The thread that keeps on giving.

We came up with an interesting question about the Black Widow in this comment thread which was derailed by the beginning of a beautiful fight that led into another comment thread (which was unfortunately ended by a sudden attack of honesty and understanding--what the fuck Kalinara have you been hiding mutant powers or do you just know me that well?). Because a question which is vital to the peace of mind for all involved has surfaced, and because researching this question would required digging through a crossover that was written by Mark Millar, I'm going to throw it out to the internet:

Do any of the Civil War tie-ins and fallout issues explain why Natasha decided to go pro-reg?

LurkerWithout thinks her personal loyalties should have put her with Nick and Cap, John feels that she was going for her own interests, Dan thinks she cut a deal (or that she's a Skrull), and I think she's watching things at SHIELD for Nick Fury while he's been forced into hiding.

In all likelihood this question has already been answered in one of the five billion Civil War tie-ins, or some issue of something since then but as I said before that's too much to sift through and some of them were written by Mark Millar. Did any Marvelfans out there spot a sequence that explains Natasha's reasoning, and would they care to explain it?

Quick Note

Just received this comment on my own personal blog:

Quick question. Is When fangirls attack a manga site now? Thanks.

You guys do realize we have fucking jobs and real lives here, right? I've had a miserable busy week and haven't checked a single feed since last Monday, Kalinara's had a miserable busy week, and Anna runs in her own circles. Sometimes, Anna will be busy and someone else will be doing all the posts in a row and you won't see any fucking manga for a little while. No one's being paid for this, we all have our own responsibilities.

When I see complaints like this it makes me want to close up shop. No, actually it makes me want to post every fucking link as "Link" and put them all in a paragraph so that you can't tell the superhero from the manga or the trolls from the activists and the fans. It makes me want to change the titles and the names of the authors with the links. It makes me want to arrange it so that every single substantial post is buried in the middle of troll links, featuring the best of the most hated people in the community.

And if I space it out right, I can do it without violating the stated linking policy.

There are only two things stopping me from doing this. There's the thought that this is just one or two fucking morons in a sea of reasonable people who understand that we have jobs, and lives, and families, and shit to do when we're not on the Internet. And the knowledge that if I went and burned down the fucking house not a one of you would step up to rebuild it.

Okay, there's also the miraculous font of sanity and diplomacy that is Kalinara. You guys have no idea how crazy mean I actually am.

Movie thoughts

(Don't ask what I've been up to.)

A few months ago Kalinara had a post pointing out the similarities between Wonder Woman and Captain America, and with the Captain America movie rumors (McConaughey, now this guy) I may have found another one.  We all know the Wonder Woman part is the favorite rumor of any pretty brunette starlet who needs to attract attention, Captain America may get to be the part that any handsome blond looking for leading man status wants to be linked to.

Come to think of it, it may be just as hard to cast as Wonder Woman.  You need someone very traditionally masculine who can pull off cheerful, old-fashioned, gentle, quiet and inspiring all without looking like a parody.  With Wonder Woman you need traditionally feminine but able to pull off utterly self-confident, powerful, friendly, pure hearted and inspiring all without looking like a parody.

I'm much more confident the Captain America movie will be made than the Wonder Woman movie, mind you, but it's interesting the similarities.  When they finally do cast it I bet the guy will be very much a modern male version of Lynda Carter.

And while I'm on the subject of comparing the two franchises, Bucky's a much better grown-up sidekick who came back from the dead in a convoluted story with an identity crisis than Donna's ever been.  Does anyone else think Brubaker might be able to do something worthwhile with Donna and Cassie if he got ahold of them?

Blogged with the Flock Browser

I've caught up on Brubaker's Captain America run.

(Seriously, that's what I've been up to all week. I've read everything Brubaker wrote about Cap or Bucky that I could get my hands on.)

And I have new favorite Marvel couple.

Bucky and Natasha, who the hell would have expected them to fit so well together?

It may help that Buck doesn't seem to smile at all in the entire run until that point she implies there might be a future for them.

And that even though Natasha is the ever-present ex-lover of half the Marvel Universe, this is the first time the romance backstory has actually seemed romantic. Normally it's more like she's been fooling around with a good friend she finds hot. (Not that I have anything against Natasha's healthy attitude towards sex, she just never seemed to be in love with a lover before Brubaker wrote her, so I've never been able to see her as part of a couple before.)

This must be explored.  And made into a normal thing.  With teamups.  And pillow banter.  And riding together on a motorcycle.  And staying in and whispering sweet nothings over takeout food.  And (once he gets back) the awkwardness of Steve accidentally walking in on them messing around.

Comic Art Indigene

May 11th-January 4th at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, Nex Mexico.

Comic Art Indigéne which opens at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture on May 11, 2008 looks at how storytelling has been used through comics and comic inspired art to express the contemporary Native American experience. Under the larger definition of narrative art, comic art is more related to Native American art traditions than one might expect. The earliest surviving examples of such narrative art is rock art. The historic examples used in the exhibition, such as photographs of rock art, ledger art, and ceramics are meant to link Native American art traditions with contemporary voices.

PoA has a map embedded for anyone in the Southwestern US who can make it.

Oh, and for the record...

I did not miss Mother's Day. I just called her this time instead of posting on the internet.

And now for something awesome.

Remember that Marvel/DC Olympics poll I linked to?

Here's the results:

As for the swimsuit competition, well, I got about 100 different nominations, which would have broke your LJ to have a vote, so I'm gonna declare all you fanboys and fangirls and your dirty minds winners!

Although if we went by nominations, our overall swimsuit champion would be Nightwing, Mr. Dick Grayson himself, who snagged 20 nominations all by himself. Must have been his early green Speedo years.
As far as the girls went, Power Girl got 4, the most nominations for a girl nominee.

I love the Internet some days.

Blogdrama

He actually lasted longer than I expected.

(Found out through some livejournals I follow before I reached his blog in my feeds, actually.)

I don't want to comment on his little blog but because I'm adverse to one-sided stories and this'll be on WFA I just wanted to let everyone know that that postscript was meant for me, and that this was not an offer.  It was a suggested course of action.  Also, that my anger had shit-all to do with feminism and everything to do with military and family history, but if he's whiny enough to assume every disagreement with me is about women he may as well do so.  I was mainly thinking of my grandfather but there were also female veterans of WWII.

Admittedly, I dismissed him as a troll due to his asinine beliefs on rape. There is no excuse for this idiocy.

Anyway, contest: Read through Brett's "Goodbye Cruel Blogosphere" post and see how many logical fallacies you can find.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

I had to be out of my mind thinking I’d soon be over you.

I know this feeling.

Today in the comic book store, on a high from the lovely lovely movie this weekend and curious as to how well this translates to paper I picked up the Invincible Iron Man relaunch. I'd been meaning to investigate the praise this writer's been getting anyway. While I was there I grabbed American Dream and ran my hands over the Marvel trades from all the years I've missed.

This has happened before. I started out as Marvellite, a happy middle-schooler stealing her sister's Generation X comics to read between the pages of her textbooks in study hall. As my sister turned to DC and its imprints. so did I I flirted with the House of Ideas again when Quesada took over and he teased us with Wolverine's origin. In tech school I stayed up late studying Fantastic Four trades in tech school when I should have been studying FAA regulations and hunted through back issue bins in Mississippi looking for ever available appearance of Magneto's children. (I am the only person I know of who read that 90s Quicksilver series with the Knights of Wundagore, and I'd snap up issues to fill the holes in this run in a heartbeat.) I had a fling with Bendis' Daredevil (I was really more interested in Maleev's Daredevil, though) and poked around Avengers Mansion until Wanda moved out.

Between the destruction of my favorite aspects of the 616 universe and the rise of their nightmarish Ultimate counterparts (which I'd found entertaining at first, but which horrified me as time went on) I slowly made my way to a Marvel-free Wednesday. I didn't fuss. I didn't yell. I didn't to my recollection write a long essay on why I was leaving Marvel forever or complain endlessly about the loss of my childhood favorites. I did acquire an anti-Quesada affectation. I dd go off a time or two when the subject of Scarlet Witch came up. But on the whole I just quietly crossed the Marvel books one by one off my checklist over various transgressions until I was down to Spider-Girl, and I wasn't too inclined to talk about her.

