The Blogaround
This week Ana Mardoll posted:
Twilight: Linkin Park is the Soundtrack of Your Spirit Journey
I have issues with this scene. What Bella is doing is terribly unhealthy for her ears, yes, but it's distressing to me that one of the most pro-active things we've seen her do so far in the novel, in terms of real-time action is action that is essentially (a) harmful and (b) intended to keep herself from thinking.
Twilight: Linkin Park is the Soundtrack of Your Spirit Journey
I have issues with this scene. What Bella is doing is terribly unhealthy for her ears, yes, but it's distressing to me that one of the most pro-active things we've seen her do so far in the novel, in terms of real-time action is action that is essentially (a) harmful and (b) intended to keep herself from thinking.
Sarah writes:
This week, I posted part of Whitman's Song of Myself and expressed my outrage at the proposed bill to ban feeding homeless people in Philly.
hapax wants everyone to know that she has still has over a dozen titles of excellent, hilariously awful, and amazingly meh YA books left in the current ARC giveaway -- yours free for the claiming!
Interesting things TRiG has found in the past week:
• Diversity is valuable in and of itself.
• Data demonstrating that abstience-only education does not work.
• Things we think of as universals may well not be. A reminder to programmers and system designers that cultures vary: Names Are Hard.
• Scott Lively, writer of The Pink Swastika, a book which claims that gay people were responsible for the atrocities of Nazi Germany, has been sued for persecution by The Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of Sexual Minorities of Uganda.
• (Trigger Warning: Racism, Slavery, link to a disturbing visual). Atheist messaging can sometimes go very very wrong. And statements which need trigger warnings shouldn't go on billboards.
• Diversity is valuable in and of itself.
• Data demonstrating that abstience-only education does not work.
• Things we think of as universals may well not be. A reminder to programmers and system designers that cultures vary: Names Are Hard.
• Scott Lively, writer of The Pink Swastika, a book which claims that gay people were responsible for the atrocities of Nazi Germany, has been sued for persecution by The Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of Sexual Minorities of Uganda.
• (Trigger Warning: Racism, Slavery, link to a disturbing visual). Atheist messaging can sometimes go very very wrong. And statements which need trigger warnings shouldn't go on billboards.
Laiima reports: This week I posted being the change I want to see in the world and
love can be tricky when you're 'sensitive'.
While cycling is usually known for its embrace of spandex, Storiteller this week considered the collision and interpretation of style in modern-day biking, in The Clothes Make the Cyclist.
Yamikuronue writes: Last weekend I posted a tea review: Teavana and this week I posted two more entries of My Story: My Hair and The Beginning of the Dark Times. I posted two more deconstruction posts: Sunday Sunday Sunday and A Brief Interlude.
Coleslaw writes: While reading comments in a thread on a popular blog, I saw a reference to "raisin date" and tried to figure out what that could be. Et Voilà, it came to me. That post is going down in my personal annals of "Be careful what you wished for". You know how if Fred Clark links to one of your posts it brings you lots of traffic? Lots of people to see that in a post on misspelling foreign phrases, you misspelled a foreign phrase? Over 100 people saw the post before I was able to correct it. Fortunately, I didn't die of embarrassment, but When I Die, my loved ones will have this carefully thought out list of my last wishes to go by.
While I was mangling the French language, I realized I needed an Etui for basic sewing supplies so I can have them at hand and not landing on my head. (If you read the post, that last comment will make sense.) FInally, you won't believe what The Sign Said, at least the first time I saw it.
While I was mangling the French language, I realized I needed an Etui for basic sewing supplies so I can have them at hand and not landing on my head. (If you read the post, that last comment will make sense.) FInally, you won't believe what The Sign Said, at least the first time I saw it.
Michael Mock writes: This week at Mock Ramblings, I was devoured by the beginning of the busy season at work. To help me cope with this, I put up a series of character sketches to remind of some of my characters and why I'd like to be writing about them: Sean, Werdeth, and Cat. I told the touching story of My First Girlfriend, and asked my readers for their favorite musical oddities. On a more thoughtful note, I responded to part of a comment that appeared on an earlier post, by observing that there's a difference between Politeness, Presentation, and Ethics.
Last week Ana Mardoll posted:
Twilight: Lying Liars Who Lie
In which Bella Swan is far, far more guilty of betrayal than anything Edmund Pevensie ever did.
Twilight: Lying Liars Who Lie
In which Bella Swan is far, far more guilty of betrayal than anything Edmund Pevensie ever did.
