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September 8th, 2010
12:00 am - curiosity never killed any feline under my care
[ETA] This poll has no time limit, so feel free to fill it out if you've just found it. If you want to be in my BRF filter, leaving a comment is your best bet so I get a notification (I'll check the poll results from time to time, but I can't guarantee I'll catch it every time.) I've post-dated this entry to just after our season ends.
( Renaissance Faire, y/n? )
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June 6th, 2010
10:14 pm - Hey, maritime geeks!
I know there's some of you out there, and though this is technically a Faire post, I'm leaving this open because it's brief and includes a request.
This summer I'm playing a member of Captain James Alday's crew, and part of my goal (and instruction) for the next few weeks is to absorb as much about Elizabethan piracy and privateering as I can. I'll probably be watching some 18th-century Age of Sail stuff as well, for general immersion What It's Like On A Ship purposes and because there seems to be a lot more of it out there, so those recommendations are also welcome, but I would love to find some resources that are appropriate to 1574 Bristol, England as well.
So: What's good? What texts do you go to for crunchy historical deliciousness? What's your favorite sailing/pirate movie? Hell, toss me links to well-researched piracy fanfic. :) Send your maritime geek friends here. Feel free to lay it on me even if you think I must know about it, so you can tell me why you love it. And I will add them to my pouch of research I've already started.
Yeah, I had a good first rehearsal weekend. *collapses in a happy pile*
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May 11th, 2010
06:48 pm - Wiscon
Are any of y'all going to Wiscon and have need of another roommate? I don't think I can afford to get my own hotel room at this point, but since they claim there might be at-the-door tickets available I'm thinking about committing to the bus ride up from Chicago if I can find a place to stay (just for Saturday and maybe Friday night).
I am happy with couches or floors, and I offer cash and/or massage services. :P
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April 29th, 2010
08:28 am - flattr
Hey, is anybody else on flattr? I just got an invite code for the beta and signed up, and I vaguely recall I first heard about it through someone here. I kind of love the concept: micropayment donations for internet things you like!
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://www.journalfen.net/img/mood/classic/confused.gif) curious
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April 21st, 2010
12:13 am - Vids!
HEY Y'ALL HEY. ![[personal profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) fan_eunice has posted part three of her Eleventh Doctor every-episode vid review. Daleks just wanna have fun. *hands*
Voulez-vous by Abba
In vaguely related news, I've got a White Collar vid in the works, anyone interested in betaing? XD
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://www.journalfen.net/img/mood/classic/smile.gif) excited
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April 19th, 2010
05:48 pm - Identity policing, round [x]
So, this is a few days old and most of you have probably seen it, but I thought I'd post about it anyway.
Someone on ![[livejournal.com profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif) fandomsecrets posted a secret which begins with the delightful phrase "I'm not a homophobe. I promise" and continues to "One of my best friends has decided she's a FTM" and the resulting comment thread is... special.
I'm actually pleased with the amount of calling-out that's happening on the "your phrasing is problematic" and "please check your cis privilege" side from both trans people and allies, and honestly the anti-trans vitriol that also shows up is no worse than I was expecting. Of course everyone has some sort of opinion on what gender identity is or means, because everyone has some sort of relationship to gender, and I don't think cis people should be told not to talk about it at all -- however hurtful the trans-denying commentary sometimes is (and oh, it definitely is). It's just that taking into account people who actually live trans* lives and who have experienced things one is talking about in the abstract is really really crucial to any sort of discussion of gender.
My thoughts: Trans* policing and spotting the 'fakes' does more to harm and silence the people just coming out and struggling with what their gender identity might actually be than it does to protect the trans* community from some alleged conspiracy to co-opt our identities. I mean, I'm sure it happens. There are people in the world who fake injury or illness for themselves or their dependents to gain sympathy, it's not that much of a stretch to think someone might fake being transgender to garner the same sort of sympathy. But you know what? I don't care. There's no way to know for sure, especially online, and since this is something people need to be able to talk about, keeping the shaming to a minimum and the open discourse to a maximum is vital to the strength of our various communities.
