Wednesday Linkspam

[coraa]

dhobikikutti: Master List of Chromatic Re/Casting Posts
This is a recent meme that I adore: imaginary or 'dream' casting or recasting of movies/TV shows/books/etc., with entirely non-white casts. Sort of the anti-The Last Airbender movie, as well as a very vivid counterargument to the claim that movies are cast with white people because there aren't enough non-white actors. I am particularly tickled by the Star Wars, Chronicles of Narnia, and X-Men ones. And the Bollywood Iliad, and the one that's Malinda Lo's Ash as a J Drama. It makes me want to do a version for the Earthsea books. (via ironed_orchid)

Youtube: Badder Romance
(Video; probably not worksafe.) If you haven't seen Lady Gaga's Bad Romance video, you should watch that first, as this won't mean much on its own. However, once you have seen it... "Badder Romance" is a brilliant scene-by-scene reshot of the Bad Romance video in what looks like a dorm room. It's highly impressive and a clear labor of love, and it made me laugh out loud.

Emily Short's Interactive Storytelling: Educational Challenge-Based Interactive Fiction. Of a Sort.
(via ceph)

Back in 1993 I was tutoring my sister in algebra. Her quizzes and tests were always made of word problems with a running storyline involving many recurring places and characters. I tied the fate of the main characters to how well she did on the previous quiz, so a good performance brought them good fortune.

Unfortunately, one test she completely bombed, and, well, this is a transcription of the quiz she got next. (On behalf of my younger self, I apologize to the people of Argentina, the spirit of Goethe, and hypnotists. [Hi, Conrad.])

Got Medieval: Three interesting things on or about medieval documents: Fox-Vomit, The King of Love, and To Arms, My Monkey Brethren!

MSNBC: Interview With Temple Grandin
I've been a Temple Grandin fan ever since reading Animals in Translation, and it's interesting and, I think, important when discussing neurological issues to hear from the people affected in their own words. (via Jezebel)

I’m a visual thinker, not a language-based thinker. My brain is like Google Images. If someone says the word factory, most people think of a vague place. I think in detail of every factory I ever saw, like the John Deere plant in Moline. Animals are sensory thinkers, thinking in pictures, smells, sounds. They don’t think in terms of language. I don’t either.

Sous-Vide and Low-Temp Primer
Really cool visual guide to sous vide cooking.

Tiger Beatdown: Inappropriate Language: Some Notes on Words and Context
There was a lot useful and interesting here, but this really got that wince-and-nod of recognition from me—not about this word specifically, but about excising offensive terms from my own vocabulary:

The first thing is that I started to eliminate the word “retarded” from my vocabulary a while ago. What happens, when you take any word out of your average everyday roster of words, is that you notice how much you use that word in the first place, and how involuntary it often is: you stop thinking about it for a second, and it just pops out, or you start reaching for a better word, and then notice that you are reaching. This happened when I stopped using “bitch,” “cunt,” “pussy,” all of it; you’re talking, and then there’s a hole in your speech where there wasn’t before, a new set of ellipses. She’s such a… I settled on “dick,” a while ago, because that’s funny. And now I’m back to using “bitch,” but never for other ladies and only in reference to myself, mostly with an absurd suffix because I want to make it a lighthearted and non-venomous word, which I can do because I am a lady and I own it. “Retarded” I don’t own, so it’s just gone. I had to come to terms with the fact that this bit of language was tied to ideas I didn’t want to support, and get rid of it.

jimhines: Real Men
Apparently I picked a good year to miss the Superbowl commercials, as I've heard a lot of complaints about how misogynistic they were this year! But linked mostly for this:

But I did come up with one guideline. Because a real man can speak out against sexism and homophobia, and be heard in a way that women speaking those same words might not be. Because women complaining about sexism are dismissed as ball-busting feminazis with no sense of humor.

I’ve watched it happen again and again. A woman writes or speaks about a topic and gets ignored. I or another man speak out about the same thing, and there’s an outpouring of support and agreement. I still get blown off, but not as often or in the same way as I see happening to women.

Being a man means I’m given certain advantages, including the power to speak out and be listened to. Being a good man means using that voice to fight this hateful sexist crap.

