dolorosa_12: (epic internet)
I saw Guardians of the Galaxy two days ago, and, a couple of quibbles with certain narrative choices aside, thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't really have much to say on the matter, but my friends [tumblr.com profile] jimtheviking and [tumblr.com profile] shinyshoeshaveyouseenmymoves have been having a very interesting conversation about it which I felt was worth sharing. Expect spoilers for the whole film.

This review of The Magicians by Lev Grossman by Choire Sicha doesn't really make me want to read the series, but makes a couple of points about writing women in fantasy literature that really resonate with me:

“When I was writing the story in 1969, I knew of no women heroes of heroic fantasy since those in the works of Ariosto and Tasso in the Renaissance. … The women warriors of current fantasy epics,” Le Guin wrote in an afterword of The Tombs of Atuan, “look less like women than like boys in women's bodies in men's armor.” Instead, Le Guin wouldn't play make-believe, and her women were sometimes vulnerable, including physically. She refused to write wish fulfillment, even the wish fulfillment many of us crave.

The first time I read the Earthsea quartet (as it was then), the stories of Tenar and Tehanu resonated with me in a way that was powerful and profound. I was fourteen or fifteen years old, and I think it was the first time I'd read stories that gave me a glimpse of how terrifying it was going to be to be a woman. They are not easy or comforting stories, and they showed a world that I was about to enter and told me truths I had at that point only dimly understood.

Here is a post at The Toast by Morgan Leigh Davies about attending the Marvel panel at SDCC. It made me deeply grateful that my fannish interest lies in characters and not actors.

This post by Mallory Ortberg at The Toast is deeply hilarious:

Far be it from me to criticize the tactics of modern union organizers, but frankly I think the world was a better place when tradesmen organized to agitate for their rights in the workplace and practice esoteric mind-controlling spells at the same time.

The Society of the Horseman’s Word was a fraternal secret society that operated in Scotland from the eighteenth through to the twentieth century. Its members were drawn from those who worked with horses, including horse trainers, blacksmiths and ploughmen, and involved the teaching of magical rituals designed to provide the practitioner with the ability to control both horses and women.


(As an aside, if you're not reading The Toast, you're missing out.)

Samantha Shannon has some good news. Her Bone Season series was intended as a seven-book series, but Bloomsbury had initially only committed to publishing three. But now they've gone ahead and confirmed that they will publish all seven. Samantha is awesome, as is the series, so I am thrilled.

Speaking of The Bone Season, I made a Warden/Paige fanmix on 8tracks. I go into more detail about the reasons behind my choice of songs here.

The [twitter.com profile] PreschoolGems Twitter account is one of the most fabulous things ever to exist on the internet.

This particular A Softer World gives me life.
dolorosa_12: (una)
I was in Melbourne last week, staying with my father, stepmother and two little sisters. Kitty is now eight, and Nell is three, so as you can imagine, there were lots of amusing conversations with that special breed of young-child logic. Here are a few of my favourites:

Our family is complicated
Ronni (getting out of the car): Hey, Dad, it's okay! I can get my own bag.
Nell: He's not your dad! He's my Dad!

Nell is fuzzy when it comes to banal stuff like dates and time
Nell: Why are you here?
Ronni: I'm here because I want to visit you and Kitty and Dad and your mum, because I love you all!
Nell (suspiciously): How long are you here?
Ronni: Four days. (Counting on her fingers) Monday. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. Then I'm going back to Sydney.
Nell (shouting, to Kitty): Hey! Ronni's here for four weeks!

Religion is tricky
(For context, we are watching Kitty and her school friends sing Christmas carols in the Catholic church over the road from their (Catholic) school.)
Nell's four-year-old friend, J, to his mother: Is Jesus dead?
C (his mother): Yes. [Careful! Your atheism is showing!]
J: If he's dead, how can he save us?
C (looking increasingly worried): Well...umm, Jesus is a special case.
J (apparently satisfied by this): So, did Jesus help Santa build the sleigh?

Are the clouds made of milk?
(This is my personal favourite.)
Dad and Alice, my stepmother, are sitting outside in the backyard. Nell wanders out.

Nell: The sky looks like a tea-set.
Dad, Alice and Ronni: *are confused*
Alice: What do you mean, Nell?
Nell (emphatically): It's a tea-set!
Ronni: Do you mean that the colours look the same as the colours of a tea-set?
Nell (thinks for a while): Yes.
Ronni: Do you have a tea-set with those colours?
Nell: *is confused*

TWO HOURS LATER
Alice: OH! She meant 'sunset', not 'tea-set'!