Then someone in my feeds blogged about a teenage female Captain America in Spider-Girl's world, getting a miniseries this month. And someone posted this shadowy image online with "The Return" on it, and I found my excitement wasn't dulled by the inevitability. But the kicker was this shiny new movie, which I thought wouldn't get me because I never much cared for Iron Man (he seemed like a stiff), but here I am walking out of the store today with an armful of Marvel trades. 1 Image book, 1 DC trade, 4 Marvel trades, 3 Marvel books (would have been 4 had the one with Quicksilver not sold out). I've no interest in the skrullification beyond it's opportunities to retcon out all of the stuff I disliked. I mainly want to read about the guy in the movie who seems to have ADHD and a 340 IQ, and who shares my love of taking things apart. Also I want to read about Captain America--the one who isn't an asshole.

I roll my eyes when I see the "WHY DO YOU HURT ME DC!!!!" melodramas on the internet, but I find this is just like going back to an old boyfriend. Memories of a summer breeze turning the page on your hardcover, interrogating your friends to find out all the juicy stuff you missed, the familiar musty smell of back issue bins in used bookstores on the outskirts of town... And a heavy dread anchoring your heart because you know why you dropped it all before and you know it'll end in a night of tears and country music but you have this warm sensation in your cheeks when you open the cover and you just can't stop smiling as you turn the pages. It's unsettlingly similar to the time Sean stopped to visit me in San Antonio.

A week or two ago a friend asked me repeatedly why I was so damned reasonable about a particular situation. I supposed I can hold this up to reassure her I'm still a crazy fan at heart. Or at least short of memory and susceptible to hype.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

On the other hand, this is awesome.

Everyone see this idiot commenting on Kalinara's Variations post?

I thought it was the first ever comic that bordered on racism.

Yeah, he's not talking about The Spirit, he's talking about the latest Blue Beetle issue.

And not because they screwed it up, but because they were "forcing" the readers to read Spanish. (GOTI covered this one yesterday.)

At the end of all that xenophobic inanity comes this comment:

Hi, John Rogers, previous writer of BLUE BEETLE here.

Just to point out — this commenter’s problem is even more insane than first appears, because the issue in question ACTUALLY OCCURS IN MEXICO, where our born-in-the-USA teen superhero who is the son of two legal immigrants — one of whom is written to have served his country in the 101st Airborne — has gone to visit his grandmother.

This guy and people like him are one of the reasons comics are dying.

The Internet is a wonderful and miraculous place. We must never forget this.

I am so very angry I can't come up with a rant for this one.

Our newest community troll, discussing Captain America in Kalinara's comments:

Realism for portraying a WWII-era soldier (super or otherwise) is unfortunately being a xenophobic flag hugging bible thumping asshole. They might actually give him some depth that Ultimate Cap lacked, but I think he'll be pretty much right there as far as characterization.

Now I've been on the internet for a few years now, so it's not normal for me to see something that has me literally shaking with rage. You've accomplished quite a feat, Brett.

Congratulations, and FUCK YOU!

Apparent Marvel/DC Olympics Misunderstanding

Marvel/DC Olympics poll on livejournal.

Now, we can clearly see from the first eight matchups that we're only watching the men's events but it seems some misguided fans have nominated women for the final event. And twice as many women as men.

If you have a livejournal account, please go and nominate some men (particularly Marvel men since right now we just have Roy and Kyle on the list) for the swimsuit competition that makes up the final event.

Carnival Notes

PoC in SF Carnival #9: What I Heard about You, And What That Meant For Me at Soaring

Willow's looking for a host for #10, contact her if you're up for it.

The 21st Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans up at Heroine Content

Looking for a host for the 22nd issue. Please contact me if interested.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Dear DC Comics,

I am writing to inform you of a mistake regarding this week's release of DC Universe 0. DC Universe 0 was released on Wednesday April 30th, 2008. I believe the date you were shooting for was April 1st.

I still commend you on an excellent prank idea. Perhaps next year you might try something with the Waynes.

Sincerely,
A loyal customer.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Good News, Everybody!

Anna from Tangognat will be joining us at WFA on a regular basis. So we're now a 3-woman team!

Her first post is up.

The Many Loves of John Stewart

Kalinara and I joke endlessly about how John Stewart is only interested in alien women. But from my log of back issues I know this wasn't always true. There was a point in the O'Neill run where Hal was incapacitated and they needed John to take him to Oa. They found him in bed with a black human woman (I can't find the issue, so I don't know her name). I thinks he was meant to be John's first love interest, even though she never appeared again.

Later, when Englehart took over the series and John got activated as the center, he didn't have much of a supporting cast. He was briefly involved with Tawny Young, a black female reporter who spilled his identity on national television. I recall she felt guilty afterwards. The story was just plain annoying, because it retconned a piece of John's character away. In his first appearance he'd thrown the mask away, saying he had no reason to hide. It was one of those actions that establish personality. John was honest and forthright. For that storyline, he had to hide his origins and his name until he was forced to go public.

After that came Katma. The love of his life was an alien woman from Korugar. Katma was assigned as trainer (there seems to be some sort of 1417-2814 exchange program going on in the Corps) after John complained he hadn't been properly trained by his predecessor. The two clicked. Katma made a considerably better trainer than Hal. Hal's one of those people who's very physically-minded, who automatically focuses and concentrates without much thought into the process. A "Just do it like I do" teacher, which works for basics but it incomplete in the end. Katma was more cerebral and trained by explaining how the energy worked.

And in return for teaching him about Lanterning (for lack of a better word), John taught her about human culture. Especially mating rituals.

They were evenly matched, and complimented each other. After Crisis on Infinite Earths they turned into one of those annoying couples who wear matching outfits and are never seen separately.

Katma's death was followed by a focus on Hal and apparently a long dry spell for John until Mosaic. Mosaic was when a Guardian set up a zoo on Oa with populations from planets across the universe. John was the lucky guy who got the job of keeping them from killing each other. The population from Earth contained Rose Hardin, an ex-love interest of Hal's. The relationship with Rose seemed to be mainly about providing a father figure for Rose's son and winning a power struggle with Hal. He turned her over the second something better came along came back to life.

When Kyle took the lead in the mainbook, the end of Mosaic seemed to be soft-retconned away. John resurfaced as a member of the Darkstars. The editorial direction in Green Lantern at the time was something of a "Scorched Oa" policy, and just sending John off to space wasn't enough for them. I haven't read the issue (though it has to be Kyle's fault somehow), but in a fight John was paralyzed from the waist down. He returns to Earth with his brand new girlfriend from the Darkstars, Merayn.

The less said about Merayn the better. She was a pretty blue girl with no substance whatsoever. The relationship consisted of John brooding and her hanging on his shoulder. She didn't seem particularly restless on Earth until John got the use of his legs back. When Kyle left Earth and John got re-activated as the Earth Green Lantern, Merayn left him.

He hasn't had a love interest in the comic books since.

In the JLU TV show, John dated one alien woman (Hawkwoman) and one human woman (Vixen).

There's an interested pattern here. The first two, the girl who got left halfway through the night and Tawney Young, were the only black women John ever dated. Neither were substantial relationships.

Katma and Merayn both seemed to be coded white to me. There might be some argument with Katma being coded differently in the 80s, though.

Rose, a white woman, was the only substantial human relationship John was in and he turned her over for Katma in a heartbeat at the end of Mosaic.

I always wonder about this pattern. John didn't get a proper supporting cast when Engelhart wrote Vol 2 in the 80s. Tawney was introduced like a tailored Lois-Lane-style-love-interest and then established as untrustworthy. Much of the book was still dedicated to following Hal and Carol around while he was active, and the points with John had him interacting with the GLC and Hal's supporting cast.

