Beyond Selidor

I've been writing epically recently, not only online, but also for my PhD. I'm now sitting on about 2000 words, which pleases me immensely. But today I'd like to show you some of my less academic writing.

First, here's my (supposedly) weekly Longvision post. It's about Christian symbolism and the character of Sulien, and it's the sort of thing I wish I could spend more time pondering.

I've got two posts on Geata Póeg na Déanainn. The first is just a general post about life in Cambridge this term - my regular update that sums up the Cambridge experience in a more formal way than I do on this blog. The second post is a review of Kate Elliott's Crossroads series. It might be slightly spoilery for the first two books. The focus is on Elliott's positive depiction of middle-class characters in a medieval world, which is something of a rarity in fantasy literature.

I've got a couple more links for you. First up, something I stumbled upon through metafandom. It's a rather interesting post pondering the appeal of the Twilight series, which, as you know, is something I ponder myself from time to time. I think you'll be interested in the conclusions the blogger reaches.

If you're not reading The Intern, a fantastically snarky look at the publishing world, you should be. Her recent post on author websites had me wondering whether to laugh or cry. As someone who has struggled recently trying to track down authors' publicity representatives in order to get review copies of books sent to me, let me reiterate The Intern's complaints: Authors! Fix your websites! Most importantly, include a link to your representatives at each of your publishing companies, with contact details! You would make this reviewer very grateful.

Check out John Scalzi's remarks on Fox 'News' and Obama. He's spot on as usual.

I discovered, via Justine Larbalestier's blog, the wonderful sarahtales (author Sarah Rees Brennan). She's got some very interesting things to say on the double standards readers tend to hold in relation to female characters. It's good food for thought.

That's probably enough for you to be going on with for now!

But first, a couple of links: a post on A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. It's a bit spoilerish if you haven't read the whole series. Here's a new character study on my Longvision blog. It's about Dama, and is also spoilery.

The last of my new housemates have trickled this week. It's an interesting mix of people - four fourth-year undergrads, quite a few first-, second- and third-year PhD students (including yours truly) and about five new MPhils. It's a very different dynamic to last year, which makes me realise how much the composition of housemates determines a house's character.

( A bit of nostalgia follows )

I've got lots of blog posts for you today. The first two are on Geata Póeg na Déanainn and the second is on Longvision.

The first post is about the ethics of immortality as depicted in Jennifer Fallon's Tide Lords series, Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and Sara Douglass's Troy Game books. You can find it here.

The second is about the lyrics of Regurgitator as an expression of 90s apathy, ennui and despair. It's here.

Finally, I've written my latest Longvision post about the unmapped corners of the world of Romanitas, and you can find it here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

I'm meant to be packing for my trip to Ireland, but, guess what, I'm online, flinging links at you.

First up, I've been blogging epically. The release of the new Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, sparked a bit of discussion on the 'Pub. I came to the conclusion that I read the books not for the magic, but for their theme of overcoming one's history. This caused me to blog at length on Geata Póeg na Déanainn.

Then I posted my weekly post on Longvision. It's about genre, and whether it's necessary.

A couple of things have caught my eye on the internet recently. The first is an absolutely excellent post by Justine Larbalestier. She is speaking out about her anger that although her latest book, Liar, has a black protagonist, her US publisher's marketing department insisted on a cover with a white girl on it. It's a particularly timely post, and shows that the publishing world, like society at large, still has far to go with issues of race.

This is a New York Times article about Pottermania and nostalgia among Gen Y. I've been talking about my generation's early-onset nostalgia for months now, but I disagree with the author of the article that this nostalgia was brought about by September 11. Real, ordinary mundane life is the culprit.

Speaking of Gen Y's nostalgia, ellevee has a great post of all the wonderful things that future generations will miss out on. Scroll down a bit to find this. I remember being aware of this when I took a photo of my (then) four-year-old cousin, and he turned over my camera to see the photo. My camera wasn't digital, and it was beyond his comprehension that it didn't have a little screen where he could check out all the photos I'd taken.

A while ago, I planned to write a rantpost about how bad Season 3 of Robin Hood was. Now, I don't have to because ravenya03 has done it for me.

A lot of people are asking if I've had a chance to watch 'Epitaph One', the Dollhouse season finale, and the answer is, so far, no. I will eventually get around to it, but I'll be away from the internet all next week while I'm in Ireland, so I won't be able to see it for a little while.

I bring you not one, but two new posts on my various other blogs: this one, on Longvision is about the community of escaped slaves at Holzarta, while there's a post on Geata Póeg na Déannain about life, graduation and all that.

ETA a great post on Tiger Beatdown about the film Gingersnaps, being a teenage girl, and feminism. I haven't seen the movie, but the post makes me want to, if only to write a post locating it in the general Buffy-related landscape...

Also, this post on the RiotACT makes me sad. As far as I understand it, the Chaser guys were making a point that clambering all over Uluru is as offensive to the indigenous community as clambering over a church in climbing gear might be to some Christians. That seems a valid point to me. But some of the comments make me despair. The thing that irritates me the most is some commenters' inability to call Uluru by its proper name. It hasn't been called 'Ayers Rock' for 20 years, and continually, pointedly doing so is just increasing the level of offensiveness in each comment.

Sweet, dinosaur-riding Jesus (apologies to any Christians or creationists on my flist, but I can't think of any other exclamation that would adequately sum up my mood right now). I just discovered that Sophia McDougall has discovered the existence of Longvision. That's right. The author of the books that I'm blogging about knows about my fansite and wrote about it.

I read her post and started blushing furiously. I've been a professional book-reviewer for six years. I should be above this kind of squeeing, but WHOA!

Also, ETA this post from fandomsecrets.
( Right there with you, poor, dreaming anon )

Because losseniaiel lent me her copy of Romanitas, I've actually been able to read it. Upon reading it again, I realised how much I loved the character of Una. I don't think I've ever met another character with whom I identified so completely.

( spoiler )

Anyway, I've written a post o'quotes related to Una on Longvision.

I've just written the third of my Romanitas character studies. It contains vague spoilers and can be found here at Longvision.

Here's a link to an interesting discussion on RaceFail and fandom that I found through metafandom. This post by John Scalzi (about being a 'closet introvert') comes the closest to describing my personality that anyone besides my mother has ever managed to do. It's scary.

Finally, a cool post on Stuff Journalists Like about 'corrections'. The post rightly points out that poor, innocent subs (that's copyeditors for all you Americans) are always blamed for journalists' errors. Too right!

I've got a few links for you. First up, a post about Easter Term (so far) at Cambridge. I've also got the next of my character studies up at Longvision. It's slightly spoilery.

cherith posted a link to some rather fabulous electronic music last week. Apologies to the sraffies, who have already seen these, but I thought the music was too cool to deprive the rest of my f-list.

( trippyness lurks here )

I'm actually in a very good place, dissertation-wise. I've written the whole thing. All I need to do is add in a little bit about Purgatory and tighten up my arguments about Anselm's letters to Irish bishops, and it is fit for human consumption.

But until then, I'll continue to bring you your daily dose of linkage.

( Ronni gets wordy )

I can't stop listening to Nightwish.