A lot of other awesome stuff has happened since then, including a delicious breakfast with [livejournal.com profile] lucubratae and his fabulous girlfriend, some of the best chocolate cake ever, cooked by my friend K, and many evenings spent at my grandparents' place, but that will all have to wait, as I'm off to meet my mum for coffee at the always-marvellous Bunker (which sells Campos coffee!).
dolorosa_12: (una)
I was in Melbourne last week, staying with my father, stepmother and two little sisters. Kitty is now eight, and Nell is three, so as you can imagine, there were lots of amusing conversations with that special breed of young-child logic. Here are a few of my favourites:

Our family is complicated
Ronni (getting out of the car): Hey, Dad, it's okay! I can get my own bag.
Nell: He's not your dad! He's my Dad!

Nell is fuzzy when it comes to banal stuff like dates and time
Nell: Why are you here?
Ronni: I'm here because I want to visit you and Kitty and Dad and your mum, because I love you all!
Nell (suspiciously): How long are you here?
Ronni: Four days. (Counting on her fingers) Monday. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. Then I'm going back to Sydney.
Nell (shouting, to Kitty): Hey! Ronni's here for four weeks!

Religion is tricky
(For context, we are watching Kitty and her school friends sing Christmas carols in the Catholic church over the road from their (Catholic) school.)
Nell's four-year-old friend, J, to his mother: Is Jesus dead?
C (his mother): Yes. [Careful! Your atheism is showing!]
J: If he's dead, how can he save us?
C (looking increasingly worried): Well...umm, Jesus is a special case.
J (apparently satisfied by this): So, did Jesus help Santa build the sleigh?

Are the clouds made of milk?
(This is my personal favourite.)
Dad and Alice, my stepmother, are sitting outside in the backyard. Nell wanders out.

Nell: The sky looks like a tea-set.
Dad, Alice and Ronni: *are confused*
Alice: What do you mean, Nell?
Nell (emphatically): It's a tea-set!
Ronni: Do you mean that the colours look the same as the colours of a tea-set?
Nell (thinks for a while): Yes.
Ronni: Do you have a tea-set with those colours?
Nell: *is confused*

TWO HOURS LATER
Alice: OH! She meant 'sunset', not 'tea-set'!

A lot of other awesome stuff has happened since then, including a delicious breakfast with [livejournal.com profile] lucubratae and his fabulous girlfriend, some of the best chocolate cake ever, cooked by my friend K, and many evenings spent at my grandparents' place, but that will all have to wait, as I'm off to meet my mum for coffee at the always-marvellous Bunker (which sells Campos coffee!).
dolorosa_12: (travis)
Last week I had coffee with the (now seven-year-old) twins I used to babysit. Their parents were also there, and related a rather amusing anecdote. The boys' father had been reading The Sorcerer's Apprentice to them.

'Do you know what an apprentice is?' he asked.

'Of course,' replied Twin #1. 'It's Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars, Episode II.'
dolorosa_12: (travis)
Last week I had coffee with the (now seven-year-old) twins I used to babysit. Their parents were also there, and related a rather amusing anecdote. The boys' father had been reading The Sorcerer's Apprentice to them.

'Do you know what an apprentice is?' he asked.

'Of course,' replied Twin #1. 'It's Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars, Episode II.'
dolorosa_12: (Default)
All that over here.

Plus this quiz, swiped from [livejournal.com profile] stephstar

1) What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was 13, in Year 8, so I was probably suffering from the angst of my most teenage-angsty year. When I think about 1998, its horrors and injustices still make my heart constrict with misery. This was the year my 'best friend' told me she 'didn't want to be my best friend any more' and I, like the masochist that I am, burst into tears and allowed her to comfort me about it. I still cringe thinking about it.
On the plus side, I started to become friends with 'the Inbreeders' (if you don't get this group epithet, you don't need to), a friendship which has, essentially, remained to this day. Thank you, nerds.

2) 5 thing written on your To Do list today.
To Do list? I don't do To Do lists.

3) Snacks you enjoy:
Apricot nectar, crackers with various kinds of salty cheese on them (especially feta) and coffffffffeeeeeeeeee.

4) Places you have lived:
New York, Washington, D.C., Alexandria in Sydney, Forrest in Canberra, Deakin in Canberra, Narrabundah in Canberra, my dad's flat in Kingston in Canberra, Rushcutters Bay in Sydney, Potts Point in Sydney, my dad's house in Narrabundah in Canberra, share-house in Narrabundah in Canberra, with the odd night at my dad's second flat in Kingston in Canberra. Wow. That actually looks like a lot.

5) What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?

1. Pay my overseas uni fees.
2. Give a certain amount to Mimi and Mum.
3. Set aside some in trust for my other two sisters for them to access when they turn 18.
4. Buy a house. In Ireland. In a beautiful place like Galway or Clare.
5. Books. And books. And books. And increased download quota!

