Rebcake-o-rama

Like many of you, I am most seriously displeased with the way the world is at the moment.

( All the ways things are horrible... )

On the lighter side, let me complain, yet again, about how I fail at Tumblr. I had a little time last week, so I thought I would try to enter the BtVS conversation in a couple of places, and that I'd be able to figure it out this time. Almost immediately, I lost track of what was being said where, could not find the threads I knew I had seen someplace, and found posters leapfrogging over each other until I was completely lost. Apparently there is a vast difference between "commenting" and "reblogging" — much more than I knew. I can never find my "comments, which also post before I've edited/finished them. I give up. I can't figure out how to keep track of even my own content/contributions. I guess I'll stick to looking at pictures and following links on the Herald, but not engaging over there. That's where the BtVS conversation is, so it's frustrating.

Um, I don't think I mentioned over here that I posted the first couple of chapters of a WIP at seasonal_spuffy, back in May. If you missed it, and don't mind a bit of silliness here you go:

Title: What Happens in Canada
Rating: Mature — for language, themes, and science
Summary: For the good of her sister Slayers, Buffy participates in a study (in Canada). She's a giver.

Since then, I've been to some films at the Frameline (LGBTQ) Film Festival. It was super fun, as always, and then I went to see Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs at the Castro Theater, which is his live show. Also Dear Old Dad was visiting, and we saw the touring company performance of Cabaret (thanks, feliciacraft!), went to the new SFMOMA, and did a bunch of other art-related things. Including this really amazing stealth photography museum, called Pier 24, which has a huge, amazing, super-curated exhibition, but only allows a handful of people in at any given time. You have to make reservations online and then go through an airlock (only slightly exaggerating) to see the marvelous photos. If you are into photography and coming to or already in SF, I highly recommend it!

I am kicking around the possibility of going to the UK in September, partially to attend WriterConUK! It's all very sudden, which makes me think I'll probably not pull it off, but the temptation is fierce.

Before that, I'm going to San Diego Comic-Con for the first time in years, ostensibly to flog the new Fantagraphics collection/reprint of Wimmen's Comix. There is even a panel! If you will be in San Diego, come to my panel:

The Complete Wimmen's Comix: A Her-story
Groundbreaking women cartoonists discuss the pioneering history of this comic series that covered still-taboo topics like abortion, menstruation, masturbation, castration, lesbians, witches, murderesses, and feminists. Moderator: Trina Robbins.
Sunday July 24, 2016 12:00pm - 1:00pm , Room 29AB

Doesn't that sound like fun?

You guys! I bring tidings of great joy! Beside all the other good stuff that happened last week, I mean. There are movies to squee about!

Like every year, I largely celebrated Pride Week here in San Francisco by going to the Frameline (LGBTQ) Film Festival at the historic Castro Theater. We all gather, listen to the Mighty Wurlitzer upon which the organist this year played "The Wedding March" to tumultuous applause, among other entertaining things. It's an ultra-fun scene, and the films can be quite wonderful.

I went to three biggish films which will most likely be coming to a theater or streaming device near you:

( One good... )

( One scary... )

( One dynamite... )

( Non-festival films... )

( TV can be good, too... )

Just a life post to say what's happening around here. It's Pride here in San Francisco, so there are festivities aplenty! According to the paper, a million people participate! As is my custom, I spend the lead-in to the big event going to various Frameline Film Festival films. Sometimes the films are okay, sometimes they are really, really good, but this year's standout, Anita's Last Cha-Cha (Ang huling cha-cha ni Anita, Philipines), was unexpectedly fantastic! It's primarily about a young girl's first crush, but it's filled with the interlocking stories of women and girls: moms, kids, maidens, and crones. Why are there not more movies like this? The adorable director, Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo, spoke at the screening and is the cutest thing ever! Smart ladies being funny never gets old, you know? If you ever get the chance, see this one.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon at a friend's place 1/2 block adjacent to the "Pink Parade" which is a sort of unofficial/official ante-party on Saturday for the Absolutely Official gathering on Sunday. Dolores Park is overrun with ladies of all stripes and their supporters letting their freak flags fly. There are costumes, amusing signs, and lots and lots of skin. We set up on the sidewalk, brought food, hung out, and occasionally made forays into the big excitement. In the evening, I went to Castro Theater for the Saturday night film, Cupcakes. The film was very good, and might be of special interest to you Eurovision-heads out there, but getting to the theater was even more exciting, as I somehow got caught in the most frenzied dance pit I've seen for a couple of decades. Heh. Walking home through the height of the street party was also an adventure. My buddy, Saint Sara, was with me for all of this, and I had to wonder how many more times a couple of old ladies will be able to manage navigating such enthusiastic crowds. Oh well, I haven't broken a hip yet!

I'm gearing up for the annual trek to the Pacific Northwest, which starts next Thursday. I'm not sure how many "30 Days of Buffy" entries I'll crank out before or during, but right now my big fandom contribution is helping herself_nyc to upload all of her stories to AO3! Her site went down a bit ago, and while it's still accessible via Wayback Machine, I'm thrilled that her work will be in multiple "current" places. Many of her earlier stories are on AllAboutSpike, and most of her Spuffy stories are at ElysianFields, thanks to the wonderful mod Susan, but there isn't anyplace that's complete and unlocked, as far as I know. Feel free to point me in the direction of any little-known stories by Herself. I'm starting to think that I'm an archivist at heart.

Everybody having a wonderful summer?

I think I'm starting to come up with my own way of evaluating movies, which starts with the Bechdel Test (thanks, Alison!), uses a variation onhello_spikey's "man candy" criteria, and adds a few more items. It doesn't necessarily correlate with how much I like a film. It isn't an indication of overall quality. It's very individual, and if a movie doesn't have at least five of these things, it's probably not a movie that I'm going to be excited about seeing:

1. Does it pass the Bechdel Test? 1 point
2. Does it show positive female relationships? 1 point
3. Does it show female characters being smart? 1 point
4. Does it show female characters being awesome AND kind? 1 point
5. Are there any gratuitous female gaze shots of scantily clad pretty men? 1 point
6. Was there any non-bashing gay content? 1 point
7. Was I at any point pleasantly surprised or amused? 1 point

I like genre, but I'm not a fan of the straight-up horror movie genre. However there are some movies with those elements that strike my fancy. In the past week I've seen Kick Ass 2 which is about one kind of horror, and Warm Bodies, which is about an entirely different kind. I have thoughts. They aren't deep, but a few of them are superficially spoilery. My evaluations below.

( Warm Bodies was pretty much great... )

( Kick Ass 2 is absolutely ridiculous... )

I just got back from my annual Gal's Weekend with a bunch of pals from college, for which I am the designated film fest curator. That means that I show up with a dozen choices and the group whittles it down to maybe two for Saturday night viewing. It came down to Bride & Prejudice and Whip It this year.

( Bride & Prejudice, no surprise, follows a familiar and beloved story, plus so very pretty! )

( Whip It is a delightful trifle about alt-roller derby. )

( Bonus Attack the Block... )

Some sweet person dove into the vaults and nominated one of my early fics, The Scourge Does Titipu (Fanged Four circa 1885), for Best Song Fic in Round 23 of the Sunnydale Memorial Fanfic Awards! The song? The sun, whose rays are all ablaze... from Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado. Because, well, why not? I'm tickled that anybody is still reading it, let alone liking it enough to nom it! Thanks, kind nominator!


( Now, for the elusive stuff... )