sigelphoenix

One of the most vicious and manipulative tools we humans have evolved is to use our individual impulses towards kindness and pity to build systems that reinforce oppressive and discriminatory practices.

"Clothe the pauper." "Heal the heathen." "Rescue the orphan." "Free the woman."

The discourse around disaster relief in Haiti has already begun to make me sick to my stomach. Because "natural disasters" are somehow painted apolitical, as though the sphere of human responsibility has been completely suspended.

More at deepad's post, including some of the specific circumstances that rendered Haiti so vulnerable to "natural disasters." The general concept, of course, is also applicable to just about every other instance of help from the privileged, and explains how impulses to truly aid those without privilege often get cut off at the knees.

The World of Goo Soundtrack is available for free download from the creator's website. If you've played World of Goo you know how strangely compelling this music is; but even if you haven't, I recommend downloading the music. Just imagine little goo-balls bouncing along to it.

I was walking to the grocery store when a guy at the bus stop got my attention. He and his girlfriend were trying to get to Everett, he said, and didn't have bus fare. I looked in my wallet and didn't have anything smaller than a $10 bill, but I went ahead and gave it to them. He seemed surprised and pleased, and thanked me.

On my way out of the grocery store, I saw the same guy and his girlfriend talking to someone on the sidewalk. They told him the same story about needing bus fare to get to Everett.

Fucking assholes.

When I confronted him, the guy spouted off some bullshit about the money getting swiped. Unfortunately, I was too shocked and pissed to do anything besides glare at him and walk away. Now, I wish I'd had the wherewithal to slap him in the ear.

Fucking fuckers.

Now I'm home, and I pet a purring kitty, and that helped some. And, really, it's not the worst thing that could've happened to me on the way home. I wasn't hurt or frightened or anything, but ... Goddammit. I feel like a sucker, and I wish I could've done something to keep those shitcocks from scamming other people. And wipe that smug smile off the guy's face while I was at it.

Reminders of why people are, on the whole, pretty cool would be much appreciated.

Me, I'm sitting at home in my comfy sweats. I decided not to go to a party tonight, because I have three D&D games scheduled this weekend and I wanted to stay home and make sure all my characters got levelled. My priorities are either very wrong or very right.

Anyway, I haven't posted to my journal in a long time, but since I've used it to help me record life happenings in the past, I figured I should poke it back to life before the year officially ends. So here's a brief, sometimes shallow overview of things I remember that were significant to me in 2009:

( 2009 )

2009 ... wasn't the kindest year to me, in a few ways, but I'm glad I had it. I've had a lot of blessings throughout, and I know that the difficulties I've faced are manageable and not permanent. I don't just accept the next year, but rather am determined to make it worthwhile.

So here's to 2010. May it treat you well, and give you reason to feel joy and wonder at being alive.

Work is about to make me snap, but, rather than run through the office screaming, I decided to take a short coffee break to buy a latte from the cafe downstairs. I ask them to put the drink in my personal mug, which saves them from using a disposable cup (and also saves me 10 cents).

After I pay and leave, I look down and realize that my 16-ounce mug is filled to the brim with liquid. Which means that my tall (12-ounce) latte, which is supposed to be composed of 1 shot of espresso + milk + foam, has become 16 ounces composed of 1 shot of espresso + milk. In other words, a mug full of warm milk that looked at a coffee bean and ran away.

Thanks, barista.

Yes, this is immature and hyperbolic whining. It's for the sake of catharsis rather than me expecting any sympathy.

Because it's been way too long since I've made one, and I really ought to right now for all the things that are weighing on me (nothing catastrophic, which is even more reason to focus on the good things).

1. I'm at work and getting paid for it. This is a happy thing for many reasons, both irreverent (I'm stealing a few minutes to write a blog post, for one) and not (I have income, health insurance, other benefits ...).

2. I went to see Wicked at The Paramount on Sunday with ratzeo, lunapome, and music_enforcer. We had great seats, the cast was fantastic, and I had as much fun as I did the first time I saw it live (I was wondering if the effect would be lessened by the fact that I'd seen the show two years ago).

3. My copy of The Mermaid's Madness, second book in Jim Hines' princess series, arrived yesterday, when I expected it wouldn't be released for a few more days yet.

