> Have been laid low by this cold, meh, but starting to get over it My brain has been noodled. How do people write when they're not feeling great? I've seen some of you treat sick days as writing time. Me, I can't make my brain order ideas into words. As it is I ended up sleeping a lot and watching TV - season two of White Collar has finally made it to the UK, yay, and whilst I have problems with Elementary I watched the first few episodes of that and found it fun.

> Back in 2008 I wrote this about the fifth of November and the US election. I think it still stands: governments are not infallible, that voting is a power that we shouldn't take for granted, and that we can use it to change things. Regardless of who you're voting for, I hope you vote today.

> For people worrying about the upcoming LJ changes there’s some further information that you might want to look at here. To summarise, apparently we’ll be able to turn off the infinite scroll on the f-list page and we’ll be able to “customise background images”, which suggest we’ll be able to limit the amount of white space or develop a work around for it. Also, paid accounts aren’t being removed: “the concept of buying something that's called a "paid account" is what will be removed -- extra features will be done as add-ons and add-on packages. Existing paid or permanent accounts at that time will be treated as premium/elite accounts that will have access to even more features than exist right now.”

> I thought about doing NaNoWriMo this year, but I realized that actually I don’t want to write a novel right now. I’d actually be more pleased with myself if I managed to finish some of the fanfics that I’m working on and, of course, I need to do my Secret Santa fic for be_compromised. So I’m going to have a fic finishing month instead. I aim to finish: the Secret Santa fic, the Clint/Natasha His Dark Materials crossover fic from a promptathon prompt, and the Sherlock/Secret Garden thing at least. Onwards!

> Joss Whedon, US politics, and the zombie apocalypse (with thanks to franztastischfor the link), because Joss is boss.

This is just a quick update (because I’m still mostly offline) but I need to share some of the wonderful happening:

Check out the Epic Promptathon Of All Things happening at be_compromised. I am not kidding about the epic :D

And there are many reasons I wish I could be at the SDCC, not least being the Firefly Reunion! Fun teaser vid here, which hasn’t anything new but is a great reminder, and some live blogs from the panel and press conference here and here. Joss Whedon and Alan Baldwin were spotted visiting the people camping out in queues at daft times in the morning. *hugs Firefly fandom*

I have managed to see The Amazing Spider Man – possibly more on that later, but basically it’s far superior to the other Spider Man films and great fun :D

Stop the presses: Neil Gaiman say’s we’re getting more Sandman!



Happy Friday The Thirteenth folks ;) Will catch up with you all properly soon x

If you don’t know what it is: every year on Joss Whedon’s birthday people worldwide put on screenings of Serenity, a film based on a cancelled TV show that by rights shouldn’t have been made but was, to raise money for Equality Now, who work globally to protect and promote human rights for women and girls.

Joss explains why equality is important, not just for women but for everybody, in his Equality Now award acceptance speech in 2006. ‘Why do you write these strong women characters?’ he keeps being asked and he answers in his own Joss way.

He also wrote When I Speak for Equality Now’s 20th Anniversary Celebrations:



The rest of the celebration, including other works by Joss, can be found HERE.

For the 2011 Can’t Stop The Serenity event Joss had this to say:



Recently I read Past the brink of tacit support: Fan activism and the Whedonverse by T R Cochran (2012), which is an academic article with some interesting thoughts. “Whedon inspires independent critical, thinkers,” according to Cochran, and Whedon fan activists “represent a growing population of grassroots media, cultural, and even sociopolitical reformers.”

Well, we do try. And it’s a beautiful thing to see.

If you’re in the UK, the closing date for the Equal Civil Marriage Consultation is tomorrow. Denying two people committed to a life together the right of marriage on any basis, be it gender, sexuality, disability, or anything else, is discrimination. It really is that simple.

Apologies if I’m spamming you, since I’m throwing this all over the place, but do take the time to go to the consultation site and have an opinion. Thanks.

That was the advice Ray Bradbury gave to writers. He passed away yesterday. Fahrenheit 451 is the book he is best known for and the idea that there are worse crimes than burning books, like not reading them. I love Fahrenheit 451 and if you haven’t read it you should certainly add it to your reading list, but there’s a great excitement that comes from picking up a collection of his short stories. You never know what you’re going to come across: descriptions of places both real and imaginary so vivid that you can taste them, new perspectives and ideas that you’d never thought of that make sense or don’t, horrors and delights, and maybe a repeat of a story you’ve read before, an old friend peaking out from between the pages.

The last Ray Bradbury book that I bought was the short story collection The Machineries of Joy, which has this introduction by Neil Gaiman who, as ever, says things better than the rest of us and there’s a good article here. EDIT: Neil Gaiman has also just written a piece for The Guardian here.

I cannot believe the extraordinary writers that we have lost of late – David Gemmell, Anne McCaffery, Robert Jordan, Diana Wynne Jones, so many – but I feel we are so lucky to have all of the stories that they have left behind.

So, SOPA/PIPA are off the table. For now at least. (Some info here and here.) It's a relief, but I can't help thinking it'll have a rethink and come back later.

