Friday Links Can Fly The TARDIS Better Than You
Originally published at tansyrr.com. You can comment here or there.
Here we are at the end of another week. The sad news is that Mary Tamm, the original Romana of 1970′s Doctor Who, died of cancer yesterday at the age of 62. Another piece of my childhood crumbled away, and I have been very touched to see the many tributes on Twitter by Doctor Who cast, crew, podcasters and other personalities, many of whom knew her very well and are going to miss her heaps.
Romana I was one of my earliest heroes. Long before River Song, she was the woman who knew how to fly the TARDIS way better than the Doctor ever did, and got better marks at school too! Farewell, Mary Tamm.
Karen Healey writes about one of her own heroes, children’s author Margaret Mahy, who also died this week. Elizabeth Knox has also written a powerful and heartfelt tribute. I regret not having read any of Margaret Mahy’s amazing young adult fiction until very recently, though I have extremely fond childhood memories of many of her books for younger children. And I just realised my children don’t currently own a copy of the Pirate’s Mixed-Up Voyage. To the Fishpond! [update: WHAT THE HELL OUT OF PRINT YOU SAY????]
John Scalzi “speaks for the geeks” by pointing out the misogyny at play when people like Joe Peacock & CNN criticise attractive cosplaying women for not being authentically geeky enough. “Because here’s a funny fact: Her geekdom is not about you. At all. It’s about her.”
The Mary Sue asks the important question of our age: why is everyone on the Internet so angry?
Zoe Smith, an 18 year old British female weight-lifter took on a Twitter bully who tried to shame her for not looking feminine enough - mostly by mocking him.
Tor.com looks at the legacy of the “anti-princess” that preceded Merida from Brave, and draws attention to the more interesting, dynamic and morally ambiguous women of Disney movies who are not considered top-tier Disney Princesses (or even princesses at all within the brand).
Joanna Page from Gavin & Stacey has “launched a stinging attack” on British TV’s reality show “Superstar,” pointing out the many ways in which the show insults actual trained and experienced musical theatre performers and belittles their industry by offering a plum role in a new production of Jesus Christ Superstar as a prize in a contest. Good on her for articulating the frustration I imagine many professionals have with this kind of reality TV, where the career they have worked at for decades is presented as something that can be handed out like candy. [link from @thenicolabryant]
Hoyden About Town on why superhero cartoons are better for kids than Bob the Builder.
The awesome Random Alex has written up her review of Reign of Beasts, the third book of my Creature Court trilogy - it never ceases to be a relief when someone expresses satisfaction with Book 3!
Fablecroft are running a book giveaway on Goodreads for children’s SF & Fantasy anthology Worlds Next Door.
Sarah Rees Brennan on writers being friends with other writers.
The SF Mind Meld looks at Monarchies in SF/Fantasy worlds.
I love a bit of Ancient Roman news, especially when it involves my sweet sinister Agrippina the Younger. Mary Beard talks about the problem of sorting out which Agrippina is which, when dividing up the statues.
Justice Larbalestier takes on the myth that YA authors are in it for the money, by pointing out how laughable the concept is that any writer would think writing was somehow an easy route to pots of gold.
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