i, phoenix

Political Link-Dump

2017-01-25T04:40:47Z

Well, last week was a total wash as far as posting goes (I started working on my review of Lilith's Brood for 17 in '17, but haven't had a chance to finish it yet). In an attempt to not leave this week as forlorn and alone, I present: a link dump.

Disclaimer: Inclusion in this post does not imply full agreement with the contents of the article, but rather that I found it interesting or thought provoking...or funny. Sometimes I'm in dire need of funny.

"Translating Trump's inaugaral Speech into English from the original German" - Juan Cole

"How, you might ask, can he represent this coup by the super-rich as ‘giving’ power ‘back to’ ‘the people’? The people wouldn’t even be allowed on the grounds of the gated communities where Trump’s officials live.

The confusion arises from thinking in English instead of 1930s German."

"How to Culture Jam a Populist in Four Easy Steps" - Andrés Miguel Rondón

"That’s how [populism] becomes a movement. There’s something soothing in all that anger. Though full of hatred, it promises redemption. Populism can’t cure your suffering, but it can do something almost as good — better in some ways: it can build a satisfying narrative around it. A fictionalized account of your misery. A promise to make sense of your hurt. It is them. It’s been them all along."

"Don't shame the first steps of a resistance" - Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

"We must do a better job at facilitating debate, discussion and argument so that we talk about how to build the kind of movement we want. But endless social media critiques with no commitment to diving into that struggle for the kind of movement we want is not a serious approach.

There are literally millions of people in this country who are now questioning everything. We need to open up our organizations, planning meetings, marches and much more to them. We need to read together, learn together, be in the streets together and stand up to this assault together."

"Fighting Trump's populism with pluralist populism" - Peter Levine

"The Much-Needed Humor of the Women's March" - Alexandra Schwartz

"Trump, lately, has stopped making jokes, or the bilious little phrases that he seems to think are the equivalent of jokes. Power isn’t funny; it’s true humor’s best target. In some small way, the dynamic has flipped, and Trump is now on the receiving end. What, he can dish it out but he can’t take it? We already know the answer to that one. Humor isn’t everything, far from it. But we have a long slog ahead, and we’re going to need every tool we’ve got."

"Thank the ACA, Not Restrictions, for Abortion Decline" - Libby Anne

"That the anti-abortion leaders quoted in the articles at the beginning of this post could take credit for the declines in abortion numbers while failing to even mention the role played by increased birth control access and growth in the use of more effective longterm birth control measures is absolutely reprehensible. That they could credit the decline to convincing women to keep their pregnancies despite the accompanying drop in live births numbers is surreal. That they could credit abortion restrictions despite the fact that states with A ratings from NARAL have seen greater declines in abortion rates than states with F ratings boggles all imagination."

"Go and learn what this means (Part 6: patriotism)" - Fred Clark
(The rest of the series is definitely worth a read, too)

''Like the prophets in their rejection of religion, this rejection of performed patriotism is not a rejection of patriotism itself per se. They refuse to commend flag-waving or pledge-reciting or anthem-enthusing as intrinsically virtuous, but their quarrel is not with any of those things on their own. Their complaint is about injustice — about contempt for the poor and abuse of the outsiders, the disenfranchised, the widows, the orphans, the strangers in our midst.

When justice is present, then patriotic displays, like religious displays, are all well and good. When justice is absent, then these things become detestable, unbearable abominations that leave us soul-sick and weary of being burdened by them."

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17 in '17 #1: The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison

2017-01-11T15:46:22Z

Title: The Book of the Unnamed Midwife
Author: Meg Elison
Published: 2014, Sybaritic Press (My edition was the 2016 reprint by 47North.)
Summary:

When she fell asleep, the world was doomed. When she awoke, it was dead.

In the wake of a fever that decimated the earth’s population—killing women and children and making childbirth deadly for the mother and infant—the midwife must pick her way through the bones of the world she once knew to find her place in this dangerous new one. Gone are the pillars of civilization. All that remains is power—and the strong who possess it.

A few women like her survived, though they are scarce. Even fewer are safe from the clans of men, who, driven by fear, seek to control those remaining. To preserve her freedom, she dons men’s clothing, goes by false names, and avoids as many people as possible. But as the world continues to grapple with its terrible circumstances, she’ll discover a role greater than chasing a pale imitation of independence.

After all, if humanity is to be reborn, someone must be its guide.

Content Warnings (for book): rape, sex slavery, FGM, violence against women, miscarriage/stillbirth, death in childbirth

My impressions:
( Read more... (minor spoilers?) )

Going to definitely need to read something lighter next.