What's going around now is Black March, which is essentially a proposed boycott of the media industry this March. In principal it seems like a good idea: showing the big corporations that without their customers they have nothing. But I just don't think it'll have much impact overall.

A boycott is essentially doing nothing and that's hard to measure. How will the industry know who is boycotting and who just can't afford anything in March, or who just didn't want to buy anything in March? And sure, they'll be a cut in profits, but it won't be the decision-makers at the top of the pile that will feel the impact of that, it'll be the everyday people in the customer facing roles, stacking shelves and suffering through the recession already.

People standing up and saying something, signing petitions and making noise, cluttering up the inboxes of officials, mithering, making a splash in the news - that I believe would make more of an impact in this case (and I like to think it's contributed to the tabling of SOPA/PIPA).

I've been chatting with people lately about what constitutes protesting and what's an effective form of protest. Any thoughts, in relation to Black March or otherwise?

SOPA/PIPA. If you haven't heard of them, or are wondering what the Wiki and Google blackouts are about, take a look at Protect IP - a link I posed a while ago on Facebook, but I don't think I put it on here - and What Is SOPA?. I'm pretty sure my f-list is already up to speed :) but, where you can, pass it on. As a bunch of artists and creators including Neil Gaiman say (much more politely than I would frame it) in this open letter, this is censorship on a harmful and dangerous level. It will effect all of us.

For those of us outside of the US, mahmfic passed onto me from Wiki:
I don't live in the United States. How can I help?
Contact your local State Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or similar branch of government. Tell them you oppose SOPA and PIPA, and any similar legislation. SOPA and PIPA will affect sites outside of the United States, and actions to sites inside the United States (like Wikipedia) will also affect non-American readers -- like you. Calling your own government will also let them know you don't want them to create their own bad anti-Internet legislation.


Thank you and on a happier note, here, have a lovely video in which a book store comes to life :)

The cleaning was done on Tuesday, the tree and decorations finally went up on Wednesday, and we've been visiting like mad. My Dad has a really large family, so we can never see everyone, but we certainly made an effort - five houses today, wooo! We're just waiting for my little sister, who still believes, to fall asleep and then Santa is going to visit.

I know it's a bit early - I blame the fact that midnight mass is no longer at midnight and it throws us all out of sync, ha - but: Happy Christmas! Hope you all have a fun and fantastic time, with family, friends, and everyone, regardless of what you celebrate xxx

World Aids Day today. Durham Student Union did a release of 1000 balloons to raise awareness. Awareness of issues is always good.



There are some facts on the World Aids Day website that people should be aware of and a few articles on ontd_political here and here with some chatter going on in the comments.

Also, Durham University now has a Center for Sex, Gender, and Sexualities which has evolved from the Gender and Sexuality Research Network. Yay us :)

I just found out this afternoon that Anne McCaffrey has passed away on the 21st following a stroke at the age of 85.

I was searching through the badly stocked boxes at a rare primary school bookfayre when I came across Dragonsinger, my first McCaffrey story. Dragons and music featured in a book? I think I hugged it, I was that excited. It was perfect, a right book at the right time. Later I had a surprise when I realised that this dragon series I was reading turned out to actually be science-fiction and not fantasy even though it had dragons in it, but it was written by Anne McCaffrey and so I kept reading regardless. I probably would have ventured beyond fantasy at some point, but not that early and not so seamlessly. She taught me that it didn't matter what the genre was, the important thing was the story, and over the years I worked my way through everything else she wrote that I could get my hands on.

Anne McCaffrey was prolific. She wrote an impressive number of books and stories, she was the first woman to be awarded the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, she was the first woman with a science-fiction title on the New York Times bestseller list, she was named a Grand Master of science-fiction in 2005 and inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2006, she was still writing in her 80s and still replying to her reader's mail up until a few weeks ago.

She was a remarkable and influential woman.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." ~ All The Weyrs Of Pern


Sources: here at ontd_political, here by Matt Blum, and from memory. There's a nice guardian piece here.

If you're in the UK, hope you've been doing 'something funny for money' for Red Nose Day 2011. Don't forget to switch on the TV for fun things like a new Doctor Who snippet and a chance to donate.

I'd also like to point to a couple of LJ events aimed at helping those in Japan, for those who've not already seen them. The first is Write For Relief where people are offering donations for prompts of 1,000 words of fic to be filled. I've promised some Firefly. (Jayne/River so we'll see how that goes. Anyone want to offer money for a Wash/Zoe prompt?)

And a place where you can make offers and others bid:


I find I don't have much to say about the events in Japan. Like a lot of nature's acts it leaves me pretty much speechless. One thing though: I keep reading that it's difficult for people to take in the size of this disaster and that the numbers are something we can't wrap our heads around. I can't disagree. I do, however, believe people's hearts are more than capable.

Tomorrow we elect a new government and I have the frightening thought that we may not get the government that we choose.

Traditionally British elections are a two party race, so voting tactically means if you don't want one party to gain power then you vote for the other, even if you don't agree with either party's politics. You vote for the lesser of the two evils, giving rise to the saying that British governments aren't voted in it's just that the old ones are voted out. This year though opinion polls seem to show a close race between the three largest political parties: Labour, Conservative, and Liberal. Confusion has ensued. We don't know how to cope with tactics when three parties are involved.

