My life is a fanfic.
Honest to god. It's - I was on the phone with Liz for like, four hours on Thursday night/morning, sorting Many Things out, and - oh god. Yes, I am living in a fanfic, and midway through our conversation, we were silent for a while, and then I said, "Oh my god, we're so living in a fanfic", and then we laughed and laughed, somewhat in despair, because.
Dude. This can't even be happening, this is Singapore, does reading slash really mess you up that badly? 'Mess up' in the heteronormative sense of the word, that is. Maybe it's just the added awareness. Prolonged periods of exposure.
I am not Upset. I'm just - what are the chances? My life is kind of exciting. Liz said we should form a support group.
I find this article rather amusing, if only because the title, the juxtaposition of the expletive and the name of the US President somehow catches me by surprise: http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/wtf_obama
"As it turns out, during his first 100 days in office, President Obama has been a fierce advocate for silence, at least when it comes to LGBT rights. Since taking office in January, Obama has talked more about college basketball than he has about equal rights for all Americans. Problem?
You bet. And it's not just the blogosphere noticing it. It's now the mainstream media. Take a look at today's column from Eugene Robinson, taking Obama to task for keeping his distance on issues of LGBT rights. And man, does Robinson lock and load.
It seems to me that equality means equality, and either you're for it or you're not. I believe gay marriage should be legal, and it's hard for me to imagine how any "fierce advocate of equality" could think otherwise.
...
That's a question that Obama should be required to answer. Ten percent of the country now recognizes same-sex marriage. How big does that percentage have to get before the White House issues a comment? Because whether he likes it or not, Obama's silence on the marriage debate only bolsters anti-LGBT organizations like the National Organization for Marriage.
Speak up, Mr. President. Because as Eugene Robinson says, silence is not leadership.
I remember a lunch last year, when I told Liz and Gee that I believed the tide for equal rights was changing, that the world is moving in that direction, and - it sure seems that way, isn't it? Ten percent is not entirely insubstantial.
On another note, I found this earlier this morning when I was searching for fic, and I spent the better part of an hour reading it, because I was so enthralled by it. It's titled "What's the deal with this pop life, yo - playacting the gay?", and essentially, it's a thought piece by this girl who identifies as a lesbian on how she is offended by the fact that various many popular bands 'playact gay' on stage and during performances, ostensibly to increase media hype and popularity; she finds it 1) degrading and insulting, and 2) distressing and damaging to closeted homosexuals who are suffering due to their (repression of their) sexual orientation. She made many points, including how it hurts homosexuals because these band people are straight and yet does gay actions on stage for publicity, and suffer no public outrage while the 'real' gay people face discrimination everyday in real life, the comparison of playacting gay to blackfacing, which is this demeaning action done to mock African Americans, and also a conflicted statement about how she is unsure slash fanfiction is a part of this offensive action.
There are a long, long chain of comments to the posts, all with exceedingly well-crafted arguments for and against, disagreements and supporting statements, and the author herself, phaballa does a commendable job responding even though she does not have the right of logic and evidence (in my opinion) - although she did emphasize repeatedly that she was making her opinions known, not an argumentative essay, and the whole debate was extremely well conducted.
I was very impressed with it, because it struck me again how - intelligent and involved fandom writers are in issues like this; many of them had researched or are interested in queer theory and gender identification and they made many cogent and insightful points. Reading the comments was engrossing, something RGS Philo has never done for me, and - it made me wish I was - there. Wherever they are, but I suspect America. I've never even considered the questions/topic as an issue before, and it taught me so much. As - presumptive as it sounds, an important mark of whether I know anything about a certain topic is the response (or lack thereof) I have towards reading material on that topic. If I am aware of it, I will definitely have comments on statements/claims made, and for this post, I was so absorbed I just kept reading and reading, and every new comment gave me surprising new insights, and I am better off knowing this, having this issue brought to my awareness, and I am deeply appreciative of fandom.
An significant point that resonates with me is the agreement among many people that sexual orientation isn't nominal (it took me a while to remember this Statistics concept :P), isn't fixed as homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual. Sexual orientation is about sex; love isn't.
