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Here is a great article that I think everyone should read:


A Catholic Nun-Turned-Lesbian Mom Reflects on Seeing Pope Francis at the White House


This lady used to be a nun, but left the order when she fell in love with another woman. Now she writes about being a lesbian mom and watching the Pope at the White House.

A lot of people all over the internet are pissed at Pope Frank for meeting with that ninny in Kentucky. But they're missing the point. He's the Pope. He heads a religious organization that is over 1,500 years old. It's fucking CREAKY. Changing things takes a long time, he has a lot of people who absolutely do not want those things changed, and believe it or not, he does NOT, in fact, have absolute power. He can't just wave a hand and declare that everybody has to do what he says. To think he can is to be in the same uninformed place as those idiots who claim Obama is a "dictator" and forcing everyone to abide by his "socialist" ways. (How a dictator can also be socialist is something you'll have to puzzle out for yourselves; it's too much for me.)

Francis was voted in by bishops who thought he was a right-winger just like them. Fucking SURPRISE! No, he isn't, not by a long way. And as time has gone on, he's gotten more and more liberal, more and more outspoken, more and more compassionate and openly revolutionary. He's playing a long game, and a really astoundingly good one, too. And the people in the Vatican who don't like him are stuck with him, as he slowly dismantles the crusty nastiness caked around the Church. This isn't the 70's anymore - they can't have a Pope bumped off without everyone eventually finding out about it. (The internet is damn good for some things, ain't it?) So they have to put up with his love and compassion and commitment to social change and justice. Poor, poor wingnuts. Hate is going out of style, and they're left with the moral equivalent of a closet full of bell-bottom jeans.

This pope has shown evidence of being the linchpin of a religious revolution. The Church is influential enough that that religious revolution could easily (and will, if I'm correct) change the way things happen in this world. I was terrified of fundamentalism running roughshod in this country and destroying our democracy, but now I'm not so scared. A HUGE figure in the Christian world is now saying HEY CUT IT OUT FUCKERS. (More politely, of course, but he sure as shit said it to Congress. Ouch.) That doesn't sound like much to a lot of people, but it is fucking AMAZING. Francis is a wrench thrown into the works, a completely unexpected wrinkle in world politics, and breath of fresh air.

So how about we not condemn him and dismiss him just because he showed the ability to listen to someone unpopular? Listening is not approval - it's listening. That's how we learn, if for nothing else, in order to understand the arguments of the other side. Because you can't argue your own side effectively if you don't understand the other side.

And it is, after all, the logical outcome of what he's been saying about love and acceptance. You can't go around saying things like that and then say, "Fuck you, I ain't talking to you." THAT would make him a hypocrite, not what he actually did. How do any of us know he didn't talk to her in order to try and persuade her to do her job? He's only said he thinks conscientious objection is a human right - and it is, no matter what the objector believes. What isn't a right is getting to keep your job after you've declared your refusal to do it. For all we know, the Pope may have said, "I understand why you object, but you can't hold your position and refuse to do it. Better to quit and be an example that way." After all, the bible does say that being a government functionary does not mean you are in cahoots with everything the government does, or that you approve of its actions. She's making biblical claims that are flat out untrue. Maybe the Pope gave her something to think about. We don't know.

Babies. Bathwater. Contemplate the old saying. This guy is great, and he's changing things. Let's not throw him out because he isn't doing EVERYTHING OUR WAY THIS INSTANT DAMMIT.

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Jesus fucking CHRIST.

SHUT UP. SHUT UP.

Just SHUT THE FUCK UP, you horrible horrible HORRIBLE CREATURE!!!


Richard Dawkins Accuses Ahmed Mohamed of Committing Fraud


Somebody PLEASE tell me why the fucking fuckety FUCK someone awesome like Carl Sagan had to die young while a COPROCEPHALIC SCUMBAG like Dawkins gets to live on endlessly spewing his GODDAMN RACIST LOGORRHEA all over us???

How the HELL can anyone keep saying they admire this disgusting miscreant?


You know, it's been quite a while since we've had one, but I think it's just about time for another chorus.

