( Sword-Dancer (Tiger and Del, Book 1), 3 stars )

( Helfort's War Book 1: The Battle at the Moons of Hell, 2 stars )

I've had this post in me for a while, but it always seems a bit late to the party. Fuckit, I'm doing it now.

Every once in a while, someone will get called on what seem to be some skeevy issues in their writing, whether racial, sexual, or whatever, and will respond with a variation on "My responsibility as a writer is not to pleasing interest groups, but rather to produce the best, the truest writing that I can."

And perhaps that is your responsibility as a writer, I don't know. It's an interesting question, and one that certainly could be explored.

But you have, actually, a higher responsibility than being a writer, and that is your responsibility as a human being. If, which I do not grant, these responsibilities are incompatible, one's duty as a human being is prior and greater.¹ I don't claim to know exactly what your responsibility is as a human being, various religions and philosophies have their own take on it, but mine is, insofar as I can articulate it: do not oppress the oppressed. Do not ignore the ignored. Do not revile the reviled. Love justice. Do mercy. Love thy neighbour as thyself.

I think writing is important; damn important. My best friends are writers. I aspire to be one myself, in my own way. I think writing is a way of becoming immortal. But I do not think being a good writer is more important than being a good human being. Maybe you do.

But if you do, I think that makes you a worse human being for it.

1. This sentence ETA several hours after posting, following intelligent discussion in comments.

So, most recent episode of Dollhouse( my Thoughts On Dollhouse ) they pulled ( Spoilers for Episode 11 )

I am also pleased that knowledge of the Radio Alphabet let me catch a plot hint. I've been wondering about how they'd use the Radio Alphabet if they got renewed. I mean, are we to understand that there are only ever twenty-six actives per Dollhouse? If so, which one sleeps in a lone sleep-pod, surrounded by empty petals? (Although presumably they've retired the call-sign Alpha and don't have that problem anymore, but they can't have designed for that.) And do they really have one named X-Ray? Hotel? Papa? If they have one named Zulu, would she (I assume, she) be a Black woman, and would they be able to resist making her exoticly statuesque? I wish Joss would think these things through. DETAILS.

On a different subject! The two most awesome things about the newsweek article on K/S (not otherwise exceptional), one, it argues for Turnabout Intruder as a significant episode TOTALLY VALIDATING ME, and two, it links to some PG-13 K/S stories and artworks for its readers, and the page linked to contains the best piece of K/S artwork EVER DRAWN, (my favourite, since rae_beta introduced me to it), this Spock-Centaur/Kirk-Merman artwork. Just drink the Kool-aide. Admit it's awesome.

Remember recently when I was like, the only way Ada Lovelace could be more awesome is if she fought crime?

This awesome comic has REACHED INTO MY BRAIN.

eta: via marcelo, which I forgot to say.

So, there is a tiny web-app somewhere that lets you take lj poll results* and display them on their other axis: that is, instead of telling you how many answers you got for each option, it tells you who voted for what. (In case this sounds sketchy, it doesn't reveal anything not already available for you, just indexes it differently.)

And I cannot find it! Google is //massively// unhelpful. Does anyone
a) know what I'm talking about, and
b) have it bookmarked?

* and, I assume, dw/ij, etc, but I can't find it, so really, how would I know?

First five people to leave an email address, comments screened, will edit when they are used up.

Used up.

Reading quigonejinn's Your Fixed Point, an Ironman girl!Tony fic which is fascinating in its very explicit focus on how being a girl would make everything different even if everything was the same. Warning: it goes to the Obadiah/Tony place and makes it exactly as horrible as it would be.

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Dreamwidth is going to start selling accounts in about six hours, and they've got a countdown clock on their front page for those who, like me, find timezones confusing.

