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Dear Yuletide writer

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The deal, it is this:

I am not a big fan of NaNoWriMo. Partially because I'm lazy, and partially because I don't derive much enjoyment from pushing out words just for the sake or a wordcount. But since everyone and their mom is doing it, I feel horribly indolent not participating at all. So here's what I'll do.

-Anyone who wants to see me write a drabble for a paticular fandom (that I'm in, or at least familiar with) will put in a request.
-Every day of the month, I will fill that request.
-???
-Profit!

Have at it!

Does what it says on the tin.

(I won't be able to do anything Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday late afternoon/evening, since I have a job to get to by seven.)

Last semester, I took a World History class, and was bothered by the distinct lack of famous women in the curriculum. When I raised the question of why we only learned about men (and white men at that), one of my classmates retorted "Because men made history!"

I call bullshit. There are thirty-one women in this video, and they aren't the only ones, not by a long shot. There are lots of women who I wanted to include, but couldn't find a decent video of. Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Catherine the Great, Nefertiti, Theodora, Harriet Tubman, Madame de Pompadour, Nzingha, Nell Gwyn, Lili'uokalani, Matilda- all of these women made just as much of am inpact on the world as their male counterparts. This video is for them.

The song I chose, "Can't Hold Us Down", is by Christina Aguilera. While I'm not a huge fan of her music- hip-hop isn't really my cup of tea- I have a huge amoung of respect for her, for the female-positive message that runs through her music.

Links: YouTube
BAM Vid Vault

Women (in order of appearance): Cleopatra, Margeurite de Valois, Elizabeth I, Abigail Adams, Anne Boleyn, Isabel of Castile, Eleanor Roosevelt, Frida Kahlo, Joan of Arc, Mary Stuart, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Anne Kronenberg, Jane Austen, Barbara Wilberforce, Empress Cixi, Livia, Olympias, Mary Bryant, Isabelle of France, Esther, Alice Paul, Inez Mulholland, Juana la Loca, Ida Wells-Barnett, Queen Victoria, Eva Peron, Lucy Burns, Boudica, Servilia, Veronica Franco, Catherine d'Medici

Source Clips: Rome (Cleopatra, Livia, Sevilia), Queen Margot (Margeurite de Valois, Catherine d'Medici), Elizabeth: the Golden Age (Elizabeth I), John Adams (Abigail Adams), Anne of a Thousand Days (Anne Boleyn), Mad Love (Isabel of Castile, Juana la Loca), Frida (Frida Kahlo), Warm Springs (Eleanor Roosevelt), Milk (Anne Kronenberg), Becoming Jane (Jane Austen), Amazing Grace (Barbara Wilberforce), The Last Emperor (Empress Cixi), Alexander (Olympias), The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (Mary Bryant), Braveheart (Isabelle of France), One Night With the King (Esther), Iron-Jawed Angels (Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, Inez Mulholland, Ida Wells-Barnett), The Young Victoria (Queen Victoria), Evita (Eva Peron), Warrior Queen (Boudica), Dangerous Beauty (Veronica Franco)

So what am I not s'pposed to have an opinion
Should I be quiet just because I'm a woman
Call me a bitch cause I speak what's on my mind
Guess it's easier for you to swallow if I sat and smiled

When a female fires back
Suddenly big Talker don't know how to act
So he does what every little boy would do
Making up a few false rumors or two
That for sure is not a man to me
Slanderin' names for popularity
It's sad you only get your fame through controversy
But now it's time for me to come and give you more to say

[CHORUS]
This is for my girls all around the world
Who come across a man who don't respect your worth
Thinking all women should be seen not heard
So what do we do girls,
Shout louder!
Lettin 'em know we're gonna stand our ground
So lift your hands higher and wave 'em proud
Take a deep breath and say it loud
Never can, never will, can't hold us down

Nobody can hold us down...
Nobody can hold us down...
Nobody can hold us down...
Never can, never will...

