A daily miasma of frivolity by two wanna-be cultural critics. Or: just, like, some good links, dude.

Jul 11 2012
Mark Twain, probably

How to be a fan of problematic things

How to be a fan of problematic things

Rachael, Social Justice League:

I like things, and some of those things are problematic. I like Lord of the Rings even though it’s pretty fucked up with regard to women and race (any narrative that says “this whole race is evil” is fucked up, okay). I like A Song of Ice and Fire even though its portrayal of people of colour is problematic, and often I find that its in-text condemnation of patriarchy isn’t obvious enough to justify the sexism displayed. I like the movie Scott Pilgrim vs The World even though it is racist in its portrayal of Matthew Patel, panders to stereotypes in its portrayal of Wallace, and trivialises queer female sexuality in its portrayal of Ramona and Roxy’s relationship. For fuck’s sake, Ramona even says “It was a phase”! How much more cliche and offensive could this movie be? Oh wait, remember how Scott defeats Roxy, his only female adversary, by making her orgasm? Excuse me while I vomit…and then keep watching because I still like the rest of the movie.

Liking problematic things doesn’t make you an asshole. In fact, you can like really problematic things and still be not only a good person, but a good social justice activist (TM)! After all, most texts have some problematic elements in them, because they’re produced by humans, who are well-known to be imperfect. But it can be surprisingly difficult to own up to the problematic things in the media you like, particularly when you feel strongly about it, as many fans do. We need to find a way to enjoy the media we like without hurting other people and marginalised groups. So with that in mind, here are my suggestions for things we should try our darnedest to do as self-confessed fans of problematic stuff.

Fantastic piece. Highly recommended. Via this also-excellent Erin Kissane piece.

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Jul 11 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Insurance companies send crews to protect homes

Insurance companies send crews to protect homes

The AP:

Insurance companies began sending crews to wildfires around 2006, said Paul Broyles, former head of fire operations at the National Interagency Fire Center, which coordinates federal firefighting efforts from Boise, Idaho. Land use changes in the past two decades have allowed more homes to be built in or near wildfire-prone areas, prompting the insurance companies to offer such a service, said Michael Barry of the New York-based industry funded Insurance Information Institute.

…

“It’s an added layer of protection for our clients,” [Kevin Fuhriman of Chubb Personal Insurance] said. “From a business perspective? It’s an extremely advantageous business proposition.”

Completely privatized firefighting is an exceptionally terrible idea for a lot of reasons. But in addition to a public fire department? It kind of strikes me as fundamentally unfair that one should be more protected from having their life destroyed solely by dint of having more money, but not really in any way I can argue.

Maybe we could just stop cutting fire budgets in states.

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Jul 10 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Ehukai: “Moloka’i Slide.”

Nothing more, nothing less.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
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Jul 09 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Military chaplains: End of ‘don’t ask’ ban on gays hasn’t fueled turmoil that outsiders feared

Military chaplains: End of ‘don’t ask’ ban on gays hasn’t fueled turmoil that outsiders feared

David Crary writing for the Associated Press:

Prior to repeal, various conservative groups and individuals — including many conservative retired chaplains — warned that repeal would trigger an exodus of chaplains whose faiths consider homosexual activity to be sinful. In fact, there’s been no significant exodus — perhaps two or three departures of active-duty chaplains linked to the repeal. Moreover, chaplains or their civilian coordinators from a range of conservative faiths told The Associated Press they knew of virtually no serious problems thus far involving infringement of chaplains’ religious freedom or rights of conscience.

According to this piece published on September 22, 2011, there were 2,900 chaplains on active duty in the U.S. military at the time.

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Jul 08 2012
Mark Twain, probably

China lifts ban on lesbians giving blood

China lifts ban on lesbians giving blood

Molly Gray, CNN:

The Chinese Ministry of Health has lifted a 14-year-old ban on lesbians donating blood in effect as of July 1.

The ban still applies to men who are sexually active with other men, but celibate homosexuals are permitted to give blood, according to the Ministry of Health’s website.

The original ban, enacted in 1998, barred homosexuals of both genders from donating blood out of a fear of spreading HIV and AIDS.

Well, it’s a start, I guess. Apparently the only guaranteed way to stay free of HIV is still to stick to heterosexual sex, though.

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Jul 07 2012
Mark Twain, probably

‘Ili’s link earlier this week to the 1988 National Aerobic Championships reminded me of this movie: Heavenly Bodies (1984). It’s a Canadian aerobics movie (yes a real genre) that ends with an aerobics-off.

Other notables in the genre: Ron Harris’s Aerobicise (1981) and Flying (1986), which stars a very young Keanu Reeves.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
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Jul 07 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Probe: data in 172 papers by Toho University medical researcher fabricated

Probe: data in 172 papers by Toho University medical researcher fabricated

Report from Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun:

The Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists (JSA) on June 29 announced the results of an investigation finding that at least 172 research papers by Yoshitaka Fujii, a former associate professor of anesthesiology at Toho University, contained fabricated data.

…

The investigation covered 212 papers listing Fujii as an author in 41 journals between 1991 an 2011. The society judged 172 papers published since 1993 were fabricated as they could not confirm experiments had actually been conducted, due to factors such as missing raw data and an absence of details on the administration of medications.

One hundred and seventy-two papers with confirmed fabricated data. That’s insane.

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Jul 06 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Ex-Argentine dictators jailed for baby thefts

Ex-Argentine dictators jailed for baby thefts

MSNBC & news services:

Three key figures from Argentina’s “Dirty War” got hefty jail terms for the systematic theft of babies from political prisoners during the 1976-1983 dictatorship, an Argentine court ruled on Thursday.

The missing children — stolen from their parents and illegally adopted, often by military families — are one of the most painful legacies of the crackdown on leftist dissent in which rights groups say up to 30,000 people were killed.

Wikipedia’s account of the Dirty War is absolutely harrowing.

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Jul 05 2012
Mark Twain, probably

The world’s smallest fly probably decapitates really tiny ants

The world’s smallest fly probably decapitates really tiny ants

Ed Yong on Discover’s Not Exactly Rocket Science blog:

Some flies, known as phorids, specialise in decapitating ants in a gruesome way. They lay their eggs inside their victims. When the maggots hatch, they move towards the ant’s head, where they gorge upon the brain and other tissues. The ant stumbles about in a literally mindless stupor until the connection between its head and body is dissolved by a enzyme released from the maggot. The head falls off and the adult flies burst out.

Nature is weird.

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Jul 04 2012
Mark Twain, probably

From the fourth series of Would I Lie To You? comes this segment where Kevin Bridges, Lee Mack, and Brian Cox have to figure out whether the doorknob fell off David Mitchell’s bedroom door two years ago and he’s never bothered to have it repaired.

This video contains one of the greatest stares in the history of mankind.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
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