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Sep. 15th, 2015 02:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwydion* Abbot's kicked out as PM!
* "55th Anniversary of JFK's Church And State Speech :" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2015/09/55th-anniversary-of-jfks-church-and.html
* "There’s Not A Single U.S. County Where A Minimum Wage Worker Can Support A Family:" http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/09/11/theres-not-a-single-u-s-county-where-a-minimum-wage-worker-can-support-a-family/
* "Ferguson takes another step forward with commission's report:"
* "This Black Woman Spent 8 Days in a New York Mental Health Facility Because She Owned a BMW:" http://mic.com/articles/125270/kamilah-brock-spent-8-days-in-a-new-york-mental-health-facility-because-she-owned-a-bmw?utm_source=policymicTBLR&utm_medium=main&utm_campaign=social
* Scratch Blue, you get Red. "Oregon police chief goes on racist tirade calling African Americans monkeys, supports Confederacy:" http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/08/1419344/-Oregon-police-chief-goes-on-racist-tirade-calling-African-Americans-monkeys-supports-Confederacy?detail=facebook#
* "MSNBC host stumps Huckabee: Why attack Hillary as lawbreaker when you back Kim Davis?:" http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/msnbc-host-stumps-huckabee-why-attack-hillary-as-lawbreaker-when-you-back-kim-davis/
* "Woman Fired for Being Transgender Hopes to Stop Further Discrimination :" http://www.alabamanews.net/home/top-stories/Woman-Fired-for-Being-Transgender-Hopes-to-Stop-Further-Discrimination-326464671.html?m=y&smobile=y
* "Court blasts judge who compared transgender immigrant to Pee-wee Herman:" http://fusion.net/story/193788/circuit-court-blasts-immigration-judge-transgender/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialshare&utm_content=desktop+top
* "You May Soon Be Able to Live in a Trash-Made House in Seattle. Yay!:" http://www.seattleweekly.com/home/960073-129/the-earthship-has-landed-in-seattle
* "Making Sense of the Dimes and Nickles in Urban Fantasy:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/09/making-sense-of-dimes-and-nickles-in.html
* Black Sails Rewatch XIV:
1. I am still of the opinion that Max got Jack that ship expecting him to fail. Pretty much everyone expects him to fail. He himself suspects he’s going to fail, hence his obsession with the flag being perfect. I love Mr. Featherstone’s low expectations, the bit about Jack’s role having been almost entirely political on the Ranger and Mr. Featherstone assuming he wasn’t up to the tactical sailing bit. I think it’s interesting that Jack Rackham leaves it ambiguous whether he is clever or lucky. He doesn’t show his cards entirely. (For the record, I do think he knows what he’s doing). Similarly, there’s Mr. Featherstone’s belief Jack had no chance against the other Captain. I love Jack’s real fear and his classic tricksterish cleverness that carries him through. The speech about how he can’t lose his Captaincy because “You cannot imagine what I’ve sacrificed to gain this captaincy. I may have lost the only person in the world I cared for to gain this captaincy. I cannot lose it. Not so soon. Not like this.” If he loses this Captaincy he really has lost everything, and the only way he can keep it is by winning against the Golliath’s Captain. This fight is interesting when you compare it to the one way back in I between Flint and Singleton. Flint outfights Singleton; Jack kills the enemy captain before the fight even starts then waits out the beating until he bleeds out. The end though? Is very similar. Flint uses the blank paper to brand the dead man a thief, thus lying to get the crew on his side; Jack claims the dead man was going to murder the prize crew, thus lying to get them on his side. You can see the shape of the captain he will become, very different on the surface because he hasn’t Flint or Vane’s strength, but he is clever and ruthless and quick in a pinch and not as unlike them underneath as one might think.
