Latest Posts by mjollydragon - Page 3
Naomi Kritzer’s excellent story Cat Pictures Please is up for Best Short Story. It’s also the only non-Rabid Puppy story in that category, if that’s something you care about. You can read it at http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_01_15/ and even if you aren’t planning on voting in the Hugos, you should still take a look -- it’s very good.
A few things about the Hugos
I’m almost through this year’s Voting Packet and would like to say a few things:
1. Hugo voting is for members and supporters of WorldCon. So, to vote, all you need to do is make a $50 donation to WorldCon. (Yes, I know that’s out of reach for many of you, but for others it might be worth it, and the packet often contains multiple full length ebooks).
2. We need more variety in Best Dramatic Presentation, both long and short forms. No, this isn’t a complaint about Doctor Who being nominated every year (the reason Doctor Who gets nominated every year is because Whovians are better at coming to a consensus about which episode to nominate than other fandoms, as far as I can tell).
No, what I mean is: Best Dramatic Presentation Long Form does not equal movie, and Short Form does not equal television episode.
From the Hugo website “The award can be given to a dramatized presentation in any medium.”
This means stage plays (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child if it’s any good) are eligible.
Video games are considered a dramatic presentation per the Hugo rules. I wouldn’t be able to vote for one, but some of the excellent games out there (the 90 minute cutoff would presumably be play time) could use to be recognized.
Audio dramas are eligible. Why has nobody nominated anything from Big Finish?
3. Best Related Work is a disgusting mess. Because so few people nominate, it was taken over by not the Sad Puppies (which has turned into a good thing) but by Vox Day’s Rabid Puppies.
One of the works nominated was outright hateful. Another contained such explicit descriptions of child molestation that MidAmeriCon’s lawyers advised them not to distribute it because of the risk of somebody being arrested for kiddie porn. Or so they say, I didn’t want to risk reading it…
A third was a book about how to fight SJWs by Day himself which - and I feel I can say this - was strewn with personal attacks against multiple people and promoted unethical activity.
The other two were good and I was surprised to find the treatise on Gene Wolfe’s fiction by John C. Wright (another extreme right winger and somebody who’s fiction I find all but unreadable) to be quite well written, interesting and award-worthy.
But outright hate for any group (including Vox Day and his friends) doesn’t belong in the Hugo packet. Neither does, uh…yeah…that.
So, in addition to pointing out to people that they can nominate things other than movies and TV shows, I’d like to toss out a challenge to people - including people who can’t afford the voting fee - to find good Related Works that can be nominated. (Please don’t post exactly five, that’s a slate, and we know those are bad).
Related Works are, essentially, non fiction related to science fiction and fantasy (or “works valuable primarily for things other than fiction”). So, if you find a cool biography of a writer, or even of an actor or director primarily known for genre work, talk about it. Scholarly or fan written works about a book, video game, movie, TV show, etc, also fit into this category. I am also pretty sure that books about writing science fiction and fantasy would be eligible. Collections of art are specifically eligible per the Hugo page. Books about the culture of fandom are eligible - just please don’t promote something that attacks any group or person. If a writer you know has published their memoirs, consider that. Finally, although it’s not clear from the site, it might be possible to nominate “Making of” documentaries associated with a movie, TV show, etc. We really need to get a lot more stuff nominated in this category so it isn’t all coming from one source, and to try and keep out stuff (best fan writer also has some problems in this area - please do nominate your favorite blogger) that promotes a political or social agenda rather than truly being about science fiction, fantasy, and fandom.
me playing pokemon: why do all of these npc trainers have so many of the same pokemon, and only like teams of 2-3? this is unrealistic they should have full 6 pokemon teams and cover all their type weaknesses and
me playing pokemon go, arms full of nidoran,: I now understand
When you’re ten years old, a Hogwarts professor comes to teach you how to cast a Patronus. People were worried at first -- they said ten was too young. You can’t even go to Hogwarts. But the grass around your house could be dangerous, and besides, the consequences for mistakes aren’t that bad.
Your natural Patronus is your starting Pokèmon. A lot of people have Rattata Patroni, but not all. Those with more uncommon Patroni get special attention from the Professors. Some of them are given a special spellbook they call a Pokèdex and told to find as many different Patroni as they can.
Patroni want nothing more than to protect their casters from harm. To do that, they practice against other Patroni. This is called a battle. The winning Patronus becomes stronger and better able to protect its caster.