The next time John took the spotlight in Volume 3 and in Green Lantern: Mosaic, he was surrounded by aliens. The local human settlement was a small town mostly populated by white people.

When Winick was writing Vol 3 a few years ago, and John got the Earth job he was still the supporting cast. Most of the paneltime was on KYLE'S ADVENTURES IN OUTER SPAAACE, John got a single issue (where Merayn left him) and some Meanwhile... paneltime. The rest of his time was spent in the JLA. Not a great place to build a character base and a supporting cast all his own.

I love Katma to death (and to resurrection if anyone at DC is reading), but something is really off about this pattern. It seems like John is uncomfortable with anyone but superheroes and aliens anymore. And while there's been backstory mentioned in narration, no one from his pre-superhero days (living in a majority-black neighborhood in Detroit) has popped up.

Do they worry when John even only half gets the spotlight, that they'd make the book too black if they bring his family in?

Do they think they'll offend people by giving him a black girlfriend? I can see some reader's eyes bugging out at this thought, but I've heard this complaint when a writer creates a love interest of the same race of a hero who's not white, like that because he's [race X] and has a girlfriend who is [race X]. Never comes up when a white hero gets a white love interest, but for some reason a lot of fans are suddenly worried about the lack of interracial couples in comics if the hero isn't white. It's possible the writers and editors think that way.

But then, if John gets a white girlfriend and a white supporting cast, it becomes really obvious they're white-washing him. So John gets alien girlfriends.

Which is pretty depressing.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

A Tale of Two Communities

I've been watching the commotion this week over the preview release of Convention Groping Excuse Version 2056.2.1 with sadistic glee. It does my soul good to watch a slew of outrage-arrows pierce the carefully constructed armor of delusion that covers the bloated ego of the male chauvinist geek.

It was truly a thing of beauty, an act of community like we rarely see in our little fan niche in the internet. A sheltered livejournalist pokes his head into the sunlight on a quiet spring morning and exposes the inner workings of his minds, and is answered by a thousand nerds screaming at him to for god's sake get back in his hole before anyone thinks that the entire community thinks like that.

I know some people feel he's been piled on and roughed up too badly (and even worse--some people think he had a good idea), and I know I may be headed for such a downfall in the future when my writing sins bubble to the surface of the seething cauldron of drama that is the internet, but I have to be proud of this.

See, our community has a lot of problems. When you point out sexism, you get a bunch of trolls screaming "That CAN'T be sexist! It's awesome and people punch things and I liked it and I'm NOT sexist!". When you point out the inconsistencies in same sex relationships or issues when portrayed transgendered individuals you get a bunch of trolls screaming "They CAN'T show that because of the CHILDREN!" When you point out racism, you get a bunch of crickets chirping.

Still, our community doesn't pretend to be perfect. It rarely pretends to be any closer to perfect than it is. And it is, to an extant, self-policing. When someone like The Ferrett stands in a position to confirm all of the worst thoughts about nerds to the mainstream populace, people rise up to put a stop to that.

And it wasn't outsiders who came down on this idea. It was nerds, plain and simple. Nerds of all genders, races, religions, and ability piped up and said "That... doesn't sound right." And while yes, there was a large contingent of Ferretteers defending his stance on the subject, the horrified nerd majority wasn't buying it, and they picked through his blog and put him back in his place at the bottom of the food chain.

Given geekdom's history of sexism, it was a week that made me very proud to be a part of this community.

It is very possible, though, that I was projecting too much pride on my imperfect nerdly home on the net. See, there was another example of community policing, in a larger community, going on this very month.

Now, I'm not sure if you know this reading this blog, but mainstream feminism has a sketchy past with race relations.

No, that's a bad way of putting it. If Feminism was a well, and racial equality was the only process available to purify water, we'd all be drinking sewage.

Admittedly, no one is perfect, but in general most people are willing to admit their shit does indeed stink. But every time someone at the Feminism Well points out that the water smells funny, the rest of the room shouts them down insisting that only the cleanest, clearest water comes from the Well of Feminism, and the idea that it may be polluted is a dirty lie spread by the Patriarchy in an attempt to prevent us from drinking water and hawk their Super-Concentrated Bottled Man-Juice (TM), now with EXTRA Oppression Power!

I have no fucking clue how to stop them from doing that. I only know change through the power of the Mob, and the Mob in the mainstream feminist blogosphere insists that the water's safe to drink.

This has been going on for decades. What tends to happen is there's a falling out between WOC and a major white feminist, the white feminists write history so the falling out never happened, young women find their way into feminism with no knowledge of this history and the same shit happens all over again.

I'd sworn off all of the major political feminist blogs because of varied instances of idiocy, and even gone so far as to tell people on my livejournal I won't respect anyone who has a certain blogger on their blogroll.

Naturally, someone on my livejournal friendslist sends me a post written by that very blogger that sends me into an incoherent spew of rage when I finally sighed and look at it.[Emphasis mine]

When I first heard about the Open Source Boob Project, I was sort of overwhelmed by the dipshittery and couldn’t really begin to tackle the multi-layered asshole levels required to be a part of this thing. (Summary: A bunch of dudes at some comic con decided that it would be awesome to trade on a handful of women’s serious insecurities and get some fondling. Gack, it’s complicated—just read the link.) Now that it’s been thoroughly dismantled by the rest of the feminist blogosphere, I feel like I can safely make fun of the whole thing without feeling like I’m missing something.

The fuck--? The "Feminist Blogosphere" didn't do shit about this. The "Feminist Blogosphere" was too busy trying to ignore the mass walkout of women of color (many of whom were active in letting the world know what a piece of shit idea this Boobie thing was while you guys patted yourselves on the back for being oh so enlightened and relevant to today's society) to deign to notice the shotstorm on livejournal.

There was a little more profanity and frightening of my cat before I started to realize just how stupid I sounded being upset by this.

And I'll be breaking two rules to explain why: 1) My No Politics on Written World rule and 2) My No-linking-to-these-idiots-and-adding-to-their-legitimacy rule.

Because Rule #2 isn't practical. It's not just someone has to call out someone being an idiot. The entire community needs to do so, to make it clear where the line is.

Here's the rundown, before the Ferrett's Incredibly Patronizing Proposal hit livejournal, there was a shitstorm involving a very famous white feminist blogger who cobbled a column on a mainstream website from the insights of a WOC blogger named Brownfemipower (among others)* without so much as a link back (despite the fact that it was known she read that blogger regularly). This was in no way the first time a white feminist has taken credit for ideas and work done by philosophers and activists of color, so it resulted in Brownfemipower closing her blog, a lot of very understandbly pissed-off people walking away from Feminism, and a number of others contemplating it.

Only one major feminist website addressed this. Two weeks later, a blogger on that very same website promoted an upcoming book (from a publisher with skeevy racial issues) from that white feminist blogger. (That turned out to be problematic.)

Kalinara has the scoop of the racism in the book. Interestingly enough, that is comic-related.

Anyway, so here I am irked at her taking something I was quite proud of my own little geek community for, and attributing it to her community.

Which is patheticly small potatoes compared to massive injury aimed at the WOC community, when this very same blogger took credit for the legwork and thinking done by members of their community and presented it as her own insight. Which has been done by the white feminist community for decades.

Its kind of like watching someone rob a convenience store, shoot the clerk, and then being indignant that she stepped on your foot on the way out.

In short, its very spoiled white girl of me.

But there's a point to this beyond my own navel gazing. Two, actually.

One is that this particular person is not salvageable. She's willing to still be intellectually dishonest in small ways, she's going to do so in large ways. I should not worry about her as a fallen role-model, but instead worry that the world associates her with a label I wear.

Two is the importance of community. Yes, these two incidents turned into discussions about individuals and not the larger issues. The thing is, the individuals behavior can only be taken into account with taking the larger issues into account. Calling out these individuals proves that the community at large is willing to try and stop things from getting worse at the very least, by setting boundaries and examples to newer community members. By making people who think along the same lines as those individuals rethink their positions, or at least their willingness to act on those positions. How we treat individuals when they fuck up is what defines what is socially acceptable.