2. When Eleanor shot at Vane and Flint to break up their fight, that hit right by Flint’s head. O.o She is so done with their bull shit. The power dynamics in the whole negotiation over the fort and Abigail is so complicated. Flint presents Miranda’s plan as if he didn’t just argue against it and as if he has no doubts. A classic Captain’s bluff, feigning confidence, in the face of Eleanor Guthrie’s perfectly reasonable objects. Richard knows the political currents. Charles Vane stands up for freedom. Here is the heart of their political disagreements. Flint, Miranda, Richard Guthrie, and Eleanor are still English. They want Nassau to be a legitimate port. They want to be reintegrated on their own terms, but fundamentally, they want to be part of the Empire. Charles Vane is having none of that. He has been a slave and wants a free and independent Nassau. He fundamentally stands for the democratic principles under which the pirates operate against Authoritarian England in the large scale and Authoritarian Flint in the small. I can’t say in good conscience that Charles is wrong in not being willing to trade a real asset for an intangible, or for his live free or die attitude, though he is wrong about England not coming. Flint’s arguments sound good, but they stand on very flimsy supports. I say this as someone in real sympathy with Flint’s motivation. Poor Charles and his completely understandable frustration and hurt over Eleanor always siding with Flint in the end. Hornigold isn’t wrong either, that he’s being fucked over yet again. Keep in mind that this is as much a matter of his survival as it is Charles Vane’s.
3. So Billy is back, so much wiser and politically aware. Dufresne is still technically the Walrus crew Quartermaster. Which leaves Billy and John Silver’s positions ambiguous. Flint sends them both out to nose count and politic, which is what a Quartermaster and boatswain would normally be doing, Dufresne being the enemy. So now the power vacuum is filled, but the tension remains between the open and shadow command crews. Billy is bluffing too, rather like Rackham, selectively hiding and revealing information for best benefit. I know Billy says he slipped and the captain tried to save him. I don’t know if it’s true. I still lean towards Billy really did slip, and Flint maybe tried, but not too hard, but I can’t prove it, and likely we’ll never know for sure. Jon Silver’s pretty subtle in the meetings this episode, you can see him thinking about what Flint is thinking. In the scene between Silver and Max, he says, “If he or any of the men in his crew were to learn about it…” Max responds, “Any of the men? Aren’t you one of the men on his crew?" He does not answer. So telling. Flint really should listen when Silver says he’s only in it for the gold. *facepalm*
4. Max chooses Anne, but she has said all season that that is her goal, so it is no surprise. Anne so rarely speaks for herself except through action. here Max basically speaks for her. It is beautiful. "Idelle, how would you feel if the one man you thought would never betray you did? If he purchased for himself a future through that betrayal? If you were told by a world full of men that that betrayal confirmed for them that they were right to see you as a monster to be shunned? She’s not mad. She is adrift. Alone in the most terrifying way. What she will do next, I do not know. But I refuse to proclaim myself to be yet another one of her enemies by acting like I have something to fear from her.” I think this is the best description of what’s going on with Anne that anyone is likely to write, along with Max’s insight that Anne stabbed them because Jack not gold, so I will leave it there, except to say that Max having her back at that exact moment was brilliant on Max’s part and the shot of Anne’s single eye in the light, with the rest of her face hidden in shadow, her hair, her hat, was gorgeous, and so very right both for the character and symbolically.
5. I am wondering if Max isn’t lesbian, rather than bi. I mention this as I think motive wise, max still basically wants to live free and wealthy with the right woman, just as she did way back in episode one. I think what has changed is that in her mind that woman is now Anne instead of Eleanor, and she now realizes in a world as violent as theirs, you need power to be safe, wealthy, and free. I think she is every bit as intelligent and calculating as Charles, Flint, and Eleanor. It’s just that her particular goal tends to be more along the line of Charles, and for pretty much the same reason: neither ever wants to be enslaved again.