In case you missed this
Sixwing writes: Found this one on Twitter. I quite enjoyed it. Ten Responses to "Man Up"
(Trigger Warning: Abortion; discussion of misogyny, domestic violence, bullying)
From Lonespark: Here, have a link about race and scifi and why DS9 is the bestest.
From Nenya: Mira Furlan now has a Twitter account, and I have been invited to write an article for my friend's QUILTBAG zine. Yay! Here's the zine. Any of the QUILTBAG folks or allies from Slacktivist / The Slacktiverse are completely welcome to submit articles to Just A Bit Radical. They're just getting off the ground and can use all the help they can get! Their Kickstarter link is here.
From mmy: Racialicious published a series of articles about the Kony 2012 video and the Invisible Children campaign: (Trigger Warning: Discussion of rape, racism, violence, slavery, neo-colonialism, homophobia, anti-gay movements):
• We Are Not Invisible: 5 African Women Respond To The Kony 2012 Campaign.
• ‘They Feel Like We Have An Agenda’: Religion And The Invisible Children Campaign.
• #StopKony: Activism Or Exploitation?
Jessie, at RacismReview, writes about the role of whiteness in the coverage/popularity of Kony 2012 in Kony 2012: Whiteness, Social Media and Africa.
• We Are Not Invisible: 5 African Women Respond To The Kony 2012 Campaign.
• ‘They Feel Like We Have An Agenda’: Religion And The Invisible Children Campaign.
• #StopKony: Activism Or Exploitation?
Jessie, at RacismReview, writes about the role of whiteness in the coverage/popularity of Kony 2012 in Kony 2012: Whiteness, Social Media and Africa.
From Ross: (Trigger Warning: Abortion; Child suffering; forced medical procedures; war-on-women)
I just read an article by a woman who found herself in the position of making the difficult decision to end a wanted pregnancy in the second trimester. In Texas. She speaks of her experience. On top of the reasons we already know about why the texas forced penetration law is horrific, this article points out how little guidance the law gave for implementing its requirements, with the result that (ROT13 for more explicit triggering) fur'f sbeprq gb raqher n funzvat yrpgher qrfcvgr orvat va n pynff gung fubhyq unir orra rkrzcg.
I forced myself to read through to the end. It was not easy. The Right Not to Know
I just read an article by a woman who found herself in the position of making the difficult decision to end a wanted pregnancy in the second trimester. In Texas. She speaks of her experience. On top of the reasons we already know about why the texas forced penetration law is horrific, this article points out how little guidance the law gave for implementing its requirements, with the result that (ROT13 for more explicit triggering) fur'f sbeprq gb raqher n funzvat yrpgher qrfcvgr orvat va n pynff gung fubhyq unir orra rkrzcg.
I forced myself to read through to the end. It was not easy. The Right Not to Know
Also from Ross: (Trigger Warning: War on women. Abortion. Fetal death. Spousal abuse. Swearing. Gross misogyny))
There are no words.
Georgia state rep. Terry England is proposing that abortion be banned even when the fetus is dead because women should have to carry the dead fetuses until their bodies naturally eject them "like cows and pigs do". Also, he seems to be offering a ban on cockfighting in exchange for a ban on abortion.
In Wisconsin, lawmaker Don Pridemore opposes divorce in all cases and suggests that battered women "refind those reasons and get back to why they got married in the first place" to fall in love with their abusers all over again.
There are no words.
Georgia state rep. Terry England is proposing that abortion be banned even when the fetus is dead because women should have to carry the dead fetuses until their bodies naturally eject them "like cows and pigs do". Also, he seems to be offering a ban on cockfighting in exchange for a ban on abortion.
In Wisconsin, lawmaker Don Pridemore opposes divorce in all cases and suggests that battered women "refind those reasons and get back to why they got married in the first place" to fall in love with their abusers all over again.
Things you can do
From TRiG: The documentary film Bully is intended to be an educational aid in schools, but cannot be used as such, because it's been given an R rating. There is a petition to downgrade the rating. (Do not, for the sake of your sanity, read the comments on that link.)
Get involved with or donate to Planned Parenthood.
Get involved with or donate to the Center for Reproductive Rights. This organization, which does work around the world, argues that a woman needs to direct her own life and make healthy decisions: Legal, safe, and affordable Contraception and Abortion. Good obstetric and prenatal care for a Safe & Healthy Pregnancy. Information about reproductive health that is free from Censorship. Funding for Reproductive Healthcare so that she can lead as healthy a life as possible even if she can't afford services.
