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( Snippet of the first story )
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/154
It's kind of cheesy, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I still liked it. Also: it's very feminist. It's Angela Lansbury as a heroic, dedicated, middle-aged single woman who saves the day and leads the troops into battle to drive the Nazis off, while David Tomlinson is the ditzy, plucky comic relief side-kick. It's so totally a role-reversal from the stereotypical movie gender roles, and yet there's no snickering about it, no preaching, no false notes. Both of them come off as real people, understandable people (if slightly exaggerated as befits a Disney movie). Their roles in the film are natural outgrowths of who they are, and Angela Lansbury is definitely a woman and David Tolinson is a man and he's not threatened by her being a hero, he's inspired by it. Also, there's a very low-key romance between the two of them, and when he chickens out and leaves, she's definitely disappointed ... but she sings a song about how she's chosen to be single because it means she doesn't have to spend her life worrying about other peoples' problems and gets on with her life. And it's not false bravado, Lansbury plays it perfectly straight. Also, the whole "middle aged romance"--they're neither of them spring chickens, they're not Romeo and Juliet, they're two relatively staid middle-aged people falling gently in love. Not to mention, the special effects (of which there are many, both green-screen and wire work) are extremely good for the era, if occasionally slightly more psychedelic than one expects from Disney.
On the bad side, the shorter version is better. They cut a lot out, and none of it was necessary to the movie. The long version really drags. The only thing I'd keep out of all the scenes and partial scenes that they added back in is the song Miss Price sings after Professor Brown leaves, and it's pretty short.
Also, I'm not quite sure about the exoticism of the Portobello Road dance sequence. It's a very long dance sequence in the middle of the movie, set in London at a street market, that's mostly a variety of British soldiers and sailors on leave dancing with the locals. There are different segments in different regional styles. Most are from the British Isles, but they also have an Indian group and a Black group with steel drums do a segment apiece. On the one hand, it's lifting up that the whities weren't the only ones fighting that war; on the other it's definitely got a vibe of "watch the exotic colored people dance!"
All in all, worth the rewatch.
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/153
Today I had the privilege of listening to John Nunes, head of Lutheran World Relief, speak and preach in church. One of the things he said was that historically, Lutheran World Relief and other Lutheran charities have not had to advertise themselves--Lutherans gave regularly, as congregations and as individuals, and so money that other organizations had to spend on marketing and fundraising, LWR could commit directly to projects. That's changing, and so Lutheran World Relief has just had to hire their first director of marketing. And it seems to me that part of the problem is that we as Lutherans haven't been good at spreading the word about all the good things we do. As children of God, we are called not only to spread the Good News, but to be what Luther called "little Christs" to our neighbor, spreading the love of God through tangible means of food, shelter, healing, companionship. We give and we work, not to earn God's grace, but to share the love God has given us.
Lutheran World Relief works in 35 countries throughout the world. They seek lasting solutions to poverty and injustice in some of the poorest places in the world. While they do disaster relief, their focus is on building communities and helping people raise themselves out of poverty so that when disasters strike, be they natural or manmade, the people can take care of themselves and are less dependent on the charity of others. They work with and through local people and organizations, creating sustainable growth and working towards peace and justice. And they do all that while staying financially stable in today's economy, and while spending less than ten cents of every dollar on administration (which is an incredible ratio--a lot of charities are good if they get less then twenty cents per dollar for administration). LWR's projects include collecting and distributing quilts, health kits, clothing, etc, made by American Lutheran congregations, Fair Trade coffee, chocolate, and gifts (perfect for this holiday season!), disaster relief, and working with people in poor, rural communities to figure out what they need and find a sustainable way to get it.
Lutheran Services in America is the largest social service organization in America. It's larger than Catholic charities, larger than the Red Cross, larger than the Salvation Army. It's an alliance of over 300 Lutheran health and human service organizations. Working neighbor to neighbor through services in health care, aging and disability supports, community development, housing, and child and family strengthening, these organizations together touch the lives of one in 50 Americans each year and have aggregated annual incomes over $16.6 billion.
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. For over 70 years, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service has led a ministry of welcome to some of America’s most vulnerable newcomers. They help people seeking safety from persecution in their home countries and reunite families torn apart by conflict. They resettle refugees. They protect vulnerable children who arrive alone in the United States. They advocate for compassion and justice for all migrants.
Lutheran Disaster Response works with local people and volunteers to rebuild lives and communities, both in the initial aftermath of a disaster and in the years of rebuilding that long-term recovery requires.
Through these and other organizations, Lutherans do great work in the world. I encourage you to give as you are able, of your money, time, and talents.
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/153- Even the weekend before Thanksgiving, there are still tourists in Gettysburg. You know how I know this? Because the idiots can't figure out how to drive in a traffic circle. It's really very simple. If there's a car coming across the circle, wait your turn. If there's a break, go. Don't get half-way out into the circle, then realize there's a car coming, and stop. If everyone drives responsibly, it's a safe and efficient way of handling an intersection. If they don't it's a mess. It was a mess today.
- The Christmas tree was up in the town square already. And see point #1, it's not even Thanksgiving, yet.