6. I think the theme for this episode is stratagems and bluffs.
* "Fangs For The Fantasy: Doctor Who Series Recap: Season Four:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/09/doctor-who-series-recap-season-four.html
* Personally, I'm still angry that Moffat chose to ruin the otherwise brilliant Van Gogh episode by deliberately rewriting Vincent Van Gogh's sexuality. It is very worm in the apple for me. "Fangs For The Fantasy: Doctor Who Series Recap: Season Five:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/09/doctor-who-series-recap-season-five.html
* I rather liked Immortal Rules. Unusual world design, didn't go the way I expected from the set up (It looked like once she meets the vampire it was going to be standard tropey supernatural romance, but it veered off quickly for something way more interesting), rare supernatural genre novel where poverty constantly is a Thing, and strong Woc protagonist. I'm worried that the rest of the series will ruin it, but I'm going to cross my fingers and hope it doesn't head where I'm worried it might. I'd love for this time to be different.
* "Sunday Sweets For International Chocolate Day:" http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2015/9/13/sunday-sweets-for-international-chocolate-day.html
* "#DeadRaccoonTO honoured at CNE butter sculpture showcase:" http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/dead-raccoon-toronto-cne-butter-sculpture-1.3216064
* Ebay: 6 Lots, one no bid:
Quintessence of Dust 2014 (Only Lovers Left Alive): (Company says: The passing: beeswax and smoke, yellowed paper and well-worn leather books, droplets of spilled ink, faded incense, blood-tinged salty tears, and the metal of the knife that skewers that illiterate zombie philistine’s portrait.). 3/4 Full.
Lindworm 2012 (LE, DragonCon, Event Exclusive): (Company says: Smoky green leather smeared with crushed grasses and wild herbs). 3/4 Full.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BPAL-Quintessence-of-Dust-2014-Only-Lovers-Lindworm-2012-LE-DragonCon-/301739204845?
THE GILMAN HOUSE HOTEL 2010 (LE, Lupercalia): (Company Says: Musty, dilapidated furnishings, peeling paint, swamp gas, and decay.) 1/2 Full.
MOUSE CiIRCUS 2012 (Neil Gaiman, Coraline): (Company Says: A toodle oodle of pink cotton candy noses, vanilla spun sugar fur, scattered kernels of popcorn, and a touch of polished golden wood.) 1/2 Full.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/301739211523?
A Moment in Time 2014 (LE, BPTP): (Company says: A tranquil scent, illuminated by joy and warm with the serenity of love: bourbon vanilla and soft sandalwood with tiare, white fig, sweet benzoin, guiac wood, French lavender, and a touch of warm patchouli.). Just above top of label.
The Ninth Cage 2011 (The Last Unicorn): (Company says: A claustrophobic blend of iron and oak.). Just below top of label.
Port-Au-Prince 2011 (Wanderlust): (Company says: Dark, decadent and incomparably exotic: the rich scent of buttered rum flavored with almond, bay, clove and sassafras.). 3/4 Full.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/301739220678?
Haute Macabre 2013 (Retail Exclusive Oils): (Company says: Oak leaf, bourbon vanilla, almond husk, and black leather accord darkened by a 13-year aged black patchouli.). At label.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/301739230206?
A Low Candle-Lit Room 2013 (LE, Yules): (Company says: Candle wax and waxen "skin," rotting leather and reeking damp wood, and the ashes of a yawning, cold fireplace.). 3/4 Full.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/301739234032?
TARANTULA FASCINATOR 2013 (LE, Liliths): (Company says:Done and done: fuzzy cacao-drenched hazelnut with hay absolute, black pepper, and nutmeg, laced with stripes of wild plum and white sandalwood.). 3/4 Full.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/301739237669?
