#hundreds of years of sexism hit the same personality quite differently

[gebrochener-adler]

How would you play this character differently as the opposite gender?

//So this, is a very interesting thought experiment for two reasons. 

One: Austrian politics were extremely disdainful of women. They were seen as overly emotional and best suited for child rearing like many countries, but Austrian court life could be particularly controlling of it.

Two: Austria has always been fairly conservative, not a lot of high swings towards progressive movements even to this day.

So what happens when you apply this to a representative who is already reserved, a bit of a prude, and edgy? You get amplification. A female Austria would be even more hardline. She would have to fight to be seen as an equal among her peers in court life and would have to be even sharper with her tongue. Take Roderich and apply an even heavier strict school teacher Aura. This is a woman who takes no shit at any time from anyone. She would be extremely disdainful of any expressions of emotion or crying.

 This is a very repressed and blunt woman who has a hammer for a tongue and a very sharp and perceptive air.She would dress exceptionally conservatively.

While Roderich regards women as fairly equal due to having to fight a female representative from early in life, Ludmila as we’ll call her would be very quick to judgment, especially of women she sees as ‘flighty’ or ‘hysterical’. Since she would have been in a position where men consistently judge her based on their stereotypes of women, she would have a bit of what you might call internalized misogyny.It would be a lot harder to be friends, because she would be suspicious of even an apology. The hatred of the perception of pity is harsher because she’ll assume you have sympathy because of her sex.

 Austrian politics and the whole culture of the climate used to be very patriarchal and I think this sort of defensive edginess would only be amplified by an atmosphere like that.//

[lenskij]

The StoryGraph's Translation Challenge 2021 - a reflection

Today I just finished this 10 prompt reading challenge! I had so much fun doing it, especially since I’ve for years wanted to expand my reading beyond the same old and familiar I’ve been reading until now, but I didn’t come around to actually do it until I came across The StoryGraph's Translation Challenge 2021.

The rules are: pick a book for each prompt that has been translated from a language that isn’t English. For myself, I added another rule - it can’t be translated from any language I speak, either. I also wanted to find an individual book for each prompt - if there was a book that would fit in two prompts, I counted it for only one of them and chose another for the other.

I wanted to share my little translation journey with everyone here, hence this post. The prompts, what book I chose for each, and my thoughts on them are below the cut!

Also: I’m always on the lookout for non-English books! Bonus points if they’re from outside of Europe ^w^ Hit me up with your recommendations!

1. A translated fantasy or sci-fi novel

Stanisław Lem: Солярис (Solaris) Translated from Polish to Russian by Д. Брускин

This book has been living on my sister’s bookshelf for years, and while I was visiting her I read it. It didn’t impress me in any way, it felt like any regular old sci-fi, although a bit creepy (and just a lil dash of sexism).

2. A book written by a Black woman in translation

Marie NDiaye: La Cheffe (La Cheffe) Translated from French to Swedish by Maria Björkman

This is a lovely novel, even if it focused on French food - and the detailed descriptions reminded me that French food is overrated. I loved the character la Cheffe, it was highly enjoyable to read about her relationship to people and her profession, and the narrator had sweet heart eyes that shined through the text.

3. A translated book originally published before 1950

Choderlos de Laclos: Farliga förbindelser (Les Liaisons dangereuses) Translated from French to Swedish by Arvid Enckell.

This prompt was the easiest to fulfill, and I had several choices for it. I've spoken about this book elsewhere on this here blog - it's morbidly fascinating to read about terrible, terrible people.

4. A translated non-fiction book

Romaric Godin: Klasskriget i Frankrike (La guerre sociale en France) Translated from French to Swedish by Johan Wollin

For this prompt, I went to a local bookstore and asked the seller for help. She had to dig around for a while before she found something that wasn't originally written in English - like she pointed out, most academics choose to write in English, even if they're not native speakers.

I picked this one because I've seen snapshots of the yellow wests in the news, but I know barely any of the context. Although the book is short, it's a pretty detailed overview of recent French economic history, with an emphasis on explaining why and how French neo-liberalism ended up looking like it is today (and why French neo-liberalism is different from the neo-liberalism in the rest od Europe). This tickled my inner economics nerd.

5. A translated novel 500 pages or longer

Isabel Allende: Andarnas hus (La Casa de los Espíritus) Translated from Spanish to Swedish by Lena Anér Melin

Another book that has been sitting on my sister's shelf! I absolutely loved it - a family saga, in a time of social change. Look, my favourite part about any book is when the characters feel like humans, even if they're not relatable, I can still understand them.

6. A book translated from Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish or Icelandic

Vigdis Hjorth: Arv och miljö (Arv og miljø) Translated from Norwegian to Swedish by Ninni Holmqvist

In my case, it meant a book translated from either Danish, Norwegian or Icelandic (I do have to pepper in the fact that I'm a polyglot, after all). It's my sister who recommended it to me, and she was right when she said this was good! I loved the three separate timelines, the prose, and the family drama.

7. A translated book by a South American author

María Sonia Cristoff: Håll mig utanför (Inclúyanme afuera) Mariana Enríquez: Det vi förlorade i elden (Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego)Translated from Spanish to Swedish by Hanna Axén

What? Two books?? Yes, when I searched the library catalogue it spit out these two - because they have the same translator - and since they both seemed interesting I checked both of them out.

Unfortunately, these are the two books of this challenge that I liked the least. The first one didn't have a premise that worked with me - the main character chose to listen more than she spoke for a year as an experiment, and as an introvert, to whom this is how I've always lived my life, it was hard for me to understand what the big deal was.

The second was just my personal taste - these short stories had bloody ghosts, and ended abruptly without quite resolving the story - that creepiness just doesn't vibe with me.