Maestro Denis, if you please?

Asshole - Denis Leary


No, you racist coward, you're not some Expert On Global Terrorist Relations trying to warn the world of Its Grave Peril.

You're JUST. A FUCKING. ASSHOLE.


Just...just...

SHUT. THE FUCK. UP ALREADY.

GodDAMNit.

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At one of the Youtube videos from the PD Comic Con appearance, I posted this comment in response to someone who said they preferred not seeing the Ethan/Dorian scene continue because SEX EWW and it's-better-implied, yada yada, and then said the Ethan/Brona scene was EWW, and yeah - am I supposed to just listen to that?


( Ah, your perspective on sex scenes is rather different from mine... )


It's rather off-the-cuff and may contain some inaccuracies about exact things that happened on the show, but it's how I see it, basically. Because bitch, you do not throw down on my boy. Ever.

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It's a major disappointing moment for me to be enjoying a movie or TV show, really getting into, only to run smack dab into something so glaringly wrong that's it's impossible to ignore, and thus have the rest of the experience soured every time that thing comes into view. I'm refering to the current series The River, and the brain-burningly dreadful accent of the Latino boatman. It makes me cringe and headdesk at the same time. Every time he opens his mouth I think, "Is it really so hard to find an actor who can actually speak Spanish in Los Angeles, for gods' sakes?" Yes, he's clearly Latin, but a Spanish-speaker he ain't, not by a mile. Funny thing, though: his daughter's Spanish is just fine, which goes to show you how thorough their casting department is. Her grammar is a bit suspect, but that might just be the script. (If the subtitles are anything to go by, it's pretty badly handled. At least half of the sentences she utters are subtitled wrong, some of them very wrong. ARGH.) But the guy - oh man, it gets under my skin every time he says something. And it's too bad, because the actor's quite good; I've seen him elsewhere. But like Al Pacino, he just shouldn't try to speak Spanish. It just embarrasses everybody.

ARGH.

That is all I have to say. - Ten Bears

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I'm really getting sick of Obama and Hillary's constant sniping. How long have we been hearing these two haranguing each other? It got old a long time ago, and if it goes on any longer, it'll be...cheese.

Isn't it about time they got down to talking about the OTHER side? In their eagerness to bitch and piss about each other's policies, they never seem to say word one about the people they'd be running against down the line. They sound like a pair of third-graders in a spat: I know you are, but what am I? I know you are, but what am I?

Shut. the Fuck. Up. already. Christ, stop with the bickering and fucking GET ON TRACK.


And now this pissy attitude Obama's showing about the whole VP thing. Bitch, that is NOT the way to handle the situation. Instead of "Oh, she's so ridculous, I'm winning, nyah-nyah-nyah", how about "It's very nice of her to make this gesture, but I don't think it'll come out that way"? Perhaps "Who knows what might happen? I'm not psychic, and I hope we could maintain good relations no matter how the nomination comes out"? Or maybe even, "I do appreciate Senator Clinton's offer, and I hope she would be just as willing to accept the VP spot in my administration, should I turn out the winner in November"? THOSE would be responses I could get behind. This pettiness just makes me like him less and less. If that's his idea of "healing" and "change", I gotta say his "vision" is rather limited.


Both of these people keep talking about "change", and yet they give us the same kind of backhanded carping that's been SOP in politics since...forever. Can't they see that it's this exact brand of asshattery that people are TIRED of? How about some change in the way campaigns are run? How about some civility for a change? Good manners? Even - let's whisper it - friendliness?

And I'm not talking about the sort of passive-aggressive pretense they engage in when they're on camera together. I mean real bridge-building, putting away the razors in exchange for a willingness to engage the people in what we are concerned about. Which certainly is not their little sandbox games.

Feh. Politicians. They make me tired.

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James Cameron says he's found the tomb of Jesus. (No, not that one.) He's releasing a documentary about it, and presenting his theories about how the discovery disproves the whole resurrection thing.


Uh-oh.


