Voyages in America

A quick one before bed.

It may come as a surprise to some, though doubtful to many, that I've fallen in love with Lady Gaga.
The reasons for this love is for another post.

However, it comes as no surprise that I love Nirvana, after all, anyone who appreciates music history has to love them a little bit.

Just half an hour ago I was emailed the best mash-up in existence.
Why didn't I know about this before!

Enjoy:



Good night.

I haven't seen Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes yet, and I fully intend to.

As those of us who follow the media and enjoy movies know, there's been a huge amount of talk and play regarding the more homoerotic facets of the new movie.

I've only seen the trailers, and even there, despite Ms. Adler's fetching lingerie, the Slash Factor between Holmes and Watson is apparent.

RDJ and Jude Law have been playing up on that for promotional reasons.
It wouldn't surprise me if either of these men were queer, but for convenience sake and because Hollywood is a conservative corporate town, chose not to disclose this and had public heterosexual relationships.
Hollywood is not conductive for being out of the closet.

That's beside the point.

The point is, that slash is a way of interpreting text. Finding homoeroticism is the original Doyle books is so easy - Watson being divorced (or widowed) twice, Holmes not actually even appearing to be in a relationship, Ms. Adler being possibly the only woman that misogynist (if you contradict this by saying that Holmes is a misanthrope, I will be annoyed, if he were really such a misanthrope, he wouldn't tolerate Watson as much as he does... besides which, misanthropes are not immune to societal misogyny) considered intelligent enough to find human and interesting.

I hear Carole Nelson Douglas Irene Adler stories are worth reading, is this true?

Back to my point. Not every interpretation of the text is a good one, you have to be able to create a cohesive and essentially un-contradictory (in- ?) analysis and give good, clear examples and indications from the text that what you say is indeed supported by the words, images, metaphors, Synecdoche, etc.

I apologise for the Literary Lingo, there's more of it coming, please don't hold it against me! Thanks.

The Queering of Sherlock Holmes is about as out there, as Queering Star Trek, that is, it's bloody easy and people do it.
A lot.

But again, it's a reading that does travels along the weaving of the plot and focuses on the relationship between the two men, or rather, on the fact that Watson's admiration of Holmes has an erotic edge to it.

In the movie, which I have yet to see, because it isn't in fact the story as seen through Watson's eyes, but an action adventure movie in which we, the audience is sucked in via diegesis that we are shown and not told, which makes the queering both easier to see and easier to refute.
Why?
Because while there is a revealed text (i.e. what we see on the surface, the text itself) there is also subtext which contains hidden meanings which are more subtly revealed via interaction with the reader and the narrative as it goes along.

There is a reason why slashers call "Subtext", "Buttsex" (anagrams are teh awesome).

Thus, when Andrea Plunket who claims to hold the remaining US copyrights of Doyl'es estate is quoted:

"I hope this is just an example of Mr. Downey's black sense of humor. It would be drastic, but I would withdraw permission for more films to be made if they feel that is a theme they wish to bring out in the future." She then added, "I am not hostile to homosexuals, but I am to anyone who is not true to the spirit of the books."

Emphasis mine.
Regarding RDJ's antics regarding the more-or-less obvious (I'll let you know when I see it) homoeroticism between Holmes and Watson, I call foul.
Foul, I say!
Because who the fuck are you, Ms. Plucket, to say what is and what isn't in "the spirit of the books"?
Being that, a) it's a movie! b) it's based on the books and isn't in fact telling a story Doyle wrote and c) there isn't, in fact, anything wrong with Watson and/or Holmes being Gay *gasp* Together!

Oh, and when you use the term "Homosexuals" when talking about gay and/or queer folk, it sounds as though you think we're sick, because that's the psychiatric term when speaking about the identity of many an LGBT.
It's also the term used by right wing conservatives who do their best to misname us as a group, under the guise of neutrality: "But you are attracted to your own sex, so you're homosexual".

So, yeah Ms. Plunket, it actually sounds like you kind of are hostile to the Homosexuals, deviant text manipulators that we are. The mere fact that you felt the need to defend your position pretty much gives away your homophobic ass.

Hopefully, I'll get to see both Sherlock Holmes (and Avatar) over the coming weeks.

Edited To Add: I now want an icon that says "Deviant Textual Manipulator". Alas, I have no skillz!

Re: Doctor Who - I'm still sad, though I see that our satellite provider is going to rerun New-Who and maybe Torchwood too.
Though I have the TW DVD's and most of DW on CD, it's always nice to watch the shows in an actual teevee screen.
Thus, I'm happier.

Things are a tad sleepy around these parts, I mean yeah the Air Force seemed to attack Gaza over the weekend, but "only" four people died and there was no declaration of a bigger emergency, so perhaps not starting the year with a bang is a good foretelling.

Here's to hoping.