* Organizations helping with the refugee crisis: http://captainofalltheships.tumblr.com/post/128790538169/an-updated-list-of-organizations-to-donate-to-help
* A list of LGBTQA Charities to donate money to instead of seeing the racist Stonewall Movie that decided to portray a black trans woman activist as a cis white man. http://awkward0w1.tumblr.com/post/126399233673
* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We desperately need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com
* "55th Anniversary of JFK's Church And State Speech :" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2015/09/55th-anniversary-of-jfks-church-and.html
* "There’s Not A Single U.S. County Where A Minimum Wage Worker Can Support A Family:" http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/09/11/theres-not-a-single-u-s-county-where-a-minimum-wage-worker-can-support-a-family/
* "Ferguson takes another step forward with commission's report:"
* "This Black Woman Spent 8 Days in a New York Mental Health Facility Because She Owned a BMW:" http://mic.com/articles/125270/kamilah-brock-spent-8-days-in-a-new-york-mental-health-facility-because-she-owned-a-bmw?utm_source=policymicTBLR&utm_medium=main&utm_campaign=social
* Scratch Blue, you get Red. "Oregon police chief goes on racist tirade calling African Americans monkeys, supports Confederacy:" http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/08/1419344/-Oregon-police-chief-goes-on-racist-tirade-calling-African-Americans-monkeys-supports-Confederacy?detail=facebook#
* "MSNBC host stumps Huckabee: Why attack Hillary as lawbreaker when you back Kim Davis?:" http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/msnbc-host-stumps-huckabee-why-attack-hillary-as-lawbreaker-when-you-back-kim-davis/
* "Woman Fired for Being Transgender Hopes to Stop Further Discrimination :" http://www.alabamanews.net/home/top-stories/Woman-Fired-for-Being-Transgender-Hopes-to-Stop-Further-Discrimination-326464671.html?m=y&smobile=y
* "Court blasts judge who compared transgender immigrant to Pee-wee Herman:" http://fusion.net/story/193788/circuit-court-blasts-immigration-judge-transgender/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialshare&utm_content=desktop+top
* "You May Soon Be Able to Live in a Trash-Made House in Seattle. Yay!:" http://www.seattleweekly.com/home/960073-129/the-earthship-has-landed-in-seattle
* "Making Sense of the Dimes and Nickles in Urban Fantasy:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/09/making-sense-of-dimes-and-nickles-in.html
* Black Sails Rewatch XIV:
1. I am still of the opinion that Max got Jack that ship expecting him to fail. Pretty much everyone expects him to fail. He himself suspects he’s going to fail, hence his obsession with the flag being perfect. I love Mr. Featherstone’s low expectations, the bit about Jack’s role having been almost entirely political on the Ranger and Mr. Featherstone assuming he wasn’t up to the tactical sailing bit. I think it’s interesting that Jack Rackham leaves it ambiguous whether he is clever or lucky. He doesn’t show his cards entirely. (For the record, I do think he knows what he’s doing). Similarly, there’s Mr. Featherstone’s belief Jack had no chance against the other Captain. I love Jack’s real fear and his classic tricksterish cleverness that carries him through. The speech about how he can’t lose his Captaincy because “You cannot imagine what I’ve sacrificed to gain this captaincy. I may have lost the only person in the world I cared for to gain this captaincy. I cannot lose it. Not so soon. Not like this.” If he loses this Captaincy he really has lost everything, and the only way he can keep it is by winning against the Golliath’s Captain. This fight is interesting when you compare it to the one way back in I between Flint and Singleton. Flint outfights Singleton; Jack kills the enemy captain before the fight even starts then waits out the beating until he bleeds out. The end though? Is very similar. Flint uses the blank paper to brand the dead man a thief, thus lying to get the crew on his side; Jack claims the dead man was going to murder the prize crew, thus lying to get them on his side. You can see the shape of the captain he will become, very different on the surface because he hasn’t Flint or Vane’s strength, but he is clever and ruthless and quick in a pinch and not as unlike them underneath as one might think.
