I've decided to try something a little different this week. I've had an itch to talk about things I'm reading or watching that don't quite justify an entire blog post on their own. So I'm going to start integrating them into my Monday posts. There'll still be plenty of links each week but now you'll have to also deal with me prattling about things happening in books, tv shows and life.
ugh... After Tom and I finished watching Orphan Black (which you should all be watching btw) I decided to start on Scandal. It's a lot trashier than I imagined (it is by the creator of Grey's Anatomy though, so I should have expected as much) but I do like how much it really commits to its over-dramatic nature. My problem isn't that the woman who says "I don't allow crying in the work place" always seems to be on the verge of tears, but that the central story plot, the relationship between Olivia and President Grant, is kind of... rape-y? I know it's supposed to be the kind of relationship where their attraction is so strong that they can't help but bone even when they know it's wrong, but if I have to watch a scene where she says no over and over only to have him stick his hand up her skirt and her give in to him - UGH. Seriously, do the writers not see how problematic this is? It doesn't matter if she loves him and that she really wants his hand up her skirt, she says no and he never EVER hesitates. It's super skeezy and a real bummer on an otherwise innocuous series. Has anyone else watched Scandal?
JFC... Philip Seymour Huffman's death last week provided the perfect example of why I hate the internet sometimes. A man is dead, leaving behind three children and a partner and all people can say is "why should I care, he was a junkie". When did we stop feeling empathy for other people? When did it become okay for people to blurt things out without taking a minute to think about who could read it? Can you think dying by overdose is a senseless, meaningless way to die? Yes. Does it mean you can't empathise with the man who relapsed after staying sober for 20 years? Does it mean you can't put yourselves in the shoes of his children or of the countless people who might read your tweets who have had loved ones succumb to addiction? Why does the death of a person need to be made into a statement? If we aren't telling people not to feel sorry for addicts or suicides, we're cheering for the death of a drink driver or speeder or rolling our eyes because someone took too long to see a doctor or chose alternative medicine instead. Do people die because they make stupid mistakes or decisions? Of course. But why can't we take a week, a month, or a year before we start saying they aren't worth our tears because they succumbed to their problems. /rant
Bon Voyage... On a more positive note, I'm off to Japan! I had to wait ages to get everything OK'd by the university but it's all a go now. In late February I'm going to be heading over for the Yubari Film Festival and to do some research for my PhD. I can't wait! I went to Japan a couple of years ago so even though I probably won't have much time to sight-see, I'm hoping to catch up on some of the places I missed last time. And I get to go back to the snow!
LINKS!
*Actually a really wonderful article about love in the Harry Potter series and why (in the author's opinion) the Ron and Hermione relationship was so important. (Via Think Progress by way of Meg)
*Ooer, looks like JKR might have been slightly misquoted last week in her interview with Emma Watson. It's a little more forgiving when you read the actual interview (Via Muggle Net)
*Because I am a sucker for babies and books, here are a bunch of babies posed as characters from books we all love (Via Buzzfeed)
*Architect Federico Babina created a poster series of the interiors of some famous films. They're really gorgeous, minimal and retro - I think Bell Book and Candle is my favourite. (Via Fast Company)
*It's winter olympics time! It seems like everything that could go wrong in Sochi is going wrong - but what if the games were in New York? (Via New York Times)
*Lionel Shriver teaches us how not to read. (Via The Guardian)
*GUYS! Science has finally done something worthwhile - here's the perfect way to hold a hamburger, as proved by SCIENCE! (Via Kotaku)
*These fandom themed Valentine's gifs are the BEST. (Via Buzzfeed)