Another thing is, at the library on Friday reading about human rights in this coffee table book on the people who have fought and suffered for various causes, and also while reading through the post, there was a sort of strangely cathartic reaction. I have been in a despairing sort of mood recently, and - that lifted me out of it. I realize that if I spend my time on these worthy causes, I wouldn't have the time, energy or interest to get mad, jealous, upset, over tiny, inconsequential things. I was hit by a wave of shame this morning because here are people posting politically on their LJ, and my LJ is just full of ramblings about my life, and how I think it generally sucks. That's such a narrow world view.
Then I got annoyed over the fact that school is impeding my progress in that area, too. If I didn't have to spend time doing meaningless homework, then I wouldn't be tired all the time, and I'd be able to actually read more on my own and just - !
Like what Zac Efron said in 17 Again: When we are young, everything feels like the end of the world to us. But it's not. Or something along that lines; may have misquoted that (:
17 Again was surprisingly good, actually. I am impressed by Efron's acting maturity and proficiency; he is really, really good as the father trapped in his 17-year-old self, and his relationships with his wife, daughter and son never got (too) into the taboo incest area, although there were several ew moments. The amorous relationships were also interestingly original; loved the principal's and Ned's dubiously dork-y dating, although the lines ("You can plunder my dungeons anytime" "I'll bring my longbow") went right off 'suitably suggestive' to 'downright yucky', and I thought Meg's characterization was just strange and incongruous, her sex siren act. I was cynically wry when I noted that they just had to show Efron's naked torso in the first scene of the movie, but the movie was very well down. The script/shooting allowed for an instant connection with the family; the dynamics were expediently explained and explored within the first five minutes (something Magique lacked greatly), and that led the audience to immediately empathize thoroughly with Efron's character as a teenage. Action sequence was unexpected but so enjoyable, and the ending was perfectly shot, I thought. Zac Efron's performance in the court was stunning. I really did not expect this level of artistic performance from him. Also, he so controlled the canteen scene; he was breathtaking in it. Somehow, he perfected the air of middle-age maturity in this 17-year-old body. That's just - insane.
To sum it up, Liz liked Efron, and 17 Again (:
Lunch was also really fun, and we should do/are doing it again! :D We spent ten minutes figuring how to work out the DVD rental machine.
I need to go off and do Various Academic Things now.
Dude. This can't even be happening, this is Singapore, does reading slash really mess you up that badly? 'Mess up' in the heteronormative sense of the word, that is. Maybe it's just the added awareness. Prolonged periods of exposure.
I am not Upset. I'm just - what are the chances? My life is kind of exciting. Liz said we should form a support group.
I find this article rather amusing, if only because the title, the juxtaposition of the expletive and the name of the US President somehow catches me by surprise: http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/wtf_obama
"As it turns out, during his first 100 days in office, President Obama has been a fierce advocate for silence, at least when it comes to LGBT rights. Since taking office in January, Obama has talked more about college basketball than he has about equal rights for all Americans. Problem?
You bet. And it's not just the blogosphere noticing it. It's now the mainstream media. Take a look at today's column from Eugene Robinson, taking Obama to task for keeping his distance on issues of LGBT rights. And man, does Robinson lock and load.
It seems to me that equality means equality, and either you're for it or you're not. I believe gay marriage should be legal, and it's hard for me to imagine how any "fierce advocate of equality" could think otherwise.
...
That's a question that Obama should be required to answer. Ten percent of the country now recognizes same-sex marriage. How big does that percentage have to get before the White House issues a comment? Because whether he likes it or not, Obama's silence on the marriage debate only bolsters anti-LGBT organizations like the National Organization for Marriage.
Speak up, Mr. President. Because as Eugene Robinson says, silence is not leadership.
I remember a lunch last year, when I told Liz and Gee that I believed the tide for equal rights was changing, that the world is moving in that direction, and - it sure seems that way, isn't it? Ten percent is not entirely insubstantial.