8. A translated book by a Chinese author

Eileen Chang: Ett halvt liv av kärlek (Banshengyuan) Translated from Chinese to Swedish by Anna Gustafsson Chen

After quite a slow start I suddenly was drawn into this book. It's such a lovely read on when life doesn't always work out the way you want, and you still do your best to be happy. It felt very real, without being a 'happily ever after', or it's opposite of endless tears - that sweet middle ground spot.

9. A book translated from Arabic

Rajaa Alsanea: Flickorna från Riyadh (Banāt al-Riyāḍ) Translated from Arabic to Swedish by Tetz Rooke

I found this when messing around with the "similar books"-algorithm on Storygraph (I've just finished Unmarriageable, and liked it a so much I wanted to find something similar). When this one popped out I noticed the Arabic author name, and checked it out from the library. I've actually never read any book set in the Middle East, and I loved seeing a glimpse of life there (naturally, this isn't a comprehensive illustration - the main characters were all from well-off families). The most interesting thing was how the characters adjusted their behaviour as they travelled between Europe and Saudi Arabia - the social rules are different depending on where you are (and if you meet a fellow Saudi in London, your day is ruined - because suddenly you have to behave in accordance to Saudi rules).

10. A book translated from a language spoken in India

Vivek Shanbhag: Ghachar ghochar (Ghāchar ghōchar) Translated from Kannada to English by Srinath Perur; translated to Swedish by Peter Samuelsson

At first I was cranky about that this is a translation of a translation - but in the acknowledgements I read that it was the author's request that the book is to be translated from English. I assume it's because the English translator already has made the inevitable tradeoffs between language and form, which the author approved, and so the Swedish translator wouldn't have to make the decisions all over again.

This was a short book, just over a hundred pages. It barely had any plot, but it didn't need any - the description of the family members' relationship to each other was juicy enough.

In conclusion

This challenge was a great opportunity for me to also try genres I never would have tried otherwise - I was limited to what my library had, and especially for the smaller languages, it's a limited choice. I've been talking about this translation challenge to everyone I know because I've had so much fun! And the best part is - it's only ten prompts. That means I wouldn't need to scram to finish it in time, even while also reading the regular same old books I do still want to read. While I'm waiting for the 2022 challenge, I'll be doing another round for these prompts - I've already checked out a short story collection originally written in Tamil, and a nonfiction about Syrian resistance originally written in Arabic :)

[comingoutofthecauldron]

let’s talk about lesbophobia in fandom

i don’t like to use the word “lesbophobia” unironically because of all the gross radfem terfy connotations, so i will clarify right off the bat that i am neither a terf nor an aphobe and that if you are i want you off my blog like, right now. unfortunately, the meaning of lesbophobia has been so warped by alt right lesbians that seeing it in an unironic context makes me, a lesbian, uncomfortable, which speaks volumes in itself. so to clarify, lesbophobia is essentially homophobia with a pinch of sexism thrown into the mix, and it’s running rampant in supposed safe spaces and, more relevantly, fandom. 

/i’d also like to clarify that i’m not only speaking on lesbophobia, but also the general disgust and disdain for all wlw in fandom, and am using it as a sort of umbrella term/

lesbophobia and disdain for wlw has been around forever, but whilst gay positivity, mlm and mlm ships have been steadily increasing in popularity within fandom over time, wlw and wlw ships have remained perpetual underdogs. why? because lesbophobia has become a fandom within itself. both in and outside of fandom, we see instances of casual lesbophobia every single day—from aggression towards wlw to something as simple and prevalent as the complete and utter lack of sapphic ships and characters in media. hatred of lesbians and wlw is practically a trend, and it’s seeping in through the cracks of fandoms who are already facing issues with minorities and marginalized groups (i.e. racism, ableism). if you honestly think that lesbophobia isn’t prevalent as hell in fandom right now, you’re either not a wlw, you’re not all that involved in fandom, or you’re dumb as shit. 

just look at ships. in almost every single fandom, the ratio of mlm ships to sapphic ships is ridiculously unbalanced. people are quick to ship male characters who so much as smile at each other (and i don’t condemn that) but would never do the same for two women—even on the rare occasion that the ship is actually canon. i once wrote a wlw fanfic for a [predominantly straight] fandom, and received messages like this gem:

on the flip side of that, if there is a sapphic ship in canon or fanon, it is often fetishized and sexualised to a disturbing degree. there will be double the amount of nsfw art and fics, and ninety percent of it will be derogatory and fetishized as hell. having been actively involved in several fandoms over the past few years (and currently a content creator in one), i’ve seen instances of all this hundreds of times. people go crazy for mlm ships, but the second you say you ship/prefer a wlw ship, there’s always someone at the ready with, “i think all ships are great!” or “it’s not a contest” or “i prefer [insert m/m or m/f ship] actually” or “they’re my brotp!/why can’t you just let them be friends?”. not only do lesbians and wlw not get to have any rep in media, any rep that they try to create for themselves in fandom just gets attacked or ruined. this is so detrimental not only to all wlw, but especially to younger wlw who will end up being indoctrinated into this belief that their sexuality is something dirty, something that can never be tender and sweet but rather something that deserves to be preyed upon. 