It would appear that abortion is finally becoming an issue in the mainstream media. It appears that there has been a 10% drop in the abortion rate from 2000 to 2008, which the article says is to do with the fact for the tighter restrictions on late term abortions.

Yet, there are still these stupid, idiotic and shaming committees that require women to be paraded through in order to get a legal abortion.

I can understand the restrictions on late term abortions, even though I don't think there's anything morally wrong with a woman getting one - life in utero is still potential, while the life of the person carrying said life in utero is, well, in vivo.

Now to carry on the little lesson, de facto many women get illegal abortions in private OB/GYN practices.
This is more expensive and it's believed that married women are usually the ones who go to these private practices because they are usually denied an abortion in the committee.

I mean, really, c'mon! How dare a married woman of child baring years not want that precious life.
If she didn't want it, she should have taken precautions.
Because the Pill is enough - it's not.
Because an IUD is fool proof - only to a degree.
Because a condom is used in marriage - as far as I'm aware, only if one of the partners is sick with an STD.

Regardless, it's a stupid, backward and misogynistic procedure that women who don't want to have children are forced to go through - for daring to actually decide what to do with their bodies.

Now, I'm going for a walk.

I have a bunch of tags open to reaction posts I haven't read yet.

If you are still interested in talking... *sigh* I'm here.

( Still Not Ginger )

And now, I go hunting for fic. So much to expand and so much to fix.

Fuck me, Doctor Who reaction posts are beginning to appear all over my f-list and I have to wait until tomorrow!

*weeps*

I'm really dying to read them all.

Oh Doctor... you'll always be My Doctor, even if the new one rocks my socks. I'm keeping my mind open.

Still, after four (five?) years of Tennant and him being so brilliant, I'll really miss him. Possibly mourn, but after mourning for Ianto I dunno how much more I can take.

Good Morning... erm, make that afternoon.

I hope we all made it through the night and passed Midnight unscathed.

I'm very happy to see the beginning 2010, so many new things than can happen, for the better.

Last night I went out with tamara_russo to an 80's theme party at a club, I wore my Oxfords, a pair of pants that I hadn't worn in four years (yes, that is the amount of weight I gained and lost over last year), a pearl necklace and the most gorgeous pair of cuffs (hers, not mine but I want!) of lace and pearl (you can see them here).

She looked Swinging Twenties a la Zeroes!

It was a great party, there were about four men over every woman, since it was mostly a gay party - 80's, is anyone surprised - which was nice in the fact that no one was grinding up against on purpose, but other than Tami, there was no one for me to dance with!
Or make a pass to, because if the boys weren't gay, they were with their significant other of the female persuasion and the (very few) queer women I saw were similarly attached.

About an hour after midnight it just got too crowded for me and I'm just not friendly enough to have people bump, grind and step on me for the whole night. Neither is Tami.

So we caught a cab and skedaddled.

It was still amazing. I'm so happy I went out to party and say "Good Riddance 2009 and Welcome In 2010".

I hope it was good for you all as well!

I over slept and missed my class.

I'd be more pissed at myself if it wasn't the last day of this frekin' year.

If there's one resolution I'm willing to make is to get more sleep.

Because tomorrow is a new year I've decided to skip the one other class I have today and just hang out with friends on campus before we go out to party.

I'll be taking the opportunity this weekend to do some winter cleaning of my room, lots of papers have been gathering on my desk, as well as dust on everything else.

So I'm taking today's oversleeping as a sign that this old year will be done with and that will midnight local time I can concentrate on having fun, perhaps having one too many drinks (that would be three y'all) and really sleeping in tomorrow, with fresh energies to start the New Year's First Weekend.

What fun that the New Year is starting on the weekend, eh?

See you all Next Year, have a good one! Please...

When I read this headline, I felt the top of my head blow off:

Chief rabbis: Abortions are delaying redemption

( Article under the cut )

This may come off as simple Crazy Talk by religious leaders. But these religious leaders as states, are government workers. They get paid by our taxes and they make numrous decisions regarding the validity of Jewish identity (and invalidating non-Jewish or "not Jewish enough" identities).

I'd also like to state, in case this isn't common knowledge, that abortions are not, in fact, easily accessible in Israel.
It is a medical procedure which, when obtained under "government regulations" forces women who do not want to be pregnant to go through a committee made up of a gynecologist, a social worker and another doctor in a different capacity (GP, Psychiatry, etc) so that they can decide whether the woman in question can have an abortion.
Permission is granted automatically when the woman in under 17 or over 45 and cases of rape and/or incest.
If you are over 17, under 45, married or single, if you do not have a pre-existing condition which puts you at risk you have to lie - about your mental health usually, that being pregnant is causing you to have suicidal thoughts and feelings.