Also, I just want to give this anon a great big hug for this comment:
Humans are gendered. Behaviors assigned to different genders vary from culture to culture, but all cultures have a distincting between men and women (although other genders can exist, they are always in addition to, not instead of. Mammals are gendered. The idea that gender is "just" a cultural construct shows a deep and deeply silly lack of understanding of human beings as mammals and as members of a specific species which adapts through cultural means.
Language is "just" a cultural construct. So are agriculture, cooking, constructing shelter, complex tool arrays, and wearing personal adornment.
It is feminist to recognize that some deep cultural attitudes are destructive and need changed; it is not required to pretend that gender identity and preference are not as real as nouns, houses, and socket sets.
And now I want an icon that says "gender identity is as real as a noun" or "gender language is just a cultural construct".
Have I mentioned lately how much I love you guys*? I know I'm incredibly lucky for not having to deal with this sort of gender policing on a regular basis from my friends in meatspace or online and I don't want to start taking that for granted. So, you know, thanks.
*big messy grouphug*
*I apologize if anyone takes issue with this use of 'guys'. To me it's not a male-default noun but a truly gender-neutral designation, but please let me know if this bothers anyone and I will alter my language. <3
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April 16th, 2010
08:57 pm - New vid: Doctor Who (Eleven)
Song: Octopus
Artist: Jonathan Coulton
Editing: ![[info]](http://www.journalfen.net/img/userinfo.gif) gelasius
Fandom: Doctor Who
spoilers for episode 5.02 "The Beast Below"
Download Octopus.mov (right-click save-as)
( Streaming and further notes under the cut )
Eeep! So, intro: this is my first entry into the world of vidding, a subsection of fandom I have been following for as long as I can remember and that has given me uncounted hours of joy and glee and angst and squee. Many thanks to all my cheerleaders, to par_avion for agreeing to watch it early (sorry I couldn't wait for your commentary, I'm just that impatient) and to fan_eunice for inspiring me to take the plunge.
Speaking of which, you should check out fan_eunice's episode-specific vids and give her lots of love for them for they are things of beauty:
Walking on Sunshine (5.01)
See Who I am (5.02)
Current Music: Octopus
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April 10th, 2010
11:13 am - more whomages
This is what else I was doing while making wallpaper last night. Iconses and bases from... I keep thinking of it as Eleven's Pilot, which it isn't really, and yet it is, kind of. Free to good homes, no credit necessary.
( icons )
( bases )
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March 31st, 2010
12:39 pm - Redirect
In case anyone here is following it, I've moved my trans-focused wordpress blog to my own domain, and finally made a new post. You can now find it at:
Current Mood: accomplished
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March 16th, 2010
11:07 pm - vid rec: Sequence by lim
vid: Sequence by lim, 3:45
music: Consequence of Sound by Regina Spektor
fandom: Serenity
If you know Regina Spektor's music at all, you'll probably agree that her voice and musical style and wordsmithing could not be more perfect for a River-centric vid, and this is even more stunning than I could have imagined. Power and perception in cold blue delicate packaging, words tripping over themselves and skipping to land on meaning too fast to follow their path but lighting up when they arrive; such that I'm apparently incapable of describing it in any linear or coherent fashion so I think I will go watch this vid more times instead, and I suggest you do too.
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12:40 am - Number One, engage dreamwidth!
Giant non-fandom friending meme in liv's journal.
Here's the thing: a lot of people are about ready to leave LJ over the latest shenanigans. But they don't want to make the leap to Dreamwidth because, frankly, there isn't enough going on here. The site is smaller, so there are fewer posts, and fewer cool people to meet.
...
But I am going to take a leaf from fandom's book: I'm going to cease sitting around complaining about how DW is too quiet. Instead I'm going to participate in creating content and drawing attention to the cool stuff that already exists.
While I do post a lot about fandom here, it's not all I talk about, and I'm all for making this place more active. I even discovered and joined a new ![[community profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png) renfaire community. Wheeeee. My intro comment is here.
Current Mood: awake
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March 12th, 2010
11:47 pm - Harry Dresden vs. Conan the Barbarian? Are you KIDDING?
