist culture, is rape."

This kind of radicalism completely ignores the real world. Yes, there are men who rape. Yes, there are men who emotionally leech from the women around them. Yes, there are men who oppress, and hate, and restrict. But not all men do. Moreover, not all men do so out of an inherent misogyny, but because of an indoctrinated cultural setting that can be unlearned.

I don't believe this woman can conceptualize a man striving to reframe his world view.

Ironically enough, from everything I know of him, that is exactly what Joss Whedon tries to do. Whatever this woman's interpretation of the Whedonverse is, the fact is, he has written the majority of the strong female characters that have graced the small screen in the last fifteen years. This is a man who, whatever of his she may disagree with, consistently proved that a show with a female lead could have staying power. Whatever critiques someone may have about his reliance on archetypes, I never felt for a second that he didn't try to set those same archetypes on their ears.

Joss Whedon is a man who has done everything in his power to present strong, intelligent female lead characters, and to support the female characters of other creators. To call him a misogynist--not even going near the other accusations laid at his feet--is grossly innaccurate.

A phallus is not automatically a weapon. The act of sex is not automatically an act of violence. Context is everything. If you go looking for misogyny, in any and all works, you will find it. But don't go marking things as misogynist that aren't.

And for the love of all that's holy, don't go around saying someone rapes their wife because you disagree with them. That's just not okay.

Yeah, I Don't Know About This

2008-03-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

Queen Latifah is the new Jenny Craig spokesperson.

I...what?

1) When I think of the words "gorgeous" and "glamorous," Queen Latifah is one of the first women who comes to mind.

2) Jenny Craig is one of the programs that require you to buy their food. That has never made sense to me.

In both the linked article, and her TV spot, "...a healthier lifestyle, not on getting onto a specific dress size" are the focus.

Call me cynical, but that's no better than Weight Watchers' "Diets are Mean" ad campaign. You can spin it all you want, but it's still a diet! (And one that worked very well for myself, my mother, and many of my closest friends. I want to emphasize that, because I realize I've come across as very anti-WW lately, and I need to fix that.)

Seriously, though. If Queen Latifah wanted to raise awareness for diabetes or "a healthier lifestyle," I feel like there are better channels through which to work. Even Weight Watchers, if associating herself with a weight loss program was her aim. That being said, I can understand feeling that this would be a more accessible conduit for her message. If that was her reasoning, then excellent. If not? I'd be very, very surprised.

Echo!

2008-03-08T06:54:00.000-08:00

Echo #1

Due to various life things, I haven't been to the comic book store in a couple of weeks. I know, I know, bad geek!

I was sure to go this week, however, because Terry Moore's new book, Echo, debuted!

I cannot wait to see where he goes with this story. It's so exciting to see him writing action/adventure after so many years of romance. (Although the I Dream of You arc and related storylines definitely fell under the "detective/shoot-em-up" category.)

The art is, as ever, crisp and evocative, and the writing is intelligent and well-paced.

Admittedly, the set-up of Julie Martin's life (lonely, not signing the divorce papers, debt, etc) is something we've seen before. However, I trust the "person with sucky life experiences extreme, fantastical life change" trope in Terry Moore's hands.

The character that jumped off the page for me was Park Ranger Dillon Murphy. He seems to be a different sort of male character than I've seen Moore write, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he does. (Though, Moore may have been flexing those muscles working on Spiderman Loves Mary Jane?)

In short, this is an exciting debut issue, and has set the stage for an exciting new comic.

Stop Ripping Off Artists!

2008-02-21T08:36:00.000-08:00

Erm, You Sure You Want To Be On Film With That?

2008-01-29T08:27:00.000-08:00

You know, Teen Starlets who have nude photo scandals probably shouldn't do commercials like these:

That said, I though Vanessa Hudgens had nothing to be ashamed of or to apologize for. I just wish I could have been there for this pitch meeting...

You Stay Classy

2008-01-22T19:52:00.000-08:00

BWE knocks it out of the park...again.

The title of the piece is "let's all try to be classy about this." And it's a letter, honest to God, pleading with the media, its/their mother's milk, to be respectful about Heath Ledger's death.

Way to go, BWE. I fucking love you guys.

It's Called Comic Con.

2008-01-15T08:32:00.001-08:00

Here's an article about how the Writer's Strike could hurt Comic-Con. (via The Comics Reporter)

Up front: I hope the Writer's Strike is resolved soon. An unbelievable amount of people and businesses are suffering financially because of it. Entire related industries are drying up because movies and shows aren't being produced. This is a serious economic problem.

That being said...

If the Strike affects numbers at Comic Con, I won't be disappointed. I'm not one of the people who feels that Hollywood is "ruining" Comic Con--I've only been to two of them, I'm really unqualified to make that assertion. However, my informal opinion is that having a lesser presence will improve several Con problems.

1. Congestion. The heaviest congestion day on the main floor, from what I saw, was Sunday. Why? Because Thursday through Saturday, you had several thousand people off the floor at all times. You had huge numbers in the big ballrooms, and you had equal, if not greater numbers of people waiting in lines to get into the next panel in those same rooms. This cleared up the floor considerably. None of the big panels were held on Sunday, so all of those people went to the floor--many for the first time all weekend, I'd conjecture.

2. Sales. This is really just conjecture on my part, but go with me on it for a second: If more people at the con are there for comics-related things, more comics-related things will be purchased. Additionally, because fewer people there for Hollywood will buy memberships, there will be more memberships available for comics-oriented attendees.

3. Tone. As I said above, I've only been to two Comic Cons. The difference between the two, though, was palpable. That may have as much to do with the upsurge in genre movies and television shows between 2006 and 2007, but the result was the same: so much more attention being paid to the shows and movies, less to the comics.