Hairy Thuggish Women
A paper about female werewolves! A topic close to my heart. I haven't read it all yet, but it's fascinating so far. Paper title from this exchange about Lycans in the Underworld films, a question I've asked myself:

MTV: Why don’t we see Lycan [werewolf] women [in the Underworld films]?
Kate Beckinsale: Because that could be really horrifying. Hairy, thuggish women.
Len Wiseman: [. . .] I’ve seen furry women.
Beckinsale: [Laughing] Not here!

Justine Larbalestier: Zombies versus Unicorns
I have no idea what this book is about, apart from the obvious, but the image linked from the post is great.

Youtube: Charlie Brooker - How to Report the News
(Video; worksafe.) Spot-on, and very funny. (via legionseagle)

Jezebel: Warning: The Cosmo Flirting Guide Might Turn You Into a Total Lunatic

An article titled "50 Ways To Become A Legendary Flirt" presents itself as a guide to getting what you want by flirting your way into the hearts and minds of others. A little sexyface here, a little flattery there: these are the things that will get a fun, fearless female what she wants, according to the Cos. While the article notes that flirting "doesn't always have to be sexual," it appears that nobody stopped to consider how creepy several of the suggestions in the guide are. Until now, that is! Let's take a look at the most insane flirting suggestions, shall we?

mjules: One Reason Why Western [American?] Culture Makes These Conversations So Difficult
A really interesting exploration of the ways that the American idea/ideal of individualism makes it so hard to talk about activism.

Color Theory for Designers
I have no idea how accurate this is in terms of design theory, but for me, the layman, it was fascinating.

TimesOnline: Haiti: the land where children eat mud
Really interesting, and depressing, info about Haiti—from before the earthquake. I am ashamed to admit that I had never realized how incredibly direct and... and exploitative the connection between Haiti's poverty and colonialism was, although I should have. To wit:

France gained the western third of the island of Hispaniola — the territory that is now Haiti — in 1697. It planted sugar and coffee, supported by an unprecedented increase in the importation of African slaves. Economically, the result was a success, but life as a slave was intolerable. Living conditions were squalid, disease was rife, and beatings and abuses were universal. The slaves’ life expectancy was 21 years. After a dramatic slave uprising that shook the western world, and 12 years of war, Haiti finally defeated Napoleon’s forces in 1804 and declared independence. But France demanded reparations: 150m francs, in gold.

For Haiti, this debt did not signify the beginning of freedom, but the end of hope. Even after it was reduced to 60m francs in the 1830s, it was still far more than the war-ravaged country could afford. Haiti was the only country in which the ex-slaves themselves were expected to pay a foreign government for their liberty. By 1900, it was spending 80% of its national budget on repayments. In order to manage the original reparations, further loans were taken out — mostly from the United States, Germany and France. Instead of developing its potential, this deformed state produced a parade of nefarious leaders, most of whom gave up the insurmountable task of trying to fix the country and looted it instead. In 1947, Haiti finally paid off the original reparations, plus interest. Doing so left it destitute, corrupt, disastrously lacking in investment and politically volatile. Haiti was trapped in a downward spiral, from which it is still impossible to escape. It remains hopelessly in debt to this day.

Cliff Mass Weather Blog: Why was January so warm? A detective story.
While a lot of people on my flist have been suffering under the Snowpocalypse, Seattle's winter has been a very different story: record highs for this time of year, very wet and mild. (In contrast to last year, when we had way more snow than usual.) This blog post explores why that is.

Shine: Vanity Fair's "New Hollywood" Issue Completely Lacks Diversity
While I suspect it shocks no one to hear that fashion and media disproportionately celebrate the young, thin and white, this particular issue is so completely and unapologetically over the top about it that it's worth a cringe.

100-Pound Rodent Kept as a Pet
Somebody has a pet capybara! Aww. As a long-time guinea pig fan, I am charmed by these photos. (via telophase)

con_or_bust: Announcing the 2010 fundraising drive for Con or Bust!
Con or Bust, which provides financial assistance to people of color who want to go to WisCon, is starting another round.

Recipe: Hazelnut Poppy-Seed Cookies

Comments

[aquaeri]

Badder Romance is adorable! I very much enjoyed it, thanks.

The Times online article might be a good beginning intro to Haiti, but I don't like where it's heading. I'm subscribed to bcholmes and you might find her opinions on Haiti interesting.

[donaithnen.livejournal.com]

*blinks*

...

Wow

[coraa.livejournal.com]

:D

[mswyrr]

This linkspam made me HAPPEEEEE.