building on that, let’s talk about engagement. i run an instagram account (where i have a significantly bigger following) as well as this blog for my fandom, where i post the content i create (mainly text posts). when i first started creating content, i made a lot for a relatively unpopular wlw ship, in which both girls are canonically romantically involved with a dude—though one of them is canonically pan. their canonical m/f ships are both very popular, and i noticed that my engagement was dropping every time i posted them, so i eventually just stopped. it wasn’t even a conscious decision; i merely resigned myself to the fact that the fandom didn’t want to see sapphic ships, and some people would even go as far as to condemn them. for reference, my instagram posts get an average of about 500 likes per post (popular ones usually exceeding 1k), but when i post this ship, my engagement drops to about 250 likes. similarly, my tumblr text posts have an average of about 140 notes per post (popular ones usually reaching up to 750), but my wlw content rarely surpasses 100. this just feeds the cycle of wlw never getting rep: if, like me, content creators become disincentivised by the lack of engagement with their sapphic content, they’re more likely to stop making/posting it, leading to further lack of rep—and when new content creators try to rectify that, they face the same problems. 

and then, of course, there’s the treatment of actual wlw in fandom. my best example of this is when my friend and i made an anti account on instagram (the first instagram anti account in that fandom), our bio saying something like “salty and bitter lesbians being salty and bitter”, and received an onslaught of lesbophobic insults and threats from angry stans within hours. (tw: r*pe) one commenter even went as far as to tell us that they wanted us to get r*ped. as well as this, i’ve seen so many instances of people using slurs against lesbians in arguments/in anons, often for no apparent reason other than they feel that they have the right. when i first mentioned i was a lesbian on instagram, my account only had about 200 followers, and within a day i lost 20. i also lose followers whenever i post f/f ships, not quite to that extent but enough for it to be noticeable, on top of the aforementioned engagement dips. in the face of all this adversity, i think a lot of wlw turn to mlm ships because they’re the closest thing we have to actual rep, but when we do we get accused of fetishizing them by the same people who fetishize us. there’s an endless list of double standards that non-wlw have been upholding for years, and i can firmly say that i’m really fucking sick of it. because of our sexuality, we will never be allowed to enjoy something without someone labelling it or us as dirty or otherwise problematic, when to them, the only problematic thing about us is that we aren’t pleasing men. 

as i mentioned before, the lack of rep for wlw in media is appallingly consistent, and part of that stems from tokenism. in a lot of modern mainstream media, you’ll have one, maybe two lgbt characters, and nine times out of ten those characters are white cis male gays. of course, there are exceptions to this, but generally, that’s it. script writers and authors (especially cishets) seem to have this mentality of, “oh, well, we gave them one, that’s sure to be enough!”, which means that on the off chance you do get your gay rep, the likelihood of also receiving wlw or any other kind of rep becomes practically non-existant. this belief that all marginalized groups are the same and that one represents all is what leads to misrepresentation on top of lack of rep, which is what makes tokenism so dangerous. if you treat your only gay character badly, you are essentially treating every single gay person badly in that universe. so not only is lesbophobia and disdain for wlw harmful to sapphic women via their exclusion in media, it’s also harming those minorities who do get rep. when people try to defend lesbophobic source material, that’s when fandom starts to get toxic. the need for critical thinking has never been more apparent and it has also never been less appeased—and wlw are getting hit hard by it, as always.

finally, a pretty big driving factor of lesbophobia is, ironically, lesbians. my lesbian friends and i often joke that though everyone seems to hate us, no one hates lesbians more than lesbians do. though i’d say it’s most prevalent on tumblr, i see traces of it all over the internet. the growth of alt right lesbian movements is not only reinforcing hatred for lesbians, but also reinforcing hatred for bi and pan women. here you have these terrible lesbians using their platforms to express their disgust for bi/pan women, for aces and aros, for trans women/nb lesbians, and people see them and say, “gosh, lesbians are just awful.” and just like that, all of us are evil. occasionally, lesbian blogs that i follow get put on terf blocklists for no other reason than the fact that they have “lesbian” in their bio. and the lesbians that actually deserve to be on those blocklists? they’re too busy spewing misinformation about trans women and bi women to care, boosted up by their alt right friends in an ever-expanding movement. i’ve found that this heavily influences fandom on tumblr, lesbians often getting branded as “biphobic” when they hc a female character as a lesbian rather than bi or pan. this criticism of both lesbians and wlw by lesbians and non-wlw alike only ever allows lesbophobia to grow, both in and out of fandom. that said, lesbians aren’t to blame for their own discrimination; rather, many of us have been conditioned into subconsciously endorsing it after spending our entire lives hearing heterosexual platitudes about lesbians and sapphic relationships. homophobic cishets are and always have been the nexus of this oppression—the only difference is that now they can hide behind alt right lesbians.

one thing has been made apparent to me throughout my time in fandom, and that thing is that no one likes to see men “underrepresented”. people hate sapphic ships and lesbians so much because there is no room for men, and men Do Not Like That. so, like the worms that they are, they slither their way in, be it through fetishization or condemnation of wlw characters and ships, and they ruin whatever good things we have going for us. the thing about worms, though, is that they’re easy enough to crush if you’re wearing the right shoes.

so to all my bi/pan gals and lesbian pals: put on your doc martens, because we’ve got ourselves some lesbophobes to stomp on. 

[scoundrels-in-love]

Rainy recommends Kdramas

So I was slightly encouraged to make a kdrama rec list and, of course, I went overboard and went and wrote a long-ass list, but if it helps even one person, I will be happy. Besides, it’s excuse for me to rant about dramas I love and you know I can’t pass that up.

This list will be divided in multiple parts because I am a troubled watched. The titles will explain. (Genres I’ve written as per my opinion and are listed in alphabetic order cause I can’t decide how to do it otherwise, and dramas are too.) I also stopped added humor genre because most of these dramas have a fair share of humor and kept the tag only for the ones that felt purposely humor-made.

Disclaimer: This list is purely my opinion and I will not fight anyone who dislikes any drama listed here and I hope you will not fight with me. Or unfollow me. #awkward laughter. Also let it be noted I have at least one issue with each of these dramas, I do not proclaim anything perfect.