So what am I not supposed to say what I'm saying
Are you offended by the message I'm bringing
Call me whatever 'cause your words don't mean a thing
Guess you ain't even a man enough to handle what I sing
If you look back in history
It's a common double standard of society
The guy gets all the glory the more he can score
While the girl can do the same and yet you call her a whore

I don't understand why it's ok,
The guy can get away with it & the girl gets named
All my ladies come together and make a change
Start a new beginning for us, everybody sing

This is for my girls all around the world
When you come across a man that don't respect your worth
Thinkin' all woman should be seen not heard
So what do we do girls? Shout out loud!
Lettin' 'em know we're gonna stand our ground
So put your hands high and wave 'em 'round
Take a deep breathe and say it loud
Never can, never will, can't hold us down!

Think you're so cute, so coy?
You must talk so big
To make up for smaller things
So you're just a little boy
All you'll do is annoy
You must talk so big
To make up for smaller things

This is for my girls all around the world
When you come across a man that don't respect your worth
Thinkin' all woman should be seen not heard
So what do we do girls? Shout out loud!
Lettin' 'em know we're gonna stand our ground
So put your hands high and wave 'em 'round
Take a deep breathe and say it loud
Never can, never will, can't hold us down

I literally screamed with laughter upon watching this, you guys. Also, this, and this. Also-also, the Kirk/Bones fandom is MADE OF LOVE AND WIN, and you should all check my memories for the sheer levels of awesome that I am archiving.

Also-also-also, I should probably re-post A Very Enterprise Birthday here for posterity and whatnot. And then write Part 2, because I've been rather remiss in that area.

Title: A Very Enterprise Birthday
Author: viorica8957
Summary: Most of the crew expressed surprise that the Captain had a party-planning streak, but those who had gone to the Academy with him suspected that he was motivated less by a fondness arranging parties and more by sheer love of chaos.
Pairings: It's gen, but there's some Spock/Uhura  in this installment, and Kirk/Bones will probably sneak into the next one.
Notes: PURE AND UTTER CRACK. Written for the Star Trek XI Kink Meme prompt: "Pavel Chekov's 18th birthday orgy party" here.

( Evil party-planning Kirk )

The long-awaited relationship violence video is DONE! Eeeeeee!

Vieo: Just Because He Loves Her
Fandom[s]: Rome, Robin Hood, Phantom of the Opera, Twilight
Summary: He's only doing it because he loves them.



Notes

The cutoff at the end is unintentional- Movie Maker kept crashing the computer when I tried to publish the video, so I decided to just cut my losses and upload the most complete version. The blackout at the final "little girl" however was not a glitch- it was intentional, blotting out the women of the vid who were blotted out by what was done to them in the name of love. Notice the reaction shots? In the eyes of the filmmakers, it's not about what was done to the women, it's about how that makes the perpetrators feel.

My intention with this was to contrast the actions of the "love interest" characters (Guy, Edward, Vorenus, the Phantom) with those of characters who are clearly villains (Hearn, James) to show the viewer how similar they really are. The problem with portraying domestic abuse in a vid is that so much of the menace is carried through words and tone, and that can't be captured with the music playing. I tried to fix that with the gestures that are ominous, but not overtly violent- Edward walking up behind Bella, or backing her against the rock and keeping her from leaving. The thing is, if these relationsips feautres more overt abuse, like having the guy beating the girl, people would (I hope) realize how wrong it is, but when it's snuck in, no one seems to notice. It's the boiling frog effect applied en masse.

Re: the song choice: Some people have claimed that the lyrics are meant to be ironic (given how bouncy the music s, I'm inclined to agree) but listening to the words accompanying the images onscreen highlights just how disturbing it really is- well I hope so, anyway.

Title: These Bloody Days
Summary: A paen to Tudor history, capturing the blood and lust that permeated the court of Henry VIII, and the psychological effect of living by the whim of a willful and tempermental king.