There's a long history of sexism and racism in the geek and nerd community. We are all aware of this, and we work on this. And if something happens that threatens to cause a mass exodus of women from the nerd community, apparently the men in the community are willing to stand up and show that the idiot does not speak for them. They went on the attack. They pushed the individual and those who agreed with him out into the cold for the sake of maintaining a diverse community. This week, the geek community--a community dedicated to leisure and entertainment--proved that it was willing to police itself.

When a white feminist was called on her bullshit, the mainstream members of the community rallied around her and pushed several demographics out into the cold. When tensions had reached the point that it threatened a mass exodus of people from the feminist community, they let it happen. They made it worse. That community sacrificed a whole group of women in order to preserve one (white) individual's ego. Business as usual. This month, the mainstream feminist community--a community supposedly dedicated to bettering society--proved that it was not willing to police itself.

*ETA 27 Apr 08-- From E. in the comments:

But I do have a nitpick: while BFP didn't want to call out Marcotte for plagiarising/appropriating from her, and there are a variety of arguments that can be made for and against the idea that Marcotte bit off BFP, Marcotte admitted that there was a person she should have credited and didn't: Nina Perales. Also, she has yet to give Perales credit.

We can always tell when you haven't read ANY of the linked articles.

On a two and a half year old post:

I don't understand what this website is about... Men are portrayed in the same light as the women are... it is the nature of the "FANTASY" of a comic book. Get over it.

(In case anyone is still confused what sort of comments prompted this.)

Thanks

Birthday's almost over.  I took the day off work and relaxed, and it was really nice.  Thanks for all the happy thoughts, pictures and scans!   :)

Carnival Notes

The POC SF Carnival deadline is April 27th. It'll be on Soaring.

From the original announcement:

The theme, "What I heard about you, and what that meant for me" further addresses the theme of intra-poc/nonwhites relations as touched upon in the PoC in SF Carnival #8. This carnival focuses on the relationships poc and nonwhites have with characters and actors that are of color-nonwhite as well as aliens and magical creatures. The focus will be on science-fiction and fantasy, as well as speculative fiction and all the visual and media arts. Why the visual and other media arts? Because historically, even when the topic wasn't aliens in outer space or magical-and-mysterious creatures, foreigners and strangers decided to call different foreigners and strangers that are poc and nonwhite, aliens. And mysterious. And sometimes magical.

Contact skywardprodigal at gmail dot com.

Also: Both the FSF Carnival and Scientae Carnival come due April 28th.

Under Construction.

Trying out a new look for the site.  Couldn't get the pretty green one I wanted to work with new blogger, but I like this one for now.  Don't mind the disappearing links.

And I hope the non-English stuff doesn't translate to anything rude I wouldn't say.

I may be the last blogger to mention this one, but Dave Campbell is sealing up Dave's Long Box and moving on to bigger and better things.

I can't watch this with a straight face.

(Via)



For an adaptation of a Will Eisner property, it sure looks like a love letter from Frank Miller to Frank Miller, delivered by the fine folks at United Frank Miller's Sin City Parcel Service.

I want this poster.

(Photo taken by James Olsen, at the JLA Enchantment Under the Sea Dance)

It's not just a bunch of cute women lined up in glamourous clothing. The dresses and poses suit the personalities of the characters very well. These women are all dolled up for a formal event, but they still look like superheroes. Wonder Woman and Power Girl are clearly physical powerhouses. Selina seems like a pensive crime queen. Zatanna looks like she just made the Empire State Building disappear. Ivy seems to be rising out of the ground and deciding whether the viewer should live or die.

(Found at Loren's, and I want a version with the men in nice suits too. Superman in a tux, drawn by Adam Hughes. Who wouldn't want that?)

Not exactly Separated at Birth

(With apologies to Bully)

I'll admit right off that with me and Kalinara, this is the opposite of that Star Sapphire Green Lantern cover. I giggled and rolled my eyes at this one and she found it distasteful.

But as a Private Benjamin reference?

The iconic Goldie Hawn image:



Ms. Marvel #29:



Just to drive that home, Goldie Hawn again:




If that's an homage, it's a piss-poor one.

It'd be a funny homage, were it for the cover of say Benjamin's Privates or some similarly themed pornographic take on the movie, but a superhero book?

You know, I never thought that I could respect Greg Horn less as an artist, but the thought that he was intentionally referencing Private Benjamin rather than Army@Love or an actual porn movie... Well, that just digs a new cellar under the Hall of Artistic Shame.

I'm so disgusted I'm impressed, actually.

But I'm sorry, it can't be what he was thinking. I'm almost certain it's a reference to an Army@Love cover, but I can't find it. I've seen that pose before in the annuls of military-themed pornographic images. It's not a Horn original idea. It's not a reference to that movie, either.

Very kind.

The first commenter demonstrates the point of the post.

Tales from the Chatroom

Kalinara... on civics:

You ever notice...There are 9 members of the Supreme Court. And 9 Nazgul?

Mike Choi

On dealing with criticism:

But in public,

1. Do not dismiss the criticism. At least show an attempt to at least see where they might be coming from.
2. Do not become combative or antagonistic. Sarcasm counts.
3. Do not use past works to justify the current work.
4. Do not just say that you're doing your best. Everyone is doing their best.

If you do any of these, prepare for a shitstorm, especially if you do any of these on a message board where you're trying to defend your shit.

Actually if you ARE on a message board trying to defend your shit,

5. Get the fuck out.

Public Service Announcement: The Last Word

(Update at bottom)

Most blogs have a feature that allows people to know when someone has commented on their post.  They can do this by mail, or by a comment feed, or a little message center in the dashboard.

Most people who blog are aware of this, but there's a number of commenters who seem to think that they can pick a 6-month old post and get the last word in on the discussion because the actual conversation part is dead.  Why do think people are doing this to get the last word in and not be noticed by the smart bloggers and commenters?
 
Because the dumbest fucking comments are made when the thread has been dead for 6 months or more.

Rarely do I ever get anything positive or intelligent when the post has been dead that long.  I'm not sure why anyone bothers doing so, maybe they link it to their friends and show how they "pwned" the original poster, maybe its so that future web nomads will leave the discussion with the impression that no one could argue against the last commenter's "brilliant" point.  Whatever the motive, it doesn't work and it looks rather stupid.

It reminds me of this guy.



Now, this guy is Internet-Famous for standing behind a bunch of people with a sign and making them look foolish.  The first time I saw it, a colleague at work had emailed it out with the words "The guy in the back is my hero."

I admit to chuckling when I first saw it.  It's amusing as it is.

Thing is, he's standing behind all of the women in the photo.  I'd hardly describe that as a feat of courage.  Judging from what I know about human beings, he probably hid the sign whenever any of the women turned around.  Not exactly a hero.

Granted, the thought of him shitting his pants, running for the hills, or being duct-taped to a pine tree once that group of protesters noticed him is pretty funny.  But it makes the overall stunt more an anecdote of amateur clownishness than the brave act of counter-culture rebellion I suspect the gentlemen was going for.  And certainly not the heroic moment of comedy its held up as.

I supposed my point is that's there's something especially disgusting in cowardice.  I mean, it's one thing to be an unrepentant asshole and get surrounded with hatred and banned from message boards and blogs and such for your rudeness and it's one thing to merely be stupid and outmatched in every argument you set foot in.

But to be stupid and/or rude and know you'll be hatred, banned, or outmatched and then go out of your way to avoid it but still look like a badass little rebel who gets the last word?  That's pretty low, even for a fucking troll.





I suppose what I'm saying, to translate to the language of misogynistic assholes, is "Good god, grow a pair".



Update: Look what I got in the mail today, as if the universe wished to remind me of this post and prove my point.



I'm giving you a screencap of the email rather than just linking the comment because the comments don't have dates. And the date to this comment is so very important to me.



These two comments were left two years, one month, and five days after this post was originally posted. It's like the universe is validating my opinions.