--Co-authored by the Slacktiverse Community
The Slacktiverse is a community blog. Content reflects the individual opinions of the contributors. We welcome disagreement in the comment threads, and invite anyone who wishes to present an alternative interpretation of a situation to write and submit a post.
The documentary film Bully is intended to be an educational aid in schools, but cannot be used as such, because it's been given an R rating. There is a petition to downgrade the rating. (Do not, for the sake of your sanity, read the comments on that link.)
TRiG.
Posted by: Timothy (TRiG) | Mar 18, 2012 at 08:29 PM
@TRiG: We added that petition to the Blogaround. Seconding your warning re the comments.
Posted by: The Board Administration Team | Mar 18, 2012 at 09:36 PM
The link to Hapax's blog doesn't work -- it has extra %22 s at the end. Once those are deleted, it works though.
Love the ARC giveaway idea, and I'll definitely peruse the list to see if there's anything I'm interested in.
Posted by: ZMiles | Mar 18, 2012 at 10:07 PM
*blink* I got listed in the blogaround! Cool!
If you'd like to, TBAT, you can add that any of the QUILTBAG or indeed allies from Slacktivist are completely welcome to submit articles to Just A Bit Radical. They're just getting off the ground and can use all the help they can get! Their Kickstarter link is here: http://kck.st/zstOcs
Posted by: Nenya | Mar 18, 2012 at 10:15 PM
Erm, that should be "Any of the QUILTBAG folks or allies"
Posted by: Nenya | Mar 18, 2012 at 10:16 PM
@Zmiles: Thanks -- it parsed correctly in one of our editors but you are right -- it was wonky in a browser. Should be okay now.
@Nenya: Added that in. And glad to give you a moment of cool!
Posted by: The Board Administration Team | Mar 18, 2012 at 10:27 PM
Finished The Kingdom of the Gods.
Better than The Broken Kingdoms (which I did love, but the plot execution wasn't as strong as the others). Not necessarily better than The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, but more rich and enjoyable since I know the world so much better now.
And funny. Along with the Grim and Complicated and Dramatic and Mystical and Resonant...very damn funny. Yay!
I hate that there aren't any more, but it's a very fitting end.
(The first one is the most trigger-y, I think, but they are none of them OK like that, so proceed with caution.)
As I read through the series I kept thinking, at various points, "Wait, you mean it's even more complicated that THAT?!?" Heh.
Posted by: Lonespark | Mar 19, 2012 at 08:16 AM
Found this one on Twitter. I quite enjoyed it. Ten Responses to "Man Up"
-- warnings for discussion of misogyny, domestic violence, bullying.
Posted by: Sixwing | Mar 19, 2012 at 12:10 PM
I read this link that Fred posted last night, and since I can't comment there right now, I wanted t ocomment here.
Is anyone else suddenly really really scared by the eliminationist rhetoric of the raving, extremist, xenophobic, authoritarian who should by all rights be dismissed as a joke but who somehow keeps pulling down a signifigant vote and about whom the GOP base is saying "Hey, as long as he can beat Obama, we'll accept whatever shit he wants to spew."
1.5 billion people. And he's using words that begin with 'E' and mean "to get rid of entirely"
Posted by: Ross | Mar 20, 2012 at 09:53 AM
Yay. I fell into the spam hole again!
Rescued you.
Posted by: Ross | Mar 20, 2012 at 09:54 AM
I saw my first anti-abortion protest today. "Abortion Hurts Women" sign. Forty-five minutes late back from lunch wasn't exactly the best time to stop for a chat about how abortion might hurt women but unwanted pregnancy hurts worse, and nearly two hours later I am still shaking with rage. (On the encouraging side, there was only one protestor that I saw.)
Posted by: MercuryBlue | Mar 20, 2012 at 03:35 PM
Trigger warning: Cancer, death
Talking about triggery ads: Youtube has started playing the CDC anti smoking ad, with a woman ravaged by cancer. I was playing a video about distance running, and without warning they play this thin at the beginning. I haven't been that disturbed by a video since I was a kid and that damn trailer for the movie "Magic" with Anthony Hopkins came on TV.
I tried finding a link to the smoking ad, but I didn't want to watch it again. It's the "Mary" ad. NSFL!
I see what TWs are for now!
Posted by: Joe Smith | Mar 21, 2012 at 01:33 AM
"Raisin Date". I came up with this in High School, after seeing Clockwork Orange. Same principle as "Horror Show" for Russian "Karacho."
Posted by: Joe Smith | Mar 21, 2012 at 01:36 AM