The title of the video is taken from Thomas Wyatt's poem "These Bloody Days Have Broken My Heart", which he wrote in response to the spate of executions during the downfall of Anne Boleyn. Wyatt is portrayed in "The Tudors" by Jamie Thomas King.

Song: "Carnival of Rust" by Poets of the Fall
( Video and notes )
Notes

I originally heard this song used in JaidanWolf's fantastic The Rules of Mice and Men, and instantly fell in love with it. I even managed to talk my Writer's Craft teacher into letting me analyze the lyrics for our weekly poetry analysis. To me, the lyrics spoke of an overripe, decadent society, narrated by someone who could see the inevitable crumble, and was begging someone else to get out before it was too late. In retrospect, I suppose the corresponding characters in this vid would be Thomas Wyatt and Anne Boleyn, and it also ties in with the title, but that didn't actually occur to me until after I'd finished it.

The Tudor period holds fascination for so many people, but very few can explain exactly what it is that attracts them to this paticular period. Some people *coughDavidStarkeycough* have claimed it's the soap opera factor, but I think it's more than that- it's the pure, unchecked want that flowed through the court. People wanted what they wanted, and very few had any compunction about what they had to do to get it. And the epitome of this is, of course, Henry- the man who broke with Rome, executed two wives, and divorced two others all in pursuit of the male heir he wanted so badly. Anne Boleyn toppled the Queen of England to get what she wanted. Charles Brandon and Mary (Tudor) Brandon oth defied their monarch, and Mary Tudor and Catherine of Aragon refused to bend to Henry's will. Throughout history, royal courts have always been seething pools of jealousy, lust, and deceit- and Henry's example allowed the people at his court to indulge themselves with no reservations. I think that's the core of why people love history in general, and Tudor history in paticular- because it shows us what we might be, stripped of inhibitions and morality.

I'm actually looking for some concrit on this- it feels like it's missing something. Lack of quick cuts to go with the music, maybe? I don't know.

Title: Meant To Live
Summary: A reflection on the relationship between Lucius Vorenus and his wife Niobe from HBO's "Rome".
Song: "Meant To Live" by Switchfoot

Today in my Law class, we were discussing the constitutional right to have an interpreter in the courtroom if you don't speak English. One of the guys put his hand up and asked what would happen if someone who spoke an obscure language needed an interpreter. He then made several clicking noises with his tongue and said "See? I just said the Oath in African!" This same person commented that "It's always about the Jews with you!" when a Jewish classmate of ours asked a question pertaining to Jewish history during a World History class. Other Jewish students have had coins flicked at them during class. I've heard countless people complaining about the "drunk, violent Indians" down at Caledonia. Today in class when I presented a poem about white priveledge, a girl asked me why I hadn't mentioned discrimination against white people. All this came from one small town. In conclusion, I have only one thing to say to Elizabeth Bear's suggestion that we all just shut up about racism:

FUCK. THAT. SHIT.

I mentioned in my last post that quite a few people have complained about the premise of Dollhouse being anti-feminist. Their argument- and it is a valid one- is that the idea of women being programmed to be whatever someone wants them to be, and being utterly passive when they aren't programmed is extremely sexist, not to mention skeevy. The counter-argument is that it's supposed to be skeevy- hat Joss intends the audience to go "Wait, no, that's not right." They also have a good point. The problem with a discussion like this is that it very quickly turns into "Well, you're just a man-hating feminist!" "Well YOU'RE just a sexist!" very quickly, and all meaningful dialogue gets lost in the flamewars. There's also the issue of people assuming that anyone who criticises Joss's work from a feminist perspective= that crazy lady who claimed that Joss rapes his wife. Case in point here. So for clarity's sake, let me break it down:

( Spoilers for the pilot )

There's been a lot of discussion on LJ lately on the subject of race in fantasy. I was linked to deepad's essay on the subject, which in turn led me to Elizabeth Bear's post that started the whole thing, then rydra_wong put together a list of all the discussions. I've been reading through them, and even though I'm pretty sure no one cares about my response, I'm posting one anyway.

