sigelphoenix

This weekend I got to hang out with kyonkun, which was nice because our schedules have clashed and we haven't really hung out much since I got back from London. Saturday morning was spent watching Order of the Phoenix with casaval, which might be my favorite of the movies so far. It was just consistently entertaining, with few flaws that were major enough to distract me from the movie. I <3ed David Thewlis, Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman, and Maggie Smith, as always.

Afterwards, kyonkun and I went shopping. We visited the street fair in the International District, which was actually quite small but contained enough shinies for me to get tempted into buying a hair clip. Then we hit up the mall, wherein I got lots of work-suitable clothes for very cheap. Always fun.

And now for some game blather. XD I spent Sunday playing shadawyn's Hunter game. I'm really enjoying working with the World of Darkness system; its style is different enough from D&D that it's a real challenge.

I'm also playing an unusual character type, a very charismatic and outgoing woman - which is so very not me. I also chose to make her African American, to challenge the tendency (in myself and my fellow players) to go default white in RPGs. It's been tough, to avoid playing a stereotype who's "black" in every cliched way possible, or, on the other hand, just a very tan white woman. But I'm trying. And if I can try, so can you, writers of books/TV shows/comic books/movies.

Sunday evening I worked out my character progression for irishninja's Warmakers game, all the way to 20th level. I love his gestalt system, it lets us do such cool things with characters. ♥

Also, while shadawyn's character, my character's twin sister, will end up being very magical and possibly exalted, my character will ultimately be a very bloody whirlwind who remorselessly slices people up. Should be interesting!

Today I finished Jose Saramago's Blindness, a book that lilisin sent to me months ago for my birthday. It was a horrifying book. Disturbing and infuriating and nauseating. This is because, despite the fantastic premise - an inexplicable epidemic of instant blindness - all of the horrors that occur afterwards, both petty and epic, are completely plausible, because they're based on people's fear and selfishness.

On the back of the book, the summary describes the novel as "powerful portrayal of man's worst appetites and weaknesses - and man's ultimately exhilarating spirit." I found this funny for two reasons, the first being that most of the book is about the shit that people do to each other, and it's hard to find anything "exhilarating" happening anywhere. Additionally ... if anything, the book was about woman's "exhilarating spirit." The main character, the most heroic one by far, is a woman. Of the secondary characters, the women as a group are far more admirable than the men as a group. There is also a lot of specifically gendered abuse that occurs, in which men commit violence upon women while other men allow it to happen.

I know, I know, "man" is meant to be inclusive of both men and women, the copy writer probably didn't intend to exclude women, etc. etc. Most of the time I even believe that. I just found it ironic in this case, considering that Saramago (radical feminazi that he is) made such a point of recognizing women characters' sufferings and strengths.

I recommend the book to anyone who would like to borrow it. It's not "enjoyable" in the typical sense, but it's worthwhile.


Oh, and tonight I might actually get started on that London recap I keep promising. :P