(no subject)
* The flooding disaster in India has been catastrophic. 600 are confirmed dead, but 5700 people are still missing, presumed dead. I have no words.
* Yep, South Florida is exactly that racist. George Zimmerman was found innocent.
* "Told Y'all:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2013/07/told-yall.html
* Cory Monteith has been found dead in a hotel room. No foul play is suspected and an autopsy will be forthcoming.
* "Congressman who used to be a high school English teacher irks GOP by marking their memos with a red pen.:" http://www.happyplace.com/25021/former-high-school-teacher-congressman-irks-gop-by-marking-their-memos-with-a-red-pen
* "Here's How to Wash Your Hair in Space:" http://mashable.com/2013/07/10/wash-your-hair-in-space/
* "Malaysian Transwoman Appointed As Political Secretary Hopes For Equal Treatment:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2013/07/malaysian-transwoman-appointed-as.html
* I have just been terribly disappointed by Clockwork Fairytales. Oh, I was having fun at first. The early stories were delightful and they even had a gay couple. Oh, there were definitely issues with a shortage of girls and women as main characters with strong agency, especially with the collection taken as aggregate, especially as Paul DiPhillipo is on record as a misogynist who strongly believes in the inferiority of women, something reflected in the way his story treats women as objects to be fought over rather than, you know, people. Oh, I had qualms about the lack of racial diversity. Most characters with racial descriptors were Caucasian, with the exception of a Turkic Tatar, and most people unfortunately read a lack of description as white. Still, most of the stories were likeable and interesting, cool reimaginings of fairytale stories for adults with steam punk sensibilities. Then I hit the Nativist characters in Mose and the automatic Fireman. It's well written and the racism is period, but I was icked out by the racism floating about with no push back at all. Then I hit the "Steampiper, the Stovepiper, and the Pied Piper of New Hamelin, Texas." Eeeeew! I felt dirty having read this. It's like a full on racist throwback to pre-1960's revisionist westerns. The main character is a peeping tom pedophile who hunts Native American people either for fun or a living, it's not clear. The Natives are ciphers and two dimensional villains, given no voice or motivation, there to be mowed down. The main character is treated as if we are meant to sympathize and admire him and his spying on naked women and pedophilia is treated as funny and charming, not a disgusting violation. I was so grossed out, I could barely get through the last story, which turned out to be the only one with a female heroine. Certainly, I couldn't engage with it, or give it proper attention, so I can not properly review it.
I do recommend Steven Harper and Jay Lake's stories particularly, but I can't recommend a collection that includes something as disgusting as "The Steampiper."
* My Scented Home Products Circular Swap is looking for people to sign up: http://www.bpal.org/topic/81082-summer-scented-home-products-circular-swap/
* The Clutch:
This entry was originally posted at http://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/331382.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
* Yep, South Florida is exactly that racist. George Zimmerman was found innocent.
* "Told Y'all:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2013/07/told-yall.html
* Cory Monteith has been found dead in a hotel room. No foul play is suspected and an autopsy will be forthcoming.
* "Congressman who used to be a high school English teacher irks GOP by marking their memos with a red pen.:" http://www.happyplace.com/25021/former-high-school-teacher-congressman-irks-gop-by-marking-their-memos-with-a-red-pen
* "Here's How to Wash Your Hair in Space:" http://mashable.com/2013/07/10/wash-your-hair-in-space/
* "Malaysian Transwoman Appointed As Political Secretary Hopes For Equal Treatment:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2013/07/malaysian-transwoman-appointed-as.html
* I have just been terribly disappointed by Clockwork Fairytales. Oh, I was having fun at first. The early stories were delightful and they even had a gay couple. Oh, there were definitely issues with a shortage of girls and women as main characters with strong agency, especially with the collection taken as aggregate, especially as Paul DiPhillipo is on record as a misogynist who strongly believes in the inferiority of women, something reflected in the way his story treats women as objects to be fought over rather than, you know, people. Oh, I had qualms about the lack of racial diversity. Most characters with racial descriptors were Caucasian, with the exception of a Turkic Tatar, and most people unfortunately read a lack of description as white. Still, most of the stories were likeable and interesting, cool reimaginings of fairytale stories for adults with steam punk sensibilities. Then I hit the Nativist characters in Mose and the automatic Fireman. It's well written and the racism is period, but I was icked out by the racism floating about with no push back at all. Then I hit the "Steampiper, the Stovepiper, and the Pied Piper of New Hamelin, Texas." Eeeeew! I felt dirty having read this. It's like a full on racist throwback to pre-1960's revisionist westerns. The main character is a peeping tom pedophile who hunts Native American people either for fun or a living, it's not clear. The Natives are ciphers and two dimensional villains, given no voice or motivation, there to be mowed down. The main character is treated as if we are meant to sympathize and admire him and his spying on naked women and pedophilia is treated as funny and charming, not a disgusting violation. I was so grossed out, I could barely get through the last story, which turned out to be the only one with a female heroine. Certainly, I couldn't engage with it, or give it proper attention, so I can not properly review it.
I do recommend Steven Harper and Jay Lake's stories particularly, but I can't recommend a collection that includes something as disgusting as "The Steampiper."
* My Scented Home Products Circular Swap is looking for people to sign up: http://www.bpal.org/topic/81082-summer-scented-home-products-circular-swap/
* The Clutch:
This entry was originally posted at http://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/331382.html. Please comment there using OpenID.