Besides the Patroni of known casters, there are others that wander Great Britain. No one knows quite where they come from. Some say they are the Patroni of people killed in the Battle of Hogwarts. Others say they formed spontaneously from happy memories. Regardless, they roam the lands. Some casters tame them with spells -- a burst of red light, and then they will serve you loyally.
A few Patroni of immense power roam Great Britain as well. They are said to have belonged to tremendously powerful wizards. Over time, they come to be known as “legendary.”
Godric Gryffindor’s is known as Articuno. Only the bravest dare to venture to its frozen home. Ho-oh, guardian of the skies, is mastered by Helga Hufflepuff, protecting Hogwarts with the help of a Patronus. Salazar Slytherin’s is referred to as Rayquaza. It knows how to manipulate others to get its way. Rowena Ravenclaw’s is named Giratina. Its alternate dimension fascinated her, and even today the brightest students of her house are encouraged to seek out and learn from Giratina. Merlin, as a valuer of ideals, cast a Patronus known as Zekrom.
There were others, of course. For centuries, there had been thirty others. But then, shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts, a new legendary Pokèmon appeared out of the remains of Lord Voldemort.
Its name was Yveltal.
Pokemon, but with patronuses
I… have no idea how this would work I’m sorry. Anyone want to reblog this with their thoughts?
Wait, but if Tony learned all his history from watching Hamilton, then why doesn’t he list Hamilton as a founding father?
The Best of Independence Day
Texts From Superheroes
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Yesterday, I was at Pride with a friend, when we noticed a homophobic street preacher. This preacher was surrounded by a small crowd and shouting loudly about how LGBT+ people are sinful.
At this point, my friend turned to me and says, “I have an idea. Can I borrow your shoe?”
I handed my shoe to my friend, who immediately took up a spot on the street next to the preacher and started preaching about the Holy Shoe, culminating in the line, “If you do not worship the shoe, you will go to sandal-and-sock hell!”
Here, have some recommendations of Advanced Gay literature!
1. Fires of the Faithful/ Turning the Storm by Naomi Kritzer. This duet is mostly a fantasy novel; the protagonist is also lesbian. There are some religious themes, but the protagonist could probably best be described as agnostic-ish. You can find the first one on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Fires-Faithful-Naomi-Kritzer/dp/0553585177
2. Proxy by Alex London. I’m not sure if it quite qualifies as Advanced Gay literature, as homophobia still exists in that universe and negatively affects one of the two protagonists, who is gay. I’m granting it a spot on the list mostly because the main problems are not the result of homophobia. It’s on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Proxy-Alex-London/dp/014751133X
3. The Just City by Jo Walton. This book is about a group of people trying to set up Plato’s Republic. If you don’t like philosophy, you’ll probably find it boring, but if you do, especially Plato’s works, you might like it. Several characters are mentioned to be in relationships with people of the same gender. Although sexual attraction to anyone is discouraged, this isn’t applied any more harshly to the same-gender-attracted characters. I will warn you that there are a few rape scenes, so if that bothers you you should probably stay away. It’s on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Just-City-Thessaly-Jo-Walton/dp/0765332663
Those are just the first few to come to mind; if you want more recommendations message me.
tfw you pick up a Gay Novel TM at the library but upon reading it discover its all about being gay and how hard tm it is but you already graduated this level of beginners gay and youre mad bc you cant find Advanced Gay literature
I could probably hit up ye olde googleheim for this but I wonder how they chose the order for LGBTQIA like … what type of alphabet
ego: cur terram perdes?
alienigena: quod sunt homines qui putant istos solam linguam brittannici dicere debent.
ego: iustum est. intellego.
me: why are you destroying earth!!!
aliens: because theres people who think that english is the only language they need to speak
me: thats fair i understand
If someone is an adjunct professor, it’s even worse (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/11/adjunct-faculty_n_4255139.html). According to that article, the average salary for an adjunct is between $20,000 and $25,000. I think the untenured column on this graph is higher than that because it’s including tenure-track positions.
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This is for real. Image by Piled Higher and Deeper.
Watch: Viral clip shows a woman in genderless clothing being ejected from a ladies’ bathroom by the police.
What you need to know about Obama’s new letter of guidance for transgender students.
the administration has determined that the designation of “sex” in Title IX protections also includes gender identity, which means that if public schools don’t comply with these protections, they lose federal funding
transgender students are only required to have their parent or guardian contact the school district to notify them that their identity differs from what is previously on record
these students do not need to provide a medical diagnosis, identification documents, or any other information regarding their transition
transgender students must be accommodated even when it makes others students uncomfortable
transgender students can be offered the use of single stall restrooms, but if other students are not required to use them, then they aren’t required, either, and specifically mentions that if a student is uncomfortable sharing a restroom with a transgender person they can be offered a single stall restroom
these protections also cover correct pronoun use as well, along with other guidelines
I’m supposed to write a paper on the Protestant Revolution and Catholic Counter-Reformation. Somehow my notes turned into this. It’s probably blasphemy and whatever the historical equivalent is. I’m not sorry.