4. Hotel Room Availability & Price. This is the big one, kids. The cost of going to Con has skyrocketed. In 2006, my boyfriend and I stayed in The Days Inn Gaslamp. The sign on the door said our room--a very small smoking room whose promised wireless didn't work--was $99 a night. The other night, I called to book a room there again, just as a backup, in case the rush to book rooms totally fouls up this year. The room, the same room, was $400 a night. That's a 400% increase! In two years! That's absurd. And even though more hotels go up each year, this is a situation that will only ever get worse as Comic Con grows.

Once again, I'd like to see the Strike resolved as quickly and amicably as possible. But I also can't help but hope that if it does continue, it makes it a little easier and less expensive to go to San Diego this July.

Depila-story

2008-01-10T08:29:00.000-08:00

Australian Backlash Against Brazilian Waxing Marketed to The Tween Set.

Um, yeah. I'd hope so!

God love (or hate) you if you even had pubes at ten. No, really.

And I say this as a person who shaved their legs incredibly early. I Nair'd for the first time at 10. Too young, you say?

Consider this: My legs looked like those of a chimp. Why? Because I'd had major surgery, and was in a body cast for three months. My mom got vitamin E strips to place on the scars, but they had to be stuck on with bandaids. I still can't listen to the Unplugged version of "Layla" and not think of that morning, wincing as I pulled each bandaid off, trying not to scream as all those hairs were pulled with them. (That song was on heavy rotation on the radio that year.)

The following March, we were going to Florida for spring break. Yeah, as a ten year old, no one would be looking at my legs. But I was still a blonde with thick black hair and stubble on my legs, and I was really self conscious about it. Moreso than the scars, to be perfectly honest.

A friend of my grandmother's was scandalized, even when she heard the reason. My mom shrugged her off. (Note: My mom also let me use an excessive amount of Sun-In right before I'd had the surgery. I was pretty indulged that year. I also looked like a raccoon two months later.)

But really, bikini area depilation? Before 14? Aw, hell no. Once you've got 'em, do whatever you want with 'em. I know I was more concerned about stray hairs and bathing suits long before I was concerned about what an "activity" partner thought.

Of course, you have to wax if you're going to wear your A&F tween thong, right?

Politicikin'

2008-01-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

And so, it has begun. Red, blue, liberal, conservative, neo-con, paleo-con (thanks, Todd!), et al.

Actually, it really began about a year ago, but now it's on like Donkey Kong.

I've been really enjoying James Grant's hyper aggressive (I mean this in a good way!) efforts to educate people. He just posted an excellent link, and I'm going to share it with you all.

http://ontheissues.org/default.htm

Simple, elegant, and informative.

USE IT OR LOSE IT, PEOPLE.

I haven't decided who I want to vote for yet. I'm just enjoying the madness for now.

Boo Urns.

2007-12-30T17:59:00.000-08:00

The movie Idiocracy is on cable right now. I'm excited about this, because I never got a chance to see it.

The wonderful Sara Rue has a small role. As usually happens when I watch movies with my laptop in front of me, I looked her up on IMDB.

I saw some photos of her there, and I was so appalled by what I saw.

Sara Rue, before and after

Why did she lose weight? She didn't need to lose weight! She was so gorgeous!

This makes me so sad.

I definitely believe in people making weight management choices for themselves, but I can't help but be disappointed by this turn of events.

Here is someone else upset about this.

Hee!

2007-12-21T07:46:00.000-08:00

I tried to pick my favorites to share, but really, they're all amazing.

So you should all go over to this post on Occasional Superheroine and gorge yourselves on decades of Holiday specialness.

Trust me, it's awesome!

Assigning Our Icons

2007-12-12T07:47:00.001-08:00

Can we please remove Wonder Woman as the poster girl for feminism? (link via The Beat)

No wait, hear me out.

Wonder Woman is an AWESOME icon.

She's a great GLBT icon. She's a great Poly icon. She's a great BDSM icon.

But when her raison d'etre is female superiority, she's not a great feminist icon.

To be fair, great strides have been made in recent years to make Wonder Woman more about equality than superiority. But then, I've never made any attempts to hide who my vote is for...

Seriously, everything of Power Girl I've read involves her:

-kicking ass
-trying to be taken seriously (often while kicking ass)
-trying to set herself apart from her famous cousins (sometimes while kicking ass)
-trying to define herself as her own person, separate from her cousins and her boobs

And the thing about her boobs? Totally a joke started by the artists in the 1970s. I kind of love that.

Jersey Gets An Upgrade!

2007-12-07T11:47:00.000-08:00

Governor Corzine Signs Pharmacy Refusal Bill into Law
On November 2, 2007, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed legislation that establishes a pharmacy’s duty to dispense valid prescriptions regardless of moral or philosophical opposition to any medication by an individual pharmacist. While Planned Parenthood respects the religious beliefs of individual pharmacists, we strongly believe that a woman should be able to walk into a pharmacy with a valid prescription and walk out with her medication, without lectures, discrimination, or delay. The legislation (S1195/A992) protects both patients’ access to legal medications and devices and individual pharmacists’ personal beliefs.

We've All Been Very Naughty

2007-12-07T11:19:00.000-08:00

It's very amusing to me how references to S&M are becoming more and more socially acceptable. I mean, it's awesome. The more people who think "different strokes for different folks" and "live and let live," the better. It's just that I've been running into these things in the oddest places...

For instance, the card aisle at Duane Reade:

Front of card:

Interior of card:

Then, this past Monday, Dude Boss sent me to the fine intellectuals at Kinkos to laminate signs for the new office space. I saw a large sign waiting to be picked up, advertising spankings from Mrs. Claus on assigned days. I was shocked, and wondered if perhaps there was some crazy party I hadn't heard about.

But then I walked past the costume store near the old office space today when I went there to drop off keys.

This is what I saw:

The sign I saw at Kinko's!

We truly live in interesting times.

D'oh!

