Wake the Sun

Folks, there is stuff going on on the internet! Lots of it!

* George R.R. Martin has entered the fanfiction fray (okay, it's more like he never left) and has made a bunch of unsubstantiated claims, including saying Lovecraft died poor and alone because of fanfic. nihilistic_kid takes that one apart with style and grace. Be sure to check out the bonus Marion Zimmer Bradley history lesson in the comments.

* From fourthvine: Professional Writers vs. The People Who Love Their Work, Round Umpty-Snout

* And cesperanza suggests the creation of a new internet law.

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* bookshop has a new post up titled Fannish spaces, girls, and the culture of silence: Fandom is not woman-positive. Fandom needs all the urging it can get just to talk about female characters, let alone talk about them nicely. Fandom prioritizes men above everything. Fandom prioritizes male-based fantasies, and fandom prioritizes the status of the people who write those fantasies.

* rm adds her voice here which, as a bonus, segues me nicely into the current WinCon/Unsafe Spaces/Victim Blaming debacle (POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNINGS):

* On unfunnybusiness - It's Saturday Night And SPN fandom Brings the Unfunny: Wincon, 2008. Baltimore. Fangirls gather, fun is had, but not quite by all. Some con attendees are made to feel unsafe by actions taken by thenyxie, thenyxie's husband and their guests at the con. Includes massive amounts of documentation and links. seperis has been following this closely and has posted with links and meta here and here.

* Semi related - trouble with Ignore Them And They'll Go Away: There seems to be a theory in the blogosphere that some people can just take it; that somehow this type of harassment is okay because they're getting something out of it. They're "big enough" that talking about them - as opposed to their ideas - is okay. They're getting attention, right? They're Big Names, and Big Names don't deserve the same respect or response you'd give to someone smaller.

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* I deleted my RL Facebook account last night - the mounting privacy concerns are getting ridiculous and I never used it much anyway. For those of you sticking with it (and I understand how vital a tool it can be), I suggest you check out How to restore your Facebook privacy on LifeHacker.

* I've also officially turned off comments and most crossposting over at _fx - these link spams will still go up (as long as they don't contain links to vendor sites) along with the occasional announcement (like the HikaGo reread), but that'll be it.

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* ebonypearl, dabhug and jblaque have information on how to help with the Gulg of Mexico here, here, and here. I have a FURminator, cats in need of brushing and the sudden urge to send cat hair through the mail so the first post is particularly exciting.

* From jonquil - Science fiction and me: Today we are more ambivalent about the ongoing march of technology; we're not persuaded that those aircars will make our lives better. We're well aware that some of our grand technological triumphs have had side effects that we discovered decades on That said mainstream culture already lionizes engineers, as long as they're also successful entrepeneurs. I don't have to imagine a future in which the engineer is recognized as a mover and shaker; it's here.

* glass_icarus has a post up about home remedies.

* How to pack 10 days worth of clothing in a carry-on.

* Tyra Banks has a book deal for a YA Fantasy series (about, yes, models). This should be interesting.

*A flash mob for great social justice:



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* REMINDER! The discussion post for the first volume (the first 7 chapters) of Hikaru no Go goes up tomorrow!

* Lastly, the charity auction for Deb Mensinger's liver transplant - debsliverlovers - is still going on. Be sure to stop by and check it out!