rusty_halo

jaydk has been annoyed at me for liking Supernatural for a bunch of reasons. The other day we had a silly faux argument that went like this:

jaydk: I can’t believe you have a crush on a blond!

Me: DEAN. IS. NOT. BLOND.

Today on fandom_wank: a whole wank about people having a serious fight over whether Dean is blond.

In other news, I actually got jaydk to watch SPN with me! We marathoned the first season and the start of season two, focusing on the family and character stuff and skipping the MOTWs. The good news is, she liked the show enough that she agreed to watch more even when it’s not my birthday. Yay!!! The bad news is, she hates Dean. She says he’s “smug.” I keep trying to explain that his asshole qualities are just a defense mechanism under which lies an adorably vulnerable woobie, but she’s not buying it. She does seem to like Sam, but that may just be because he’s Not Dean. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW ONE PERSON CAN BE SO VERY WRONG.

But of course, it was incredibly generous of her to watch a show she expected to loathe with me for my birthday.* Also we made mixed drinks and ate chocolate rum pudding cake (from Vegan with a Vengeance) and it was very fun. (Thank you to everyone who sent birthday wishes, btw.)

* Although I should note that I have watched many hours of Korean soap operas and Japanese tennis musicals that I have no interest in because she likes them, so it’s not like I’m torturing her with Supernatural out of nowhere.

Last weekend I visited nwhepcat at herself_nyc’s place, where we chatted about fanfic and watched Supernatural 1×03, 1×18, and 2×20 in an attempt to hook herself_nyc on the show. Not sure if it worked, but it was certainly fun to squee with other fans. :)

Also, my friend Cat came to stay with me last weekend. We cooked a massive amount of food because I’d just gotten a ton of veggies from my CSA, stuck our heads out my window to watch at least three sets of NYC fireworks, got incredibly drunk on homemade mojitos, and watched most of Supernatural season two. She kept asking to watch more, because unlike jaydk, she knows how to appreciate a beautiful man. (I’M KIDDING. I KNOW IT’S ALL A MATTER OF TASTE.) But anyway, it is very fun to watch with someone who shares my particular squee. Plus, Dean is so lovable in season two–I think maybe it’s my favorite season after all. Dean’s slow breakdown and the immensity of his love for Sam are both so moving. I’m rewatching season three now and it really does feel like a slap in the face in comparison. Is it wrong if I just pretend “Malleus Maleficarum” was a nightmare I had about how misogynistic a television show could potentially be, and not an actual episode of a show I continue to watch? :( :( :(

Anyway, at least I am enjoying fanfic. I’ve been working my way through pdragon76’s stories, after adoring the podfic versions of Blind Spot and The Long Narrow Rope. Those are still my two favorites, but all of her stories are great. She writes with fantastic pacing and with a sense of humor, and is Dean focused and into whumpage, of which I very much approve. She also doesn’t skimp on the plot, which … well, I’m definitely finding that whumpage + adventure plot is one of my favorite things ever, but whumpage without plot pretty much leaves me wanting to claw my own eyes out. It’s odd, how very fine the line is between kink and squick.

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. You can comment here or there.

http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2710

Disliking a fictional character is not the same thing as saying that character deserves to be raped. I have never in my life said that ANY woman, fictional or real, deserves to be raped, because no woman ever deserves to be raped. Anyone who claims I have said this is flat out lying, and the fact that someone out there is actually trying to discredit my Doctor Who arguments by spreading the word that I like rape is pretty much the sickest thing that’s happened to me in the entirety of my fannish experience.

Whoever you are, you’re pathetic.

I’m disabling comments because I am fed up with this topic. If you know the context for this, I’d ask that you don’t reply to them, as it only eggs them on. If you don’t know the context, just be glad.

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http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2697

This thread is not doing anything to change my mind about the significant percentage of GIGANTIC FUCKING ASSHOLES in Doctor Who fandom.

Seriously. Some guy rips off a bunch of fan reviews without permission, publishes them (as filler, without analysis) in a for-profit book, and has the gall to complain that his feelings are hurt when the people he stole from get upset? Because it was too much of a burden for him to ask permission from twelve people?!

I archived several hundred people on All About Spike and I asked for permission from every single one (and that site’s not even for profit). It’s not hard to show a bit of common courtesy. Some of the authors I most loved didn’t give me permission, so, you know what? I didn’t archive them. Because if you respect someone’s work enough to want to use it, you also owe them the respect of asking their permission and abiding by their wishes.