2007-11-18T07:05:00.000-08:00

My apologies to those who were expecting to see me after the convention last night.

I retreated to my boyfriend's nearby apartment for a "quick nap," and didn't move until well after midnight!

I'll see you all again soon, I promise!

Praise the Lord and Pass the Parsnips!!!

2007-11-07T06:21:00.000-08:00

Remember that post I made talking about the endings of series and how they can go wrong?

Terry Moore posted a piece of art that makes it all better. In terms of Strangers in Paradise, anyway.

Thank you, Terry. Was that so difficult? ;)

(Seriously, it's gorgeous, and brings more closure than babies and closing the door to the fourth wall ever could.)

Update!

2007-10-22T18:24:00.001-07:00

We Are All Nerds has been updated.

Beauty Is The Geek

2007-10-12T09:11:00.001-07:00

Burlesque revival: more nerdy than sexy?

Awesome article.

This totally hits on a part of burlesque (and my job) that I can't always put directly into words.

There's a palpable difference between "empowerful" things like pole dancing classes and The Pussycat Dolls, and burlesque (and my job).

It's tough to find that line, but again: this article hits it on the head. There's an intelligence and a storytelling to burlesque that is omnipresent. And, most of all, a lot of burlesque is women-run. Men are involved, but they're not running the shows, as it were.

Mr. Fantastic

2007-09-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

I didn't catch this gentleman's name, as he was off for a night with his buddies.

9th Avenue, in the 50s

He looked pretty fantastic!

(x-posted from We Are All Nerds)

Oh for the love of... - FOLLOW UP

2007-09-19T16:28:00.000-07:00

IT WAS EIGHTBALL.

You have got to be KIDDING me.

Yes, there is a lot of nudity and discussion of sex in Eightball, but none of it is gratuitous or pornographic. Of course, it contains just the sort of sexual realism that sends nervous hands to clutch at strands of pearls.

The thing I find most amusing about this revelation is that Eightball was handed to me when I was 16. I was already reading comics at that point, Strangers in Paradise, Young Heroes in Love, and Gen13 being my favorites. (That I can recall.)

And who, pray tell, handed me Eightball?

A counselor at my camp where I was a CIT.

It was a David Boring story, the one where he dates a girl because of her big ass. I loved the story so much, I went out and bought my own copy at Million Year Picnic on CIT Night Out. (The camp was in Boston, obviously.)

While a camp counselor/CIT relationship isn't quite comparable to a teacher/student one, the similarities are there.

I imagine my parents would have been much more upset about the teacher handing me Hothead Paisan than a "fellow" counselor handing me Eightball. Knowing my mom, she probably would have liked the Eightball story.

In the case of the teacher and student, I'm curious as to what inspired him to give her that comic in particular. If there was discussion and a relationship that would have inspired that choice, then what's the problem? Just as my teacher from junior year wouldn't have given me Hothead Paisan without us talking about queer culture and sequential art, I doubt this guy would have done the same with an issue of Eightball.

That said, if a teacher gives a student any kind of reading material (questionable content or otherwise) out of nowhere, then it's time for some questions.

Oh for the love of...

2007-09-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

A Connecticut teacher has resigned after getting in trouble for giving a student an "age-inappropriate" graphic novel.

Huh.

Well, we don't know what the graphic novel was.

A teacher I was friendly with my junior year once lent me a huge Hothead Paisan collection. Does that mean she should have gotten into trouble?

(Yes, she was gay. I lent her my Strangers in Paradise collections in return.)

Watch the graphic novel in question be something like Wereslut, or something similarly inappropriate. Then we'll all feel silly.

Although Wereslut's actually a pretty good read.

Power Girl: A Feminist Icon for the 2000s

2007-09-11T20:34:00.000-07:00

I've said it before, and I'll say it again....

This is what a feminist looks like:

I'd hit it, but she'd probably hit back. I'm okay with that

Seriously, I want to find the artist (Dale Eaglesham) and shake his hand.

That's some awesome stuff right there.

She's strong! She's sexy! She's wearing realistic pajamas!

YAY!

Anecdotal Ignorance

2007-09-06T09:48:00.001-07:00

I apologize if anyone went to last night's debate hoping for a scandal.

What I (and most people) expected to be a heated, emotional debate, turned out to be two men having very different conversations in the same space.

Indeed, the most exciting moment of the evening was when a terrifyingly large Palmetto bug flew out from a corner and landed on Brian McCarter's arm.

But I am not here to talk about insectoid interference.

What stunned me the most, aside from Mr. Schwartz's inability to answer a question directly, was his refusal to acknowledge the relevance of an informal poll of Mr. McCarter's.

While it can be universally agreed that if you want to learn about a religion, you go to a leader of that faith. However, I feel that if you want to learn about its place in a culture, you go to the people.

Mr. McCarter went to a predominantly Muslim neighborhood in Queens, and asked 20 young Muslim men if they felt the First Amendment was good, then repeated the question with a very extreme qualifier.

Mr. Schwartz refused to acknowledge this information as "representative of moderate Muslims."

At no point did he define what a Moderate Muslim is, nor who would be described as such.

While I appreciate his desire for accurate information coming from informed sources, for the debate at hand, I (and many others) felt that "The Man on The Street" would be the better source. If you're talking about immigration, and the potential for restrictions, Average Yusuf may be a better representative than a more official individual.

If I have a question about Halacha, I'll ask a rabbi. If I have a question about what it's like to be a young, female, observant Conservative Jew in New York, I'll ask my old roommate.

If I have a question about a Mystery of Catholicism, I'll ask a priest. If I have a question about Catholic youth culture in America, I'll ask my friend Alissa.

Which brings me to a question I've been mulling for many weeks now...

There's a saying that goes, "Anecdotal evidence isn't."