There's the possibility of a hung, or balanced, parliament which has people worried that we'll end up with a indecisive government in which no main political party has power. If we get a hung parliament, then fair enough. If it doesn't work then they'll be a re-election. However, if we get one because of tactical voting then the result won't be representative of what people actually want, which is really just as bad as getting one party voted in because we didn't want the other one. It's not a choice we've made.

Then there's the fact that an awful lot of people are disillusioned when it comes to British politics and politicians. Thanks to the war in Iraq and the expenses scandal, to name but a few reasons why, or because they feel the system doesn't provide a choice. There are non-voters who hope that large numbers of people refusing to vote will show dissatisfaction with the political system and parties. The problem is that, unlike in some countries, our voting cards don't come with a tick box for registering a non-vote, or a vote for no political party, so how can we tell what's apathy, where people just can't be bothered, and what's a non-vote?

If you don't show up, if you don't put a cross in a box, if you don't vote, then you have no voice. How can it be a protest if no one knows about it?

For the first time ever we've had live, televised debates between the three main political party leaders. Speculation on the election has been all over the news. It's easy to find out what the main parties plan to do if they are elected, and if you don't like it there are other parties. They might be small, they may have no chance of getting into power, but they are there. Disillusionment with the main political parties can be expressed by voting for another party and if they don't get in, well, if you don’t vote at all then you're not voting anyone in either, are you?

So here's an idea: I'm going to vote for the party whose policies I'd most like to see put into action. I'd happily tell you what party that is, but for what I'm trying to say here it doesn't matter. Maybe they won't get into power, but I'll have registered my choice.

Please don't throw away the opportunity, a right that's been fought for throughout history, to have a say in how your country is run. America had an inspiring turn out for their last election. It scares me that we could do the opposite, that so many people are casually saying they're not going to vote.

Make a choice. If we get a hung parliament, so be it. If we get a majority and it's a party you or I personally don't want in power, so be it. If people complain that votes have been wasted on minor parties, so be it. Just vote.

It's our choice. It's our opportunity to choose. Please don't waste it.

..and Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as northern Italy, northern Norway, and northern Spain (according to the BBC). Because of a volcano. In Iceland. You couldn't make it up.

Essentially, the ash and other components, mainly silica, that are produced by a volcanic eruption can cause jet engines to fail, so our airspace has been closed and people are stranded, unable to leave or to come home. There are some fantastic photographs of the eruption here and the latest news from the BBC here.

One of my friends and his partner are in Istanbul, on holiday, and their flight back was one of the many cancelled. They plan to join the masses of people travelling across Europe by train, car, coach, etc. and then get a ferry. There have been some fantastic stories. One that jumped out at me was two young women who hired a coach and collected strangers on their way back until they had a full coach. Also, the people buying bikes so they can get places on ferries that are allocated to cyclists. France is having a boom in bike sales.

I have to admit that I'm amused at the fact that a volcano, of all things, in Iceland, of all places, has had such a unexpected impact, and at the stories. As a geographer I'm also inclined to look at volcanic displays and go, 'oooh, pretty!'

I know things are bad for a lot of people, with many having no where to stay other than at the airport, a lack of organisation in a lot of places, and people missing important events. Two physicists I know from university were meant to be flying over from Germany, where they're researching at the moment, to a wedding here in the UK. They missed it. They, at least, haven't been stuck sleeping at an airport.

Still, this isn't a disaster. If planes were actually taking off and crashing back down again, that would be a disaster. If we'd been on top of the volcano when it burst it's top, that would have been a disaster. This is aggravation, anger, disruption.

On BBC North West tonight some troops were interviewed who have finally managed to get back from a seven month tour of Afghanistan. Their plane was diverted and then they had to take a coach and a ferry, making them four days late arriving. The interviewer was saying to them how strange it must be, to be delayed getting home by a volcano of all things, and how awful it must be. The General's response can pretty much be summed up by: we just got back from seven months in Afghanistan. This? Not a big deal.

In actual fact, he called it 'a mini adventure'.

Adventures are not always nice things, as I remember a character in an Enid Blyton book saying once I think, but they're not disasters. This, like all things, will pass and it'll be something we talk about for ages, like the unusual snow we had in winter. It's the current Big Thing, but sometimes I think people need reminding to keep it in perspective: for some this is not even a real adventure, just a mini one.

The thing about adventures is that you have to make the most of them. You have to make a story. My friend is on the way back from Istanbul, he'll get here eventually, I'll listen to the story he'll be able to tell, and he'll enjoy telling it.

It'll be just one of many mini adventures, and best of luck to everyone on one.

The UN has launched an appeal for $562m (£346m) intended to help three million people for six months, while some two million people are thought to need emergency relief. The difficulties in getting aid to where it needs to be means even more may be required, with the possibility of funds being diverted to the task of actually reaching people. If you can help, please do.

Fandom for a reason: help_haiti
UK Disasters Emergency Committee: Haiti Earthquake Appeal
British Red Cross: Haiti Appeal
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement: Directory