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It's interesting to me that although the tendency is for us in fandom to conceive of the bodies of characters, to some extent, without troubling ourselves about the body of the actor who portrays them, we generally edit their bodies to be more fit. But Aldis Hodge is, at least to me, way more fit than Hardison, who is canonically the sort who counts everything is WoW avatar does as exercise. (Image hosted at grimfandango.org and linked w/ kind permission of skywardprodigal) I'm sorry, but my Hardison cannot do one-armed push-ups. (Which kind of means I have to lust after them separately, which is, of course, a burden, but one I am equal to.)

(Separate issue: we really demand a heck of a lot more fitness from our actors now than we used to, don't we? I mean, Shatner would never be allowed in a starring role, nowadays. I don't think it's a good thing, the way the body public is permitted a voting share in the body private.)

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The TWC is calling for papers for an upcoming issue on Race and Ethnicity in Fandom, and it needn't be peer reviewed, if you're not strictly the academic sort, if you submit it under the category "symposium."

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For those as haven't heard, giandujakiss's new vid, It Depends On What You Pay is a pretty brutal condemnation of Dollhouse for its inability to say the R-word. (She includes a trigger warning, and I think one ought to mention also that it's pretty damn brain-breaking to hear Jerry Orbach crooning out "♪Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaape!♫") It got linked on Whedonesque to predictable results, if you've ever been linked on Whedonesque. (A couple of karenhealey's posts have been, and she always get three fanboys who follow her home to explain how she is a failure as a feminist for not recognizing that Joss is Feminist Jesus.)

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Also, while I'm on vids, there is a possibility you might not have seen tzikeh's Close To You, an X-files vid, seemingly with the theme: "Somewhere on Alpha Centauri, there is a bathroom wall with 'For a good time, call Fox Mulder' scrawled on it." It's hilarious, and you don't have to have seen more than a couple of X-files episodes to really get it.

(Does anyone know if there's a hi-def download available of this one? Streaming chokes my machine, and I would like it on my hard drive to cuddle and name Steve)

katarik: what on earth are spock-hands?
Betty: You know, live-long-and-prosper hands.
Katarik: ???
Betty: ...wait, is Star Trek another-- OH MY GOD.
Betty: are you even FROM THIS PLANET?
Katarik: i've seen a couple episodes! honest! i saw one of the movies!
Katarik: this conversation makes merfilly say that i was decanted poorly prepped.

So, in honour of Katarik-is-from-another-planet-but-certainly-not-the-planet-Vulcan, and in honour of brain-eating Zombie-Spock, five episode guide to TOS (Also a five episode guide to K/S, but not my fault, TOS was just like that.)

In the order they aired (although TOS was not really the sort of show where that mattered a whole lot) synopses taken from Trek Nation. If you honestly have never seen TOS, just to get this out of the way: it was an earlier time; a more innocent time; a time of ... cheese. But if you can get past that, there's some good stuff. The episodes titles are linked to the full episode from CSB.com, which, if you are American (I'm not), you can supposedly watch.

Five Episodes:

The City on the Edge of Forever

Synopsis: "An accidental drug overdose sends Dr. McCoy on a disastrous trip through a time portal, where he changes the course of Earth's history. Kirk and Spock pursue him into the past, where Kirk falls in love with a social worker whose life plays a pivotal role in the events McCoy will affect."

The script was written by Harlan Ellison, but don't let that put you off it. It also contains proto-fangirl Edith Keeler who says Spock belongs "At [Kirk's] side, as if you've always been there and always will," and asks, "Why does Spock call you 'Captain'? ... Even when he doesn't say it, he does."

Amok Time

Synopsis: "Spock enters the pon farr, the Vulcan time of mating, and Kirk returns him to Vulcan against Starfleet orders. But when his bride chooses to challenge the arranged marriage, she chooses Kirk as her champion."

Responsible for a million pon farr fic, but also a worthwhile episode in its own right for the Kirk/Spock emooooooo-porn. Uh, I mean, insights into Vulcan sociology and biology. *looks shifty.*

Mirror, Mirror

Synopsis: "Four crewmembers switch places with their parallels in another universe, where savagery reigns and advancement is by assassination. While Spock quickly realizes the situation and takes the alternate Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and Uhura into custody, Kirk must first try to evade detection and then convince the alternate Spock of the logic of changing his universe."