6) People you want to know more about:
Suibhne Geilt, Congal Claen, Domhnall mac Áed and all the other mad inhabitants of Alba and Dál Riata.
My ancestors.
The Angevins, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Empress Maude etc.
The anonymous first creators of folk stories, myths and legends.

7) 5 things I often say:
'Did you see this incredibly shameful subbing error?' *winces*
'It's like that Buffy episode when...'
'Philip Pullman says...'
'The thought of ~ fills me with horror.'
'I'm going to die if (insert fangirl-worthy book, movie, TV series) doesn't come out in Australia soon.'

8) 5 books I have read recently:
The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas.
Superior Saturday by Garth Nix.
Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan.
(all for work)
The Fathomless Caves by Kate Forsyth.
The Twisted Citadel by Sara Douglass.

9) 5 songs I could listen to over and over:
All Systems Red by Calexico.
Baby by Pnau.
Breathe by The Prodigy.
Fairytale of New York by The Pogues.
Basically anything on Massive Attack's Mezzanine album.

10) Google "your star sign+horoscope" and copy your daily horoscope from a random source.
Sagittarius, 11th June.

Your life in general (and your love life in particular) continues to evolve and change. As the planetoid Ceres exists your 7th House of Romance today, you're about to stop playing such a caring, nurturing role in all your most important one-to-one relationships. So does this mean all the recent confusion connected to your partner (present or ex) is now totally over? No it does not. Mercury is still going backwards in this same part of your chart, so it's still time to gather facts. However, it does mean you should find it easier to be yourself in romance.
dolorosa_12: (Default)
All that over here.

Plus this quiz, swiped from [livejournal.com profile] stephstar

1) What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was 13, in Year 8, so I was probably suffering from the angst of my most teenage-angsty year. When I think about 1998, its horrors and injustices still make my heart constrict with misery. This was the year my 'best friend' told me she 'didn't want to be my best friend any more' and I, like the masochist that I am, burst into tears and allowed her to comfort me about it. I still cringe thinking about it.
On the plus side, I started to become friends with 'the Inbreeders' (if you don't get this group epithet, you don't need to), a friendship which has, essentially, remained to this day. Thank you, nerds.

2) 5 thing written on your To Do list today.
To Do list? I don't do To Do lists.

3) Snacks you enjoy:
Apricot nectar, crackers with various kinds of salty cheese on them (especially feta) and coffffffffeeeeeeeeee.

4) Places you have lived:
New York, Washington, D.C., Alexandria in Sydney, Forrest in Canberra, Deakin in Canberra, Narrabundah in Canberra, my dad's flat in Kingston in Canberra, Rushcutters Bay in Sydney, Potts Point in Sydney, my dad's house in Narrabundah in Canberra, share-house in Narrabundah in Canberra, with the odd night at my dad's second flat in Kingston in Canberra. Wow. That actually looks like a lot.

5) What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?

1. Pay my overseas uni fees.
2. Give a certain amount to Mimi and Mum.
3. Set aside some in trust for my other two sisters for them to access when they turn 18.
4. Buy a house. In Ireland. In a beautiful place like Galway or Clare.
5. Books. And books. And books. And increased download quota!

6) People you want to know more about:
Suibhne Geilt, Congal Claen, Domhnall mac Áed and all the other mad inhabitants of Alba and Dál Riata.
My ancestors.
The Angevins, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Empress Maude etc.
The anonymous first creators of folk stories, myths and legends.

7) 5 things I often say:
'Did you see this incredibly shameful subbing error?' *winces*
'It's like that Buffy episode when...'
'Philip Pullman says...'
'The thought of ~ fills me with horror.'
'I'm going to die if (insert fangirl-worthy book, movie, TV series) doesn't come out in Australia soon.'

8) 5 books I have read recently:
The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas.
Superior Saturday by Garth Nix.
Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan.
(all for work)
The Fathomless Caves by Kate Forsyth.
The Twisted Citadel by Sara Douglass.

9) 5 songs I could listen to over and over:
All Systems Red by Calexico.
Baby by Pnau.
Breathe by The Prodigy.
Fairytale of New York by The Pogues.
Basically anything on Massive Attack's Mezzanine album.

10) Google "your star sign+horoscope" and copy your daily horoscope from a random source.
Sagittarius, 11th June.

Your life in general (and your love life in particular) continues to evolve and change. As the planetoid Ceres exists your 7th House of Romance today, you're about to stop playing such a caring, nurturing role in all your most important one-to-one relationships. So does this mean all the recent confusion connected to your partner (present or ex) is now totally over? No it does not. Mercury is still going backwards in this same part of your chart, so it's still time to gather facts. However, it does mean you should find it easier to be yourself in romance.

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dolorosa_12: (Default)
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