On the topic of news...

These are actually two posts from another blog:

24 October 2007 @ 02:25 pm
Oh My God! Buy More Potter Crap if you're Gay!

Yesterday, I was disgusted.

Oui, oui, je sais. How surprising. Quelle suprise. I am so easily disgusted. So often disgusted. Perhaps I just have a low tolerance to disgust. Perhaps I am not suited for this.

I was disgusted because yesterday, I picked up the Toronto Star (yes, the Toronto Star) which as we all know is at least a semi-serious newspaper with in-slight-depth news articles. I opened the paper, the front page, to get to the index. There, on page A3, which is a very prominant page, because of where it is placed, you cannot skip A3 if you intend to read your paper, was a PAGE-SIZED ARTICLE on how apparently Dumbledore might be gay. (Ok, so it's really more a half-page coupled with other "Gay Rumours in Literature" and a 1/3 of the page going to an ad for some stupid rich person's watch).

No, nevermind anything else in the world. Anything else in the fucking city. STOP THE FUCKING PRESSES! BECAUSE A FUCKING HARRY POTTER CHARACTER MIGHT BE GAY. This was an entire fucking page worth of speculation based off of an off-the-cuff comment that J.K. Rowling made at a book signing about a fucking FICTIONAL CHARACTER. I know that many, many, many people hold the Harry Potter series in high regard (oftentimes higher regard than I believe it desserves) but why must we pretend that Harry Potter, nay, a Harry Potter sub-character is more important than: Dundas Square new home of Citytv or Family awaiting answers in dogs' shooting deaths or Educated people get dementia later but decline quicker: Research or Pedophiles tend to be short men, study finds, which were all on the next page?

Ok, so none of this is really what I feel is "serious news". Well, I feel sorry for the family that lost its dog, sure, but I don't give a shit about Citytv moving, I don't care if I get dementia faster later on in my life because I'm nowhere near that yet, and it's really too simplistic to pin pedophilia on short men alone. So maybe it's just that newspapers need some fucking help. Because, really, this isn't making me go "NEWS". The next page is about new Taxlaws in Toronto. That would be more important news. Then there's a bunch of trivial and serious Toronto crap and then a bit about Canada's Peacekeeping Stance questioned real brief-like in the back... That and also Canadian soldiers being douchy in Afghanistan, but really, that's not trendy in the news stories anymore.

Ok, so, still. With all this stuff going on, WHY DO WE GIVE A SHIT ABOUT A HARRY POTTER CHARACTER BEING (MAYBE) GAY? I mean, the books are out, you've read them, you can make your own assumptions, and DOES THIS CHANGE ANYONE'S LIFE? Like, does this actually make a difference in the world? I open the paper and I'm actually more interested in things like global conflicts that we don't hear about (like Israel marching into Syria sort of deal, wait, was that actually in the news?). In the Toronto Star, the "A" section doesn't cover that, only the "AA" or "World" section. But I'm pretty sure there's a hell of a lot more going on in TORONTO itself than J.K. Rowling saying "I always thought of Dumbledore as gay" in (wait for it, wait for it) NEW YORK. Or somewhere. Where ever she was, she wasn't here, so there were no dramatic Harry Potter fans running round the streets going "OH MY GOD!" causing accidents and bodily harm and such.

All I'm saying is: PLEASE WORLD. GET THE FUCK OVER HARRY POTTER ALREADY. If you're going to be coo-coo over some piece of fiction, please, choose a piece of fiction that has at the very least spent enough time in an editor's office.

All I'm REALLY trying to say is: PLEASE WORLD. GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE REAL WORLD AND NOT A PIECE OF FICTION, BE IT FILMED OR WRITTEN. Like, who cares if Dumbledore might be gay. That doesn't change things in the world. Gays, etc. are still getting one of the many short ended sticks. Oh, wait, this just in, no, their stick is a long one because Dumbledore is now on their side.


27 October 2007
Re: Oh My God! Buy More Potter Crap if you're Gay!
So, apparently page A3 in the Toronto Star is NOT a news page.

On Thursday there was a huge article on how to barter for things. You know, shop cheaper? Now, I don't have anything against bartering (although I do think there is a time and a place for it) but one of the last things that people here need is: How to buy more stuff!

Oh my God! Buy more crap if you're breathing!

My last entry was not to just hate on Harry Potter, although I find a large enough group of its fan-base so irritating that it's incredibly tempting... but the way that our news system works is so problematic. Now, I know that there's a lot of crap going on in the world, and you can't represent all of it at any given time... but newspapers could do a lot more than what they are doing now. But news is becoming a form of entertainment too, and you can tell by the pictures they choose...

Alas, another great post link...