This guy might actually be a very brilliant comedian who was hoping there'd be a date stamp on the comment. If not, well, he's like a birthday present. A really late birthday present. I mean, I'm still not impressed with his idiot friend, or likely to click on his idiot link, but this may be the best comment I've ever gotten. Thank you, Bob.

For the record, there's some sort of radio recording supporting his story. So he's a truthful, late, probably cowardly (or just obsessive or stupid), asshole troll. I really don't care, though, because this is an old post and he started out with calling me names. Now, to be fair, I called the guy with the sign an asshole but the man is demonstrably an asshole and it doesn't matter that he's not as big a coward as I thought or he's a paid plant or what-have-you. I can upgrade him to the level of timely asshole troll willing to get into an argument for attention, which isn't exactly a brave, intelligent, or respectable person. So I fail to see how this is defending him exactly. Bob is being abusive on a two-year old post. So I'll be publishing the abusive comment, but not the followup comment with the link because I am a bitch.

The Further AIM Adventures of Ragnell and Kalinara... in INNER SPAAAACE!!

Ragnell: It's vitally important that we wear the GL costumes on the day I finally snap.
Ragnell: So I can introduce myself to the gathering crowd as Hayley Jordan and point to you as my associate Gal Gardner.
Kalinara: I'll look appropriately menacing.

(I know one of you is typing a comment asking what led to this part of the conversation. Stop it. You really don't want to know this one.)

Feminist SF/F Carnival 21 1/2

Honorable Denizens of Cyberspace! As your wayward Carnival Organizer, I humbly beg your forgiveness! I would have a long in-depth excuse as to why we have had such a long hiatus between carnivals, but it ultimately comes down to my neglecting my bloggerly duties in favor of icky RL responsibilities, and no one wants to hear the details of that. Sadly until such time as I learn to sustain my body purely on force of will or am able to download my consciousness directly into the blogosphere I'll have to deal with the hassles and distractions of meatspace.

But never lose your faith, feminist fans of the fantastic, for I have returned with a volunteer to host the next edition!

I'm sure you all remember Skye, who is solid, liquid, and gaseous awesome.

So without further ado, the skinny on the 21st Edition:
Where: Heroine Content
When: May 1st
How Long Until Submissions Close: Until April 28th
Who: skyekilaen[AT]gmail[DOT]com or submission form
What: Suggested theme is "Who Do You Love?" but all posts relevant to gender issues in speculative fiction will be gladly considered.

As our last edition was way back in February, the upcoming edition will accept submissions reaching back to February 7th.

And *ahem* I still need a host for the 22nd. Contact me if you're up for it.

--Crossposted to Feminist SF Carnival Blog.--

(Those of you who don't know what the fuck this is about would be advised to read this.)

DAMN YOU WINICK!!!

I'm not going to go into details, but today Judd Winick caused a mild amount of strife between myself and Kalinara.

We settled it peacefully, mind you, but this very rarely happens.  I blame Judd Winick for it, and mark my words... I shall have my revenge.

In all seriousness, we do need a bet settled.  Riddle me this, dearest readers: Who would be more comfortable in a gay nightclub in the late 90s, Wildcat Ted Grant or Flash Jay Garrick?

Show your work.

I made something pretty!

Horrified that the next Star Sapphire figure is going to be in that hideous costume, I searched about online and found the classic Star Sapphire action figure (which had ugly earrings, but those were a lot easier to cut off and paint over than fixing that dreadful costume).

When I took her out of the box the other night, I realized she was the same size as my Parallax/Hal figure.  Then I noticed that one of her hands was outstretched, with the fingers spread like she was reaching for someone.  And one of Hal's hands was open so that it could hold something, and that it fit perfectly to Carol's wrist.




About that time "Written in the Stars" from the Aida cast album hit my playlist. I got inspired.

I had to make a shadowbox. After testing out about five different background ideas, I settled on a picture from an old calender. For some reason, during the entire process my playlist was queuing up love songs. when I finally finished the whole thing (which involved searching for pieces from the base, and a lot more time that I thought it would) I was listening to a cover of "I Want You to Want Me."

Weird. Anyway, pictures:



And for some reason I'm fond of this one that didn't come out very well. It's kind of spooky and cool.


What do you think? Are they not just made for each other?

This is important.

If people who are trying never get criticized because "Hey, at least they're trying," then all anyone will do is the bare minimum.  The only way to make things better is to keep at it.  Keep making things better, correct false steps.  Criticism is necessary, otherwise people won't know when they put their foot in it and they'll just continue to put their foot in it.

That Furry Bastard.

So much for tonight's plans.

To: Me, From: Me

They got it in where I shop a few weeks ago, but I just noticed it was there for the first time the other day.



I was going to wait until my tax return came in or my birthday (which is on a Wednesday later this month), but on Thursday I'd gotten a lot of errands done. And I only had one book come out.

And the clerk told em other people had been looking at her. I knew if I waited, she would disappear. So I went ahead and bought the Dodson Wonder Woman statue.

Because I'm worth it, dammit.

Note to all relatives: Send money in lieu of birthday gifts. Don't worry, there's no danger of it being used responsibly.

Superteen Extraordinaire!

Can I trust this?

The date is April 1st on that Press Release. But it's not so utterly unbelievable that it would make a funny prank. Of coruse, given the subject matter of the show it might be appropriate to announce that as a prank. I'd be devastated if I believed this and it was an April Fool's joke, because I would love to get my hands on a Freakazoid DVD. It would make a wonderful addition to the "Remnants of My Wasted Youth" section of my entertainment collection.

Any word on this?

Three Things

Yesterday's goofing around made me realize three very important things:

1)  It is fun to write a Milleresque narrative.  It's all gritty and exaggerated and colorful and abusive to the English Language.  Makes you feel powerful.

2) When I start to have fun and really put myself into writing, I get compared to Jack Kerouac and told I'm writing beat poetry.  I must read some actual Kerouac and see what this means.  Maybe I'm some sort of throwback to the Beat Generation. (What's weird is I think that's my father's generation -- Mama's a Boomer, but he's quite a bit older than her.)

3)  That fucking cat came right out of a Frank Miller book.  He whines, he scratches my carpet, he scratches my long-boxes, he scratches my shortboxes, he scratches my arms and waits while I walk to the bathroom and back until he gets a good chance to lunge at me and bite my thigh (he only does this when I'm not dressed yet, so that he gets the flesh and draws blood).  He gets annoyed whenever I change anything in the apartment.  He sits in my chair.  He sleeps on my bed.  He stinks up the place.  He lies in my footpath.  He's sleeping on top of my monitor right now, dangling his damned tail in front of the screen.  He does everything he can to inconvenience me.

And when he's not inconveniencing me, he's sitting somewhere and staring at me, trying to intimidate me.

That furry bastard is out to get me.

If I disappear, you'll all know why.

Today, We Speak the Truth.

It rained last night.

A harsh rain. A violent rain. The wind was angry at the citizens of Oklahoma. Possibly over the ancient broken treaty. The Sooner state is cursed with blood and wind and rain and broken glass.

The Sirens went off, and I tried to ignore them. I've lived in Oklahoma. I don't fear death. I'd have walked out and met the Finger of God himself if not for the damned cat. Without me, there would be no one to feed the cat. It was possible the cat wouldn't surive if he didn't get some shelter. I hated that fucking cat. But he was the only companion I had in this damned state, and the only living resident of this rotten world who didn't mind spending time with me. So I holed up in the hallway closet with that stupid cat, a flashlight, and a box of books. I didn't look at the books until I was sitting there with that damned cat, or else I wouldn't have been caught dead with them.

It was the entire run of Sin City. The reprints from when that movie came out. That fucking misogynistic movie.

I'd only bought them because the guy in the comic book store with the indy-goatee and the straggly blonde hair recommended them I read every single one of them, and instead of shadowy light of noirish genius I found the stench of foul cigarettes and that cheap cologne your real grandfather wore when he scammed Grandma into bed by swearing on his then-breathing mother's grave that he was "shipping out tomorrow" and may die in the war. Then he left her with the stench of cheap cologne and a swelling in her stomach that you grew up calling "Mom."

