Gallimaufry

[neadods]

There is just something horribly ironic about spending 9 hours online so you'll spend less time online. However, I think I've got the cuts & filters all set. (Read: I've got a sustainable daily list and a scary weekly list. And an entirely separate private post with links to 30 Doctor Who communities.)

I'm going to do a full Torchwood review when I can talk about the last two episodes in conjunction with each other & I still haven't seen Fragments. I will say without discussing plot that it was very nice to see a large chunk of the episode be handled by the women for once, especially as Jack & Owen have been used as the "get out of plot problem free" cards so often. And, of course, I squeed fit to knock bats out of the sky at That Bit.

Enterprising Women strikes again: the latest dimbette with an agenda and a I-am-more-feminist-than-thou attitude explaining the social and psychological meaning of slash fanfiction to the poor ignorant fangirls. Go wank to your delusions of academe, child. You might be shocked to discover someday that fannish women can talk about their relative position in fringe groups and larger societies All By Themselves, and are shockingly capable of grasping both text and subtext in their own hobbies - and a hell of a lot more accurately than anyone who feels the need to assume that fangirl = drooling uneducated idiot.

Someone's certainly uneducated, to come out with lines like this: Fanfic writers pride themselves on their respect for and fidelity to their original source material, and in their writing they rarely, if ever, do anything that questions or contradicts the ideologies underwriting the original texts. BWAhahahahahahaaa! Your detailed research consisted of reading 3 stories on fanfiction.net, didn't it?

For boogiebabe_smap, these two links from naamah_darling of an amazing dancing dog in canine freestyle competition: The Gladiator (like Naamah, I am amused by the viciously wagging tail) and Hooray for Hollywood.

You'll probably appreciate this from the same source: the Trilobite song.

Which leads into my second set of links: the story of Dr. PZ Myers and "Expelled from Expelled."

PZ (all due respect to Dr. Myers, but "PZ" is faster to type) writes a blog called Pharyngula. Pharyngula is about a lot of things, but PZ is often adamantly posting on two subjects: 1) he is an atheist and proud of it and 2) he despises creationism and all its kin.

A while ago, he was interviewed for a movie he was told would be on religion and science called "Crossroads." It turned out to be a pro-Intelligent Design movie called "Expelled." There was an advance filming. He went. Well... he tried to go.

They didn't let him in. PZ was considered to be a disruptive element, so a rent-a-cop not only threatened to arrest him if he didn't leave before entering the theater, he followed Dr. Myers out to the parking lot and threatened to arrest him THERE as well if he didn't clear off. Someone needs to have a little lesson on "public property." But the funniest part is who they let in - PZ's guest, infamous atheist and loather of creationism/ID, Richard Dawkins. Who apparently gave them an earful during the Q&A after.

PZ has follow-up posts on it here and here, and his daughter (who was allowed in) has a movie review.

It started hitting other blogs.

THEN it hit the NY Times. (PZ's response to that.)

Christianity Today's headline is Dawkins Crashes 'Expelled' Party

The best set of links is here.

Comments

[arjuna-lj.livejournal.com]

Enterprising Women strikes again

Jesus H Christ... You know, I am sick and )#*&$)#& tired of people insisting that me writing (a) fanfic generally and (b) slash fanfic in particular automatically means I'm inherently misogynist (and/or incredibly messed up and misguided and ignorant and brainwashed and self-hating and a bad sister and oh FFS).

A plague on'em. In fact, have two.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I'm just plain sick and tired of people telling me that because they are academics they know more about fandom than I do. Because dabbling in a culture always gives greater perspective than living in that culture, riiiiiiiight.

[flaviarassen.livejournal.com]

She's proven that she's full of {crap} by taking down all the criticism on her blog.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I noticed that. Anyone who doesn't recognize her genius must be completely wrong!

[ladyfox7oaks.livejournal.com]

Saw the first parts of the PZ/Dawkins saga a couple of days ago,. had read then that they told him he couldn't go in, then CAME BACK and told him he had to leave immediately... had NOT heard about a third confrontation in the parking lot.. OMG- somebody is WAAAAYY out of line with THAT stunt.

Still- can't help but think, in a part of my mind.. "BWAHAHAHAAAA! WAY to GO fellas!" and part of me is thinking "Dang- you can't buy publicity like THAT. Blast- now that movie will make a MINT and they'll think they are successful..."

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I doubt that the people who are pointing and laughing are really inclined to go see the movie.

[ladyfox7oaks.livejournal.com]

True, but how many will be all "I wonder what all the hoopla is about?" and see it out of sheer curiousity. And how many will be, "OH! I must go and support my church/faith/religion/whatever," and go see it(When otherwise they might not have been so inclined, or even heard about it?)

I'm just seeing echoes of "The Passion of the Christ" here... or was it "Last Temptation of Christ"? ...
ONE of those came out while I was in high school (A Christian school- no less!) - and I remember how the X-tians picketed- and the headlines screamed, and our teachers told us it was this horrible evil LIE that would melt our brains and turn us into slobbering brutes...
and all it really did was up the box-office take.

[arjuna-lj.livejournal.com]

Would've been Last Temptation - PoC had Christian groups buying up tickets in bulk IIRC.

I've not seen the film version, but the original novel (a Kazantzakis) is extraordinarily beautiful.

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

There is just something horribly ironic about spending 9 hours online so you'll spend less time online.

Think of it as being like all that time you did doing the decluttering so that you could spend less time dealing with clutter! In just about every attempt at organizing something, there's a stage of "it gets worse before it gets better". (My computer area is looking like that right now, as we try to get the house in shape for Chocolate Decadence.)

Re the fanfic article... oy gevelt. I managed to slog thru the first few paragraphs before giving up in disgust. I'd like to sic a real editor on that!

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Saw the original at Pharyngula, laughed out loud at the office, and pointed several people at it. Didn't see the followups; thanks for the links.

Have pointed the better half at the deranged academic; she's just about recovered from laughing and crying, and is pointing it out to Fandom Wank (though she's not a member, she's dropping it into their Wank Report, where SOMEONE will surely pick it up). Thanks for that link, too; it ought to amuse lots of folks.

*wanders off, muttering "monolithic homosexual agenda is conservative my..."*

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised it's taken this long for it to show up on Fandom wank, really.

[linaerys.livejournal.com]

God, that was an irritating post about fanfic. Clearly she did little to no research, or if she did, she couldn't see past her stupid biases. And even more irritating, apparently she's deleting dissenting opinions off her post. I was hoping for a really thorough, gorgeous takedown in the comments.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I was hoping for a really thorough, gorgeous takedown in the comments.

There probably has been more than one, considering the way she's whining.