Tag Archives: politics

Take a Stance, Read a Book

September 28, 2009 By in TV, Movies, and Books Tags: , 9 Comments

I’m not a very political person. Conflict confuses me, and I’ll be the first person to admit that I’m not as educated as I could be about all the issues. On the subject of banning books, however, I am crystal clear. I can’t abide it. It pisses me the hell off.

It is not the intention of this post to make converts of the ignorant. I don’t believe that I would be able to convince you, set in your ways as you are, so I’m not even going to try. No, this post is for the believers, the music makers and the dreamers of dreams. Why should I waste time trying to convince you that your fears are paranoid, that your reach is a tyrant’s reach, and that too often you confuse education with brainwashing? Why should I try to convince you that the power of ideas doesn’t work like that, that reading a book that subscribes to a particular point — or listening to a person with respect, for that matter — doesn’t mean you have to believe? How could I possibly ever convince that your mind is your own, and that nobody can take it away from you without your permission? I’m not even going to try, because chances are if you believe those things, then you’re too far gone. I’m certainly not going to suggest that the reason you’re so afraid is because a part of you suspects that you may be wrong.

I’m also not going to mention your alternatives. I’m not going to suggest that instead of forbidding your kids to read material that you perceive as dangerous, you read it yourself and try to understand where it’s coming from. I’m not going to suggest that you teach your kids — and yourself — how to form and hold your own opinions so that they might not be threatened by things other people say. I’m not going to tell you that the antidote to fear is knowledge, or that in judging a book that you’ve never read you appear unreasonable and fanatic. I’m not going to suggest that you subscribe to love and understanding instead of fear and hate. You can’t manage it with people, why would you ever be able to do it with their words? And I’m really not going to tell you that I firmly believe that those people throughout history who have been book burners were those with something to hide.

So, for the rest of you who already understand what I’m talking about, for those of you who don’t see the sense in burying your heads in the sand and screaming your fool heads off, for those of you who don’t let fear overcome your reason: I have a challenge for you. Get up off your butts, tear yourself away from the computer and go buy yourself a banned book, and as you’re reading it, think about all the people who would want to take it away from you. Pray for their souls.

It’s Banned Book Week. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.

the gay invasion

April 20, 2009 By in TV, Movies, and Books Tags: , , , 13 Comments

nubbinizedA word of warning before you read this post: if you’re looking for a place to have an argument or a confrontation, this isn’t it. If you are considering leaving a boneheaded ass-comment on this entry, please think again; I will delete you. From the internet. Open, level-headed, intelligent discussion is always welcome. Now, if I have your attention, please continue and enjoy the rest of your lovely (or sucky) day.

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I’m not exactly sure why I’m writing this post; I just know that I really, really wanted to and my brain wouldn’t let me get any real work done until this little piece of whatever had crawled its slimy little way out into the world. For the past couple of weeks, information concerning the upcoming fall television series, Stargate Universe, set to air on SyFy starting in October, began leaking onto the internet in earnest. There have been little trickles for the past year or so, but ever since the cast and crew began official production, they’ve let things slip. Guest stars, plot happenings, even the mention of a suicide in the first few episodes. This isn’t your grandmother’s Stargate, has been the gist of most of the info, and most fans agree this is a good thing. It would be stupid of the producers and writers to make carbon copies of SG-1 or Atlantis. Stupid and pointless. What they don’t agree on, however, is what exactly is a “good” new direction. Many people (including yours truly) are excited for the darker tone of the new show, but a lot of people are calling it an “unwanted BSG clone,” and other such insults. And then last week, the shit hit the fan. Producers announced that Ming Na’s character, Camille Wray, will be a lesbian.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the intimacies of Sci-Fi fandom, there are basically two camps that most shows fall under: simple and safe sci-fi, and edgy and realistic sci-fi. For the record, I’m a fan of both. I love the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, and Farscape (residents in the latter category), but I also own the complete series box-set of Stargate SG-1 (an unabashed citizen in the “safe” category) and I have a feeling I will very much enjoy Star Trek: The Next Generation, when I get around to watching it. But SG-1 (and Atlantis, to a lesser degree) has often been dismissed by television critics and people whose television watching habits lean towards the left end of the snob spectrum, and for good reason. Stargate SG-1 is inherently — regardless of the politics of its creators — a conservative show.