2. When Eleanor shot at Vane and Flint to break up their fight, that hit right by Flint’s head. O.o She is so done with their bull shit. The power dynamics in the whole negotiation over the fort and Abigail is so complicated. Flint presents Miranda’s plan as if he didn’t just argue against it and as if he has no doubts. A classic Captain’s bluff, feigning confidence, in the face of Eleanor Guthrie’s perfectly reasonable objects. Richard knows the political currents. Charles Vane stands up for freedom. Here is the heart of their political disagreements. Flint, Miranda, Richard Guthrie, and Eleanor are still English. They want Nassau to be a legitimate port. They want to be reintegrated on their own terms, but fundamentally, they want to be part of the Empire. Charles Vane is having none of that. He has been a slave and wants a free and independent Nassau. He fundamentally stands for the democratic principles under which the pirates operate against Authoritarian England in the large scale and Authoritarian Flint in the small. I can’t say in good conscience that Charles is wrong in not being willing to trade a real asset for an intangible, or for his live free or die attitude, though he is wrong about England not coming. Flint’s arguments sound good, but they stand on very flimsy supports. I say this as someone in real sympathy with Flint’s motivation. Poor Charles and his completely understandable frustration and hurt over Eleanor always siding with Flint in the end. Hornigold isn’t wrong either, that he’s being fucked over yet again. Keep in mind that this is as much a matter of his survival as it is Charles Vane’s.
3. So Billy is back, so much wiser and politically aware. Dufresne is still technically the Walrus crew Quartermaster. Which leaves Billy and John Silver’s positions ambiguous. Flint sends them both out to nose count and politic, which is what a Quartermaster and boatswain would normally be doing, Dufresne being the enemy. So now the power vacuum is filled, but the tension remains between the open and shadow command crews. Billy is bluffing too, rather like Rackham, selectively hiding and revealing information for best benefit. I know Billy says he slipped and the captain tried to save him. I don’t know if it’s true. I still lean towards Billy really did slip, and Flint maybe tried, but not too hard, but I can’t prove it, and likely we’ll never know for sure. Jon Silver’s pretty subtle in the meetings this episode, you can see him thinking about what Flint is thinking. In the scene between Silver and Max, he says, “If he or any of the men in his crew were to learn about it…” Max responds, “Any of the men? Aren’t you one of the men on his crew?" He does not answer. So telling. Flint really should listen when Silver says he’s only in it for the gold. *facepalm*
4. Max chooses Anne, but she has said all season that that is her goal, so it is no surprise. Anne so rarely speaks for herself except through action. here Max basically speaks for her. It is beautiful. "Idelle, how would you feel if the one man you thought would never betray you did? If he purchased for himself a future through that betrayal? If you were told by a world full of men that that betrayal confirmed for them that they were right to see you as a monster to be shunned? She’s not mad. She is adrift. Alone in the most terrifying way. What she will do next, I do not know. But I refuse to proclaim myself to be yet another one of her enemies by acting like I have something to fear from her.” I think this is the best description of what’s going on with Anne that anyone is likely to write, along with Max’s insight that Anne stabbed them because Jack not gold, so I will leave it there, except to say that Max having her back at that exact moment was brilliant on Max’s part and the shot of Anne’s single eye in the light, with the rest of her face hidden in shadow, her hair, her hat, was gorgeous, and so very right both for the character and symbolically.
5. I am wondering if Max isn’t lesbian, rather than bi. I mention this as I think motive wise, max still basically wants to live free and wealthy with the right woman, just as she did way back in episode one. I think what has changed is that in her mind that woman is now Anne instead of Eleanor, and she now realizes in a world as violent as theirs, you need power to be safe, wealthy, and free. I think she is every bit as intelligent and calculating as Charles, Flint, and Eleanor. It’s just that her particular goal tends to be more along the line of Charles, and for pretty much the same reason: neither ever wants to be enslaved again.