Responsible for giving us the phrase spock-with-a-beard as shorthand for "wacky AU hijinx." What, that's just me? Okay, watch it because Evil!Spock is sort of hot, and Evil!Uhura and Not-Evil!Uhura are both hot, and Evil!Kirk is sort of... petulant. Spawned a million sketchy fic.

The Enterprise Incident

Synopsis: "When Kirk goes insane and orders the ship into Romulan space, Spock becomes very close with the Romulan Commander who tries to seduce him into working at her side. Unfortunately for her, Spock's more interested in the Romulan cloaking device."

Spoiler: Kirk's not really insane. Worth watching for Spock's sort of awkward, but a bit touching all the same, flirtations with the Romulan lady Commander, (Romulans were much better feminists than the Federation (see: Turnabout Intruder)) and the slightly recursive fakery with prosthetics.

Turnabout Intruder

Synopsis: "A jilted lover of Kirk's who has always wanted to command a starship forces him via an alien machine to switch bodies with her, trapping him in her dying form while she takes over the ship. But her behavior quickly causes suspicion, and Spock mind-melds with the woman to discover Kirk's consciousness within."

Partly worth watching for watching Shatner's acting skillz: his "I'm Janice Lester!" is a bit, um. But Sandra Smith, who plays Janice Lester and Kirk-In-Janice-Lester's-Body, really shines, and her contribution to the Kirk and Spock's relationship is quite fascinating. From a feminist perspective, worth watching for the line "Your world of starship captains doesn't admit women," the interpretation of which, while debated, was supposedly interpreted by Rodenbury as a straight-up accusation of sexism, which is a topic Trek otherwise preferred not to acknowledge.

Supplemental Material, did not make the cut:

Spock's Brain

Synopsis: "A group of women steal Spock's brain to run the computer which keeps them safe from the savage men who live outside their underground city."

Worth watching: Really not. Widely acknowledged to be the worst episode made, this one is cringingly bad and cheesetastic. Remote-control Spock is wildly un-erotic. Included in honour of brain-eating zombie-Spock.

The Gamesters of Triskelion

Synopsis: "Kirk, Uhura, and Chekov are dragged hundreds of light years away by the gambling leaders of the planet Triskelion, who force aliens to participate in combat to the death for their amusement. Kirk makes a bet with the aliens to win the freedom of all the thralls."

Included as an example of the way those original-trek writers were sort of perverts: Hey, let's put the cast in body-harnesses, oil 'em up, and make them fight! There can be scenes with floggings, and, oooh! Maybe some "arranged breeding." Classy! There's probably twenty episodes exactly like this.

The Trouble With Tribbles

Synopsis: "Adorable creatures which eat and reproduce constantly interfere with Kirk's assignment to protect a shipment of grain, but they save the day when it's discovered that tribbles don't like Klingons."

Just a fun episode. Notable because the script was submitted by fan David Gerrold, blurring the line between fanon and canon, but honestly, it's great fun to watch. One of the better-known episodes, and reveals that cats tribbles looooooove Spock. Also taught me everything I know about triticale. (Which, obviously, is not a lot.)

Feel free to contest my choices or offer your own five in the comments!

So, now that all those "eeeee! dreamwidth cross-posting!" posts are showing up, how are people feeling about the using openID to comment over there thing? Basically just like commenting here in that you click a link, then comment, or not worth the effort if you have to leave the site? Share your thoughts on yaoi site interoperability!

I remember seeing sometime in the past, um, four years? a post in comics_fanart which featured Apollo and Midnighter done in yaoi doujinshi style, with Midnighter unaccountably taller than Apollo, and Apollo surrounded by sparkles and cherry blossoms. (It was a parody, I should perhaps clarify.) I somehow failed to save the url for this piece of magic, and now I'm hoping someone else has.

lol

Betty: I somehow scraped my knuckle on *icecream wtf* and am bleeding!
kphoebe: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Karen: MAN
Karen: I am so impressed with you!
Betty: I do instill respect.

