Natalia A.

Allecto’s Joss Whedon Rant Raped My Miiiiind

Which is why I didn’t initially respond to it.

Now, I don’t think there is such a thing as an ideologically-sound TV show, although recognizing power differentials in the entertainment industry and working from there is a good thing. I don’t believe that these two concepts are mutually exclusive. And, if it isn’t obvious enough, Joss Whedon’s work (much of it excellent, imho) is certainly not above criticism.

The function of art, meanwhile, is…

Oh, bollocks. I am actually responding to this in a serious manner, aren’t I?

Mmmkay. Allecto is a fundamentalist. She’s the Cotton Mather of the feminist movement.

I see her on Feminist Sci Fi – angry at the notion of being referred to as “crazy,” while completely forgetting the way in which she slandered Joss Whedon’s wife, Kai Cole, by reducing her entire existence to that of a lobotomized f(uc)k-puppet. To add insult to injury, Allecto didn’t even bother to use Kai Cole’s actual name when she wrote about her. Instead, Kai Cole is referred to like an ephemeral, abstract, nameless, and brainless being. Like an amoeba.

Men use this sort of language against women all the time – particularly in art. I enjoy and admire Tolstoy’s work, for example, but whenever I think of Natasha toward the end of War and Peace, I practically get hives. Forget Tolstoy and hives, though, if I am to dwell on a feminist erasing a woman to score a cheap point, I’m going to end up with bloody sores, looking a bit like the undead. And who would want to add more horror to an already creeptastic debacle.

Allecto, don’t worry, I don’t think you’re crazy. I think you’re just a jerk.

P.S. Your continued usage of the word “rapist” to describe Joss Whedon, in light of your requests for people to stop being so mean and whatnot, is doubly hypocritical.

Hello, Baby Anton

On April 1st, in Kiev, my godfather, Vladimir, and his girlfriend, Oksana, welcomed Baby Anton into their life.

Anton weighs nearly four kilos. He is 55 centimeters tall. His name was inspired by the Orthodox Church calendar of names (as opposed to our last name, though it’s cool to have that association regardless).

Darling Baby,

You have entered a world of wonders and skyrocketing fuel prices, a mouldering, gorgeous country with a history as bad as all human histories, a city of burnished gold and creaking poplars. You share your birthday with Isobel Fairfax, a character in my favourite book, Human Croquet.

May you know joy, goodness, and good times. May you be true to thine own self, even in circumstances wherein it’s not particularly convenient. Be loved, and love in return. Be gentle like your father and hard-working like your mother. Be lucky. Don’t forget that you’re made of stars.

Enjoy life like you would enjoy a good mojito (when you’re old enough for that sort of thing, *cough*) – that is, responsibly. Remember that a pinch of ennui makes us human, and a ton of it makes us boring kill-joys whom no one wants to shag (when you’re old enough for that sort of thing, *coughedy cough*). Be kind, especially when you do not stand to profit from kindness.

I wish you the best of what this world has to offer, which may not be much, but it’s a start.

We have all waited for you, and now you are here. Welcome.

Goodbye, Tanechka

Some things are over, Some things go on, Part of me you carry, Part of me is gone… But you’ve got a heart so big, It could crush this town… – Tom Petty

tanechka-kr, as she was known on LiveJournal, was my friend.

She was a divorcée living in Rostov, Russian Federation. Her son was living with her ex-husband. She was often lonely and unashamed of admitting it. She was vibrant, ebullient, generous. She wrote poetry and could always be counted on for a deep theological discussion. Those who knew her online, offline, and both, testified to her kindness, her openness, her unbounded sense of humour, her love of life and people despite the fact that both life and people often did not treat her very well.

Some time ago, she became seriously ill with pneumonia. Her bosses refused to give her sick-leave. Afraid of losing her job, she soldiered on. One of her bosses actually gave her intravenous injections at work, to keep her going, like some sort of race-horse. In her last conversation with a mutual friend, she complained about having difficulty breathing.

A few days ago, her heart gave out.

Tanechka is not the first nor the last person to be murdered by the cynicism and greed of other human beings. Most people know that the most basic laws about the treatment of employees are broken, casually and with hardly a repercussion, all throughout Russia and the former Soviet republics. There is no justice in this world, not for any of us, but especially not for people like Tanechka.

On the day that Tanechka’s death was announced by her sister, I was busy with work. As I went about my business, her face kept flashing up in front of me, like a light. We hadn’t spoken in a while, and I wondered if she was OK. I reasoned that things were fine. She was Tanechka and Tanechka was always busy keeping on.

The day after, I found out what happened.

Tanechka, I wish I had talked to you more often in these last months. I hope that you are well, and untroubled, on the Flip-Side. I hope that you will look in on us all from time to time, though I know that your immediate thoughts will always be with your family, as they should be.

You were a believer and you believed beautifully. You could see into the depth of things and people. And you could light a fire in the dark like no other.

You were always the one to reach out to me, and I didn’t always appreciate this fact, because I am a giant farking idiot. I hope that you forgive me my giant farking idiocy.

I will see you again.

Until then, please know that it has been an honour and a privilege to tread this way with you.

FCSFA stands for…

This.

Lots and lots of interesting pieces on that dreadful spectre, that creepy creature, that malevolent monster, the chupacab… I mean, that s(e)xual freedom and autonomy thing! In a feminist context, no less!

I snap my garter in honour of Lina, who spent precious hours putting it all together.

Questing for Pictures of Gorgeous Men

On most weeks, one of the most popular posts on this blog is the Beautiful Women post. It was by no means meant to be exhaustive, but I had fun putting it together and reading the different responses. I might do Beautiful Women Part Two in the future, but until then, I’d like to focus on the menz.

I am putting up some of my own ideals of male beauty, and would like you to offer your own thoughts and suggestions on the subject (or else just trash my taste). As usual, such photographic quests are often restricted to pictures of celebrities, so if you’ve got a non-celebrity to contribute, it would make the entire experience even better.

Please enjoy the gorgeousness responsibly.

Habib:

Habib