And now, finally, onto actual fic rec list, under the cut.

Kdramas I’ve 100% watched

Goblin Drama - Fantasy - Romance There seems to be only people who love it to pieces or quite profoundly dislike it. Obviously, I belong to the first group. It’s a visually stunning story that draws you in, makes you laugh your heart out and then sets it on fire. I tagged this as drama for a reason! In a way, it’s story of humankind, both at its worst and best. It’s a story of 300+ year old men being total adorable dorks. Of love and friendships that can be lost in twists of fate, but transcend a lifetime. It comes with 2 OTPs and no love triangles in conventional sense, OST that might blow your mind in best way and cinematography that takes breath away. Beware if your squick is visual age difference, though!! If not, watch away and beware: (lots of) tears may be shed.

Go Ho’s Starry Night Office Romance - Romance - Slice of Life A short and lovely watch that may surprise you. It tears into such topics as sexism, bigotry, prejudices and others, while not being too in your face about it.  As I once said,  It has all the good things of romcoms, but somehow pretty much deals with the fallout what would come with one. What’s more, it appeals to my love of jerks with heart of gold trope, in most pleasant way. Entertaining fun that isn’t all empty.

Hello Monster / I Remember You Crime - Family - Drama - Romance Though I added romance tag, this is just a side factor in grand scheme of things, though it does not feel forced and is emotionally satisfying. This is story of mistakes, of losing and finding what matters, of situations where there is no right answer. One of my greatest draws to this series was the acting, especially by three important men. Psychos that are so charismatic it hurts. Ambiguous good guys. All that good stuff.

It’s Okay, That’s Love Drama - Medical (sort of) - Psychological - Romance It’s not spoken of much and I feel the need to always rectify that, because while it might not be the most accurate portrayal of mental health care or even these issues, for me, while it might end up brushing over the end of some plot points a little too easily, there were many things that screamed deep and personal to me, that made me cry again and again as I stayed up till 5am to watch the final episodes because I could not stop anymore. Perhaps it’s one of those hits-one-in-a-hundred watch, but do give it a try, move past the eyeroll of first episodes and the male lead you may dislike (or female). What’s more, the acting is amazing and it’s chockfull with lovable side characters that have/create great and meaningful relationships and friendships.

Kill Me, Heal Me Drama -  Psychological - Romance What can I say, this drama is an experience on its own. It may lack in psychological accuracy and the female lead may seem like a screeching harpy at the start, but overall it’s very emotional ride with amazing acting and made me feel and cry quite a bit. At one point, if certain song came on, I knew I’d probably cry! But it’s not all sadness and gloom, in fact there’s so much humor and funny moments they’re brought up through drama cracks years later. And the male lead’s acting may just floor you. 7 (!) different characters and they all truly feel different, grow and change subtly.

Shopping King Louis Humor - Romance - Slice of Life Definitely a feel-good watch of chaebol (rich heir) and girl from countryside living in the capital and navigating the difficulties together. It’s cute, wacky and all around adorable, until it suddenly makes you quiver lip a little. It’s easy, sugary brain food and sometimes we need just that. (+ Male lead is played by same actor as in Hello Monster and the vast differences between characters are likely to wow you.)

Splash Splash Love Fantasy - Historical - Romance -  Time Travel If you want to spend 2 hours with easy, lovable watch, this may just be your thing. I heard a lot of positive feedback about it and thought it couldn’t be that great, but somehow it was! Pretty costumes? Check. Time Traveling? Check. Modern gadget shenanigans in historical era? Check. Sweet and troubled love? Check. Happy ending? Check. Don’t expect it to answer all your questions, it won’t, but face value of it is still worth it!

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo College/High School  - Romance  - Slice of Life My first drama and I would suggest it as first to watch for others, too. While the humor and even the characters may make you roll your eyes sometime, the theme of growing up and dealing with new and old wounds is handled with love and wiseness of heart. The eventual couple is amazing sorta enemies to friends to lovers trope embodiment and absolutely adorable. It’s a feel-good watch, until angst comes and smacks you in the face, and then you’re crying and healing along with the characters. The acting is excellent, it’s visually beautiful and there’s something charming about it. Give it a try, even if slice of life and college content isn’t your cup of tea. They aren’t mine either.

Kdramas I’ve not 100% finished, but I have watched most of it + finished with gifs, meta and clips and am still absolutely recommending and 100% plan to finish when I am emotionally and physically capable

20th Century Boy and Girl Friendship - Romance  - Slice of Life A drama lot of people ‘slept’ on because it was so quiet and subtle in some ways, and perhaps the writer was not quite sure what to do with it in the end, stretching some things far too long and not even delivering an upgrade, but... Somehow, I like(d) it a lot. So, so, so much. The female friendship of it made my heart soar, the gently blossoming romances made me physically grin so much it hurt and there were so many good, unusual dynamics about it you don’t usually see in a kdrama. If you’re in for a boat ride down a beautiful, slow and wide river where sometimes there’s a sudden bump with group of wonderful friends, this may be drama for you.

Because This is My First Life Friendship - Subtle Drama - Romance - Slice of Life Another girl friendship story. Well, it’s not just about girl friendship, but without it, the story wouldn’t be half of what it was. For me, this drama hit a lot personal spots, with our girls who are 30, but are still looking for their way in life and getting lost and finding themselves. It’s gentle, painful and reassuring all at once, there are tropes and then they’re flipped on the head in most amazing ways. The romance is slow and strange and pretty much wonderful. Maybe the characterization suffers a little in the end, but overall, I think when I do finish it, I will be satisfied and moved and feel like it was fitting conclusion for characters whose stories are in quite unique. And by this, I don’t mean just our main couple, but essentially the whole supporting cast, even rather minor characters!