In liviapenn's x-over poll, here, giglet suggests the crossover pairing of Sophie/Henry Gondorff (The Sting)

You guys. THINK ABOUT IT.

Parker's Week Off: But Take A Body Too
Fandom: Leverage
Pairing: Don't be silly, old people don't have sex.
Warning: Contains much research, and much research cheerfully ignored.
Disclaimer: This document is not certified to be free of doctrinal error.

Notes: By brown_betty and emeraldwoman. Beta by mari_luvs_gcfa. Part of the Odd Jobs series, and the Week Off sub series. Sequel to Hardison's Week Off: What We Talk About When We Don't Talk About Love.


( May contain hamsters. )

Man, you guys, I just want to be able to sort my del.icio.us bookmarks by URL. Just for the purposes of neatening up my tags a little. Seriously. I understand why they might not want to make that available on their website, but honestly, is there really no client which will let me do that? Really? I really am not too keen on writing my own, y'all.

On the subject of my bookmarks, though, if you guys haven't read ijemanja's recent leverage fic, you don't even know what you're missing. I cried from laughing while reading this fabulous Sterling piece.

Hardison's Week Off: What We Talk About When We Don't Talk About Love.
Fandom: Leverage
Pairing: There were three in the bed, until Alec kicked them out so he could get some sleep.
Warning: The Library of Congress does not endorse these shenanigans.

Notes: By brown_betty and emeraldwoman. Sequel to House Rules. Part of the http://brown-betty.livejournal.com/tag/series:+odd+jobs. First in the Week Off sub-series.

( Susan is not impressed by your bipedalism. )

Some Ada Lovelace Day post's that have given me joy:

__marcelo's, which also mentions Admiral Grace Hopper.
otw_news talks about the OTW's all girl team of coder-commandos, and is generally a good time.
Liz Henry makes it personal in a big old lovefest over at Composite.

And now... something completely different! I put those links up first because the things I think are neat about Ada Lovelace have nothing to do with her as a foremother of girl-geeks, or at least, not very much. Rather, I just found out recently that she's the only legitimate child of George Gordon, Lord Byron. She was raised by his wife Anne Milbanke, a woman who detested Byron (with fairly good reason,) and who caused her daughter to be educated in mathematics, as a means of counteracting what she saw as the dangerous and corrupting influence of poetry. (She really hated Byron.)

Betty: Man, are there any good steampunk Ada-Lovelace-Fights-Crime type alternate histories?( I know Gibson has, anyone else? )

Today's topic: Oh My God, I Can See Your Id!

As the danger of exposing your asscrack is to the plumber's career, so the danger of exposing your id to the author's. In some circumstances, the author and reader both go in knowing this, (Poppy Z. Brite comes to mind) and the only danger is that the reader and author's ids will not meet convivially. However, in others, the reader has the unhappy experience of finding the author's id in their work, without warning, and with the unsettling conviction that the author does not know that he or she left it exposed there.

Possibly this ties in with my embarrassment squick, but there is very little that's more unsettling to me than a book where an author appears to be exposing her id, and doesn't know it.

What's the last or most memorable time this happened to you, and with which book? Bonus question: should it be a moral obligation on the part of an editor to inform their authors they're flashing their id at the world?

Disqualified on grounds of being too obvious: Jack L. Chalker, Piers Anthony, Laurell K. Hamilton.

Title: House Rules
Fandom: Leverage
Warning: Contains suggestions of unsafe food-handling.
Pairing: You're new here, aren't you?
Notes: Third in the Odd Jobs series, by brown_betty and emeraldwoman.

( The cats aren't allowed in either )

More Avatar casting news here, for those who are interested. It's uh. Mixed.

Karen Aich and I discuss it here, and I am incited to use regrettable language.