I know there's some of you out there, and though this is technically a Faire post, I'm leaving this open because it's brief and includes a request.

This summer I'm playing a member of Captain James Alday's crew, and part of my goal (and instruction) for the next few weeks is to absorb as much about Elizabethan piracy and privateering as I can. I'll probably be watching some 18th-century Age of Sail stuff as well, for general immersion What It's Like On A Ship purposes and because there seems to be a lot more of it out there, so those recommendations are also welcome, but I would love to find some resources that are appropriate to 1574 Bristol, England as well.

So: What's good? What texts do you go to for crunchy historical deliciousness? What's your favorite sailing/pirate movie? Hell, toss me links to well-researched piracy fanfic. :) Send your maritime geek friends here. Feel free to lay it on me even if you think I must know about it, so you can tell me why you love it. And I will add them to my pouch of research I've already started.

Yeah, I had a good first rehearsal weekend. *collapses in a happy pile*

A community for everything show related.
middleman

ART CRAWL! o/

Hey, is anybody else on flattr? I just got an invite code for the beta and signed up, and I vaguely recall I first heard about it through someone here. I kind of love the concept: micropayment donations for internet things you like!

My first real contribution to three_weeks_for_dw! *confetti*

Title: You Ruined Everything (In the Nicest Way)
**Direct download link: Right-click/Save-as (.mov 14.1MB)**
[ETA link fixed]
Artist: Jonathan Coulton (song)/(song notes)/(lyrics)
Source: White Collar (USA)
Editing: gelasius
Thanks to Mom (oldioreth) for the beta and to jmtorres for... you'll see in the notes below.

( embed and notes below the cut )

Happy Three Weeks!

Prompts for Transfic Minifest!

I've added four and will probably think of more. :P Go! *shoos*

So, this is a few days old and most of you have probably seen it, but I thought I'd post about it anyway.

Someone on fandomsecrets posted a secret which begins with the delightful phrase "I'm not a homophobe. I promise" and continues to "One of my best friends has decided she's a FTM" and the resulting comment thread is... special.

I'm actually pleased with the amount of calling-out that's happening on the "your phrasing is problematic" and "please check your cis privilege" side from both trans people and allies, and honestly the anti-trans vitriol that also shows up is no worse than I was expecting. Of course everyone has some sort of opinion on what gender identity is or means, because everyone has some sort of relationship to gender, and I don't think cis people should be told not to talk about it at all -- however hurtful the trans-denying commentary sometimes is (and oh, it definitely is). It's just that taking into account people who actually live trans* lives and who have experienced things one is talking about in the abstract is really really crucial to any sort of discussion of gender.

My thoughts: Trans* policing and spotting the 'fakes' does more to harm and silence the people just coming out and struggling with what their gender identity might actually be than it does to protect the trans* community from some alleged conspiracy to co-opt our identities. I mean, I'm sure it happens. There are people in the world who fake injury or illness for themselves or their dependents to gain sympathy, it's not that much of a stretch to think someone might fake being transgender to garner the same sort of sympathy. But you know what? I don't care. There's no way to know for sure, especially online, and since this is something people need to be able to talk about, keeping the shaming to a minimum and the open discourse to a maximum is vital to the strength of our various communities.

Also, I just want to give this anon a great big hug for this comment:

Humans are gendered. Behaviors assigned to different genders vary from culture to culture, but all cultures have a distincting between men and women (although other genders can exist, they are always in addition to, not instead of. Mammals are gendered. The idea that gender is "just" a cultural construct shows a deep and deeply silly lack of understanding of human beings as mammals and as members of a specific species which adapts through cultural means.

Language is "just" a cultural construct. So are agriculture, cooking, constructing shelter, complex tool arrays, and wearing personal adornment.

It is feminist to recognize that some deep cultural attitudes are destructive and need changed; it is not required to pretend that gender identity and preference are not as real as nouns, houses, and socket sets.

And now I want an icon that says "gender identity is as real as a noun" or "gender language is just a cultural construct".

Have I mentioned lately how much I love you guys*? I know I'm incredibly lucky for not having to deal with this sort of gender policing on a regular basis from my friends in meatspace or online and I don't want to start taking that for granted. So, you know, thanks.

*big messy grouphug*

*I apologize if anyone takes issue with this use of 'guys'. To me it's not a male-default noun but a truly gender-neutral designation, but please let me know if this bothers anyone and I will alter my language. <3

Song: Octopus
Artist: Jonathan Coulton
Editing: gelasius
Fandom: Doctor Who
spoilers for episode 5.02 "The Beast Below"


Download Octopus.mov (right-click save-as)
( Streaming and further notes under the cut )

Eeep! So, intro: this is my first entry into the world of vidding, a subsection of fandom I have been following for as long as I can remember and that has given me uncounted hours of joy and glee and angst and squee. Many thanks to all my cheerleaders, to par_avion for agreeing to watch it early (sorry I couldn't wait for your commentary, I'm just that impatient) and to fan_eunice for inspiring me to take the plunge.

Speaking of which, you should check out fan_eunice's episode-specific vids and give her lots of love for them for they are things of beauty:

Walking on Sunshine (5.01)
See Who I am (5.02)

vid: Sequence by lim, 3:45
music: Consequence of Sound by Regina Spektor
fandom: Serenity

If you know Regina Spektor's music at all, you'll probably agree that her voice and musical style and wordsmithing could not be more perfect for a River-centric vid, and this is even more stunning than I could have imagined. Power and perception in cold blue delicate packaging, words tripping over themselves and skipping to land on meaning too fast to follow their path but lighting up when they arrive; such that I'm apparently incapable of describing it in any linear or coherent fashion so I think I will go watch this vid more times instead, and I suggest you do too.