After reading through some of the comments over there, ( I decided to put in my two pesetas... )

Seems it's time for my bi-annual reiteration of Why I'm Here and Why Whining Won't Work. I ain't got time to make yet another post about it (frankly, I don't see the point in repeating myself), so I shall just point you all back to this post:


The Manifesto of Me - not long, but apparently required


If you've got me friended, and you haven't read it yet (though the gods know I've posted something like this at least five times already) PLEASE READ IT NOW.

If you don't like what you see, PLEASE DEFRIEND ME NOW.

Whatever response you get to whining, virgin-eyeing, weepy tantrums and other such nonsense will thereafter be your own fault.

Do not, I repeat DO NOT have me on your friends list in order to read my stories, and then turn around and lambast me because you don't like seeing my other posts. You want fiction without having to know the author? Buy a BOOK, damnit.

Thank you.

I've been seeing discussions both here and elsewhere about the new LOTR package that contains the Bota documentaries, and I'd like to weigh in with my two pesetas. (The following is based on some comments I made at Elanor's LJ.)


First of all, I don't consider it profiteering on New Line's part. After all, they gave us a ton of stuff in the extended DVD's, about 300% more than the average disc. There's only so much you can squeeze onto one disc, after all. And how many films can you think of that have generated the outrageous amount of extras these films have? We're the most blessed among fans of any film in history in this respect. Do people even realize that?

Also, when you look at the price, the two editions of LOTR included in this package are practically a freebie, as it's retailing for only about $30. That alone shows me that New Line isn't trying to ripoff anybody - plenty of stand-alone titles retail for that price. So we're really just paying an average price for a new, specialized documentary, with the films thrown in as a bonus, and the folks who have no copy of the films yet are getting a really great deal on both editions, along with a brand-spanking new extra that contains hours and hours of unseen footage. Everybody wins in this deal, because if New Line really were trying to rip everyone off, they could easily have priced this at $50 or more.

I think everyone should keep in mind when they wonder and/or complain about these packages that this is the only film that New Line has ever released that has come close to the take it has. It saved the studio from dissolution, and since 2003 the studio's fortunes haven't risen to the levels to which they'd hoped the film's cachet would bring them. New Line is struggling again, and LOTR is the one thing they can count on to keep them going. It isn't greed, it's financial necessity. Were we talking about Warner Brothers or Paramount, then yeah, I'd say it's greed. But New Line has never been one of the monster entities; it's always been more marginal and thus more uncertain of its future. Hell, before LOTR it was best known for slasher films like Nightmare on Elm Street, a series that ended a long time ago, so it's hardly surprising that they're gonna ride this pony as far as they possibly can.


The next aspect I've been seeing complaints about is the fact that the documentary is not being released on its own. This is simply basic marketing strategy. It's because the documentary on its own would have a more limited appeal than the package they're selling.

Think about it. The doc on its own would sell to people who already have the film but actually want more than the massive amount of extras they already have, which would be rabid fans like us, and people who have an interest in filmmaking minutiae. But put the original films in, and they'll also sell to people who saw the film but never got around to buying the DVDs, people who didn't see the film but whose curiosity is piqued when they see the package, and people who weren't buying DVDs when the film came out. That last is demographically important, as it puts LOTR into a "backlog" category of movies to get. Sales statistics show that people are much more likely to buy a newly released film than an older one. (Don't we all look in the New Realeases section before we go to the racks of older stuff?)


Next, the fact that New Line is taking its sweet time about releasing more LOTR product. Again, it's basic marketing on New Line's part - refresh the franchise for as long as possible. But more importantly here, I think folks would have a better time with this if they shifted their point of view.

Look at it this way. What if they'd released everything they had within a year of the last film coming out? Then there would be no more anything related to LOTR ever. Part of how great all of it has been is how long it's lasted. Year after year of getting more stuff. I myself am glad they waited, because I'm really gonna miss it once it all dries up and is gone. Maybe some people think that in a perfect world there would be infinite amounts of LOTR treasure on tap 24 hours a day right from the beginning. But if there were, there would be no an-ti-ci-PAtion, would there? Waiting for more stuff is just part of the whole experience for me.