School 2017 Friendship - High School - Romance - Slice of Life I am not one for high school stuff, and I don’t know when I will properly watch and finish this, but I do know I want to. Why? Because it gives me lovely characters with issues both on the superficial and deep level, fitting and transcending age group the characters are in. It’s well acted and has lovely friendships, a cute romance that is right up my alley, as it’s boy goes from fight me @ world to smitten kitten for his girl and also a lovely story of finding yourself as you grow up.

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon Fantasy/Superpowers - Humor - Romance This is a problematic favorite of mine, personally.  You won’t stick with this drama for plot, but you may for an OTP that consists of kookie, super strong girl and rich CEO who hires her to be his bodyguard because he’s already 10 feet in love with her despite his denial. It’s the ‘powerful women and pretty boys who would die for them’ trope incarnate, the heartgame is so strong you feel it through the screen. And yes, there are issues with side characters, with consistency, too many jokes about pee and so forth, but if you want any of what’s mentioned above + some feels, this may be for you.

Suspicious Partner Crime - Romance This drama may have benefited from being few episodes shorter and better pacing of romantic and crime story lines, but overall, it’s one that’s likely to draw you in and feel for the characters. It’s not just the main couple that are straight up adorable, especially when they can get beyond that I’m distancing/hiding things for your safety/happiness point, but plenty of interesting side characters with meaningful relationships and stories to tell. Besides, the acting’s wonderful and Ji Wook is one of most likable and considerate male leads (other than hiding things aspect) I’ve ever seen in kdrama (or anywhere). His confession speech is just, #swoon.

While You Were Sleeping Crime - Fantasy - Romance It’s a drama that started strong and then puttered out some, but if you’re in for a story that once again asks questions ‘what would you do if you saw future’ and gives it’s own kind of answers, this may be for you. It’s got interesting characters, cute romance and lovely friendships are made along the way, as they struggle with some truly difficult problems of morality and otherwise.

Things I have started, kept up with via media and have mixed feelings about, but still kind of am fascinated by, so I suggest you give them a try

Black (tagged on my blog as OCN Black so there’s no mistags) Crime - Fantasy - Romance (??) Personal Status - Unfinished, plan to finish It’s a wild mess, but intriguing one. I did not get further than 4 eps yet, but I do plan to try. The acting is pretty good, the story’s very twisted and I have heard mixed reactions to the way its solved, but it strays so far from anything I’ve ever watched I can’t help but be kind of drawn to it. It’s got tons of gory and/or disgusting moments, though, as its humor kind of rides on that, so be warned.

Tomorrow With You Drama - Time Travel - Psychological - Romance Personal Status - Unfinished, but plan to finish This one is a strange one, because it’s slow and with awkward push and pull dynamics, but and at the same time, that’s what makes it so real it hurts. You might want to punch some senses in characters at times, but that’s how we just are, especially if we are as troubled and traumatized as our leads. It’s a story of learning, growing as a person and healing and perhaps, if it was that, I’d be done with it and added it to the bottom list, but the eventual crime aspect felt jarring to me and I got frustrated with that story line and lost part of confidence my questions could be answered and whole drama wrapped up well. It’s just so emotionally and psychologically meaty and good otherwise, I am afraid to head into disappointment. But one day, I will wrap it up and judge for myself. W / W of Two Worlds Drama - Fantasy - Romance Personal Status - Unfinished, plan to finish Perhaps the one drama I ruined watching of to myself because of spoilers and now I can’t bear to watch the rest, unsure if I will be part of love or hate group (another one to divide the followers very deeply). What I can say, though, is that I loved the start of it, it really doesn’t hesitate to surprise you and make you think, especially if you are any sort of content creator. Very likely to make you Feel at some point.

Kdramas I plan to watch, but already love because of meta, clips and other content I’ve seen

Fight For My Way Friendship - Romance - Slice of Life Hwayugi Fantasy - Romance

Just Between Lovers Drama - Psychological - Romance - Slice of Life

I can’t say much about any of these, but at the same time, I feel like there’s lot to be said. Especially about Just Between Lovers, which, so far, appears to be the top tier Drama drama, with traumatized characters, profound storytelling and a way to both wrap you up in warmth and devastate you.

Kdramas that I’ve heard a lot of good about/have been recommended to me/I may be planning to watch

Age of Youth 1 and 2 - Another Miss Oh - Bring it on, Ghost - Cheese in Trap - Chicago Typewriter - Coffee Prince - Descendants of the Sun - Go Back Couple - Healer - My Love From Another Star - Pinocchio - Reply series - Save Me - Signal - The K2

[brigdh]