4. I've recently been working on creating epic-level abilities for my D&D character (based on Crusader schools from The Book of Nine Swords, if anyone is interested), which is the most creative activity I've done in awhile. It's been nice, and gives me confidence that I might get back to creative endeavors yet.

5. I'm off to eat my lunch, which is a leek and potato soup I made after shadawyn's entry reminded me of how much I like it (plus linked to a nice and easy recipe). It turned out a little too thick, I think (more like ... very light mashed potatoes than soup), but it's tasty and the weather is perfect for it.

"Hollywood Casting Cheat Sheet."

How to avoid discussions of transphobia and sexism.

No comment needed, I think.

First, some context: I first heard of Jim Hines when I found his LiveJournal during RaceFail, and appreciated his voice as one of the few white authors who spoke sense, and who also owned up to the gaps in his knowledge. So while I have resolved to support more authors of color by buying their books, I also picked up The Stepsister Scheme with confidence that I wouldn't want to bang my head against a wall or throw the book across the room.

The premise of the book itself is a lot of fun: a retelling of popular fairy tales (some Disney version, some not), wherein Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty are essentially secret agents for the queen of Cinderella's home nation. Our POV character is Danielle (Cinderella), who is new to all this business and only got pulled in because her stepsisters kidnapped her husband, Prince Armand.

The book took a while for me to get into, for a couple of reasons. First, it's a mix of comedy and drama, which is more lighthearted than what I usually go for. The comedy isn't slapstick, though, and Hines makes you smile without trying to impress the reader with his wit all the time, so I ended up enjoying it once I got into the flow of the book.

Second, I had to feel out the book to see how high my defenses needed to be. (It's something I always have to do, but sometimes books answer the question early on by being very clearly status quo - for instance, fantasy that is squarely in the Western tradition, usually medieval-ish setting, where everyone is white and straight and there might be strong female characters but no grappling with feminist issues. For better or for worse, that tells me early on to lower my expectations for the book, but at least then I know the book will entirely avoid issues of race and sexuality, and I'll need to tolerate only the omission rather than a royal fucking up.) The Stepsister Scheme, as a reworked fairy tale(s), indicates early on that there will be questioning of the norm. So Danielle is Cinderella - but she's not the demurely feminine Disney version who sings a lot and doesn't get angry. Is she Liberated (in the mainstream-fiction's-interpretation-of-feminism sense)? She's uncomfortable being a princess - just because it's different from what she's used to, or does she question the fact that there are peasants laboring away for her luxury? Does she accept pretty dresses and motherhood without question? And so on.

High expectations? Sure, but I don't apologize for having them when I'm sharing the money that could be dedicated to underrepresented authors. And when these questions actively affect my reading enjoyment, the whole reason I buy books in the first place.

A brief overview on my verdict regarding these and other questions: ( cut for mild spoilers )

( really spoilery )

Damn, but I had a lot to say about this book. And I even cut it down a bit. I think I'm having a little Joss Whedon Syndrome here - I feel like I'm close to really loving the work, and because of that my defenses are accordingly lowered and my expectations are accordingly raised. (See above re: omission versus fucking up.) I want to support a book that is aimed at mainstream readers and accessible to younger (teenaged) readers and also assumes that the wife being the husband's savior, or that the women being both heterosexual and homosexual, needs neither preamble nor excuse. I have high hopes that this is a book I'll be able to describe someday as, "a relatively weak start to the series, but still quite enjoyable, and man do the rest of the books really realize the potential here and get awesome ..."

I actually really think you all should read this book, and I highly encourage you to purchase it rather than borrow it (for similar reasons as I encouraged you to buy Silver Phoenix).

Fellow Washingtonians: Referendum 71 has been announced to go on the November ballot.

"R-71 backers are seeking to overturn a law passed by the Legislature this spring that granted same-sex, registered domestic partners, along with straight couples with at least one partner older than age 62, the same state benefits as married couples."

There is hope that the referendum will be disqualified because it doesn't have enough signatures - it gathered 121,617 (the requirement is 120,577), but some of those signatures may not legally qualify.

Of course, that still means that there are about 120,000 homophobic fuckwits in my state who are willing to tear down the civil rights of other human beings. GTFO my state, thanks.

And remember: if R-71 does make it to the November ballot, you need to VOTE! And vote YES to KEEP domestic partnership rights.