It was nothing new. It was every old man's fantasy in cheap paperback black and white with artsy highlights. It was beautiful deadly young girls tearing their clothes off and throwing themselves at wrinkled old bastards who never showed them the slightest bit of respect. It was women love assholes compounded by women love power with women are sneaky whores thrown in to spice it up.

It was cliche. It was stereotyped. It was a case for gathering a band of merry lesbians and embarking on a cross-country crime spree where you stole from the bastards and gave to their broken-hearted ex-lovers and left a river of masculine blood in your wake as you stayed just a half-step across from a grizzled US Marshall with a tarnished gold star, pecs you can cut glass on and pants tight enough to tell if he dresses right to left from 50 yards away.

It was hot.

And not just because I'd left the air conditioner off.

And that's the secret of these stories. That's the reason for the stereotype. Young women want old men. Wild women are just waiting for a man strong enough to get her to shut up, smack her on the butt and send her into the kitchen. That's why "I'm shipping out" never fails to get you laid. In this world of marshmellowy creampuffs there are far too few Real Men, and it takes more than spitting at quiche to fit the bill, though that's a decent start. That's the deep, dark secret of why we rage at Frank Miller, because baby, he's telling the truth. We want Men, not mice. And if you creamy little bastards with the pimples and the faces so pasty white that they glow in the light of your monitor as you stuff cheetoes into your chipmunk cheeks in your mother's basements learn that that's what we are looking for, then you'll pretend to be a real man and fool some poor weak girl into offering up her uterus for your substandard sperm, thus spoiling the pool for our beloved daughters.

We need real rebels, not cowardly losers. We want men with light, not dimbulbs in the comic shop. That's why old bastards like Frank Miller turn young women on. We know they're tough.

So, in honor of the day, that's the secret of Feminism, boys. It's biological imperitive. It's weeding the weak out of the garden. It's truly only the strong survive in our world. Not just the assholes, but the real heroes. Honestly, if I could make each and every first date walk through fire to climb the gates at the local military base and outrun the MPs over a trail of broken glass, I would. Because that's the way to be sure he's worth the utter destruction of my body and the years of my life spent rearing his squawling brats.

Until then I'll have to settle for spewing my own personal font of rage and hatred at every male member of the species I meet, bedding the one who manages to survive and continuing to test him with the fire of my blood and my soul for the rest of his life, which should be considerably shortened by this treatment.

I do this because I care about the future of our species, and want only the very best genes for my child. As do all women.

The hell--?

How can anyone hate Barbies?

Quick personal update.

Life's in my way again.

My email and stuff is backed up right now, hopefully I can catch up on the weekend.  Nothing bad happened, I just had something huge fall into my lap last month and I am still catching up.  I've been too distracted to do much more Twitter some nights.  Potential major life change (for the better, so I'll have none of your sappy sympathy comments dammit!), so I'm a bit behind on most of my obligations.  Catching up, though.

Green Lantern #29

First off, I enjoyed it. I like to read an origin retelling every once in a while.

However, there were a few USAF fumbles. Not the least of which is that there is no way in hell he could steal a jet and go for a joyride. If a jet gets turned on, and it's not scheduled to fly, it's a hijacking. It's a pretty big fucking security violation. In order to do this, Hal would have to be a close enough friend to the ground maintainers, the air traffic controllers, the military police (and possibly a few more groups);to be able to convince them all to let him do this the morning after he decided to get discharged.

Yeah, good luck with that.

(And no, he hadn't pulled strings with a buddy in plans and scheduling because then he wouldn't have taken an unauthorized joyride, he'd have taken a normal scheduled flight.)

Not just that, I can fucking guarantee that if a pilot hijacked an experimental fighter jet and then punched his commanding officer in the face, he wouldn't be at his mother's hospital room without an armed escort. But I can ignore that one, since the writer wisely didn't let us know how much time had elapsed between the punch and the hospital scene.

Still, no fucking way on the "unauthorized joyride". You overplayed your hand there, Johns.

Otherwise, it was a fine issue. I'm especially fond of Jim Jordan. I hope that character stays in the supporting cast for a while.

Realization

I worry too much about what you guys think of me.

Every time I read a post saying they're not reading me, or notice that someone has unsubscribed form my feed it bothers me. It bothers me more than dropped stats (stats being something I don't always check anymore anyway) because those are the regular readers who are sick of me.

After the latest "I'm no longer reading Ragnell because she's a big meanie" sentiment that flowed into my sphere of attention, I realized just why it bothers me so much when even someone I despise stops reading my blog.

Because I've seen blogs that are consistently good, but that aren't always linked. I've seen people with absurd opinions, who are nevertheless always entertaining to read. I've seen people I disagree with who are always thoughtful about their opinions, and who communicate clearly. And I can never see myself dropping those feeds over a personal disagreement, or because the opinion was one I thought was foolish or stupid. These blogs may be challenging on a mental level or just plain entertaining or written by a person with a particularly unusual viewpoint.

I've also seen those blogs that aren't very good, where the writing is terrible and the logic is muddled and the humor is questionable. I've seen blogs like that get linked everywhere because they said something that affirmed the opinions of the linkers, but offered nothing truly insightful or original. Either they've brought up something first, or have some sort of status (experience/social background/occupation/history/ROAARS category) that they can put behind the opinion for extra oomph. I've seen blogs that popular even though the blogger is not a talented writer, and it's usually because of that.

Now, that's not to say there's something wrong with being linked when a number of people agree with you, or because you have a special trait that lends weight to the argument. But that can't be all there is to your writing. At least, there can't be for me. I'm not doing a good job unless I'm writing something someone who disagrees with is still willing to read.


I don't want you to read me because I said something you agreed with before you started reading.

I want you to read me because I'm entertaining. Because even though you think I'm wrong you enjoy watching me be wrong.

I want you to read me because I'm insightful. Because I just blindsided you with a thought that never would have occurred to you on your own.

I want you to read me because I'm a fucking genius. Because my flawless reasoning brought you around to my way of thinking.


That's why I flake a ltitle when I see someone swear off my blog after a disagreement with me. Not because I feel guilty, not because I was particularly fond of that person, and not because I'm not 100% certain I was right.

It's because when someone stops reading me over a conflicting opinion, what they tell me is they only thought I was worth reading when I was confirming their existing ideas.

Which is telling me I'm not writing anything worth reading.

Which irks me.

I'll get over it. I have a naturally cantankerous disposition that combines with an inflated ego that leads me to eventually disregard the opinions of others in favor of my own. It just takes a bit to kick in. Plus, I enjoy being mean. No amount of social anxiety will take that away.

American Gothic

I found the entire run of American Gothic on hulu.com.  I remember that show form when I was a kid.  I adored it.  Lucas Buck was the perfect kind of villain, a total bastard who was smart, calculating, seemed like a great guy on the outside, had vague power over reality and lost only because he expected certain people to be more cowardly or meanspirited than they actually were.  I never saw the entire season through, so I'm not sure if he was ever revealed to actually be the Devil, but there was a pretty good case for it in the episodes I remember.

I just spent a good part of the night the uploaded episodes.  I made it to #8, which was the "Strong Arm of the Law.  This is an episode I only ever saw once, but that I remember it more clearly than any other episode.  Because it was awesome. .  It showed that Sheriff Buck was even worse when he was the protagonist you had to root for than when he was the antagonist.  Four would-be crimelords set up shop in town and start extorting money from the shopkeepers as part of a protection racket.  They are clever enough to cover a murder, but otherwise they strike me as total fucking idiots.  No sense of subtlety.  They extort money for the "Sheriffs' Retirement Fund" and the "Policeman's Ball".  They beat up an off-duty Deputy in the middle of the street just to show that they freaking can.  When the Sheriff comes to confront them, they act like he can't do anything to them.  The only reason they manage to get away with anything is because the townspeople assume they are working for the Sheriff, and the entire town is scared shitless of him.  Buck spents the first part of the episode letting this crap go on, then starts to pick them off one by one.  And he doesn't arrest them (he must have an aversion to paperwork), and he doesn't just kill them.  He tortures them.  The entire point of the episode seems to be demonstrating just why the entire town is scared shitless of Sheriff Buck.