Before I say anything else, I should say that I am privledged. I am white, upper-middle-class, and I was born and raised in a First World country. When I was five years old, my parents sent me t Hillfield Strathallan College, which might more accurately be called Whitey McWhiteville College. There was only one PoC in my class in my entire stint there, from age five to age ten. His name was Sambat, he was Vietnamese, and he was related to (I don't remember how) an elderly couple (white) who lived down the street from me. Although my parents and teachers had the best of intentions when they lectured my classmates and I on how to be nice to him, they still Othered him. They Othered him by saying "Now remember, you shouldn't ask him lots of questions about Vietnam, and you should remember that he might not know as much as you because Vietnamese schools are behind Canadian ones." Without this, I wouldn't have thought to consider where he came from, or that he was Other. But I was told so, so I did.

When I was eight, I announced offhandedly that "I like white people better than black people." This idea had not been planted in my eight-year-old brain by any intentionally racist comments on the part of my parents or teachers or neighbours. The idea had been planted there because I had never met a black person in my life besides those I saw when my dad watched TV. The show my dad watched was Law and Order, which almost inevitably, in those years, featured black characters as gangsters, criminals, and anti-Semites. Black was the Other, and therefore scary. However, those were not the only black people I had seen, but rather the only ones who were identified as black. I watched Magic School Bus as a child, and there were at least three PoC characters, none of whom I found odd or offputting. In the mind of a child, it is only when race is made an issue that they see it as such. And for non-white children, it is always made an issue.

That, I think, it the ultimate privledge afforded to white people- we can (or think we can) afford to be colourblind. I added the disclaimer because although we technically can afford to, I don't think we should, because that's kind of what kicked off this whole discussion in the first place. Colourblindness is not an option. What I do think is that we should try our hardest to put aside paradigms that have accumulated in us over years of living in an inherently racist society and listen to what other peope try to tell us. I think cryptoxin put it best when she posted this:

More and more, I believe that sometimes the best answer to "Okay, but what am I supposed to do now?" is really to stay with the discussion and sit with your discomfort or anxiety instead of rushing towards a safe perch. Sometimes the best answer is to leave yourself open to other people's pain, hope, and struggle, even or especially when it threatens to decenter you and destabilize your world. And sometimes, the best answer is to put the 'I' aside and look towards asking "What do we do?" even if that question is difficult to engage with (and much easier to opt out of in favor of individual responses) until all of us have done some work to make that 'we' come more fully into existence as a substantive, meaningful force.

Think about your racist assumptions as skin. You are born without it, and it grows on you, nurtured by the deeply held prejudices of the society you are raised in. Having discussions about it is the equivalent of ripping this skin off. Is that painful? Yes. Now imagine the scars left by being someone directly affected by racism as a series of wounds with scabs grown over them. There are a lot of scabs, and ripping them off by using what's underneath to educate clueless white people is a damn sight more painful than getting rid of the racist skin you're peeling away. Both things hurt, but only one rips open old wounds in addition to adding new ones.

Confronting your own internalised racism is hard. It's a long, painful process, but it is nothing compared to the long, painful process of growing up as a PoC in a racist society. In the end, it's not about, as Elizabeth Bear said:

You don't enlighten people by telling them how wrongheaded they are. You enlighten them by assisting them to think their misconceptions through and arrive at more sound and better-observed conclusions.

Because PoCs should not have to bear the burden of our misconceptions. We are the ones with those misconceptions, and we are the ones who need to work through them. If you know a PoC who wants to help, that's great, but by no means should you expect it. Because when people who are PoC discuss the pain of facing institutionalised racism, it's more than a little crass to say "Well, I don't know what you expect me to do about it!" Because it's not about you. And that is at the heart of all the tangled arguments and hurt feelings and huffing and puffing- the first paradigm that white people have to put aside when learning to be more racially aware is that sometimes- a lot of the time, even!- it's not about us.