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i_phoenix @ 2017-01-09T10:01:00

2017-01-09T16:05:36Z

I try really hard not to be superstitious, but it feels like a bad sign when the new coffee mug my boss gave me for Christmas has already broken.

It said "Hope" on the side.

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17 in '17 #0: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

2017-01-09T04:48:47Z

Title: The Goblin Emperor
Author: Katherine Addison
Published: 2014, Tor Books

Summary:

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.

Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.

Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend... and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life. (Summary courtesy of Goodreads)

My impressions:

( Read more... )

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Week in Review - 1/7/17

2017-01-08T05:24:57Z

So, I'm trying to think of things to do with this post that will encourage me to post in here on a regular basis. I'm going to start with a quick "Week in Review" feature, just to keep my hand in.

It'll probably be a mix of little snippets about my life, mixed with links to interesting things I've read or watched during the week (to keep from being 'all navel-gazing, all the time')

Weather
The week started off warm, including one day so foggy that I couldn't even see the lights at work until I was in the parking lot. Rapidly turned from warm and foggy to what AccuWeather called "bitterly cold" and I prefered to describe with a string of four letter words.

Work
Despite the above mentioned weather, work was busy, but good. The new year brings that special joy of being able to switch over to a brand new tracking spreadsheet, and that's always a nice feeling. I had an opportunity to meet the Secretary of our agency, which means I've met both of the Secretaries whose tenure overlaps my time in this job. My boss continues to be amazing, and I have high hopes that I will get a promotion at work this year.

Home
I spent the week between Christmas and New Year, and half of this week, living at my mom's house while she recovered from surgery staying in my room at my Aunt's house. The peace and quiet was very nice, and the time spent soaking in the hot tub on the back porch was very welcome. I'm looking forward to being able to live on my own again someday.

Cats
This morning I woke up early, and while I was lying in bed my Shy Tortie came and cuddled with me. She's been a mama's girl for most of the time I've had her, but I think I traumatized her when I switched bedrooms, and we bought new living room furniture, because this was the first time in...three months, I think, that she has come to hang out by me instead of her Gentlemen Callers.

Watching
Honestly this week is was mostly youtube videos about Super Mario Maker and Minecraft. I don't think I even turned the TV on this week.

Listening To
NPR/WPR
Chuck Ragan - The Flame and the Flood OST
The Hidden Almanac

Books Read
Fledgling by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Saltation by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Ghost Ship by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Dragon Ship by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

A lot of old favorites in the mix this week, since I suspect that the eARC of their next book will be available within the next few weeks, and it will focus on the main character from these entries (also, I love Theo, so they are some of my favorite books in the Liaden Universe).

Progress on 17 in '17? None yet.*

Interesting from the Web**
"On the Collective Personification of a Year and the Devil in Our Current Politics" - Jason Jones

"We struggle to find some semblance of permanence, and because we implicitly understand our own mortality (probably the greatest curse that came with sentient intelligence) we’re attracted to things that appear greater than ourselves. I see this instinct playing out on a massive scale with the political backlash progressivism has experienced in the past few years (don’t forget, our psychic troubles didn’t begin with 2016). Conservatives, specifically older generations of conservatives, are more acutely feeling their mortality these days. The world is changing, and people and problems that were previously invisible to the beneficiaries of the status quo are refusing to remain invisible."

"Tolerance is nor a moral precept" - Yonatan Zunger

"Unlike absolute moral precepts, treaties have remedies for breach. If one side has breached another’s rights, the injured party is no longer bound to respect the treaty rights of their assailant — and their response is not an identical violation of the rules, even if it looks superficially similar to the original breach. “Mommy, Timmy hit me back!” holds no more ethical weight among adults than it does among children."

"Violence brought us Trump, but Nonviolent Protest will Stop Him" - Kazu Haga

"As a society, we have studied violence for centuries. That’s all we know. So, we assume that’s the only thing that’s going to work, or it’s the most radical thing, or the most effective thing, as a last resort. And that’s because that’s what the state teaches us. We have not studied nonviolence. We do not know what it means or how to use it effectively. We have never given it a real chance, despite the evidence that is out there. We have not invested in it the same way we have with violence.

There is nothing radical about violence. There is nothing revolutionary about a force that has destroyed communities forever, a force that we are all too familiar with and a force that got us into this mess. What is radical and revolutionary is using a tool that is new. If you resist violence with violence, you’re not resisting violence. You’re resisting people, and empowering violence. You are not addressing the root cause."