As villains go, this guy may still be one of my favorites.  I am so freaking happy this series was put on the internet

Dammit, Kalinara

I was feeling open-minded and relaxed this week, so I let Kalinara talk me into watching a show she recommended.  An old British show called Sapphire and Steel.  And now I'm freaking addicted.  I'll probably have to track down the radio recordings too.

Damn her!

(Steel is freaking awesome, though.)

Okay, I'll be the one to say it.

I've been reading a lot of griping about Wonder Woman #18, so I thoguht I'd chime in with my opinion: I liked it.

Not only that, I like Tom Tresser. Sure, he's no Steve, but he's cute. And he can be awesome when used properly. He's clever, funny, and skilled. I liked him under Heinebrg, I like him under Simone. I don't like him when he's written by Piccoult, but I don't like anyone as written by Piccoult. Fortunately, Piccoult's not writing him anymore. Simone is. I'm going to pretend Piccoult's run didn't happen, just like I do for Diana.

Also, does nobody realize what Simone just did? Amazon customs. She is fleshing out Amazon society in a way that's not just rehashed Athens customs. The Amazons had their own city-state in Ancient Greece, which means they had their own festivals and traditions and stories. Simone may be the first writer since Perez to start tossing this in there.

Plus, Wonder Woman has decided to court him. That's cool as shit, and pro-active. Just like Diana should be in a romantic situation. It's not like where she had a little-girl crush on Superman, or was the unwitting object of Ed, Micah or Mike's affections. She's an active participant. She's not dainty flower waiting to be picked. She's pursuing a relationship with a guy she thinks is hot.

It's okay that she made a joke about bowling. I drag my dates to the comic book store, but we also do stuff they like. That's part of dating. You try different things together, see if you can deal with the other person's world.

I like the joke about American courtship rituals, because that proves this is not the lifeless, humorless Diana entering a stiff, awkward romance like in Eric Luke or Phil Jiminez's runs. She's relaxed and playful and comfortable. The piece of personality that Perez took away when he removed Steve Trevor is coming back. The maturity and sensuality of the Pre-Crisis Wonder Woman, modernized to shed the "hard to get" social norms of those bygone decades whil still keeping her playful charm, is slowly returning. The icy distance between Wonder Woman and mortals is disappearing. We're getting Diana back.

Now, I love Steve. I still think we need a way to bring him back as her love interest. But announcing that she's courting Tom doesn't mean she's going to marry this character. Means she's exploring a little. Means she's opening as a person. Sure, not all female characters need romantic interests. But celibacy would make no sense for a follower of Aphrodite, after all. Remember, the warmth and caring in her heart? Not a gift from Demeter or Hestia. That's from Aphrodite, a sex goddess. Diana's connecting with a piece of herself here, and if things work out she'll get to connect with a piece of Tom.

And of course Tom's not good enough for her. She's friggin' Wonder Woman. No man in comics is good enough for her (which is probably why they got rid of Steve to begin with). That's no reason she shouldn't shop around. That's no reason a natural part of her life should be closed off except for a once-every-two-or-three-years short story about sexual tension with Superman, Batman or Aquaman.

Even if the objection is that he's not good enough for her because he's not an A-lister, that's silly. It's good that the most powerful woman in comics isn't spending all her time trying to find a match in status and power. Superman is married to a mortal woman. Diana's being like her male counterparts, and going for a guy she enjoys being around.

I'm sure we'll still have lots of action in the series. Gail Simone is writing her. A little romance does not a sappy love story make. Diana flirting with a guy does not mean she's not a kickass warrior.

And again, I like Nemesis. I enjoyed Wonder Woman #18. I think Gail Simone did a good job. I look forward to the rest of this story. And I am not ashamed!

And I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

Alzhiemer's Research Charity Drive

Terry Pratchett, recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's, has given half a million pounds (about one million dollars) to Alzhiemer's research foundations. There's a charity drive on challenging his fans to collectively match his donation.

Match it For Pratchett

Look, it's kind of hard for me to come up with words to push this. There's a lot worthwhile places to put a spare couple bucks. This one, though, is pretty important to me. My Great-Grandmother had Alzheimer's, and I got to see just how devastating this illness is at a very young age. And honestly, it scares me more than anything else that happens when you grow up. I had relatives with Diabetes, heart problems, cancer, arthritis and a host of illnesses. I had one grandmother who constantly advised me never to get old. But none of that, even the stuff keeping people in their bed constantly seemed to me to be as horrible as Alzheimer's. Her daughter, a woman who had spent a good deal of time traveling the world before her mother got ill, stayed with her to take care of her. We went over her house regularly. It was where all the family gatherings were. She didn't usually seem to recognize us. There was one Halloween when she had no candy, and we came there to trick or treat. So she went to give us some of those chalky Canadian mints she kept around. I was young, and we'd just had a long lecture on safe trick-or-treating, and I said I wasn't supposed to take something unwrapped. I'll never forget her posture, I hadn't realized I'd said something wrong but it was clear I had. She seemed to not have caught up with the conversation. We were talking more around her than to her. It was how it always was there, though, but this was the first time she seemed self-conscious about it to me. I still feel guilty about that.

And I remember when I got older and snuck upstairs in my Great-Grandmother's house I once found a room full of paintings. Pretty nature scenes, mostly, in those ornate golden wood frames. A few of them weren't finished. It turned out she'd painted not only them, but a picture that had been hanging in our living room as long as I could remember. I'd always been a kid who loved drawing and writing and making up stories, and I had trouble with the art so I was very impressed with her talent. That was the saddest thing of all, I think. Having had so much talent before. And now not recognizing her grandkids.

Alzheimer's is scarier than death. Consider a donation, or at least spreading the word.

Awesome!

  Kate Spencer will be back in June!

Remnants of My Partially-Remembered Youth

There was a surprise at the comic book store when I went to get my copy of Green Lantern Corps. My local shop had four boxes of My Little Pony sets. This wasn't a complete surprise, given how much of this store is dedicated to Hello Kitty collectibles.

What was a surprise was that they were anniversary sets, remakes of 1984 Ponies.

I remember very few toys that were definitely mine growing up, and it's entirely possible that my favorites were hand-me-downs from my sister. But many of my cherished (thought cloudy) childhood memories are of me playing with a yellow winged pony. I cut her hair. I drew on her wings. I may have burned one of her legs. But she was my favorite toy for years.

And she was at the comic book store.



Yeah, I shelled out the money. I'd been having an exceptionally crummy day and just seeing these packs cheered me up.

I was so excited that rather than read my comics tonight (Yes, rather than read Green Lantern Corps and Wonder Woman), I instead sat down to fix the hair on each pony so that it would flop properly on the side of the head. (They pack it in the package so it will look windswept, but the tape and the little plastic piece make it end up very messy and vertical when it's time to play. You have to wet the hair and comb it in the proper style.)

Also, I've been reading word-books. Why did no one ever recommend The King in Yellow to me?

A Momentary Glimpse at my Magnificent Social Prowess

Yes, I am actually answering comments again! Or at least this one:

I've been thinking about this entry for a while now, off and on, and I've been wondering...

Have you ever thought about disabling comments? I don't mean to imply that you can't handle criticism, or anything, but it honestly does seem that they provide you with more stress than entertainment. You've posted on more than one occasion about frustrating or irritating commenters, and there's even a little "warning" in the sidebar of your blog about it.