(There is an upcoming Part Two to this, but it's mostly me-centric)

So, remember Maggie? We finally managed to bring her into the house back in November, and integrated her with the rest of the animals sometime in December, and then we noticed she was getting . . . round. Not all over, either. Just in the stomach area. Did I mention she's a unspayed, nine-month old female cat?

So we took her to the vet today, and while we haven't confirmed that she's pregnant, we're pretty sure. So we've got a box set up for her in the basement, and at least two potential kitten owners lined up, and my mom's muttering ominously about stopping the food supply to whichever garage cat the kittens resemble most (apparrently calico genes are recessive, so all the kittens will look like their dad) but I'm pretty sure she'll get over it. The upshot is, we're going to have a housefull of baby animals in a few weeks, and how cute will that be.

In completely unrelated news, OMG. (Scroll down to December 11th) Oh. Em Gee. I'd never noticed the "Statistics&Data" section before (in retrospect, it's probably not a good thing that I've found it, since I'll probably be checking it obsessively from now on) so I didn't realize you could check to see if your video's been linked to. Oh my God. And it's linked to on his blog as well, so unless someone else updates that for him (which could be the case, I don't know) Robert McCammon watched my favideo OH MY GOD.

(Yeah, my brain's kind of stuck on "OMG" right now.)

Hmm. I'm not sure I agree with all of the writer's points (like the ones about "Blink"- I liked Sally, and I don't think we have enough evidence to judge Kathy's relationship) but some, especially the ones about "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead" hit the nail on the head for me. Especially in regards to River Song- I hadn't been able to put my finger on why I disliked her, but "smugness" and "being told how awesome and important she is before she's really done anything" pretty much cover it. So that, in a nutshell, is why I'm a bit anxious about Moffat's takeover.

Moving on, someone over on feminist_fandom linked me to The Hathor Legacy's Robin Hood posts, which was simultaneously informative and disturbing as all hell. I was overjoyed to find like-minded people (though I must say, I disagreed with their take on Will/Djaq. You guys know where I stand on that one. Mostly because I actually cheered out loud when I heard "I love how you fight like a man, and I love how you'll always, always be a woman." Finally one of the guys on this show was saying "I love you for the kickass woman you are." rather than "I love you for the domestic housewife I want you to be." Fucking FINALLY.) But then I got to the article where they discuss perceptions of Gisbourne:

The producer - in response to something I couldn’t hear, or perhaps an earlier discussion before the taping of the commentary? - demands to know why she would go there and ask him that question, knowing he won’t admit guilt, unless she’s “stirred” by him (in other words, wanted that kiss). Lucy Griffiths says Marian might ask him just because she’s trusting. The producer scoffs dismissively and begins talking about how “women like ‘em a little rough.”

And then I had to stop reading for a minute, because I was dry heaving too hard. I just. Wow. Women "like 'em rough", Minghella? Did Marian "like 'em rough" when she was being bullied to the altar, was forced to beg Guy not to burn down her house, and had a sword rammed through her belly? I literally cannot express how disgusted I am right now. At least before, I could assume (or hope) that the sexism was unintended. But it isn't. Oh no. Dominic Minghella is wearing it as a badge of honour, for all the world to see. On the upside, Gordon Kennedy (the actor who plays Little John) restores some of my faith in humanity:

I’m quite pleased that Gordon Kennedy (who plays Little John) expressed shock at the idea Marian was attracted to Guy. He pointed out how Marian “definitely goes cold” when Gisborne kisses her. He then says in an excited tone, “I’ve never seen that. What do you think you’re playing at?” Which is exactly what I wondered.

I kind of want to hug him now.

And, on a slightly-related note, I was linked to this, and it cemeted my decision to never, ever watch Supernatural. And to make that "Women of Robin Hood" video I was planning on. ASAP.

Title: Seasons
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Life is a cycle that we can do nothing to alter