This is what government "approved" medical abortions look like. There is a huge black market in Israel for women who can pay privately for abortions. Any doctor found giving this service is prosecuted and sentenced to five years imprisonment for operating outside the approval of what I like to call "The Shaming Committee".

Never before have I seen the religious establishment put their foot in and I blame Efrat (which I shan't be linking to) - the so-called non-profit organisation which is basically a pro-life organisation that claims to aid women financially in order to help them have the baby because abortion causes misery. They claim they give a woman options.
Yes, clearly, when they're trying to outlaw the measly access women have already to safe, medical abortions!

In Israel, unlike in the US and Ireland, the abortion debate is very covert, we're a very pro-natalist nation. So, while sex-ed 'round here is good because there is talk of prophylactics and hormonal birth control, termination of pregnancy is viewed as something of a taboo.

That these religious leaders are piping up on an issue does not bode well.

It fucking pisses me off!

I don't suppose I need to tell you about the inhumane law regarding executing people convicted for the "crime of homosexuality" in Uganda.

I'm not going to write about that right now. I'm going to write about the fact that in Malawi a gay couple will have to face justice after getting engaged.

The fact that they are being charged with indecency is a problem.
The fact that homosexuality is illegal anywhere is a problem.

I have a different issue.

This may seem tangential, but did you know that the indecency and sodomy ("bugger") laws in Palestine were imported by the British mandate after the Ottoman Empire lost the region after WWI.

Did you know that Malawi was also colonised by the British.

In Israel, the sodomy law was repealed in 1988! Israel considered itself a Western nation, with Western values and ideals and ideas, so it repealed them along with the majority of the Western world.

So when I read quotes like:

The BBC's southern Africa correspondent Karen Allen says Malawi is a deeply conservative society.

It feels as though they're saying: "Those stupid, backward, inhumane and atrocious savages don't know anything about being civilised people", when the bloody law was imported by "the civilised" ones in the first place!

But some voices in government have started to call for more openness about homosexuality as the authorities try to tackle high rates of HIV/Aids

HIV/AIDS is viewed as a disease passed by heterosexual intercourse, In South Africa at least (I just know more about it there and can't comment on Malawi). It doesn't bear the stigma of a "gay disease" within black communities, it is more so in white communities.
But because of the lack of acknowledgment of queer people, lack of access to information regarding safe sex and the transmittance of the disease, creates it's own unique problem.

In any event, the couple in the article - Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza - are incredibly brave and I salute them both. I hope they don't end up being punished for their love.

Friends tell me I wasn't the only one who flashed to John Barrowman in The Producers while watching Doctor Who: The End of Time (Part 1)?

I've been humming:
And now it's...
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Deutschland is happy and gay!

Tell me that doesn't encapsulate the entire ep!?

Don't know what I'm talking about? Don't want to know what I'm talking about? ( Spoilers under the cut! )

That's all for now.
I can't wait for next week!

This Post contains Spoilers for Doctor Who Seasons 1-4 (including all specials aired)
and Torchwood Seasons 1-3

My f-list is filled with posts marked Spoilers: End of Time and they've all got multiple comments!

I hate being behind every time! I'm missing all the fun conversation and Meta.

So bloody irritating!

I have hope though, that I'll watch it today, write my own reaction and then comment a day late on my friends journals because I can't not comment.

I'm really excited about these episodes, Waters of Mars really whetted my appetite for these Specials and for Tennant's Bon Voyage.

I'm looking forward to the new season (not too excited about the new logo: oh look it's a shiny Tardis... it looks like the Autobots logo!) but Tennant is my Doctor.

Also, I really hope Jack is the eps, because really, I don't know if I'll be able to handle the new incarnation of the Doctor if there isn't any closure.
Then again, emotional consistency when it comes to Jack in the Whoniverse has never been strong - oh Jack you unpredictable devil!
( Cut for Length and Thinky Thoughts )
In any event, I'm looking forward to The End of Time I'm sure it'll be brilliant! One way, or another.

I don't remember why, but last year I didn't do the "classic" end of year meme, possibly because I was concentrating on the war and the fact that my girlfriend was in the line of fire.

Fun times.

Looking back on this year, it wasn't easy for me. I think I was a little bit destroyed by everything going on around me and coming to its arbitrary end there was one whammy after another.

Maybe writing it down like this will enable me to process it better - there is, after all, only a week left to the new decade. And despite the fact that our human teen years could be handled by better by society and culture as a whole, perhaps we need this change, hearkening a new decade in the brand new age.

And with that waxed poetics out of the way...

( The Meme )

You see, I've never seen Christmas.
Never.
Not ever.

Why? Well, I don't live in a country in which it is celebrated at large and I'm not Christian so I wouldn't celebrate in small.
Also, December is an awful time for traveling to a cold place!

And in addition, there's ( XKCD )

At least the days are getting longer again. I'm sick of the Dark! I can't wait for the arbitrary date to go by all ready!