I mean this as friendly advice, and I hope it doesn't upset you. I'm just saying that you can get rid of them if you think it'll make you happier. Comments aren't mandatory. If you don't enjoy reading them, disable them. Nobody's going to think any less of you. (And if they do, you'll never know! :) )

I have considered going to closed comments. I confess to a bit of jealousy about some of the nice, calm, commentless blogs out there. (Particularly when I do a Blog@Newsarama post.) It would be better for my, because when I read my comments I often have a compulsion to answer them or stew about them. Partially I want to be proven right, partially because I want the last word, but mostly because I enjoy seeing the conversation go on for a very long time at some points. I've been working on a "Let the commenters talk amongst themselves in the comment section and pipe in on a different post" policy for a number of reasons. It's less work and energy for me, it's less repeating myself and rephrasing myself which gets tedious, it takes the conversation in a more interesting direction when I can't predict either side, it's a way to get my opinion out there but not actually interact with people and the whole reason I'm on the Internet is because I'm a terribly unpleasant person trying to avoid interacting with people, and it prevents me from getting into arguments that escalate to the point that some dude deletes all his comments, and his blog, and proceeds to spend the next two years complaining about me and my friends in any comment section that seems even the slightest bit sympathetic to his situation.

But I digress (habitually). One of my motives for starting the blog (along with venting so as not to spend another dinner describing to a blind date why the Yellow Weakness in Green Lantern was the Best Arbitrary Silver Age Weakness Ever -- I'm still waiting on him to call me back) was to get used to writing regularly, so that someday I could pursue a career as a writer (It was also one of my Super-Secret Super-Silly Reasons for Joining the Military because hey, seeing the world worked for Hemingway! -- Don't judge, I was seventeen, there was no way I was getting a decent college but I had to get out of my hometown that year or I was destined to end up as a little old spinster lady working for the historical society who was saving her pennies to finally take that trip to Niagara Falls so she could see another country for the first time in her memory! and it seemed to please my parents. After all, my father was laughing when he signed the age waiver. He had to have been happy) and gain fame and legendary status as one of the luminaries of my generation! (Plus being a writer is a great excuse to act weird.) Closed comments would be a way to get used to writing and just leaving it rather than continuing a conversation forever. (I imagine editing would help with the run-on sentences and choppy writing, but I'm not going to edit the shit out of blog posts. Too much work for a hobby.)

Thing is, I like my comments. I like the instant gratification of praise from consistent readers. I like to see what holes were in my argument, and see if someone can use it as a piggyback for another idea. I like watching a conversation that I started form. Most of all, I like seeing that someone read what I wrote.

That's part of why I get frustrated at times. The reaction is often not what I was hoping for, and I was indeed hoping for a reaction. Sometimes I steam over a misinterpretation or respond rudely or politely or steer the subject to a different place. I lose my temper when the content of a comment indicates that someone didn't read what I wrote and they just want to use my comment section for their soapbox. There's not a problem with using one post to point out something about your own pet peeves/issues/ideas, but when I want to use someone else's post as a jumping off point for my own rant, I come back here to do it. If something's spam or overly rude or from someone I completely despise, I roll my eyes and delete it. If something grates on my nerves, I write a post ranting about my commenters. If I feel playful, I can wade in there and fight. If I'm bored I can watch you guys fight.

To summarize: I read comments when I want to talk to people. I want the comments there for the times I do.

So why don't I moderate, then?

Well, because of the times I don't want to read my comments.

I get email notifications, but I have a nifty little filter that sends comments to a little file that I check when I feel up to reading comments. When I don't, I simply don't bother with the file until I do. If a thread has gotten out of hand, I'll often just ignore all comments marked with that thread title. The conversation continues, people enjoy themselves, and I can look through it at my leisure. If the conversation has gotten to a very stupid track or I'm tired of arguing that point or I'm just not interested in the topic anymore? I never have to read those comments, so I just let the thread die on it's own. Hell, sometimes I'm overworked at my dayjob so I don't check the comments for long periods of time so the file has gotten intimidatingly full, so I just start a new thread and continue on from there.

See, if I moderated, I would have to read all of those comments in order for any conversation to take place. I don't want to do that. I don't have the time. I don't have the energy. I don't have the interest. I don't have the patience. There are more enjoyable uses for my time. (Such as fighting with the commenters that I do read.)

Also, the control. A lot of people like moderation because they get control over what's said on their blogs. I don't care that much. I'm not your Mama. (I'm your MAMA DENTATA! *Ahem*) I'll tell you off if you offended me and I feel like telling you off, but I'm not going to be responsible for what's written by someone else. And I enjoy watching the conversation weave in unexpected ways. It's fun and exciting! That's not going to happen if every leg of the conversation is waiting for me to come home and release it every night. People'll lose interest. I'll lose interest.

To summarize: Moderating would force me to confront frustrations that I can avoid. Moderating would take more work. Moderating would take the joy that I get from my comments out of my comments.

To summarize the entire post so far: Blogging is a fun hobby. I enjoy comments sometimes. They sometimes piss me off, but turning off the comments would make blogging less fun. And moderating the comments would make blogging more work. More work would make blogging less fun. Complaining about the comments is simply more blogging, and so it allows me to get a small amount of fun and writing practice out of being pissed off.

I ate'nt dead.

I'm just watching lots of rented horror movies.

I wish I could avoid subtitles.  I don't mind subtitles for a regular show, but for a horror movie it means you have to keep watching the screen even when there's a really gory part or a particularly startling image.  I'm too much of a wuss for one.

Still, some of these Korean and Japanese films don't come dubbed.  And they look really creepy.  (And are no doubt better than the Hollywood remakes).  After napping through four years of High School Spanish, I'm pretty sure I don't have the ability to learn Korean.  So my options are limited.

Plus I spent my damned money, and I'm going to see my movie.

For Future Reference

I like the Parallax retcon.  Not just the results, but I like the idea.  I think that Emerald Twilight was abrupt (though yes, there were some character moments prior to it that screamed "Not normal"), and that mind control explains it perfectly.  I have no problems with the cheesiness of a giant yellow grasshopper (fFROM OUTER SPAAAACE!!!) with the ability to control minds, possess bodies, and instill fear in the hearts of sentient beings.  We're talking about superhero comic books here, after all.

I think the retcon fits seamlessly into continuity.  I don't think it ruins the previous stories.  I even think that there are points where Ron Marz left the option out to explain Hal's behavior as the result of mind control/possession (Emerald Knights) so it fits very well in there.  I think it is awesome to have all the Lanterns active, and the GLC back.

I like that it was the Guardians fault this thing got out.

I don't mind the re-explanation of the yellow weakness.

I don't think that Hal needs to be responsible or punished for his actions during and after Emerald Twilight.  He's a comic book character.

I don't mind that he's angsty over the Parallax thing.  Or that he lost some face.  Or that he gained it back.

I think it was cool that Kyle got possessed, because that was always his big fear.

I like the Fear theme to the Green Lantern franchise.  I find it relevant to today's society.  I find it comforting to escape into a story where a hero literally has to wrestle with willpower and emotions.

I kind of like that the emotions are represented by colors and big psychic energy organisms.

I find it fun and appropriate that, when revealed, that the Personification of Fear is a fucking absurd concept that nevertheless would make you shit your pants were you to meet it.

I'm not saying Geoff Johns is a genius.  I'm not saying that we are wasting our time discussing comic books.  I'm not saying there's anything wrong with you if you disagree with me.

I'm just saying that I like it, and I would like the commenters who don't like it to avoid pissing in my cheerios when I'm happy over Green Lantern.  There is precious little that I get joyful about, and I would like these feelings of joy to be sustained as long as possible.

Yay!!!

Newsarama has a GL#28 preview up.

Check out the narration box in the upper left corner of the first page, telling you where the first scene is located. (It's kind of spoilery)

I've been waiting for them to bring this one up since Rebirth.

Carnival Notes

I know I've been slacking on the blogging lately. 2008 has been... interesting. And promises to get moreso.

But I am still alive, and I have a responsibility I need to catch up on.

See, while I was so caught up in my runaway February, the 20th Feminist SF/F Carnival was posted on the Podblack Blog. (Sorry Kylie!) And I've been neglecting to link it, or find a host for the 21st.

Well, enjoy the Carnival if you didn't find it on your own, and if you're interested in hosting #21 drop me an email.

And if you need more to read: POC in SF Carnival #8: Intra-Racial Dialogues - What Lies Between Us (Willow needs a host for March, too.)