Oh, but posting in public is exactly like giving the world permission to use your work in any way it sees fit! *eyeroll*

And, of course, it comes down to the know-it-all men talking down to the “shrill and hysterical” women who for some silly reason don’t like having their words stolen and used for someone else’s gain.

*headdesk times infinity*

* Some of the more egregious bits are quoted here if you can’t access DWF. It’s also on Fandom Wank.

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If you have any opportunity to see The Dark Knight in IMAX, go. It’s really just completely amazing; it feels like you’re in Gotham City.

( I liked it better the second time. )

I've been following the recent fannish wank with an increasing sense of WTF. I mean, first a crazy chick outs other fans in real life as an attention ploy, which, okay, at least she's getting the shunning she deserves.

Then "cult of nice" vs "cult of mean," round 4938394, which I can see both sides of, though I firmly believe fandom is a better place when we can talk openly about our reactions to a work, whether it's created by a professional or a fan. IMO it's more respectful to treat fanfiction as deserving of serious critical analysis (both positive and negative), and it's disrespectful to assume that all fic writers are speshul snowflakes who can't take anything but unreserved praise. And sometimes it's not about the writer at all; it's about the community being able to learn and grow and understand itself better through discussion and analysis of fanwork and fannish trends.

But now the SPN wank just has me boggled. Can someone in SPN please explain this to me? A bunch of fans of one of the actors started a campaign about him being retarded and illiterate? And they were surprised when his management sent them a C&D? And they're wanking about their hurt feelings? But they're his fans? And this is how they showed their fannishness? Why? I'm ... confused. Just ... incredibly confused.

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http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2634

I’ve said most of this before, but maybe I used too many words or something. Let me be succinct:

( BUT HOW COULD A FEMINIST *POSSIBLY* LOVE ROSE?! )

By no means am I saying that everyone has to agree (*waves to the nice non-Rose fans on my flist*), but it's not anti-feminist that I like something you don't in a fictional story. You might see something completely different and hate it, and we can both still be feminists. Because stories have multiple interpretations! It's okay! Really!

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.

Christmas has come early! It's Marsters wank! Here, here, here, and here.

I'm at least as amused by all the fangirls jumping to defend poor, misunderstood James as I am by the king of pretentious cluelessness, Marsters himself.

***

Last night's Sean Bean movie was A Woman's Guide to Adultery. I got through a half hour, then I had to fast forward and just watch the Sean Bean scenes. I don't know if I've ever seen a more annoying movie. My understanding of the plot is that a whole bunch of self-absorbed morons ramble on incessantly. Also, they cheat on their spouses and get punished for being awful people. But not even in a fun way, in a endless talky boring way.

On the plus side, Sean Bean was naked, and a major plot point was a photo of his ass that they kept showing. Yay! Also he was young and gorgeous and arrogant, which makes him extra hot. On the minus side, his haircut made my eyes burn. Mullets are not attractive. Ever. On anyone.

I should probably just stop on this Sean Bean marathon and watch "Extremely Dangerous," "Stormy Monday," and "Sharpe" a few more times instead. What's next in my Netflix queue? "Troy"? "North Country"? "Black Beauty"?? "Scarlett"??? Gaah!!! Help!!!!

***

I did take a break from Sean Bean movies and rented The Living Daylights, the first Timothy Dalton Bond movie. I actually liked this better than expected. Timothy Dalton was ahead of his time with a harder-edged Bond. He was pretty hot, too, but weird looking. The movie itself was okay, a product of its time with an AIDS-inspired monogamous Bond. It felt really dated, though, particularly with its Russian villains and Afghan heroes. But it was entertaining enough.

Last night's Sean Bean movie was Patriot Games. I really hated this movie, probably more so than it deserved. Something just totally rubbed me wrong; I think maybe it was that the main family reminded me on the family in Fatal Attraction: ( Read more... )

The next DVD is Clarissa, which I'm really kind of dreading because me and period costume dramas are not mixy things. Fingers crossed that I won't fall asleep.

Also, I hate to admit this, but I finally got the imps from BPAL that I ordered ages ago. I'm wearing Blood Kiss today, which I love. In my defense, I'm not jumping on the fandom bandwagon; I got a bunch of free imps at Convergence, that goth con in New Orleans that drujan and I attended this spring, and just recently figured out that they're the same thing that harmonyfb is always talking about. I can totally see how people get addicted to this stuff.