On another note, I found this earlier this morning when I was searching for fic, and I spent the better part of an hour reading it, because I was so enthralled by it. It's titled "What's the deal with this pop life, yo - playacting the gay?", and essentially, it's a thought piece by this girl who identifies as a lesbian on how she is offended by the fact that various many popular bands 'playact gay' on stage and during performances, ostensibly to increase media hype and popularity; she finds it 1) degrading and insulting, and 2) distressing and damaging to closeted homosexuals who are suffering due to their (repression of their) sexual orientation. She made many points, including how it hurts homosexuals because these band people are straight and yet does gay actions on stage for publicity, and suffer no public outrage while the 'real' gay people face discrimination everyday in real life, the comparison of playacting gay to blackfacing, which is this demeaning action done to mock African Americans, and also a conflicted statement about how she is unsure slash fanfiction is a part of this offensive action.
There are a long, long chain of comments to the posts, all with exceedingly well-crafted arguments for and against, disagreements and supporting statements, and the author herself, phaballa does a commendable job responding even though she does not have the right of logic and evidence (in my opinion) - although she did emphasize repeatedly that she was making her opinions known, not an argumentative essay, and the whole debate was extremely well conducted.
I was very impressed with it, because it struck me again how - intelligent and involved fandom writers are in issues like this; many of them had researched or are interested in queer theory and gender identification and they made many cogent and insightful points. Reading the comments was engrossing, something RGS Philo has never done for me, and - it made me wish I was - there. Wherever they are, but I suspect America. I've never even considered the questions/topic as an issue before, and it taught me so much. As - presumptive as it sounds, an important mark of whether I know anything about a certain topic is the response (or lack thereof) I have towards reading material on that topic. If I am aware of it, I will definitely have comments on statements/claims made, and for this post, I was so absorbed I just kept reading and reading, and every new comment gave me surprising new insights, and I am better off knowing this, having this issue brought to my awareness, and I am deeply appreciative of fandom.
An significant point that resonates with me is the agreement among many people that sexual orientation isn't nominal (it took me a while to remember this Statistics concept :P), isn't fixed as homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual. Sexual orientation is about sex; love isn't.
Another thing is, at the library on Friday reading about human rights in this coffee table book on the people who have fought and suffered for various causes, and also while reading through the post, there was a sort of strangely cathartic reaction. I have been in a despairing sort of mood recently, and - that lifted me out of it. I realize that if I spend my time on these worthy causes, I wouldn't have the time, energy or interest to get mad, jealous, upset, over tiny, inconsequential things. I was hit by a wave of shame this morning because here are people posting politically on their LJ, and my LJ is just full of ramblings about my life, and how I think it generally sucks. That's such a narrow world view.
Then I got annoyed over the fact that school is impeding my progress in that area, too. If I didn't have to spend time doing meaningless homework, then I wouldn't be tired all the time, and I'd be able to actually read more on my own and just - !
Like what Zac Efron said in 17 Again: When we are young, everything feels like the end of the world to us. But it's not. Or something along that lines; may have misquoted that (:
17 Again was surprisingly good, actually. I am impressed by Efron's acting maturity and proficiency; he is really, really good as the father trapped in his 17-year-old self, and his relationships with his wife, daughter and son never got (too) into the taboo incest area, although there were several ew moments. The amorous relationships were also interestingly original; loved the principal's and Ned's dubiously dork-y dating, although the lines ("You can plunder my dungeons anytime" "I'll bring my longbow") went right off 'suitably suggestive' to 'downright yucky', and I thought Meg's characterization was just strange and incongruous, her sex siren act. I was cynically wry when I noted that they just had to show Efron's naked torso in the first scene of the movie, but the movie was very well down. The script/shooting allowed for an instant connection with the family; the dynamics were expediently explained and explored within the first five minutes (something Magique lacked greatly), and that led the audience to immediately empathize thoroughly with Efron's character as a teenage. Action sequence was unexpected but so enjoyable, and the ending was perfectly shot, I thought. Zac Efron's performance in the court was stunning. I really did not expect this level of artistic performance from him. Also, he so controlled the canteen scene; he was breathtaking in it. Somehow, he perfected the air of middle-age maturity in this 17-year-old body. That's just - insane.
To sum it up, Liz liked Efron, and 17 Again (:
Lunch was also really fun, and we should do/are doing it again! :D We spent ten minutes figuring how to work out the DVD rental machine.
I need to go off and do Various Academic Things now.