Okay, fair enough. The story your friend told you about her cousin's best friend in Ohio probably isn't a good source of information. But then you are pressed for official information. From studies. From journals.

I can think of at least one recent "official study" that's totally bogus.

Meanwhile, there are hundreds (thousands?) of minority groups who are dealing with injustices and oppression, but their stories either aren't heard, or deemed irrelevant because no one's put out an official study about them.

If I can't use the personal experiences of a Female-to-Male transexual professor at MIT to demonstrate sexism in the science community, and no study has been done on it, what use is that person's complaint? Or the complaints of other women in the science community? (This happened in an email conversation I had recently.)

This feels like a dirty trick by the majority to determine what is relevant and valid, and what is just the "uppity" minority whining about something or other.

We can't cherry pick. At what point do situations become relevant/interesting/exotic/dire enough to warrant studying? At what point do anecdotes become data?

I really am curious about this. Why, in so many instances, does something have to be sanctioned for its information to be "real?"

Tragedy Tomorrow, A Debate Tonight!

2007-09-05T09:46:00.001-07:00

DEBATE AT LOLITA BAR: “Is Muslim Immigration a Threat to Democracy?

I'm not making this shit up, folks.

Come on out. It's gonna be a DOOZY.

Lolita Bar.

Corner of Allen and Broome.

8pm.

Admission is free, the booze is not.

Tell 'em Stapler sent ya.

We Are All Nerds

2007-09-04T10:40:00.000-07:00

We are currently witnessing a paradigm shift.

Comic book movies are breaking box office records.

Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction are becoming more and more popular.

Fashion trends have otherwise stylish people wearing the shirt you threw out fifteen years ago.

The Geek are truly Inheriting The Earth.

And I plan on documenting it.

Every non-geeky person I see reading a comic book, a science fiction or fantasy novel, wearing a genre t-shirt, or sporting any other trapping of a geek, I will photograph and publish here. (With their permission, of course!)

I give you J, my first example...

23rd St, 8/29/07

This has been simultaneously posted at the official We Are All Nerds blog!

ATTACK OF THE EVIL SEXUALLY HARRASSING MONKEYS

2007-08-31T06:41:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not kidding.

Actually, I find it really ridiculous to call this "sexual harrassment," but it is definitely harassment of a sexual nature.

Which is both humorous and horrifying.

LOL

2007-08-31T06:10:00.000-07:00

Stolen from The Beat, who stole it from Len Wein...

How to stop Stan Lee in his tracks in one easy lesson...

How To Compliment A Lady

2007-08-27T06:41:00.000-07:00

My hair is streaky pink and blonde with ever-emerging brown roots. I know that this marks me as Other in any number of ways.

It also looks interesting, artistic, and if I may be so egotistical, fucking cool.

I received two comments on my hair in the last 24 hours, and while the actual words used did not match my emotional reactions to them, the ways in which they were given dictated such.

Yesterday, I went to a fancy tea with some lovely fannish ladies I know.

Outside the hotel, a late-30s/early-40s woman said, "Oh wow, excuse me, how many colors are in your hair?" There was a note of awe in her voice that suggested that even if she didn't like pink hair, per se, she appreciated the uniqueness that two-weeks-out-from-dyeing hair can have. She even said as much.

Her comment, while not explicitly a "I like the way your hair looks" comment, was said politely and with a tone of respect, and it made me feel good for the rest of the afternoon.

This morning, as I turned the corner to get to the subway, a dude called out at me, "Ooh baby, I love the way your hair looks like that, yeah!" (Or some similar Smarmadon sentence.)

I found myself wanting to shout, "NOT YOURS!" at him, as he seemed hipster enough to know LOLspeak when he heard it.

I contented myself with musing on the differences between what had been said to me, and how the less "complimentary" of the two comments had felt so much better.

Has Anyone Seen My Red Stapler?

2007-08-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

Where did I go?!?

I went to Pennsic.

Other than Comic Con, this is the geekiest vacation I could have gone on.

And there was literally four days separating the two.

I was sure I'd find a suitable image for what I dubbed my "Geek-cation Double Header," and sure enough, providence smiled up on me.

Look on the left side...

What did you guys do on your Summer Vacations?

Not-Quite-Dead From Comic-Con!

2007-07-28T19:51:00.001-07:00

Some late-night, plane-trip, walking-all-over-Christendom-and-back, -related creeping crud has gotten me. In the interest of fandom and comics, however, I press on.

This year's Con has been about the little things.

Seeing old friends, meeting artists I didn't realize would be here, meeting celebrities of varying strata, all of whom have been gracious and kind.

Oh, and the not-so-little event of watching my boyfriend win an Eisner.

It's been a good Con so far.

I confess, I was apprehensive about attending today, given the show was sold out. The crowds, however, seemed to stay in Hall H and Ballroom 20, packing in for The Next Big Panel all day long. The floor was crowded, but manageable.

I'm here in San Diego until Monday, and I hate that it's already gone by so fast. I still haven't been to the Zoo, and I'd like to hit In-N-Out burger, before heading back East.

But I am having a great time.

I'd like to pause the joy for a moment, however, to remember Leah Adezio, who I didn't realize had passed away until the "In Memoriam" portion of the Eisners.

Back ten years ago, when I started going to conventions (Big Apple Con in New York, to be precise, back then known as "Church Con"), Ms. Adezio had a table each show without fail. And each show, without fail, she had a kind word and a hello for a wide-eyed fourteen year old, learning her way around the con.

When her face came up on the screen last night, I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. Leah Adezio was one of the few women I regularly saw at Church Con, but she was always the kindest, warmest, most welcoming presence there.

I will miss her, and always remember her fondly.

Sad tidings aside, I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekends, Staplers and Staplerettes!

Remember, if you're here, I've got pink hair and my Red Stapler tote bag! Please stop and say hi!

Of Endings And Beginning

2007-07-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

In this post, my friend Racheline strikes many nerves.