Enter the gays.

Writers Joseph Mallozzi and Brad Wright have talked before about gay characters on the show and how they never felt the opportunity to serve their storylines was right. Both men have stated that they don’t wish to take part in “stunt-outing,” or the outing of a character just for controversy or for ratings; it has to fit the story. Apparently there have been several characters, including Alicia Vega on Atlantis, who were always written as gay but who were either killed off or unimportant to the larger storyline. The point is, gayness was a non-issue in the Stargate universe (pun), until now. Just scrolling through the first fifty comments or so on that article outing Camille Wray should give you an idea of the debate that is raging in the fan community right now, one that I find more fascinating than anything else, and there are several reasons why. The structure, the themes, and the setting of the show both limit and open up the Stargate universe in many ways, and Stargate Universe, with its gays and its darkness, seems to be threatening to many of its fans, in much the same way that the new Battlestar inflamed the die-hard fans of the cheesy 1980s space opera starring Lorne Green and Dirk Benedick. Thanks to the ideology and premise set up by their previous two incarnations of Stargate, the creators of SGU now have to deal with a monster of their own making, but it’s not entirely their fault.

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ba-rock the vote: an election day playlist

November 4, 2008 By in Me Tags: , , Leave a comment

NaBloPoMo, Day Four
Cookies Eaten: 2
Cups of Coffee: doubleshot on ice, chai
Vegetables: 0
Naughty Words: 2?
Mexican Food: a bean and cheese burrito (spicy salsa)

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Oh, happy day!  I figured, like, smart people and everything would actually be blogging about the election, but I’ve never felt qualified enough to write about politics. So instead, I maked you a present. And, no matter if your vote is the same as mine or not, this is music everybody should love because I chose it, and I am awesome. Enjoy :)

1. “Baba O’Reilly (Teenage Wasteland),” The Who — “Sally, take my hand / Travel south crossland / Put out the fire / Don’t look past my shoulder / The exodus is here / The happy ones are near.”
2. “The National Anthem,” Radiohead — “Everyone / Everyone around here / Everyone is so near / What’s going on?”
3. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” Tears for Fears – “I can’t stand this indecision / married with a lack of vision.”
4. “Are We the Waiting,” Green Day — “Skyscrapers and stargazers in my head / Are we, we are, are we, we are the waiting, unknown / This dirty town was burning down in my dreams.”
5. “Electioneering,” Radiohead — “I trust I can rely on your vote.”
6. “A Well Respected Man,” The Kinks — “‘Cause he’s oh, so good / And he’s oh, so fine / And he’s oh, so healthy / In his body and his mind.”
7. “Hoodoo,” Muse — “I’ve had recurring nightmares / That I was loved for who I am / And missed the opportunity / To be a better man.”
8. “Lucky,” Radiohead — “It’s gonna be a glorious day / I feel my luck could change . . . / We are standing on the edge.”
9. “Believe,” The Bravery — “I am hiding from some beast / But the beast was always here / Watching without eyes / Because the beast is just my fear / That I am just nothing / Now it’s just what I’ve become.”
10. “Rise Above This,” Seether — “Call your name every day / When I feel so helpless / I’ve fallen down / But I’ll rise above this / Rise above this.”
11. “The Compromise,” The Format — “So meet me in the middle / Well, come on, let’s make up a dance / And we’ll agree to call it the compromise.”
12. “Heart Attack,” Low vs. Diamond — “All you pretty people standing there / Blood under your nails . . . / Kiss the way we were goodbye.”
13. “Ashes,” Embrace – “Now watch me rise up and leave / All the ashes you made out of me / When you said that we were wrong, life goes on / You blew me away.”
14. “Secret Crowds,” Angels & Airwaves — “If I had my own world / I’d build you an empire / From here to the farm lands / To spread love like violence . . . Let me feel you carry you higher / Watch your words spread hope like fire / Secret crowds rise up and gather / Hear your voices sing back louder.”

Listen! Comment! Vote! Eat a cookie! Hug an old lady! I love you!

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