A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee. A YA novel starring Monty, eldest son of an Earl in mid-1700s England, his childhood neighbor/best friend Percy, and his sister Felicity. The three of them are just about to begin a Grand Tour of Europe, their last summer of freedom and fun before Monty has to buckle down and behave like a noble heir, Percy starts law school, and Felicity is shipped off to a finishing school. Unfortunately none of them are particularly looking forward to their futures. Monty is very cheerfully bisexual, and has engaged in romps, gambling, drinking, and drugs to the point of being kicked out of Eton. Percy is mixed-race (the son of a plantation owner, though raised by his aunt and uncle, minor gentry) and though he's tolerated, his existence isn't always well-regarded in their circles. Felicity is pissed off about being doomed to learn embroidery and manners instead of going to medical school to become a doctor. Oh, and Monty is desperately in love with Percy, but is afraid to tell him and lose his friendship. This is just the beginning – as the book gets going, there are also revelations about epilepsy, child abuse, insane asylums, and more. It's not all serious, though. In fact, most of the book is light-hearted fun: there are encounters with highwaymen, battles with pirates, parties at Versailles, Carnevale in Venice, villas on Greek islands, operas, fortune tellers, hostage exchanges, escaping thieves, and basically every adventure one could imagine in 18th century Europe. There's even a plot about alchemists and an elixir of immortality which, to tell the truth, felt a bit out of place in the otherwise historically-based book. And, of course, there is lots and lots of pining as Monty and Percy engage in the most excellent sort of romantic-comedy suspense, yearning and avoiding telling the truth about their feelings. A++, that bit. My main complaint with the book is that Lee tries very earnestly to handle appropriately the issues of social justice she includes (racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia), but every one of the ensuing conversations feels very 2017-approved, with every term the correct vocabulary, every checkbox checked, every privilege painstakingly unpacked. Not that such views couldn't – didn't! – exist in the past, but the way Lee portrays them doesn't seem to relate to the characters or setting at all. They don't arise out of the environment of the book, but are dropped in wholesale from an outside perspective that wants to be sure we know the right way to think. And then there's the moment where one character tells another about how the Japanese mend broken pottery with gold seams, see, so that the broken places end up more beautiful than the whole, and it's meant to be a profound moment but it's just so embarrassingly like this person in the 1700s is reading off a tumblr post. But nonetheless it's a funny, sweet book, if not quite as good as I expected when I heard "Gay Roadtrip through 18th Century Europe". What it reminds me most of all is reading an AU from a fandom you don't know. Maybe the characterization and setting isn't always that great but you don't care because it's not your fandom. It has the tropes you love and you can't wait to see the couple get together at the end, so you stay up late reading it on your phone. A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is that experience in original fiction. Seven Surrenders by Ada Palmer. The sequel to Too Like the Lightning which I absolutely LOVED. However I really should not have waited seven months to read this one, because I'd forgotten some of the characters and plots and this is a series jam-packed with multitudes of characters and plots, and you better have every miniscule bit of such details ready at your fingertips to have a chance of following the action. To briefly summarize the plot (a task that's probably impossible, but I'll try to hit the main points) in the 25th century the world has more or less become a Utopia. Nations have been abolished, religion banished to the private sphere, and gendered distinctions made it illegal; to all outward appearances, it is a world with no reason to go to war. Unfortunately it turns out that all of this has been made possible through carefully targeted assassinations, picking off key individuals to guide the world away from war, riots, major economic downturns, etc. Not many – about nine a year, on average, for the last two hundred years. This information sets off a flurry of activity as the characters take sides, variously trying to figure out the conspiracy behind it, hide the perpetrators, uncover proof, keep the public from finding out, and broadcast the secret to as many people as possible. When several world leaders turn out to be involved, chaos breaks out worldwide. It's not just drama, though; behind the action scenes is the frequently repeated question of if it was such a bad plan after all. Is it worth losing a few lives to prevent the millions of deaths that would happen in war? Seven Surrenders is all about the philosophical dilemma. In addition to the one above, we get multiple debates over the riddle, 'would you destroy this world to save a better one?', and 'If God has revealed proof of His existence, why did He chose you above every human who's ever prayed to believe? And, more importantly, why now?' There is speculation about the power of gender, of sexual attraction, of the effect of raising children as experiments, of the role of Providence in life, of what it would mean for two Gods to meet, of how one conducts a war when there are no living veterans to teach the next generation. But there's plenty of action too – the book includes revelations of secret parentage, long-lost loves, a revenge story worthy of the Count of Monte Cristo, bombs, murders, resurrections, suicide attempts, cute kids, so many disguises, sword fights, gun battles, horse chases, and more. Ultimately I didn't like it as much as Too Like the Lightning. It just didn't feel as deep or as grand, possibly because so much stuff was happening that none of it got enough exploration. One of the most best character arcs (Bridger's) happened mostly offstage, and many of the other characters were too busy reacting to the constantly changing political winds to have a real arc. I still recommend it, because it's just so different from everything else and I have to support an author who mashes up transportation science with Diderot's philosophy. But if you read it, definitely don't wait months between books. The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry. A murder mystery, the first in a series set in Victorian London. Charlotte is the middle daughter of a middle-class family, believed by all to be firmly unmarriageable but happy enough with her staid life. The book opens with the murder of a young well-off woman, then Charlotte's maid is also murdered, as are several others. There is no apparent connection between the victims except that they're all young woman, all live nearby, and all were strangled. Inspector Thomas Pitt is assigned the case, and he begins to spend a great deal of time talking to Charlotte – first just to interview her regarding the murders, but then for her own sake. But will Charlotte's family allow her to marry a... policeman??? There are several interesting things about the book. Set very specifically in 1881 (which is to say, before Jack the Ripper) the very idea of a serial killer – as opposed to a thief who murders for money – is new and shocking to most of the characters. So is the concept that such a criminal could appear "normal", that rather than being a dirty, lower-class raving lunatic, it could be a respected neighbor or even a member of their own family. These are such self-evident ideas to modern people (and most characters in mystery books) that seeing Charlotte and the others wrestle with them, discuss their ramifications, and feel guilty for suspecting their husbands and fathers was pretty fascinating. I also liked that the family was so solidly middle-class. Historical fiction has a habit of gravitating toward extremes: everyone is either upper aristocracy or enduring the most grueling poverty. A family of boring bank clerks actually made for a refreshing change. Unfortunately those are the only good things I have to say about the book. The middle 2/3rds of the story drags along interminably, as nothing happens except for characters having the same few discussions over and over again. Charlotte suspects her father! First she must have a conversation about it with her mother. Then her younger sister. Then her older sister. Then her mother and the older sister talk. Then the older sister talks about it to her husband. Then... Well, you get the idea. And it's not as though each new character was bringing a fresh perspective and insight to the issue! No, we just get the same few protests and agreements recycled over and over in slightly different wordings. It's such an awful slog that I nearly abandoned the book. However, I stuck it out to the end, only to be rewarded with the reveal of the killer (warning for spoilers, I guess): a lesbian who has been driven mad by repressing her sexuality! You know, I don't think I've ever actually encountered this awful cliche in the wild before. It would almost be exciting, if it wasn't so offensive. Though there's not a lot of time to be offended, because the reveal, motivation, attack on Charlotte, rescue, and arrest all happen in the last two pages (literally) so none of it is exactly dwelt on. It's probably all for the best that I disliked this book. It's the first in a 32-book series, and now I don't feel any desire to read the rest.

