Adventuring Companions

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Below are the 5 most recent friends journal entries:

December 9th, 2009
05:04 pm spacelogic [Link]	pre-final word I'm going into pre-finals semi-silent mode, where I don't write much. Will say the latest from New Jersey pisses me off, but I was also glad today to get up and read Bruce Springsteen's statement on his official website: A BRIEF STATEMENT FROM BRUCE Like many of you who live in New Jersey, I've been following the progress of the marriage-equality legislation currently being considered in Trenton. I've long believed in and have always spoken out for the rights of same sex couples and fully agree with Governor Corzine when he writes that, "The marriage-equality issue should be recognized for what it truly is -- a civil rights issue that must be approved to assure that every citizen is treated equally under the law." I couldn't agree more with that statement and urge those who support equal treatment for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters to let their voices be heard now. Current Mood: stressed Current Music: Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream (Comment on this entry)
December 7th, 2009
05:14 pm spacelogic [Link]	budget cuts endanger American liberty yet again I was talking to a lady the other day about the difficulty getting into classes. "Oh," said she, "but they're building all those fancy new buildings! They have money!" Well, no. Those buildings are being built with bond money -- borrowed funds -- which is only available for the cost of construction. Truth is, we've lost departments, classes, and employees; the teachers we still have accepted pay cuts to keep from losing more. We students know we can't count on the classes we want being available or offered again, and after last semester when no class had room for latecomers we're fighting like mad to get into the coming semester's offerings. This is probably why I have spent the last four hours trying to get into the registration website, even trying the phone method in desperation, without any success. HELP ME. Edit: HAHA I BEAT THE SYSTEM I'M IN I'M IN I'M IN I CAN HAS EDUCATION YAY Current Mood: worried Current Music: Bruce Springsteen - No Surrender Tags: school (Comment on this entry)
November 30th, 2009
02:02 pm spacelogic [Link]	numbers A while back I was looking through a collection of brochures for different programs at my school and caught myself thinking "wow, there're a lot of women on these brochures!" Then I thought "I wonder how many there are, exactly," and counted. End result: 13 women, 17 men, and a few I couldn't positively identify. Hm. I think part of the reason I thought it looked good was that they had women on the brochures for "male" fields (CS, engineering) and men on the "female" fields' ones (nursing, I believe also culinary arts) so I was expecting good numbers too. But there's also the male default here. I noticed the women. The men were to be expected. I remember reading about a study where men and women were shown videos of conversations and asked who had dominated them, and they thought women were dominating conversations when the time taken by men and women was equal, and saw balance when the men talked more. Another case of that crops up in the apparent "crisis" in American Judaism. That most religions are and have historically been run by men isn't an issue, but as soon as one appears to be dominated by women, it's a problem. Note that the only man quoted in that article as saying that gender imbalance isn't a problem is speaking from a place where men are the majority -- that kind of imbalance is fine, people! Have I mentioned lately that I'm tired of misogyny? Current Mood: worried Current Music: Bruce Springsteen - The Wrestler (1 comment \| Comment on this entry)
November 28th, 2009
11:09 am spacelogic [Link]	how not to overcome a phobia I broke my glasses last night. In the morning, when I sheepishly reported to Mum what had happened, she told me I should find a backup pair (don't have one; it's been years and my prescription changed) and call the optometrist. Now, I am a logical person, but do not ask me to make a phone call if there is any alternative. I will panic, shut down, and become defensive. The only kind of phone calls I can handle are when someone calls me, when I call home, when I call somewhere I know a robot will answer, and when I have absolutely no choice. It's hard enough talking to strangers in person, or emailing them; not knowing who'll be at the other end of the phone is impossible. And it's not just that I need to make more calls, goddammit. I feel ill when I'm pushed. And nobody understands. single tear Current Mood: aggravated (1 comment \| Comment on this entry)
November 27th, 2009
04:37 pm spacelogic [Link]	meta: squicks and siblings Claudia Christian mentioned in a blog post the other day that a B5 director ("who had clearly never watched the show") had told her to play her scenes with Sheridan more "sexy and coquettish" and I had such a strong "EWNOGROSS" reaction that I had to step back and analyze why. I can handle all kinds of fic/pairings, even if I prefer to avoid them. But Sheridan/Ivanova disgusts me, and thinking about it I've come to the conclusion that it's because they're too much like siblings. It's kind of funny, I suppose. I can handle all kinds of screwed-up pairings if I understand the kink, even if I don't share it. I can deal with non-con, power imbalance including parent/child incest, aliens... lots of stuff. And I'm on IJ substantially because I used to have a good friend who wrote and read Weasleycest, and while I wasn't into it I didn't like the idea of her ability to do so being restricted. But despite this, sibling incest remains one of my biggest squicks. Maybe it's because I have siblings I'm close to, and the idea of people perverting that kind of relationship feels too close to home. But I have parents I'm close to, too, and I can handle parent/child type stuff. I suppose in the Sheridan/Ivanova case, there's the added factor that they're not related by blood or by legal definition, and I've got those siblings too and know how upsetting I'd find it if people ignored that and assumed that we were sexually involved. Ties in to the whole "a man and a woman can't be just friends ever" cultural assumption, which I hate because I used to be the girl who had all guy friends and wasn't into any of them, no, really, stop teasing me, Mum! coughs Tangent there. Anyway, I think there's another factor. Actors are often treated as people whose job is to convey emotions, deliver lines, and embody personalities. They are, of course. But another job they do is play relationships, and they're often not as good at that. We've all seen a big romantic storyline completely fizzle because the main romance lacked chemistry. Then, too, parent-child dynamics on screen and stage often fall flat. But the most commonly disappointing relationships I'm used to seeing are sibling ones. Screen siblings, whether bickering or affectionate, tend to fail to convince. And so I guess when I see a sibling relationship I like, I really don't like seeing it taken through the "a man and a woman can't be just friends ever" cliché. So Sheridan and Ivanova, whose sibling vibe seems so clear to me, I can't bear to think of in a sexual situation. (Claudia Christian, I may have mentioned, is brilliant at playing relationships. Yet another reason I love B5.) Current Mood: pensive Tags: babylon 5, fannish, geekery (Comment on this entry)