Ted Cruz just suspended his campaign. This means that Trump will almost certainly be the Republican nominee.
This is going to be an interesting six months, in the most Minnesotan sense of that word possible.
I don’t know, I did find a Padma/Sally-Anne fic on A03 (http://archiveofourown.org/works/142827 ; I haven’t read it, so I can’t say if it’s any good.) But she is a rare character to spot.
i challenge you to find a possible harry potter ship that hasn’t had a fic written about it, realistic or ridiculous
it’s impossible
Sally-Anne Perks/Narcissa Malfoy? Maybe it’s out there somewhere, but it seems relatively unlikely.
i challenge you to find a possible harry potter ship that hasn’t had a fic written about it, realistic or ridiculous
it’s impossible
I haven’t seen a lot of posts that shed some positivity for non-binary Muslims who wear the hijab – I personally sometimes feel it’s frustrating that people see hijabi non-binary people as “female” just because the hijab is an obligation for women. My hijab does not define my gender; only my obligation to my God and my religion!
Shoutout to all non-binary hijabi Muslims out there; you are valid and Allah loves you, insya-Allah!
so a lot of fantasy settings do the thing where there’s one or two or maybe three human societies, all based on European cultures unless they’re bad guys, and then the non-human cultures are all based on non-European cultures, like orcs will be loosely based on Mongols and there’ll be an animal race with superficial Native American trappings. And for many reasons this can get really annoying.
But what if we turn it around? There’s an awful lot to explore if we stick a different angle on it. I want to see a thing where the human kingdoms are based on, say, imperial Mali around the time of Mansa Musa and the Mughal empire, and then maybe the orcs are based on pre-Roman Gaul, and the marauding beastfolk raiders look like Polish winged hussars, and your secretive-and-xenophobic but wise-and-spiritual elves or whatever are based on all the most alien and unfamiliar bits of medieval Catholicism.
I’ve got bad news...
Do I smell a plot twist?
The tols Vs. The smols
Of course we should consider people innocent until proven guilty, but that doesn’t mean that we should ignore the victim. If someone says “So-and-so raped me,” that’s significant evidence that so-and-so raped them. People making false rape accusations are extremely rare.
In most crimes, if someone says they were the victim of a crime committed by another specific person, we believe the victim. Yet somehow, when it comes to rape, suddenly we assume the victim is lying.
@theshynekotaru : What evidence would you consider sufficient, if the eyewitness evidence of the victim isn’t enough for you?
Toby Turner aka Tobuscus
There’s been allegations about him and I just want to say that it’s still innocent until proven guilty not guilty until proven innocent. Rape claims can ruin someones life and unfortunately there’s been so many people who have lied about being raped by friends or strangers, and even famous people that yes people are cautious as hell.
It happened with Yammimash, Pewdiepie, Markiplier, Basically, Lui, and many many others.
People can make false allegations so it’s best to get the FULL story, from all sides, before just jumping onto the victims side or the accused side.
Some peopel have found evidence that the girl may not have been where she claimed to be during one of the dates and other people close to Toby have come out in support of him and others in support fo the supposed victim.
We don’t have enough evidence to convict him fully and we don’t have evidence to prove him innocent either.
Do NOT just jump to conclusions with rape allegations there needs to be provided proof that isn’t just text messages or tweets as they can easily be faked by hundreds of various free softwares online.
I didn’t think about it that way, but you’re right! That sort of indoctrination is clearly starting to have an effect on the vulnerable children at my school. My social circle has MULTIPLE so-called relationships that involve one boy and one girl, and this sort of propaganda is why they think it’s okay to label themselves like that. You would think that they would have learned after our group’s last one-boy-one girl “relationship” broke up that this lifestyle will only ever end in unhappiness, but then they look at our school curriculum and it confuses them. Honestly, controversial topics like heterosexuality ought to be left out of the school environment altogether. When we bring things like this into the school situation, it just sets up our children for unhealthy relationships.
omfg so today I saw a man and a woman holding hands in public, i mean i don’t have anything against heterosexuality but don’t flaunt it in front of me, think of the kids omfg
My favorite one is, “come on Star Wars be original,” as if putting a man in the lead would be cutting edge stuff. Anyway…