This is an essay I've been pondering for over a month now, but her words helped it all coalesce.

In this season of life and growth, the death of three pop culture phenomena occur:

On June 7th, the final issue of Strangers in Paradise came out.

On June 10th, the final episode of The Sopranos aired.

And this Saturday, July 21st, the final Harry Potter novel will be released.

The ripple effects of these three series have been felt around the world. While The Sopranos doesn't hold the emotional impact for me that the other two do, its ending informed me how it can be done well.

Much like the rest of the world at 11pm that evening, I voiced a loud and frustrated noise and proceeded to call everyone I knew. (My parents received about four phone calls in a ten minute period.)

I was outraged. I did not yet know true fannish outrage.

You see, I procrastinated on buying Strangers in Paradise #90. I wasn't quite ready for it to end. I attended the CBLDF wrap party, and that was quite emotionally difficult.

The CBLDF hired a band to play the songs Terry Moore wrote for the series over the years. The most poignant of these, I Dream of You, is the title of the second collected edition. Ten years ago, I photocopied the sheet music from the back of the book. I sat at the piano in my parents' house with it and taught myself to play the song. I recorded myself. I put it on a mix tape for a boy.

As Racheline stated so eloquently, it was a mile-marker of my life. And when the band played that song, I cried. I felt all ten years flood past me. I remembered each moment of the emotional journeys, both of the book, and the situations I attached them to. It was a rough three minutes, I'll tell you.

So you can imagine my fierce exasperation when I finally purchased Strangers in Paradise #90 and the ending was totally lame. Don MacPherson put it best in his review:

"My biggest gripe about the story is how Moore, after so many years, continues to beat around the bush about the connection between Katchoo and Francine. It’s clear here that they’re a couple, deeply in love and committed to one another. The problem is that Moore limits the physicality of that love to hugging. They talk about marriage. They have pet names for one another. I’m not saying I need to see them in bed naked together, but how about a kiss? In the midst of such joy, delayed after so long, I just don’t buy the restraint we see here. There’s no need to show us panting, humping or fornicating, but I don’t see why Moore avoids a certain level of physical intimacy between the two characters."

Ten years (fourteen for the whole series), and we never get so much as a damn kiss.

Katchoo's passion is reiterated over and over, and in the end, we never get to see it fully directed at the object of her desire since the age of fifteen. This makes no sense.

Having seen the neat little Bowdlerized package that was the last hurrah of Strangers in Paradise, I finally understood the end of the Sopranos. It ended that way, because it had to end that way. Anything else would have been too clean. We needed the messiness of ambiguity. The closure we got was that no matter what happened, it was what Tony "deserved"-- be that death, or having to deal with AJ's manipulativeness, or having to witness Meadow emotionally struggle with the law and the money that paid for her degree. Ambiguity was nothing new to The Sopranos, it was just pushed to the extreme in its last moments.

Which brings us, finally, to Harry Potter.

I started the series right after graduating high school in 2000. I did so because I realized most adults I saw on the subway were reading the books, and I was curious what they knew that I did not. I was hooked.

However, I didn't step my toes into Harry Potter fandom until the summer of 2003, when the fifth book came out. The first of the books, by the way, I had to wait for. That summer I delved into the fan fiction. I started making friends because of it. I cared on new levels.

Harry's been with me for seven years. I care deeply about the story, the characters, and their destinies. So please understand when I say...

I hope JK Rowling is a bigger Sopranos fan than she ever was a Strangers in Paradise fan.

I know my heart will be broken over the next few days. The question that remains is how.

ONE WEEK TO SAN DIEGO

2007-07-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

And so, my staplers and staplerettes, we have one week before San Diego Comic Con.

And this year, I have BUSINESS CARDS.

I will have both my pro cards, from my Awesome New Job(TM), and Red Stapler cards.

Keep any eye out. I will have pink hair and this tote bag:

really. how could I not?

See you kids at Nerd Prom!

Well Played, Indeed.

2007-07-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

Dame Shirley Bassey covering Pink's "Get This Party Started."

The video is gorgeous and her voice just soars.

Pink, honey? You just got served.

Well, shit.

2007-07-10T10:31:00.001-07:00

As of August, Jane magazine struts for the last time.

Dammit.

Now what am I going to read on plane trips? The violent fits Cosmo causes me are generally frowned upon in the air travel community.

Jane was one of the few women-targeted magazines I enjoyed consistently. The articles were (for the most part) intelligent and well-written. The interviews were interesting. The fashions didn't make me feel inadequate or make my eyes bleed.

That, and I kindof admired Jane Pratt for starting it. She may have gotten shit for it (see the Daria episode "The Lost Girls" for what is likely a pot shot at JP herself), but she also produced a worthy publication.

I'm sorry to see it go.

Stapler Takes On...

2007-07-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

Tonight, my brother took me to see Knocked Up.

I am glad I saw this with my similarly childless sibling, and not a significant other. I don't know if I could cope with this plotline while sitting next to my boyfriend.

Much Blogosphere hay has been made over this movie. Is it feminist, anti-feminist, pro-choice, pro-life, etc etc.

Having seen it for myself, I can say this:

This is as true to life a movie I think I have ever seen.

[WARNING: SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT]

Each scene had rhythms and cadences I hear from my friends every day. The moments and situations that people found Objectionable (in the forms of the reasons above) didn't seem to come from a place of misogyny or malevolence, but experience and observation. The negative behaviors didn't feel proscriptive, but cautionary.

The mother passive-aggressively calling a baby born out of wedlock not a "real" baby.

The relentless pot smoking.

The attempts to start a website, only to discover an identical one, already well-established.

The affection for someone your more shallow friends deem not worthy of attention. (And the resultant self-examination.)

The arguments in the film (the actual yelled conversations, not the points of view) were well done. They were biting and sharp, and there was no clear winner or loser.