You know what it's like? Just like the docs on the extended are like an analogue to the Appendices, these extras coming out years later are like the books after LOTR. You think that's it, there's nothing more. And then hey! Yes, there IS more! Joy!

If they dig up another package of stuff three years from now, I'll be really happy to have it and I'll not only pay for it, I'll enjoy the experience, because the whole film thing has turned out to be a parallel to my experience of reading the Tolkien canon. Not just the story, but the way the story has come to us. To me, it all feels of a piece with the experience of the books.


And lastly, keep in mind that every time New Line released a new package of stuff, they not only give us fans something we haven't seen before, but they also create new fans of this film, and by extension of the books, because so many people who see these films go on to enjoy the original volumes, and many of them go on to the other Tolkien books. Movies cycle into the public consciousness and out again very quickly these days, and despite the fact that LOTR was really quite massive, there are many many people who either didn't see them in theaters, weren't buying DVDs when the first ones came out, or - get this - weren't old enough to enjoy these films yet. New potential fans come along every year, and each time LOTR is placed in front of them as a product, we garner more people into the land of Tolkien enjoyment. Can there really be anything bad about that?


I for one welcome these new discs, and do not resent either the time they've taken or the shape they come in. Rarely have the necessities of business strategy coincided so well and so richly with the passion of fans. The entire team responsible for the LOTR phenomenon (from the filmmakers to the studio) has, on the whole, treated us with respect and gifted us bountifully with all this stuff. Just remember: no other group of movie fans has ever had it this good.

Is there anyone around here besides me who still has a sense of humor about things like PUNKd?

It's a JOKE. Nobody GETS HURT. All that happens is some people THINK something happened that DIDN'T. And then they FIND OUT. That's it, people!


When I was a kid, there was a show called Candid Camera. It was essentially the same thing, except that the "victims" were ordinary people, not celebrities, and the show had a microscopic budget compared to PUNKd. There were no houses blowing up. Instead, what you got were people reacting to talking mailboxes, or choreographed crowds that wouldn't let them pass, or things like that. It was funny then, and it's funny now.

Christ in a sidecar. The world is getting grimmer and more horrid every day. Where's the harm in fooling somebody and then letting them know they've been fooled? It's incredible how thin-skinned people have gotten, and how unwilling to take a joke. Especially when it isn't even on them!!


*goes back to watch promo again* I sure hope somebody captures the whole segment. I'd really love to see this!

Maybe it's my bitchy nature, but I gotta wonder:


What the hell kind of mind looks at a 28-foot tall GORILLA and thinks "Black Person"?


I mean, seriously. These ninnies are going around yelling about racism, but what about the connection they're making in their heads? You know, I don't look at Kong and equate him with a black person. You know why? Because he's a fucking GORILLA. Gorillas are not black people. They're APES.

It's like the same kerfuffle that happened with LOTR, with the same idiot "social critics" (read: professional bitchers) who equated ORCS with black people. Nobody else was thinking that. Just the people claiming to represent black people. I don't know about you, but anyone who looks at huge, greasy, yellow-fanged, red-eyed, murdering berserker demons and thinks "Hey, those are black people!" sure as shit sounds like a racist to ME.

Same with Kong. I'm sorry, but no matter how much you'd like to think everything is about the particular issue that gets up your ass, it ain't. Sometimes things are just what they look like, in this case, a movie about a fucking GORILLA.

And for those who whine about the "natives" in the movie, and claim they're unrealistic: NO SHIT, SHERLOCK. Of course they're unrealistic - it's a goddamn FANTASY. It's fascinating to me that these people will zero in on that one aspect, and yet don't bitch about the presence of friggin' DINOSAURS. Or even, dare we say it, the fact that Kong himself is 28 FEET TALL.

You'd think these little facts would clue them in to the idea that we're not supposed to take any of this seriously. But nooooo. Out of all this wonderfully nonsensical thrill ride, they actually think people are going to take that ONE aspect of the film at face value.


Jesus Christ in a diamond tiara. These people really take the cake.