Lyric of the month: oh i don't want to die, however dark tomorrow may be hold me a perfect square of sky you are worth your weight in gold, you are worth your weight in sorrow, baby though you'll never know why Relatedly, several years later, just the mention of "black is the color of my true love's hair" in a excellent song (Shampoo, Elvis Perkins in Dearland) is all it takes to send me into...

So it turns out, in a move that surprises nobody, Joe Quesada (head honcho at Marvel) thinks that I shouldn't read his comics. Normally such a statement would be hyperbole, but actually, he said it straight out to start the conversation: If you're [a] Marvel reader and truly feel we're sexist, then why are you reading our books? Now, perhaps you're not a Marvel reader, then if that's the case...

It actually made me a little sad to do this - so many people I used to hear from all the time are just gone now... On the other hand, I cherish you guys all the more, and by the way - you gys have great taste in those little squares of story and art! fileg's friendsCollage ...

I've given up on That Thread, but there are a few things I can't let go of. Firstly, several people mentioned how hard it is when a friend talks about their depression and you feel compelled to give them advice. The depressive, most ungratefully, points out the flaws in your advice, and seems to be even more depressed by the end of the conversation. The proposed solution was to limit the time you...

You know what the oddest thing about the Great Cultural Appropriation Debate (see rydra_wong 's tag for more details) is? Not only have I discovered that SF&F isn't a safe industry for me by any means, I've also found that I'm not well up on some of the endlessly lauded, big name authors. I'd like to think it's indicative of something that I haven't been reading their work, but eh, that's...

I only just now came across Dave Sims' letter asking people to testify that he's not a misogynist. http://www.inkstuds.com/?p=303 Then I read the comments and found this gem, "This whole misogynist thing is something the internet feminists have take way too far." "thanks," bellatrys ! That was sad , but also gave me a laugh. Paul Krugman recommends that we don't forgive & forget war crimes...

I think I've mentioned my theory/feeling about myths & folk stories & such traditions being mostly what we'd now call 'fanfic'. Here are two people dealing with some of the ideas in that. (Most of Jonathon's Harper's article isn't so sesqipedalian ) The ecstasy of influence : A plagiarism, by Jonathan Lethem Harper's Magazine, February 2007 : www.harpers.org/ archive/ 2007/ 02/ 0081387 LOVE AND...

Several thank yous are in order to the many people who helped out in allowing us to be able to buy more propane this next month, after the ice storm(s) had us running the generator for so long off the propane tank. I also need to thank the kind, anonymous person who sent a mini Mag-lite to us from my Amazon wish list -- it is ready and waiting for the power to go off yet again (and it being just the...

... but I've added a Donate button on the right side of my LJ page (if you're viewing this on your Friends List, you have to view my page separately in order to see it). This at the insistence suggestion of ginmar , who I was talking to earlier tonight, catching up on life and news and such. The basic need is our home: our income is a good few thousand dollars less (average; oh, the life...

We're still offline, technically: the area where our house is in southern NH is without power, phone, and Internet (both cable & DSL, apparently). And because we have a well pump and septic, that means no water for many people. Luckily, a few years ago in the Great Renovation, we added a big generator that runs off our propane tank and gives us power to the living room, part of the office, and part...