Was Debbie really an overbearing bitch? Was Pete really an ineffective parent and husband?

Like life, the answers were somewhere in the middle.

The movie was incredibly well-done. However, for its excellence, I haven't made up my mind if I actually enjoyed it. It's not easy to enjoy something that hurts to watch because it feels so real.

All of that aside, there was one moment I was actually offended by: Ben's misunderstanding of "Just do it already," leading to his not using a condom. (And giving us the rest of the movie.) While clearly it is this decision that furthers the plot along, it was monumentally stupid, even beyond Ben's inability to function as an adult.

Obviously Allison's pregnancy is the price of this tactical failure, but the other possible consequences are legion.

I sincerely doubt any dramatic significance would have been lost had the condom been used.

The scene already indicated Ben had whiskey dick, so the condom could have slipped off during intercourse. Or it could have been expired. Or even worse, been sitting in his wallet for ages and begun to disintegrate.

All of these scenarios are a) more plausible, and b) less emotionally violating than someone being so boneheaded as to not wear a condom at all.

If I found out I was pregnant because the man I'd fucked simply hadn't put the condom on, I would feel incredibly violated, and would terminate the pregnancy. End of story. Ben not using a condom showed such an extreme lack of consideration for anything, I was appalled.

In the event of a contraceptive failure, however, it would be a different story. Concern, no matter how insignificant or selfish, would have been shown.

In closing, for a movie that raised such ire in the feminist blogosphere, to have only one such moment of "Oh HELL no," I was actually kind of impressed. I don't know if I can tolerate a second viewing of this movie. Not because of its quality--the situations were just entirely too real to be comfortable following them again.

Definitely see this movie and make your own opinion. It's worth seeing and judging for yourself.

Some Sauerkraut and Whipped Cream for You All...

2007-06-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

The amusing Todd Seavey passed this along to me...

MADE OF WIN AND CHEEZ-ITS.

2007-06-15T10:12:00.000-07:00

Stolen from Ragnell

You Know What? I'm Okay With It.

2007-06-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

This week's anti-Marvel kerfuffle is about the latest Marvel Zombies cover, featuring (I think) a hilarious parody of the Mary Jane #1 cover.

Zombietastic!

The point, from what I can tell, of Marvel Zombies covers, is that it takes iconic, easily recognizable covers and Zombifies them.

I think that's pretty great.

I also think it's pretty great that MJ gets one, especially based on her self-titled book.

I'm also okay with the fact that it's a parody of a children-aimed book. You know why? Because I worked in a comic book store when the source material came out, so I recognized it, and I got the joke. The book in question is about two years old. We don't need to "think of the children" anymore. Moreover, anyone who was in a comic book store during that time period will see and get the joke.

If we were dealing with a series where JUST Mary Jane (or any other female character) was depicted as a Zombie, it would be something else. But it's not. These covers wink at Marvel readers all over the spectrum.

I really disagree with the outrage this time, guys.

Big Changes in Stapler Land

2007-06-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

Hey there, Stapler fans!

I have some very good news!

My red stapler is no longer on a desk at an Internet Direct Marketing Firm!

That's right, kids: I have a new job!

I will let my newly-edited "About" section give the most information until the website is up.

For now, let it be said I feel so cool for being a feminist in an adult-oriented industry.

I feel like I'm actually doing what I write about:

Showing the world that women can be sexy on their terms, in a fun, smart, intelligent way.

This is gonna be GREAT.

Now That's What I'm Talking About!

2007-05-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

ComicCon.com has an interview with Tony Beddard about his run on Supergirl.

It includes images.

WOW.

First Alex Ross's Power Girl, and now this.

It could almost seem like DC is listening to its women readers.

::crosses fingers::

Pleasepleasepleaseplease...

It's like Christmas come early!

Point...Counter-Point

2007-05-22T14:18:00.001-07:00

Hello, Stapler Fans!

I apologize for the radio silence. I was in New Orleans visiting my recently-relocated brother and getting my nerd on.

Interestingly, those two things are what I'd like to write about today.

While showing off some pictures to my brother's coworkers, I said something to the effect of, "We may be a bunch of nerds, but we bring it to the table when it comes to costuming for a Masquerade." (This is New Orleans. They take their Masquerades seriously.)

A moment later, my brother and I left for lunch. As we were heading out, he told me that I shouldn't refer to myself, my friends, or my pastimes as nerdy, as "it sends the wrong message."

"You're cool, and your friends are cool. You're not nerds," he said. "When you do that, it sounds like you're on the defensive."

He then likened it to black people referring to themselves with the N word.

A little extreme, I thought, but a point interestingly made.

Going in that line of thought, I definitely feel that words like "geek" and "nerd" have been "taken back," as it were.

I spent much of yesterday mulling this over, so you can imagine how I felt when my best friend picked me up from the airport and started saying things like, "How was your nerd-con?" and "They seem pretty cool for a bunch of Harry Potter nerds." (Note: I am in no way saying this N-word is like *that* N-word, so trolls, take your wank elsewhere.)

Until my brother had said that, I would have been the first person to say I was at a nerd convention, and that the people I'd met were pretty cool for a bunch of nerds.

Heck, even Warren Ellis calls San Diego Comic Con "Nerd Prom." Is he winking at his readership, or alienating them?

I proudly call myself a geek, and enjoy my geeky hobbies. I feel weird that geek culture is becoming more and more mainstream. I was supremely weirded out when, during my tenure at a local comic book store, a group of Mean Girl types from a school where I'd been a social outcast stopped in. To my further shock, they left with armfuls of manga.

Not only have the terms "geek" and "nerd" been taken back, but the cultures they describe are becoming more and more mainstream. Most people may not go to a Harry Potter convention, but it's a safe bet, going by numbers alone, that most people have read Harry Potter.