(DW link for easier commenting)(Also goddamn, I am so far behind on putting up my book reviews, you guys. So prepare for a lot of that.)

[blogevangelinelove-blog]

The system has recovered from a serious error

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[tmmsradio-blog]

Online activists hit hatemongers Alex Jones—in the wallet where it really counts.

Is Sleeping Giants a “leftist group that organizes social media mobs” or “a service to advertisers”? by Margaret Sullivan Media Columnist August 12 at 4:00 PM Email the author Shortly before the 2016 presidential election, Matt Rivitz stumbled upon the Breitbart News website, which once called itself the “home of the alt-right.” He was appalled by what he saw, including stories tagged “black crime.” He wanted to do something about what he viewed as obvious racism. And as someone who had spent two decades in the advertising industry, he knew just how. So, working anonymously, the San Francisco resident founded Sleeping Giants. The name may sound daunting, but at first it was little more than a Twitter account that publicly notified companies when their ads appeared on Breitbart, asking if they really wanted to support the content there. Hundreds of them eventually decided to pull their ads from the site. “I’ve seen it as a service to advertisers — we’re calling on them to have a conscience,” Rivitz, 45, told me last week in one of his first interviews since the conservative Daily Caller “unmasked” his identity last month. A Breitbart story, touting the revelation of Rivitz’s identity, described Sleeping Giants as “the anonymous leftist group that organizes social media mobs in an effort to silence conservative voices.” Rivitz sees it quite differently. Many companies, because of the nature of how digital ads are bought and placed, are unaware that they are supporting sites — or media personalities — whose far-right or bigoted views don’t mesh with their corporate values. Sleeping Giants used the same techniques to put pressure on advertisers on Bill O’Reilly’s show, after the Fox News superstar had been credibly charged with sexual harassment (and had secretly settled a claim from a network contributor for $32 million). Advertisers deserted the show — and O’Reilly no longer works at Fox. Similarly, it alerted advertisers about their presence on Laura Ingraham’s show after she mocked one of the teenage survivors of the Parkland, Fla., shooting in a scathing tweet. She returned after a hiatus. As recently as last week, Ingraham still was spouting barely disguised racism: “The America we know and love doesn’t exist anymore. Massive demographic changes have been foisted on the American people, and they are changes that none of us ever voted for, and most of us don’t like . . . this is related to both illegal and legal immigration.” And for months, Rivitz (and about 10 others who volunteer with him at Sleeping Giants) have been trying to do something about Alex Jones, whose online presence — hosted by Facebook, Spotify, YouTube and others — has spread conspiracy theories that have plagued the parents of children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre. Last week, many of the platforms finally dumped Jones. “We’ve been tweeting at every platform for about a year,” Rivitz told me, pointing out how Jones was violating the clearly stated “terms of service” of the various platforms which typically forbid harassment. While Rivitz, a freelance copywriter for ad agencies and companies, is not going so far as to say that Sleeping Giants is responsible for Jones’s being kicked off the platforms, he has reason to think it was a factor. Just days before Apple banned Jones for hate speech (setting off the domino effect for other platforms), Rivitz said, “a few members of our community tweeted at two podcasting apps, Stitcher and OvercastFM, to ask them why they still carried Jones.” Representatives of the apps explained that they were following Apple’s lead, but they both ended up banning Jones on their own. With this as leverage, Sleeping Giants then asked Apple why it was not enforcing its own guidelines for acceptable content. “We, of course, didn’t hear back, but two days later, Apple banned him,” Rivitz said. The whole process of applying concerted social-media pressure raises profound questions. What happens when these same techniques are used not to point out bigotry but to go after legitimate comment or personalities by twisting the facts? “For better and worse, online activists have shown just how easily the digital economy allows agitators to make web publishers feel their pain,” wrote Osita Nwanevu in Slate, comparing Sleeping Giants to an effort all the way across the political spectrum — the Gamergate movement’s successful targeting of Gawker’s advertisers in 2014 as they made the hypocritical case to advertisers that Gawker supported bullying. Rivitz notes that Sleeping Giants has never called for a boycott. It has merely — but insistently — pointed out to companies that they are advertising in places that may not be compatible with their corporate image. (Amazon, whose founder Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post, is one company that hasn’t changed its advertising in response, despite many efforts by Sleeping Giants.) To those who sympathize with Sleeping Giants’ objections to online racism, sexism and hate-mongering — count me in this number — their efforts seem worthwhile, sometimes even noble. Media companies like Fox and sewer-dwellers like Jones need their feet held to the fire in a way that matters. Money talks — and the loss of money absolutely shouts. The rest of the story is here: Perspective | Online activists hit hatemongers like Alex Jones where it hurts the most — in the wallet Read the full article

[moosterrecords]

D.O.A., Canada's legendary pioneering punks who set the bar high for punk and basically invented hardcore, are ready to rip it up on the occasion of their 40th anniversary. They have a brand new album called Fight Back and they are embarking on a worldwide tour to support this impressive new effort. The "Men of Action" are ready to take on all opposition and lay down a punk rock path of wild music and free thought. Their rough and ready line up is led by the godfather of Hardcore, Joe Shithead Keithley (guitar, vocals) he is more than ably accompanied by the manic rhythm section of Paddy Duddy (drums) and Corkscrew (bass).

