- Black Widow, Scarce Resources And High-Stakes Stories : Monkey See : NPR
This is a really good essay on the Black Widow problem in the new Avengers movie. Taken by itself, it's not actually terrible – the metaphors she represents are worth pulling into the light and talking about, and there are reasons why it has to be a female character that has to given them – but the problem is that there simply aren't enough prominent women characters in this kind of movie for us to take them in isolation. And that, I guess, feel like the most nuanced criticism one could level …
Tag: sexism
Bookmarks for February 11, 2015
- I'm Brianna Wu, And I'm Risking My Life Standing Up To Gamergate | Bustle
Like most poeple I know, I wish to god there was something I useful I could do about this hateful shit. But actually, all I can do it repost the link, say that the kind of stuff that Ms Wu and other suffer from day in day out is *not* OK, and hope the people who can do something, do do something.
- Totally Mexico! How the Nathan Barley nightmare came true | Television & radio | The Guardian
I mean, it's not news to anyone, but I dunno, this is still kind of chilling.
Bookmarks for October 28, 2014
- A comic about Seagulls.
Not *all* seagulls, though.
Bookmarks for March 23, 2012
- A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Presumed Inane
This si interesting food for thought – a couterpoint to the usual amazon-is-bad publishing-industry rhetoric. I don't know if I buy it (and I don't know if I don't) but it's certainly made me think about some of the things I've taken for granted as "facts" in the debate.
- On Improving iBooks – Connor Tomas O'Brien
This is two years old, and I am frustrated that most of the things that are being talked about here are not implemented. At the very least, it seems it ought to be possible to make iBooks-DRMed content available to other apps on the same device, via API. Apple/Publishers still get to make their sales money, while another app could do the work of tracking my reading habits.
- Large Bookbag – Henry Tomkins
I think I may have found the bag of my dreams. Satchel strap, double buckle, with front pocket. Knocking on the door of 200 quid, as opposed to my current 40 quid effort, but oh, isn't it beautiful? Time to start saving.
- Cool Tools: Where There Is No Doctor
This is either brilliant, or pure hypochondria fodder.
- Geeklist and a public apology
In the spirit of fairness: Geeklist have made a pretty unreserved public apology in the time since I bookmarked that first link. I'm still annoyed that they didn't get it right first time, but then, who among can say that they always do?
- Cow magnet – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I have absolutely no reason to blog this, except that I did not know these were a thing, and the words "Cow Magnet" make me laugh. I also wish that there was an accepted a alt.fan.warlord syntax for blogging as this comment would have been shorter if I thought more than three of you would understand IHNW IJLTS "Cow Magnets" without having to look anything up.
- OH HAI SEXISM · charlesarthur · Storify
Short version: woman calls geek men on their sexism. Geek men lash out in a grossly disproportionate and unprofessional manner. This is nothing new, except that these people are in the same industry as me, with a product that is targeted at, well, people exactly like me – well, it's saddening. And pathetic.
Bookmarks for August 18, 2011
- Scripting Languages: PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby – Hyperpolyglot
Likely of no interest to non-webdev-nerds, but potentially of enormous value to me, in terms of learning new languages. I sort of vaguely know Ruby, but this direct translation from PHP to Ruby would speed what little ruby hacking I do.
- It's Sexy A-Levels!
A blog exploring the hypothesis that UK newspapers believe that only attractive girls in low cut tops do A-Levels.
- fleet street fox: More pictures like this, please.
A counter-argument: it is excellent that at A-level results time, the papers fill up with photos of attractive young women. Less sexist that you think.
- Tetrapharmakos – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I stumbled across this set of 4 simple maxims for a happy life, and really like it.
- Up, up and away into near-space in a beautiful bloon
Statement of intent: I will do this before I die.
- Special ed student raped by classmate, forced by school to apologize to him, then raped again, lawsuit claims (UPDATED) – Boing Boing
I wanted to link to this not because it's directly relevant to me (other than, y'know, as a human being with an ounce of compassion somewhere under a rock in here), or even because it's an exceptionally horrible story (it is, but the plain truth is that worse things happen every day, and I don't link to news about them), but just because it strikes me as a very, very stark reminder of how, even in the "developed" world, we still have such a very very long way to go before we can call ourselves civilised.
Bookmarks for November 1, 2010
- Steve Lieber And The Cellmate Test Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movies and TV News and Rumors
This made me laugh. Lads, if you are confused as to whether a compliment you are paying a lady is going to be taken as flattery, or if you're going to cross the line into creepy, her is a simple test that will save you more than 90% of the time: imagine yourself in jail, and imagine how you would feel if your hypothetical cellmate said exactly the same thing to you. Now do you see?
- His Face All Red
An absolute gem of a little horror comic. Serious, go read.
- Lizard Brain » Blog Archive » 100 Aspects of Genre: Learning from the Dead and the Dying
Nice post on the evolution of genre, and why some genres flourish, some mutate, and some die at different times.
Bookmarks for August 31, 2010
- The lady vanishes: Invisible Wife Syndrome | Celebrity | Relationships | Life and style | The Guardian
Good, if possibly depressing, article on what happens to partners when their other half has a famous career, covering sexism, being left at home and as a coda at the end, the Yoko factor, containing this quote. I've always had a soft spot for Yoko (despite loathing "Imagine" with all my shrivelled black heart)…
"Yoko was, and is, interesting in her own right. She's a remarkable artist and a unique thinker. All of the things you think of John Lennon doing in the late-60s and early-70s were inspired entirely and directly by Yoko: the avant-garde art, the politics, the whole peace and love thing. She is responsible for the Lennon we remember and love today, and yet she is at best ignored and at worst vilified… For what, exactly? Being loved by him?"
Bookmarks for March 8, 2010
- Penny Red: Objectification: what if the world were different for a day?
Really bloody good post. Of course everyone knows that the media is perpetrating a set of damaging stereotypes, yet we don't *do* anything about it.
Bookmarks for February 25, 2010
- Serendipity
Massive collection of random-thing generators, handy set of tools.
- ESPN The Magazine – Rick Reilly: How about a little recognition for bowling champ Kelly Kulick? – ESPN
This is kinda saddening. Women beats all the men in the male dominated sport, press indifferent. OK, so it's bowling, and that's hardly a sport that gets lots of coverage. But still: Woman beats men at the ultimate man-sport, it being the one normally done with beer and crisps and so on. Maybe it should get a lot of sports coverage, but I would have though it would have got lots of human interest/chat-show coverage. Sad, like I say.