Friday, May 28, 2010

Battlestar Galactica: The fight over Starbuck

Science fiction has always had an uneasy relationship with women. (This site is awesome for context:Feminist SF.) I did not become a fan of the new Battlestar Galactica until the second season. Once ensconced in this world, I was offended by Dirk Benedict’s outcry against Starbuck. Benedict’s childish and pathetic ranting about the change in gender of one of the principle characters is an insult to the new audience and the past audience of the show. It reflects an attitude that I find a personal affront; it’s ridiculous the characteristics that Benedict finds so emasculating when portrayed by a woman are empowering when played by a man.

“You were fantastic, absolutely fantastic. And you know what? So was I.”

I first stumbled across the band Lamb through Torchwood’s use of the song Gorecki. One of the many fanvideos made for the Doctor and Rose ‘ship used this song and snippets of the show’s dialogue. I really enjoyed Christopher Eccleston’s portrayal of the Doctor and I was sad to see him go after one season. David Tennant quickly won me over but friends later told me that Eccleston had only done one season of Doctor Who to avoid typecasting. This is a bit arrogant and casts a whole new light on his closing lines even though I liked both actors.

Merry meet and merry part

When I first graduated from university, I found that without the structure of classes I spent most of my time chatting in online forums. I was very active in the CSI fandom and rediscovering the Xena fandom. This lasted for the better part of a year and outside of my roommates I did not socialize greatly. Once I began expanding my social circle for the first time since entering university I found that there were many different venues to meet up to socialize. I found within myself a Martha Stewart that loved to cook and host friends at my apartment.

I have been at my place of employment hard on the heels of graduating university and so have gotten to know my coworkers. I am one of the youngest people in this office and it is interesting to see how age dynamics can play out in relationships outside the office. There are only a few that meet up regularly outside of the office. Though lunches and Friday night rounds are not uncommon, perhaps because we are in the mining industry and so wining and dining is a regular part of the work place. I’m lucky to like all my co-workers.

Weekend Assignment

The Play's The Thing (w/a)

I have long held the opinion that Shakespeare is over-taught and over-valued in literary circles and the public education curriculum. I believe that readers could garner a greater appreciation through reading plays by Shakespeare’s contemporaries.

My bias is aided by the fact that I also don’t like any of Shakespeare’s tragedies. Perhaps it indicates a flightiness on my part but the only tragedy I’ll give the time of day to is “Romeo and Juliet”. And that because I think “Romeo and Juliet” was actually a snarky comedy. I’ll grant Shakespeare’s sonnet structure is a useful aid for students to study.


Weekend Assignment

A-peelin'

I do not have an over abundance of melanin in my skin – well, more accurately I have both an abundance, freckles, and lack of defensive melanin against the harmful UV rays, sunburns. While my parents and grandparents skin would tan, my brother and I remain fair and burn easily.

I am currently sloughing off the results of a weekend of sun exposure. I both enjoy and dislike peeling – I like it because it’s neat to see an epithelial layer but it’s annoying as all get out to shed yourself everywhere you go. I still can’t help but pick at it.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Underwear Affair

I’ve noticed that participating in sports with people breaks down some barriers on topics that are typically socially frowned upon. Perhaps the domain of adolescent boys but wedgies come up quite a bit. Finding underwear that is suitable for running or the dynamic movements of soccer that does not ride up your bum is a rarity. I’ve often commiserated with teammates about the wrong underwear choice creating an atomic wedgeie. Full bottom panties do not make for a comfortable thong. For that matter, wearing a thong doesn’t help either. Oftentimes the best solution is to wear no underwear at all.

One of the monologues from Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” is simply entitled Hair. I’ve never been one to go for a Brazilian; I micromanage my body hair but not that extent. I’m not a prepubescent girl – I have hair. Well, I had hair. My waxer and I had a misunderstanding because I was a little too unassertive in reminding her what I usually do. One moment we were making small chat and the next there was wax where never there was wax before. It reminded me of a old punch line to an adolescent joke: there’s no hair there.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Bit o' nonense and stuff

There is one thing only that truly drives me nuts about blogger and that is the follower option. Every time I look at my home page, it tells me I have four followers but when I go to the detail it only shows me two. (Hi Diane and Alan!) Who are these shadow followers? Is it just a by-product of unknown RSS feeds? I can think of ten people who know about this project and otherwise the only reason for someone to come here is if they click “next blog”. So hello my phantoms, my angels of music. Welcome here.

Four, Five and Six

I read an article a while back suggesting that we put an undue amount of weight on the concept of “suitable atmosphere” for human life to exist on other planets. It was a very interesting read because it made obvious points that we take for granted about Earth because we have adapted to the environment or made changes to the environment to suit our needs. Beginning with just the sheer surface area of Earth that is covered with water versus land and moving on to the necessary adaptations of our clothing, houses, air conditioning and heating. We are a fragile species.

I don’t know why it is, but I love, love, love Tegan and Sara’s song “Living Room”. Thanks to youtube I have now heard it played live and how they change it as the years have gone by. Still, I cannot get over how much I love the original studio version of this song. A girl I had a crush on in one of my university courses made me two mix cd’s and I made her a mix cd as well. (The catalog of evidence for Kirsten is Socially Awkward is vast.) She introduced me to Tegan and Sara.


When I was a kid, I was convinced there was a house downtown where my family had visited and I had played in the yard. For years I believed this until one day I pointed out the house to my mom and asked who we had visited. Turns out the memory was just a dream I’d had. Sometimes I think of the last summer I worked in Truckee and the time I had dinner, sushi, with a co-worker and we went back to her place. I remember having a drink, flirting and teasing. Nothing happened and I drove home late.

One, two, three...catchup posts

I set goals for April with Awesome!K and they were to do the following:
File my taxes
Finish posting daily for April
Finish my excerpts from my trip to Kuwait
Of those goals, I half achieved the taxes and clearly none of the rest. I filed my taxes in Canada and deferred my taxes in the US because I forgot that they have different filing dates. It would simplify my life if both filing deadlines would be April 30th. As it stands, I have to file a nil return for 2009 in the US. Nil and null, two empty words.

So, what activities have been so time consuming that they have kept me from writing out one hundred simple words a day? Mostly the usual: I think about writing; I think about the topics I would write about and the tone I would use. I think about the apologies I would write for not writing enough. I think about how apologies are just another excuse. I think about how a writer should write without excuses. And then I think it’s all just shit, sit down and write. Or to continue with the shit talk – shit or get off the pot.

I think that I am a good person to get projects started – I have the enthusiasm and the basic organizational skills to pull it off. What I typically lack is that key longevity ingredient: follow through. I’ll get something off the ground and then…I just lose focus. The project at hand will still be in my thoughts but in the background while I focus instead on side projects of less importance. I’m not sure how to address this problem because it is not that I care any less about the project. I just get distracted by bright and shiny objects.