Feminisms for everyone at ALAS:

Feminism is not your expectation

Great post, with links to all sorts of good stuff.

Try keeping feminism/s in your little box NOW! I dare ya!

Shakesville MRA Post

The post that keeps on giving!

It came out a week or two ago, but the comment thread keeps on keeping on, and since it's a post that I both enjoyed and found made the arguments against the concept of the "MRA" (Men's Rights Activist: aka Patriachy aka Completely Nothing To Even Remotely Do With Even Those People Who Would Rather Claim To Be 'Humanists' Then Feminists')perfectly, I think I'd like a permanent link to the post on my blog. I know I'm not the only one who linked to it: so go check it out!

What's MRA?

So yes, I still haven't posted Ladyfest/Zinefest reviews, but I consider this a decent sidetrack, don't you?

Update, Anyone?

I'm trying to keep up. I WANT to keep up! I like the idea of this blog as a record of my life, my questions, my reflections, as well as anyone else's, and whatever else is going on in the world outside of me.

(I'm not always about me me me, as re-reading my previous statements seem to suggest).

So yes, Ladyfest came and went, and I've yet to post a review, though I had a great time, and took tonnes of pictures.

And the WARC 'Zinefest passed as well. All summer I meant to post about my volunteer time there, and didn't...then meant to post my reflection of my time there following Zinefest...and didn't...


and now my phone rings...


I'll be back.

From the Inbox: Upcoming Film Event (Toronto, On)

This just in, from my women's studies listserv:

Join us at the National Film Board Mediatheque for the Toronto premiere of Nomad's Land, followed by an intimate panel discussion Wednesday October 17 at 7PM!

When Claire Corriveau's husband joined the Air Force, she soon discovered her needs were subordinate to those of the Canadian Armed Forces. Her first film, Nomad's Land, is a powerful look at the hard existence of military wives, women who inherit a lifestyle that is often lonely and isolated, as they find themselves forced to move repeatedly, with little control over their lives.

Join us for this explosive documentary on Wednesday October 17 at 7PM with director Claire Corriveau, Dr. Margrit Eichler, Professor, University of Toronto, Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, Dr. Deborah Harrison, Adjunct Professor, Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, and Rebecca Christie, St Lawrence College.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17
7PM
FREE ADMISSION

NFB MEDIATHEQUE
150 JOHN ST (at RICHMOND ST W)
TORONTO
416-973-3012
www.nfb.ca/mediatheque

Sounds like an interesting film, but alas once again my academic studies ironically thwart me from attending. I have a class at that time, and I can't skip it because I have a presentation to do for it that day. Boo.

Voting Day in Ontario!

P.S Everybody who can (and should!), go vote today!

It's Election Day for the provincial government of Ontario, fuckers! GO VOTE ALREADY! I'm on my way.

I myself am not particularly crazy about any candidate, but neither am I crazy about the idea of giving up the chance to have some sort of say.

Today is also the referendum over electoral reform: do we keep "first past the post" or do we switch "to mixed member proportional" (MMP)?

I've considered both: I realize that it seems like you're losing representation by not specifically voting in the officials who will make up the seats that the MMP takes up, but I've decided that the good of MMP outweighs the criticisms. With MMP, the popular vote will finally actually represent the way we voted versus with the number of seats actually won, and parties like the NDP and The Green Party may actually be given a real chance to truly mix up the government practice. A lot of people have decried that MMP means there will never be a majority government, but I'm okay with that. I'm for a government that works together with a cross section of beliefs and ideas; I've never been crazy about bi-partisanship, and hopefully we can get the best of every party this way. I know this idealistic of me, but any naysayers of electoral change in the form of MMP would do good to remember that we've yet to come across a system of government where corruption hasn't been a feature. So why be so fearful of something new?

Disagree with me?

THEN GO VOTE NOW!

Should You Be Male or Female?

Ripped off from Daisy's Dead Air:

Should you be MALE or FEMALE?* created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Either You brain is neither specifically male, nor female in the way you perceive your surroundings. As bad as this may sound to some, it can easily mean that you are capable of combining both gender aspects to your advantage. Rather than being genderless you are possibly able think freely. This does not mean that you are bisexual or androgynous or indecisive, but it might. Either 75% Female 50% Male 39% Neither 29%

Seems kind of a ridiculous question for someone who believes that men and women are social constructs, but I can dig this answer.

Egads!

I went to check on the blog, and when I typed in the address, I got redirected to some Bible College thing. Ick!

Ladyfest pictures and review to come shortly. I'm just pretty much ass-deep in academics and broke-ness right now (thank god/dess for lazy landlords!). Though anyone else is welcome to come a-posting *cough cough looking directly at every other author on this blog cough cough*.

And there you have it.

Will re-emerge shortly.