Friday Linkspam
Nov. 20th, 2009 10:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coraa...This is an experiment! But I keep seeing links I'd like to share, and then I don't do it, because I can't write a whole post around them. So instead, linkspam, with comments.
Got Medieval: The Staffordshire Marginalia
A wonderful analysis of the stylized animal figures in some of the pieces unearthed from the Staffordshire Anglo-Saxon hoard, including a discussion of the evolution of depictions of animals. Very interesting.
Jackie Kessler: The Day After: Harlequin Blinks
The best summary of the Harlequin-dips-their-toe-in-the-vanity-press-pool debacle that I've seen yet.
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shadesong: Why I don't intend to see "Avatar"
(Referring, this time, to the upcoming James Cameron movie.) Personally, I'm torn. The movie looks gorgeous, and I kind of want to admire the pretty. But the combination of Noble Savages (complete with Gorgeous Savage Princess) and What These People Need Is A Honky? Eerk.
Choose Your Own Adventure: One Book, Many Readings
An analysis of the structure of Choose Your Own Adventure books. I really liked these as a child, and seeing the way they were structured, and the way they developed over time, is cool.
Jezebel: Requiem for the History Channel: A Nerd's Rant
Says it all, really.
By way ofcofax7: Vanity Fair: Letterman and Me
By way of a lot of people: Sexual Assault Prevention Tips Guaranteed to Work
The Adult Privilege Checklist
While I usually find privilege checklists useful and eye-opening, and I would usually prefer to have my own privilege pointed out to me (even though it's uncomfortable), this one seemed... problematic. a) I find it problematic to talk about 'childhood' as if 2 years old was the same as 4 years old was the same as 8 years old was the same as 12 years old. Two-year-olds really do need to be directed to do things for their own good in ways that would be inappropriate for an adult, or even a twelve-year-old. b) I find it problematic to lump genuinely abusive behaviors -- such as beating a child -- with things like telling children to go to bed 'because I say so.' Even if you think the latter is bad (which, to be honest, I don't; if my parents had had a reasoned discussion with me every time I wanted to stay up late, I would've spent a lot of time falling asleep in class), it's not at all the same thing. c) I find it problematic to consider childhood, which you really will grow out of (literally!), as a similar type of unprivileged position as, e.g., race, or sexual orientation, in the same way that I think that a usually-able person with the flu is not in the same position as someone with chronic fatigue syndrome. d) I find it really, really, really problematic to add more to the long societal tradition of telling parents (and by that, most usually, one means mothers) that they're Doing It Wrong. Parents get told that enough. In summary: remembering what it was like to be a kid? Good perspective. But this list just doesn't work for me, at all.
Liquid Story Binder Tutorials: Setting Up for Brainstorming, Setting Up for Plotters, and Setting Up for Pantsers
Liquid Story Binder is the closest thing I as a PC user can find to the Mac's much-vaunted Scrivener, but it's got one hell of a learning curve. These are the best tutorials I've found for basic getting started.
Recipes: Fruitcake for the Future, Giant Tuna or Salmon Tartare, Nutella Pocket Cookies, Apple Cider Doughnuts
Got Medieval: The Staffordshire Marginalia
A wonderful analysis of the stylized animal figures in some of the pieces unearthed from the Staffordshire Anglo-Saxon hoard, including a discussion of the evolution of depictions of animals. Very interesting.
Jackie Kessler: The Day After: Harlequin Blinks
The best summary of the Harlequin-dips-their-toe-in-the-vanity-press-pool debacle that I've seen yet.
AUTHORS: Wow. That’s a lot of money. And you said my book won’t even be in the bookstores. Or distributed at all.
HARLEQUIN: Right! And it won’t have the Harlequin name, or have Harlequin editors work with you, or have Harlequin marketing and publicity to help promote your book!
AUTHORS: At least I keep all the profits, after I pay for everything up front, right?
HARLEQUIN: Heck, no! You keep only 50% of the net. We need something for our trouble of lending our brand name to Horizons and steering you toward it, through our website and our rejection letter.
AUTHORS: So why did you encourage me in your rejection letter to get my book published by Harlequin Horizons?
HARLEQUIN: Just because your book wasn’t good enough for Harlequin to pay you for it, that doesn’t mean it’s not good enough for you to pay us for it!
shadesong: Why I don't intend to see "Avatar" (Referring, this time, to the upcoming James Cameron movie.) Personally, I'm torn. The movie looks gorgeous, and I kind of want to admire the pretty. But the combination of Noble Savages (complete with Gorgeous Savage Princess) and What These People Need Is A Honky? Eerk.
Choose Your Own Adventure: One Book, Many Readings
An analysis of the structure of Choose Your Own Adventure books. I really liked these as a child, and seeing the way they were structured, and the way they developed over time, is cool.