"The New Year and the Bend of the Arc" - John Scalzi

"Remember finally that this arc toward justice never ends. We are human. We are not perfect. We will not arrive at a perfect justice, any more than we will achieve a perfect union. But just as we work toward a more perfect union, so too we bend the arc toward justice, knowing the closer we get, the better we and our lives are, as individuals, as communities, as a nation and as a world. This is a life’s work, not just work for a moment, or day, or year. You won’t see the final result. There isn’t one. It doesn’t mean the work doesn’t matter. It matters. It matters now. It matters for you. It matters for everyone."

"Every State, Ranked by How Miserable Its Winters Are" - Kevin Alexander and Matt Lynch

"If you go tailgating at Lambeau when Green Bay’s buried under feet of snow, you could be forgiven for surveying the relatively lively demeanor of the local populace and think that everything must be reasonably cool, but that’s just because all these people have been intoxicated for 72 straight days, and it’s all going to come crashing down eventually[...]"

*I actually did read one of the authors on my list, but I started it last Friday, and finished it before the new year started, so I don't feel like I can honestly count it. Probably will still review it though.

**Inclusion in this list does not imply full agreement with the contents of the article, but rather that I found it interesting or thought provoking...or funny. Sometimes I'm in dire need of funny.

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This Year's Reading Challenge: 17 in '17

2017-01-04T03:09:32Z

(Inspired by omnia_mutantur.)

I like to read.

To people who know me well, this statement comes as no surprise. My mother will go on at length about how, if she hadn't seen the cover change from day to day, she would have assumed that the book had been surgically implanted in my hand as a child. Young me would sneak books outside when my step-mom would inevitably come into the room and tell me to "go outside and get some fresh air." Books and me...we go way back.

What I am not good at, is reading new books.

I have a handful of series that I reread, often several times a year. These books are my old friends, and I visit them often. This does mean that my TBR pile tends to languish in a virtual corner, gathering virtual dust bunnies.

So...in an effort to get out and meet new ~~people~~ books, I'm setting myself a new challenge, which I'm going to call "17 in '17."

The rules are as follows:

Between now and 12/31/17, I will read 17 books, by 17 authors whose work I have not previously read.
I will commit to reading books written by authors who meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Female/female-identifying
- Queer
- Non-white/non-European
- (this list is not intended to exclude books written by partners where only one of the partners meets the criteria, i.e. husband/wife teams)
I will report on my progress at least monthly, with a post reviewing/discussing my selection. Ideally, I will post about each book as I finish.

Why only 17? It's an achievable number, given my normal book consumption level (5-6 books a month), while still leaving room for me to read new books by beloved authors or revisit old favorites.

Tentative Reading List
Georgette Heyer
Sarah J. Maas
Marissa Meyer
Laini Taylor
Kameron Hurley
Benjanun Sriduangkaew
Lexie Dunne
Terah Edun
~~Meg Elison~~
Erika Johanesn
Francesca Haig
N. K. Jemisin
Ken Liu
~~Katherine Addison~~
~~Octavia Butler~~
Anna Kashina
Kat Howard
Ada Palmer
Ruth Vincent
Robin Talley

I welcome any other suggestions for fantasy, sci-fi, or other spec-fic.

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Today is a new day!

2017-01-02T04:10:32Z

So, it's been about 10 years since I posted in my old Live Journal. I don't think I even have the e-mail address that the account is attached to anymore, so even if I wanted to get access to it, I couldn't. Ditto for my old account here that I set up right around the time this site was so new it squeaked.

So...yeah...new year, new journal!

I've honestly never been much of one for social media - I started a Facebook page only about 4 years ago, and only set up a Twitter because one of my uni classes at the time required it. I've occasionally thought about setting up a Tumblr, but...frankly I'm not sure what I'd do with it.

I have resolved to try to write more this year, so with the the possibility of a mass exodus from LJ in the near future, I thought I would try writing here. I'll come up with a less pretentious header, but I thought I'd keep it for a little while, as a nod to that old lost LJ account.

Mallory is not my birth name, but it is the name I would choose for myself if I thought I could do it without insulting my family. There is a socially acceptable way to change your last name (at least if you are a woman), and obviously there are people for whom a birth name change is understandable and necessary (and I by no means want to diminish that). In my situation, it would just feel frivolous, despite the fact that my name has always felt like it fit me poorly, too tight in some places, too baggy in others.

I'm still not sure what I'll do with this journal, but I hope to post once a week at minimum.

My words to live by for 2017 and beyond.

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