Early reviews indicate that Fight Back is the most innovative D.O.A. album since War on 45. D.O.A. has always been right on the pulse of what's going on in our screwed up world. Fight Back deals with what we have left, which in a lot of ways, is not much. "When you really think about it, income inequality and disparity is at the root of a lot huge problems, like environmental degradation, war, sexism and hate" said Keithley who has been fighting the good fight for the last 40 years. It's why he's made TALK - ACTION = 0 his lifelong mantra. Fight Back, released on Joe's own label Sudden Death Records, is a scathing and timely piece. Joe deals with all manner of unseemly low characters and issues. The album opens with acerbic "You Need an Ass Kickin' Right Now," next rips right into the startling "Killer Cops," then smashes into the anthemic "Time To Fight Back," which is street punk resistance at its fiercest. The album proceeds with the timely "Gonna Set You Straight" with violent and natural ease, and continues with the vitriolic "I Just Got Back From the USA." Then, the album takes a funny twist with "We Won't Drink This Piss" (down with bad corporate beer!) and "You Can't Stop Me," a song in which Joe delves into the character of Slapshot's playing coach Reggie Dunlop (a natural alter ego perhaps). D.O.A. was formed amidst a whirlwind of controversy and upheaval. In 1978, three guys fresh out of high school from the backwaters of Canada's suburbs heard about the punk rock revolution. In February of that same year the band formed and started playing shows. They soon realized that there were no record deals coming in any time soon. Keithley (aka Joey Shithead) who was working towards being a civil rights lawyer before he found punk rock, concluded that the band had to take the "do it yourself" approach long before DIY became a popular concept. He formed a fledging record label called Sudden Death Records and the label released D.O.A.'s first snarling slab of vinyl, the Disco Sucks 7" EP. Disco Sucks soon became an underground hit and the band started touring from Vancouver to their newly adopted "home base" of California five to six times a year. In 1980, Keithley coined the term "hardcore" and the band soon released their landmark album Hardcore 81. The album became a hit, the hardcore movement took off, and D.O.A. pushed that expression into common vernacular. Over the last four decades, D.O.A. have released 17 studio albums, sold over a million albums, and played 4,000 shows on five different continents. The band's albums, shows, and attitude have won over three generations of fans and influenced the likes of Green Day, Nirvana, Offspring, Henry Rollins, David Grohl and The Red Hot Chilli peppers, to name a few. Keithley has also written two books: I Shithead: A Life in Punk and TALK - ACTION = 0. From day one, D.O.A. has helped organize and lead hundreds of benefit concerts and protests for good and just causes like environmental issues, women's rights, food bank benefits, and First Nations' rights. They have organized protests and stood against war, racism, weapons proliferation, and countless other causes. Keithley has been called a cultural politician, trying to change the world from outside the system. He's currently running for Mayor of his home town of Burnaby, under the Green Party banner, attempting to change the system from inside. Keithley and the band were also ardent supporters of the Occupy Movement, realizing this was a step towards equality in our world. He is always looking for a way to push "grassroots democracy" and like his idol Pete Seeger, he and the band won't give up. When the band takes their wild, unbridled show live show on the road, it's a must see, because it's a chance to see one of the last real punk rock bands that gets out there, kicks ass, and tells it like it is. It's a perpetual atmosphere of chaos, veering out of control, but somehow, at the last minute, D.O.A. manages to reign all of it back in. And in an indescribable way, you are not quite the same person afterwards.

TIME TO FIGHT BACK AND CHANGE THIS WORLD

TALK - ACTION = 0

Ya Hey! D.O.A. - Forty years and going strong

The "Men Of Action" are returning to the US for some unfinished business. US TOUR DATES (w/ MDC as main support): 5/21 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall 5/22 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Black Sheep 5/23 - Fort Collins,CO @ Hodi's Half Note 5/24 - Denver, CO @ Streets Of London Pub 5/26 - Las Vegas, NV @ Punk Rock Bowling Festival 5/29 - Laguna Niguel, CA @ Karmann Bar 5/30 - West Hollywood, CA @ The Viper Room 5/31 - San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick 6/02 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge 6/03 - Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad 6/04 - El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace 6/05 - Harlingen, TX @ Hop Shop 6/06 - Austin, TX @ Barracuda 6/07 - Houston, TX @ The Secret Group 6/08 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger 6/09 - Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey Bar and Grill 6/10 - Tulsa, OK @ Shrine 6/12 - Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room 6/13 - Des Moines, IA @ Lefty's Live Music 6/15 - Billings, MT @ The Pub Station 6/16 - Spokane, WA @ The Pin! US & CANADA TOUR DATES (w/ Down By Law + Kevin Seconds (of 7 Seconds) playing solo: 07/06 - Vancouver, BC @ First Annual Fight Back Festival, Rickshaw Theater 07/11 - Regina 07/12 - Winnipeg 07/13 - Thunder Bay 07/14 - Minneapolis 07/15 - Green Bay 07/16 - Madison 07/17 - Milwaukee 07/18 - Chicago 07/19 - Detroit 07/20 - Cleveland 07/21 - Buffalo 07/22 - Brooklyn 07/23 - Philly 07/24 - TBA 07/25 - Toronto 07/26 - Ottawa 07/27 - Montreal ¹77 Festival