Jezebel: Requiem for the History Channel: A Nerd's Rant
Yes, I know: before it was all-Hitler, all the time. If you were lucky, you got a dash of Churchill, or maybe a few re-enactors running onto a battle field. Historians talked. Voiceovers intoned. Hitler's final days approached inexorably, while an actor who didn't really resembled him gesticulated wildly. Sometimes we saw the holy land or a weathered piece of parchment. You know, the History Channel!
Now, the network is beyond parody. The viewing public is, the programmers seem to feel, unwilling to watch anything that doesn't involve Da Vinci-Code-style speculation, cryptic pseudo-historians, and, whenever possible, the paranormal. Three times in the past week I tried to find a comforting educational program. I was presented with Ancients Behaving Badly, something about Lord of the Rings involving what looked like a reenactment of the movies, and Ancient Aliens, respectively. Take a smattering of shows from the current schedule: Nostradamus Effect: Satan's Army; MysteryQuest: The Lost City of Atlantis; Fort Knox: Secrets Revealed and UFO Hunters: The Silencers. I never thought I'd be so glad to run across Civil War Journal: Stonewall Jackson.
Says it all, really.
By way of
cofax7: Vanity Fair: Letterman and MeAt this moment, there are more females serving on the United States Supreme Court than there are writing for Late Show with David Letterman, The Jay Leno Show, and The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien combined. Out of the 50 or so comedy writers working on these programs, exactly zero are women. It would be funny if it weren’t true.
By way of a lot of people: Sexual Assault Prevention Tips Guaranteed to Work
1. Don’t put drugs in people’s drinks in order to control their behavior.
2. When you see someone walking by themselves, leave them alone!
3. If you pull over to help someone with car problems, remember not to assault them!
The Adult Privilege Checklist
While I usually find privilege checklists useful and eye-opening, and I would usually prefer to have my own privilege pointed out to me (even though it's uncomfortable), this one seemed... problematic. a) I find it problematic to talk about 'childhood' as if 2 years old was the same as 4 years old was the same as 8 years old was the same as 12 years old. Two-year-olds really do need to be directed to do things for their own good in ways that would be inappropriate for an adult, or even a twelve-year-old. b) I find it problematic to lump genuinely abusive behaviors -- such as beating a child -- with things like telling children to go to bed 'because I say so.' Even if you think the latter is bad (which, to be honest, I don't; if my parents had had a reasoned discussion with me every time I wanted to stay up late, I would've spent a lot of time falling asleep in class), it's not at all the same thing. c) I find it problematic to consider childhood, which you really will grow out of (literally!), as a similar type of unprivileged position as, e.g., race, or sexual orientation, in the same way that I think that a usually-able person with the flu is not in the same position as someone with chronic fatigue syndrome. d) I find it really, really, really problematic to add more to the long societal tradition of telling parents (and by that, most usually, one means mothers) that they're Doing It Wrong. Parents get told that enough. In summary: remembering what it was like to be a kid? Good perspective. But this list just doesn't work for me, at all.
Liquid Story Binder Tutorials: Setting Up for Brainstorming, Setting Up for Plotters, and Setting Up for Pantsers
Liquid Story Binder is the closest thing I as a PC user can find to the Mac's much-vaunted Scrivener, but it's got one hell of a learning curve. These are the best tutorials I've found for basic getting started.
Recipes: Fruitcake for the Future, Giant Tuna or Salmon Tartare, Nutella Pocket Cookies, Apple Cider Doughnuts
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no subject
Date: 2009-11-20 08:14 pm (UTC)One of the things about children is that they actually are, in a literal sense, less capable of autonomy and agency. It's just true -- a five-year-old is of course dependent on others for their economic support, because they can't earn a living legally in this country. (And I really doubt that repealing child labor laws would make things less oppressive for children. Um, I doubt that a lot.) I just... I honestly don't think that small children have the same ability to reason and prioritize that a teenager or adult (or even an older child) does, and I'm not going to feel bad for overruling my six-year-old if I want to buy vegetables and she wants to buy candy. I'm just not.
And the way the list is written makes it clear that it's not just an oversight that it doesn't specify an age or age range. I think there is very little, if any, overlap between the need to get an abortion and the time period when it's socially acceptable to be picked up and carried. So obviously the list is intended to mean both toddlers and teenagers, and it just... yeah. Makes it a bizarre read.
And of course (do I even need to say this?) I think that child abuse is horrific and wrong and should be stopped, and I strongly support no-parental-notification on abortions for teenage girls, and so on, but it's very, very weird to see that alongside "I am not allowed to hold down a full-time job at age five."
(And good lord, yes, if a toddler is screaming in a store, it's wonderful that he or she can be picked up and removed outside until he/she calms down.)