"have you quite finished being strange?"
Wednesday, 17 June 2009 14:03![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
usuallyhats
1.) It's hot and stuffy at work today and I haven't been sleeping well (went out to buy new earplugs at lunchtime (it was raining. Of course it was raining), hopefully that'll help), plus it's been busier than usual at work these last few days, so generally I'm a bit irritable and grumpy. Bah. But on the plus side, I got an exciting package from Big Finish today containing Benny audios and books (and another copy of last month's Vortex, anyone want it?), so hurray for that.
2.) Finished Un Lun Dun by China Miéville (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tigerpixie, this is the book that the_smut_fairy and I were talking about at last night's S'n'W) which I really loved: since it's a children's book, it's not as complex, twisty or grotesque as his other books, and the resolution is a lot more sign-posted, but it's still very satisfying. The main character is excellent and very convincingly real, and the whole book is full of inventiveness and puns, in a way that reminded me a little of Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series, which I also like. Though on the whole I think I prefer Un Lun Dun.
3.) Sadly I won't be able to go to this, because it looks like fun: flash pillow fight in Trafalgar Square!
4.) I watched DS9's 'Life Support', among other episodes, last Friday, and was really bothered by the B-plot, so much so that it's nearly a week later and I still feel moved to write about it. In the episode Nog and Jake go on a double date, in the course of which Nog says some incredibly sexist things to the two women, who eventually walk out - and are never seen again. The whole thing becomes about how Jake is embarrassed by Nog's behaviour, and how he has to come to terms with the fact that his friend has different cultural values to him. At no point does anyone, not even Sisko, suggest that maybe somebody should apologise to Leanne and Riska for how they were treated and the fact that their evening was ruined (Leanne, Jake's date, at least, seemed very keen to go out with him) and, in fact, they're barely even mentioned. I don't think Nog's date, Riska, ever gets an onscreen name. Sisko's advice to Jake boils down to "he's an alien, you should make allowances for his behaviour", which is all well and good except that in this situation it skirts perilously close to saying "it's not his fault he doesn't know any better, he's not as civilised as us." Which is pretty offensive, and frankly I expect better from DS9. Not imposing one's own values on other people is one thing, but you don't get the right to offend people just because it's traditional for you to do so. I also watched 'Heart of Stone', which I think suffered a little from following on right after 'Life Support': whatever you think of Bareil and the Kira/Bareil relationship (I am not a fan, it must be said), it seems a bit off to follow up the episode where he dies with one that's so much about Kira/Odo. And the Nog goes to Starfleet stuff I would have liked much more if I wasn't still angry about 'Life Support'.
5.) One last link: "Some 65 years after their service, the 300 surviving Women Airforce Service Pilots are being honored with the Congressional Gold Medal." Heartbreaking to read how these pilots' efforts and sacrifices were overlooked because of their gender, but wonderful that they're finally getting the recognition they deserve.
2.) Finished Un Lun Dun by China Miéville (
tigerpixie, this is the book that the_smut_fairy and I were talking about at last night's S'n'W) which I really loved: since it's a children's book, it's not as complex, twisty or grotesque as his other books, and the resolution is a lot more sign-posted, but it's still very satisfying. The main character is excellent and very convincingly real, and the whole book is full of inventiveness and puns, in a way that reminded me a little of Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series, which I also like. Though on the whole I think I prefer Un Lun Dun.3.) Sadly I won't be able to go to this, because it looks like fun: flash pillow fight in Trafalgar Square!
4.) I watched DS9's 'Life Support', among other episodes, last Friday, and was really bothered by the B-plot, so much so that it's nearly a week later and I still feel moved to write about it. In the episode Nog and Jake go on a double date, in the course of which Nog says some incredibly sexist things to the two women, who eventually walk out - and are never seen again. The whole thing becomes about how Jake is embarrassed by Nog's behaviour, and how he has to come to terms with the fact that his friend has different cultural values to him. At no point does anyone, not even Sisko, suggest that maybe somebody should apologise to Leanne and Riska for how they were treated and the fact that their evening was ruined (Leanne, Jake's date, at least, seemed very keen to go out with him) and, in fact, they're barely even mentioned. I don't think Nog's date, Riska, ever gets an onscreen name. Sisko's advice to Jake boils down to "he's an alien, you should make allowances for his behaviour", which is all well and good except that in this situation it skirts perilously close to saying "it's not his fault he doesn't know any better, he's not as civilised as us." Which is pretty offensive, and frankly I expect better from DS9. Not imposing one's own values on other people is one thing, but you don't get the right to offend people just because it's traditional for you to do so. I also watched 'Heart of Stone', which I think suffered a little from following on right after 'Life Support': whatever you think of Bareil and the Kira/Bareil relationship (I am not a fan, it must be said), it seems a bit off to follow up the episode where he dies with one that's so much about Kira/Odo. And the Nog goes to Starfleet stuff I would have liked much more if I wasn't still angry about 'Life Support'.
5.) One last link: "Some 65 years after their service, the 300 surviving Women Airforce Service Pilots are being honored with the Congressional Gold Medal." Heartbreaking to read how these pilots' efforts and sacrifices were overlooked because of their gender, but wonderful that they're finally getting the recognition they deserve.