I've heard from several sources about something of a public uproar regarding J.K. Rowling's having revealed in commentary on the recently-released Fantastic Beasts DVD that Dumbledore was gay, and had had a relationship with Grindelwald. The revelation is being described as entertainment news.

Umm... 11½-year-old news?

"In a media-saturated age, you can really start to resent the amount of information you absorb, despite your steadfast disinterest, about certain utterly unworthy subjects.  It's like the data equivalent of secondary smoke inhalation."

-- Christopher Brookmyre, Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks

I've been watching The Guild, after having been nudged about it a few times from several directions.  Joss Whedon cited it as a significant inspiration for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and there are some clear similarities.  Each segment starts with the main character doing an entry in a video blog before shifting to a more normal story ( Read more... )

A few days ago, there was a brief discussion on the rec.music.filk newsgroup of "Madeira-ing" women at filk conventions -- that is, getting them to play the part of the young woman in a performance of Flanders and Swann's "Madeira M'Dear", as schtick.  The consensus was that it's not a good idea to do this unless the woman in question agrees to it ( Read more... )