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Aug. 28th, 2010 11:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwydion* It's cooled off enough for me to turn off three fans. Hector is not scared of the bedroom window fan, so he's actually sleeping on me again and migrating with the clowder generally. Yay, Autumn!
* I finished Santa Olivia. I'd heard a lot about how much people didn't like it, so I was pleasantly surprised. I think the problem is, it's a completely different style and genre from Ms. Carey's other books, so people who liked the D'Angeline things were not largely a group who'd like a science fiction novel of this type. As I read a variety of genres, it didn't bother me to switch gears. It liked the dusty feel of it, the slow organic growth of the characters, and the way it really does work as a natural extension of current trends. I liked Loup's psychology, just enough like my own to be above average familiar, just diff4rent enough to be Right.
The sequences where she watched the boxing reminded me of a very brief stint I had at a terrible job long ago. the guys watched boxing on shift. I knew nothing about the fighters, but I had martial arts training and I'm good at reading people. I'd watch the lead in to the fights and tell the guys who would win. I got all sorts of cool points for being consistently right. I tried to explain to them how I was doing it. It was some complex, mostly subconscious calculation of body conditioning, how they moved, body language, and facial expression. I could easily see how you could magnify that with the changes made to her genome, how training and instinct would work for someone like her. So it worked for me as a piece of science or speculative fiction, but I can see why it doesn't appeal to Ms. Carey's romance novel/alternative history/historical fantasy specific core audience. it's not written for that audience, so the crossover is slim.
* Being Human. I'm liking this season, I really am, but today's episode pointed up the one thing usually missing by it's presence: clearly, there is not nearly enough mostly naked Mitchell. Just sayin.' (I can't help it. Mitchell is squarely in my physical attraction sweet spot). Also, I think Ivan's actor just quietly rocked by socks with his acting. That little scene with Mitchell just blew me away. Understated and lovely. I'm liking what they did with Annie today and I'm wanting to slap George silly, but that's normal. It's just Michell's plot and character arc is more resonant for me this season. George really needs to make his basic decision about his closet door being open or closed and the self loathing is realistically tiresome for me. I just don't have a lot of patience for his inability to accept himself. It's a waste of energy to struggle with what can't be changed, simpler to run with who you are and live with the consequences. I figured out my deal as a little kid, saw the lack of options and moved on. (Options appeared later, yay science, but there literally weren't any until the '98 rules change, at which point,I had other fish to fry for awhile). The point being, he's a grown ass man and he's had a couple of years to get his shit together. Time to stop running in the hamster wheel. I get lots of people are like that one way or another, but I'm not all that patient with them RL either. At least Annie's growing up, despite the occasional backslide; I'm not convinced George is. Again, there is nothing wrong with George's plot line as art, it's just a matter of personal taste. Anyway, to me, the complexity of Michell's ethical choices appeals better to my personal taste, it just does, and I like political stories, and his struggle with his own choices is just more my thing.
* Yet more official anti-gay harassment in a school leading to yet another suicide: http://thecolu.mn/4484/mother-anoka-hennepin-school-policy-contributed-to-gay-sons-suicide
* RM found, an ABC news thing "How Muslims Are Treated In USA":
* I finished Santa Olivia. I'd heard a lot about how much people didn't like it, so I was pleasantly surprised. I think the problem is, it's a completely different style and genre from Ms. Carey's other books, so people who liked the D'Angeline things were not largely a group who'd like a science fiction novel of this type. As I read a variety of genres, it didn't bother me to switch gears. It liked the dusty feel of it, the slow organic growth of the characters, and the way it really does work as a natural extension of current trends. I liked Loup's psychology, just enough like my own to be above average familiar, just diff4rent enough to be Right.
The sequences where she watched the boxing reminded me of a very brief stint I had at a terrible job long ago. the guys watched boxing on shift. I knew nothing about the fighters, but I had martial arts training and I'm good at reading people. I'd watch the lead in to the fights and tell the guys who would win. I got all sorts of cool points for being consistently right. I tried to explain to them how I was doing it. It was some complex, mostly subconscious calculation of body conditioning, how they moved, body language, and facial expression. I could easily see how you could magnify that with the changes made to her genome, how training and instinct would work for someone like her. So it worked for me as a piece of science or speculative fiction, but I can see why it doesn't appeal to Ms. Carey's romance novel/alternative history/historical fantasy specific core audience. it's not written for that audience, so the crossover is slim.
* Being Human. I'm liking this season, I really am, but today's episode pointed up the one thing usually missing by it's presence: clearly, there is not nearly enough mostly naked Mitchell. Just sayin.' (I can't help it. Mitchell is squarely in my physical attraction sweet spot). Also, I think Ivan's actor just quietly rocked by socks with his acting. That little scene with Mitchell just blew me away. Understated and lovely. I'm liking what they did with Annie today and I'm wanting to slap George silly, but that's normal. It's just Michell's plot and character arc is more resonant for me this season. George really needs to make his basic decision about his closet door being open or closed and the self loathing is realistically tiresome for me. I just don't have a lot of patience for his inability to accept himself. It's a waste of energy to struggle with what can't be changed, simpler to run with who you are and live with the consequences. I figured out my deal as a little kid, saw the lack of options and moved on. (Options appeared later, yay science, but there literally weren't any until the '98 rules change, at which point,I had other fish to fry for awhile). The point being, he's a grown ass man and he's had a couple of years to get his shit together. Time to stop running in the hamster wheel. I get lots of people are like that one way or another, but I'm not all that patient with them RL either. At least Annie's growing up, despite the occasional backslide; I'm not convinced George is. Again, there is nothing wrong with George's plot line as art, it's just a matter of personal taste. Anyway, to me, the complexity of Michell's ethical choices appeals better to my personal taste, it just does, and I like political stories, and his struggle with his own choices is just more my thing.
* Yet more official anti-gay harassment in a school leading to yet another suicide: http://thecolu.mn/4484/mother-anoka-hennepin-school-policy-contributed-to-gay-sons-suicide
* RM found, an ABC news thing "How Muslims Are Treated In USA":
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Date: 2010-08-30 12:28 am (UTC)OTOH, I now have to move Santa Olivia up a few notches on my reading list.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-30 02:49 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-30 03:28 am (UTC)