I put the audio book of Sharpe's Tiger on my MP3 player. I had no idea how delightful this would be. Sean Bean's lovely voice caressing my ears as I walked to work this morning--I must've been grinning like an idiot. I have little tolerance for audio books because I'm impatient, but I've already read this one, so I'm just listening to savor Sean Bean's yummylicious voice.

drujan called me last night to squee over "Sharpe's Rifles," the latest book I lent her. She liked it even better than "Sharpe's Sword"; in fact she seems to be more excited about Sharpe than I am. This is amusing me immensely. Hopefully today I'll get the Sharpe DVDs that I ordered from Deep Discount DVD, so that we can have another Sharpe day this weekend.

I have also been reading bits of Sharpe fanfic, and I find myself consistently amused at how they all start out like a Cornwell book: soldiers, dirt, war, etc., but then somehow they end up maneuvering the characters into very un-Cornwell-like situations, y'know, usually by somehow finding an excuse to get Sharpe naked and/or wet.

I've been reading Fandom Wank a lot lately. It's funny, when I first got into fandom I thought Fandom Wank was horrible and mean and pretty much an example of the worst impulses of fandom. Somehow my thoughts have shifted--maybe it's a combination of realizing that above all fandom should be fun and I need to not take it so seriously, plus the whole Cassandra Claire/Ms Scribe thing making me realize that the currency of fandom is social popularity, and so a venue for social ridicule is really the only way to deal with those who violate its social codes. Or maybe I realized that fandom is often just fucking hilarious. I was looking over the Fandom Wank wiki and I found what is pretty much my favorite wank ever: Perhaps I have a special anus. Every time I re-read this, I can't stop laughing. (Don't forget, Superman is a careful rapist.)

So, strangely enough, Fandom Wank originally made me kind of hate fandom, but now it reminds me why I love fandom.

Also this weekend, I'm going to this thing called "Night of Too Many Stars," which has been advertised incessantly on Comedy Central. I just went to Ticketmaster to peek, and when I tested it, it pulled up such a great seat that I couldn't not buy it. I really need to stop blowing cash on ridiculous things. But dammit, I should take advantage of the fact that I live in NYC, and plus, Jon Stewart is hosting, and Stephen Colbert is going to be there, so really, how could I not go? (::squee!::)

Also, The Colbert Report pretty much, y'know, won, this week. First there was an episode celebrating the "American Lady," in which Stephen baked an apple pie (and received several kisses) from Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda, then declared everyone in the audience, including himself, "Mrs. Colbert," in a parody of the Miss America contest. Then in the next episode, he announced the finalists of his lightsaber challenge (note to any company trying to figure out how to tap into user-generated content and participatory fan culture: Colbert does it perfectly), and I actually screamed when George Lucas showed up, and then screamed again when Lucas "lost" to some random girl from the internet. And then screamed a third time for good measure when the show ended with a lightsaber battle between George Lucas and Stephen Colbert. ::adores::

I know that I should download this week's episode of Veronica Mars (I missed it because we had Columbus Day off and I thought Tuesday was Monday). But I'm kind of dreading it. Fandom's supposed to be fun, but VM leaves me feeling annoyed and condescended to. I might wait until the season's done and then decide, based on fan reactions, whether to catch up with it. Though I do miss participating in discussions as the show happens.

Also, how does the LiveJournal spellchecker not recognize the word "fandom"? I mean, come on. This is LiveJournal. :P I wish they'd stop doing stupid shit like adding IM features and finding ways to help corporations shut down fandom. Why not, say, fix all the annoying stuff first? Like, a better spell checker, and easier way to customize styles and mood themes, a way to turn off that horrid nav bar everywhere....

Peter Tolan's posting over at the Rescue Me TWOP board.

Quite interesting. Though, of course, he had to get in the middle of an argument about whether a recent scene was or wasn't rape, so there's wank. His posts start on this page.

If you're not watching Rescue Me.... come on! It's good!


In other news, I went to a big brunch on Sunday. drujan and I were discussing the recent Harry Potter wank, and slowly the entire table (7 non-fandom people) fell silent and gaped at us with mouths open as we explained the thing. It really is boggling.