When I use nerdy or geeky to describe something, it's an adjective without a value judgement. Or, if there is one, to me, its value is positive.

I proudly announce my attendance of genre conventions, of SCA events, etc. They're fun hobbies. I've met some of my best friends because of these interests.

And really, if the geek culture hadn't embraced itself, items like this would not exist:

A shirt I have always wanted.

I don't really know the answer to this question. When people identify themselves as a geek or as queer, they are taking a charged word and using it to describe themselves, without a negativity, but with all the descriptive association those words can mean. "I like genre books and movies." "I am not heterosexual."

If we enjoy what those words mean, why not use them?

If someone accused me of being a geek, the only thing I could think to say back would be "Really? You only just noticed?"

This is What a Feminist Looks Like

2007-05-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

YES.

Feminism and Comic Books: Chocolate and Peanut Butter? Or Sauerkraut and Whipped Cream?

2007-05-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

Ragnell made a moving post last night about the illusion of a "unified voice" of feminist comics crit. Her point? There is no unified voice. There's discussion, dissention, redundancy (especially lately), agreements, outrage, and praise. But it's not all the same.

That's nothing, however, to the people who go through the links and think that there's a swarm a drones following some Alien Amazon Queen in her outrage. The communities doesn't work that way, not on this scale.

Exactly.

One of the Feminism and Comics Bingo squares is "Don't like it? Create your own!"

The truth of the matter is, there are a LOT of women comics creators. More than you'd think. Some of them are very talented. Some of them aren't. Some have good narratives, some of them don't--just like any other community of creators.

But they exist, and I am tired of that fact being ignored.

Which brings me to another point.

Most of the most intelligent, bad ass, talented, feminist-minded, and awesome women I know read comics.

Another large portion of that number are involved in the industry.

Another portion of that work for DC or Marvel.

These women ARE there.

I'm kind of stunned that there seems to be such a "Bah, GIRLS don't read COMICS!" sentiment, when so many women work for the mainstream companies. And as Editors! And Writers! And Artists!

I challenge anyone to disregard Amanda Conner's work.

I challenge anyone to disregard the impact Gail Simone has had on the DCU.

I challenge anyone to disregard Devin Grayson's impact on the DCU.

Joan Hilty. Alison Bechdel. Liz Baillie. Miss Lasko-Gross. Ariel Schrag. Diane DiMassa. Lynn Johnston. Cathy Guisewite. Raina Telgemeier. Trina Robbins. Colleen Doran. Jill Thompson. Heidi McDonald. Karen Berger. And dozens and dozens of others.

THESE WOMEN ALL EXIST AND WORK AND CREATE COMICS.

They are here. And I'm not sure what needs to be done to show the "Comic Book Club Tree House" that we're here, dammit--and women are creating the stuff they seem to think we don't love, too.

It would also help, if even a little, if we redirected our energy from being angry at what women aren't doing in comics, to copious and visible appreciation of what we *are* doing.

Something Silly

2007-05-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

Tom Spurgeon linked to this today: The Flash vs. A Lesbian

To me, this was the most offensive part about it:

What?!?

A woman that big would NEVER be a jammer!

::eyeroll::

If you're going to mock a sport, at least do it correctly...

Sheesh.

Airing The Comic Journal's Dirty (Mary Jane) Laundry

2007-05-15T08:29:00.001-07:00

A really nasty send-up of the Mary Jane statue criticism, and arguably, all feminist comic crit, can be found here. (Scroll down to "Comics Culture.")

After dismissing the anger about the statue, because it is more "Bettie Page than Larry Flynt," we are then told we are merely being strident fangirls who should STFU.

A scroll through the last few days of When Fangirls Attack links reveals less a collection of feminist criticism than a sloppy combination of knee-jerk outrage and reactionary herdthink with which the Attacking Fangirl contingent has gotten embarrassingly comfortable in recent months — sort of a distributed John Byrne Forum for she-nerds every bit as engorged on their own inflated sense of entitlement and inability to see past gender assumptions as the goofiest he-nerd on the Internet.

Okay, folks.

This has turned into one big internet wank session from all corners, from all sides of the argument.

I realized, though, why this statue has become a lightning rod for all this ire:

It is itself. There are no trades to read, no panels to analyze in order to "get it." Even if you know nothing about Spiderman, or comics at all, the offensiveness of the piece is evident. I also feel that the "sassy vs. self conscious" dichotomy between the original art and the statue also are evident, without knowing anything about the character depicted.

As a rallying point, the statue sucks. While it is undeniably offensive, there are too many opinions on why for it to be of any use. The fact that I like the Hughes art alone can be used against me. (Whatever. I like it. ::ptthhhbb::)

It's unfortunate that the problems with Supergirl are so textual, because she would be a fantastic arguing point. To be fair, she is often cited, but the references to issues and panels and the like keep her out of reach of many. (I happened to leaf through a trade over the weekend and be unlucky enough to see the "But that was my first kiss..." moment with Poison Ivy.)

Obviously, to make good arguments, one must do the research. That said, this statue has given even non-readers a chance to say, "Ein minuten bitte...hay un problemo...avec disse religione...."

MJ, and Pete's Laundry: A Comparison Story

2007-05-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

By now, many of you have probably seen the Sideshow Comiquette of Mary Jane Watson-Parker washing the Spidey-Suit.

The offending statue, in all its ~~glory~~ awfulness

If you read most comic blogs, and even some feminist blogs, you've probably seen this already.

You've also probably seen the crit. I agree with a lot of it, so I'll let that lie for now.

Here is the Adam Hughes drawing it's based on:

Look at that smirk! Sassy!

Full disclosure: I really love Adam Hughes' art. His women are attractive, and very real-looking. The drawing of Power Girl used for the Power Girl Bust actually looks a lot like a friend of mine. When he draws women, he draws realistic, if very attractive bodies.