6. I think the theme for this episode is stratagems and bluffs.
* "Fangs For The Fantasy: Doctor Who Series Recap: Season Four:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/09/doctor-who-series-recap-season-four.html
* Personally, I'm still angry that Moffat chose to ruin the otherwise brilliant Van Gogh episode by deliberately rewriting Vincent Van Gogh's sexuality. It is very worm in the apple for me. "Fangs For The Fantasy: Doctor Who Series Recap: Season Five:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/09/doctor-who-series-recap-season-five.html
* I rather liked Immortal Rules. Unusual world design, didn't go the way I expected from the set up (It looked like once she meets the vampire it was going to be standard tropey supernatural romance, but it veered off quickly for something way more interesting), rare supernatural genre novel where poverty constantly is a Thing, and strong Woc protagonist. I'm worried that the rest of the series will ruin it, but I'm going to cross my fingers and hope it doesn't head where I'm worried it might. I'd love for this time to be different.
* "Sunday Sweets For International Chocolate Day:" http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2015/9/13/sunday-sweets-for-international-chocolate-day.html
* "#DeadRaccoonTO honoured at CNE butter sculpture showcase:" http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/dead-raccoon-toronto-cne-butter-sculpture-1.3216064
* Ebay: 6 Lots, one no bid:
Quintessence of Dust 2014 (Only Lovers Left Alive): (Company says: The passing: beeswax and smoke, yellowed paper and well-worn leather books, droplets of spilled ink, faded incense, blood-tinged salty tears, and the metal of the knife that skewers that illiterate zombie philistine’s portrait.). 3/4 Full.
Lindworm 2012 (LE, DragonCon, Event Exclusive): (Company says: Smoky green leather smeared with crushed grasses and wild herbs). 3/4 Full.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BPAL-Quintessence-of-Dust-2014-Only-Lovers-Lindworm-2012-LE-DragonCon-/301739204845?
THE GILMAN HOUSE HOTEL 2010 (LE, Lupercalia): (Company Says: Musty, dilapidated furnishings, peeling paint, swamp gas, and decay.) 1/2 Full.
MOUSE CiIRCUS 2012 (Neil Gaiman, Coraline): (Company Says: A toodle oodle of pink cotton candy noses, vanilla spun sugar fur, scattered kernels of popcorn, and a touch of polished golden wood.) 1/2 Full.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/301739211523?
A Moment in Time 2014 (LE, BPTP): (Company says: A tranquil scent, illuminated by joy and warm with the serenity of love: bourbon vanilla and soft sandalwood with tiare, white fig, sweet benzoin, guiac wood, French lavender, and a touch of warm patchouli.). Just above top of label.
The Ninth Cage 2011 (The Last Unicorn): (Company says: A claustrophobic blend of iron and oak.). Just below top of label.
Port-Au-Prince 2011 (Wanderlust): (Company says: Dark, decadent and incomparably exotic: the rich scent of buttered rum flavored with almond, bay, clove and sassafras.). 3/4 Full.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/301739220678?
Haute Macabre 2013 (Retail Exclusive Oils): (Company says: Oak leaf, bourbon vanilla, almond husk, and black leather accord darkened by a 13-year aged black patchouli.). At label.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/301739230206?
A Low Candle-Lit Room 2013 (LE, Yules): (Company says: Candle wax and waxen "skin," rotting leather and reeking damp wood, and the ashes of a yawning, cold fireplace.). 3/4 Full.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/301739234032?
TARANTULA FASCINATOR 2013 (LE, Liliths): (Company says:Done and done: fuzzy cacao-drenched hazelnut with hay absolute, black pepper, and nutmeg, laced with stripes of wild plum and white sandalwood.). 3/4 Full.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/301739237669?
* Organizations helping with the refugee crisis: http://captainofalltheships.tumblr.com/post/128790538169/an-updated-list-of-organizations-to-donate-to-help
* A list of LGBTQA Charities to donate money to instead of seeing the racist Stonewall Movie that decided to portray a black trans woman activist as a cis white man. http://awkward0w1.tumblr.com/post/126399233673
* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We desperately need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com