Suvudu.com's Cage Match 2010 Round 1, Division 1 is complete. See the awesome commentary by a pink-haired Kaitlin and a hat-wearing Joseph below. DON'T PANIC. Or maybe... do panic. *single tear*
Meaningless spoilers ahoy!
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March 11th, 2010
11:01 am - Someone at SyFy isn't paying attention...
ETA: The Gwen bio has been rewritten.
... to the characters they're about to start airing. I know it's been linked all over the place, but it bears repeating.
Item one (the minor complaint) is character bio for Morgana from Merlin:
And though she hates the arrogant boy, Arthur, she knows that he listens to her when she acts as his conscience. Indeed, if they could only see it, the feisty pair are made for each other, their spiky exchanges masking a deep hidden attraction.
Did I miss the part in the show where there's anything other than sibling banter between Morgana and Arthur? Not that they're actually related by blood, and not that I'm against the idea of incesty sexual tension in my fiction (see many of my fannish interests), but I can't help thinking this is just wishful thinking on the part of someone who hasn't actually watched the show. I mean, they're the beautiful upper-class male and female leads, the show must be telling us they're destined for each other, right? *facepalm*
Item two (the big one) is the character bio for Gwen from Merlin:
If there's one thing Gwen might wish for, it's that she could be just a little bit prettier. With her wonky teeth, uncooperative hair and glasses, not even the most charitable person could call her beautiful. She secretly wishes that someone would see beyond the obvious and like her for the person she is...but in Camelot, she doubts that will ever happen.
...
This is a joke, right? Right?
( ranty mcrantypants )
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March 8th, 2010
February 8th, 2010
07:21 pm - [signal boost]
So kanata has an awesomely awesome original erotic story featuring a trans character and gender-role-fucking up for a grand prize of $2000 at Bettersex.com. (Links may be NSFW depending on your place of W, obviously. Ha.)
[ETA] It's the one called "Right Where I Want You", in case that wasn't obvious. [/ETA]
Go! Read! Go vote! Shoo!
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February 5th, 2010
10:02 pm - oh, and another thing...
( by which I fix something troubling about 5.12 )
(I'm sure I'm not the only one who concluded this, I just thought I'd say it.)
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January 28th, 2010
02:45 pm - i can has blogging
It's been months, but I've finally made a new post to my transition blog, my NEW transition blog with a request for content-prompts.
Eloquent Protest: One Year Later. This week (Monday, to be precise) marks my one-year anniversary of deciding to transition.
Eloquent Protest: One Year Later. This week (Monday, to be precise) marks my one-year anniversary of deciding to transition.
I'm also working on shifting the design and possibly the service. Anyone have experience with blogger vs wordpress vs typepad vs something else? Recommendations? Anti-recommendations? I'm not generally thrilled with the comment formats on blogger, but then I haven't actually explored it that much. And as I explain in the post above, I'm getting pretty comfortable with taking control of design and functionality of web sites.
ETA: So I guess I'm more than working on it. I have a new transition blog home on Wordpress! Still working on the design of it; I just picked one of the standard themes.
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01:27 pm - signal boost to NY gaming enthusiasts
Will Wright is speaking in NYC on Feb 17th
Why Games are (Good) for LearningJoin visionary game designer Will Wright, whose creations include SimCity, The Sims, Spore, and many others, for a discussion on digital games and how they support and encourage learning. RSVP for tickets at: tickets@g4li.org. Two tickets per person limit. Deadline 11:59pm February 16, 2010. Wednesday, February 17, 2010 6:00pm - 7:00pm Skirball Center for the Performing Arts New York University 566 LaGuardia Place (at Washington Square South) www. skirballcenter.nyu.edu / 212.352.3101 Open to the public
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January 24th, 2010
07:09 pm - Three things
- When working on Momo The Netbook, ?style=light is my friend.
- Sitting in my neighborhood 'wings place and using my Holmesian powers of deduction, there appears to be some sort of sporting event going on. The locals seem quite invested.
- In my acting class, I'm working on a monologue about cheese.
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November 13th, 2009
03:00 am - Oh, Supernatural (5.08). <3
Aaaaand since it's now Friday the 13th here,
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