You don't look at the women he draws and think that their spines couldn't possibly support the breasts, or wonder where their internal organs fit, or want to feed them a sandwich. They're slim, fit, women, who look real.

Which Sideshow promptly fucked all up.

On another blog, I read a fantastic commentary on the Hughes art: "I really don't mind the original concept art so much, because MJ looks cute and human and a bit goofy, and I can imagine she's just teasing an unclad Spidey who's just out of frame."

YES. I can totally see, and agree with that.

I have been disappointed by Sideshow's figures before.

The sculpts on their Buffy figure line are notoriously awful. The only sculpts they got right were the vampires, and I can only assume that's because they shrunk down the dimensions from the original mask designs. I may not be a Buffy watcher, but I do know what Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan look like...and it ain't that.

But this goes beyond bad sculpting.

This is taking the subtext from a moment, and removing it entirely. There's a confidence to the Mary Jane in the drawing that just doesn't seem to be there in the statue. The look on the face on that statue seems to be "Do you see me doing this? Are you watching, Peter? Am I sexy enough here?" She just seems so...self conscious.

Which is, absolutely, the last thing Mary Jane Watson is. (Let's not even discuss the ego shredding she receives in Spiderman 3.)

To sum up...

The disappointing thing, to me, about this figure isn't just its awful chauvanism. It's that the designers took a fairly awesome, sexy image, and turned into mysognist crap.

Weak sauce, Sideshow. Weak sauce.

Women As Incubators! And Nothing More!

2007-05-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

Over on Jane Galt, I have been engaged in a discussion about why, precisely, polygamy is a bad idea.

Being the shit-stirrer I am, I opened the discussion a bit further to include polyamory.

This of course, was at first ignored, then targeted.

I was asked: What possible reason would a woman have to marry many men?

Slut-shaming is then brought into the equation:

Men dislike sluts for cuckoldry reasons - the possibility that they may marry a woman who carries children not of his own genes, which imposes a huge fitness cost on him. Cuckoldry factors would expand exponentially in a Woman-man-man-man relationship. In such a relationship men would not know if the children they were raising were their own, in a man-woman-woman relationship each woman would know that their own child IS THEIR OWN. So which is more likely?

This is clearly a man who doesn't even want to try and understand the dynamics of polyamorous situations.

My favorite part of the comment, however, was this:

Read some evo-bio.

Ok, so because animals operate on a purely procreative basis, humans do, too? Because in the animal world, only the Alpha Male gets to have multiple partners, it has to be the same for us?

I beg to differ.

The "because it's that way in the animal world" argument really makes me mad. I've seen many arguments in discussions that hinge on being "civilized" and how evolved the human race is, and all sorts of other things.

However.

You do not get to say we're better than the animals in one argument, and then use it against women in another.

Ah, he just replied to me again.

My point was - why would a man want a woman who has multiple partners? Ie. why would a man voluntarily participate in the raising of a child not of his own genes?

Wow. What an unenlightened view.

I like how he also assumes that children will be involved. Though, given the assumption of children, I guess I shouldn't tell him about the polyamorous family I know, and the children they're raising together.

His arguments are so based in pure base instinct, and have nothing to do with the real world or real situations, or even, I'd wager, real women.

And all this was because I asked:
The only conceivable legitimate argument against legally-bound unions of polyamory is the burden of insuring more than one spouse of the insurance holder.

If anyone can name another one- that's not based in religion or "that's icky"- I look forward to reading it.

Me and My Red Stapler Against The World!

Some new commentary on Girls's Costume Warehouse

Inspector Spacetime as Meta

Full. Body. Eyeroll.

Confession

Spirit Day

Why "It Gets Better" is the wrong message to send--and why we should do it anyway

GIRLS'S COSTUME WAREHOUSE

All The News That Fits

Yay Friday!

Thursday Roundup

Mundries

Good Graphic Design

Saturdries

All I really have to say about the "Ground Zero Mosque" debacle

A Love Letter to Someone Else

Spoilers for Scott Pilgrim vs the World

Back to the Sundries

Wednesdries

Whoa!

Tuesdries

Saturdries

TGI Sundries

Lunch'n Sundries

YES. THIS.

Kitty Krazy Sundries

Monday Sundries

Home Sweet Sundries

Sundries-a-go-go

Sundries 2: Electric Boogaloo

Sundries

Jamie Oliver: Champion of the People or Fatphobic Mansplainer?

D'awww!

Pups!

It's in the bag!

Misdirected Advertising -or- The Man I Could Smell Like

Awwww!

FLY, FATASS, FLY!!

Whoops

Apologies to the Religious Jews in the Audience

I Watched the Watchmen

VOTE!

Oh, McCain. You fool.

THE BIG NEWS

Cool Trivia Of The Day...

Proof

Happy Birthday, Charles Brownstein!

Not Leavin' On A Jet Plane

Help Sell Out Superman #676!

The Open Source Understanding Project

Go Go Tron Racer!

Milo Ventimiglia Is Dangerous With An Easel

NY Comic Con: Well Done.

COMIC CON AHOY!

Cute, NY Comic Con. Very Cute.

What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate

Yeah, I Don't Know About This

Echo!

Stop Ripping Off Artists!

Erm, You Sure You Want To Be On Film With That?

You Stay Classy

It's Called *Comic* Con.

Depila-story

Politicikin'

Boo Urns.

Hee!

Assigning Our Icons

Jersey Gets An Upgrade!

We've All Been Very Naughty

D'oh!

Praise the Lord and Pass the Parsnips!!!

Update!

Beauty Is The Geek

Mr. Fantastic

Oh for the love of... - FOLLOW UP

Oh for the love of...

Power Girl: A Feminist Icon for the 2000s

Anecdotal Ignorance

Tragedy Tomorrow, A Debate Tonight!

We Are All Nerds

It's Called Comic Con.