- I hate, hate, hate shopping for any kind of pants, but particularly jeans. It always ends with me trying on a bazillion pairs to find one that fits. Apparently, I have a small waist for my size (or I have a big butt for my waist size, but I much prefer the small waist, you know?). So if I find a pair of pants (particularly jeans) that are big enough to get over my hips and butt, there's usually a huge gap in the small of my back. And my torso is long enough that low-rider jeans are too low, so I can't solve the problem that way. When you've tried on every single pair of jeans in your size in a department store and none of them fit, that's frustrating. I ended up having to go to the Spawn of Satan (aka Walmart). But at least I found not one but three pairs of jeans that would work. Which was good, because I was down to one pair fit to be seen in public. And the winners are: Signature by Levi Strauss and Co. Totally Slimming at Waist, Riders by Lee Comfort no-gap Waistband and Riders by Lee Slender Stretch Mid-rise boot cut.
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/152
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/152
(The other isn't a fandom that I signed up for, but it's a relatively recent movie that was on TV just a few weeks ago, and the request is one I could do, it just doesn't interest me as much as the other. And would require more research. And, okay, all four fandoms are movies and I could write any of them in a pinch, but only the one from my childhood sings to me, you know?)
And I just realized that I have no cowboy icons. If I am to write a cowboy story, I must have cowboy icons (hopefully from The Fandom I Am Writing In, because my recipient is right, there is definitely Teh Pretty in that movie). Time to search LJ and DW.
ETA: and while I could find no icons of that movie (not even a single one!), looking at stills and classic movie blogs is definitely priming the pump.
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/152
Anyway. To cut to the chase, Bravo sometimes shows West Wing in the mornings, which is cool, and they just finished the series and went back to the beginning, and I was reminded of how much I love the show, and went to re-read some West Wing fanfic. And the fanfic is mostly Josh/Donna, because they had a great relationship in the last season. I loved that, how that was handled. She was strong, and not mooning over him, and mature, and he wasn't the beginning and ending of her world, and a romance between boss and subordinate can be skeevy and they handled it in a very non-skeevy way. So I like Josh/Donna. And went to re-read one particular fic I haven't re-read in a couple years.
Yeah. It's no longer in my bookmarks. It's set in the first couple of seasons, and the author keeps saying how strong and wonderful Donna is, but her entire life revolves around her Epic Love for Josh. She's got it all planned out--she's going to wait the six years until Bartlett's out of office (assuming re-election), and then she and Josh can be together. She won't see if she can, say, transfer to another post at the White House where he wouldn't be her boss and then see if they can make a relationship work, because then she and Josh would be parted! She'll date, while she's waiting, because she's not dependent on a man or anything, but Josh is her One True Love so that doesn't really count. Then Josh realizes he loves her, and they get married. Then the Republicans hear about this, and crucify them in the press trying to use this as the wedge to bring down the Bartlett White House. And Josh gets sued for discriminating against some other woman when he hired Donna. And by the way, did I mention the fact that workplace codes of conduct designed to protect women from discrimination and harassment are viewed consistently as horrible things designed to get in the way of True Love? Things that only Evil Republicans could possibly support? And the Republicans are Evil? And the lawsuit about discriminatory hiring practices is horrible and vile and only Republicans could possibly think that a man with a history of workplace romances who later married his assistant might possibly be influenced by attractiveness and how receptive a prospective assistant might be to his advances. Basically, they try to throw out thirty years of feminist progress. (Okay, there is one mention of how most lawsuits aren't frivolous, but it's one mention in a very, very long story.) And the anti-Republicanism is virulent. I didn't quite realize how much before, and I definitely didn't realize how problematic their take on women in the workplace was. They do have witty banter, which I think is why I bookmarked this thing in the first place, but really that's no longer enough to cover the anti-feminism and destruction of Donna's character.
I can't believe I ever liked this thing.
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/151
If you like stories about books, movies, tv shows, songs, whatever, that don't get much fanfic, if you like writing, what are you waiting for? Go! It's lots of fun!
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/151
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/151
Ballet Shoes: I loved this book when I was a child, and recently re-read it and realized I still do. I love that the girls love each other even when they don't understand each other. I love that the girls take care of each other and their family. I love that the girls go for their dreams. I love that being a mechanic/chauffeur/pilot is just as good a career choice for a girl as being a film star or a ballerina. I love that ambition is good, and rewarded, but that doesn't mean you should be a bitch about it.
Chalion series: what I love about this series is the way it brings theology to life without being preachy about it. The way theology is shown to have concrete impact on the way people act, and the way they respond to the world. It's not just gods and goddesses throwing lightning bolts around, but a truly deep spirituality that is fully integrated into the world and the characters. What I also love about the characters is that they are realistic and flawed and still manage great things despite (and sometimes because of) their flaws. What I love about Lois' works in general is the lyrical nature of her prose, the depth and breadth and weight of the way she uses words and themes and mood, though that's harder to pull off. If that's not your style of writing, I'd rather something plainly written than something overflowing with purple prose because you're not used to writing that way.
Heinlein--The Moon is a Harsh Mistress: I love the politics, and the relationship between Mike and Manny (I cry every time I read the end), and the economics of this book (TANSTAAFL!). But let's face it, Heinlein's attempts to write strong women sucked. He tried, which is more than most authors of his generation, but did not succeed. I would love to see a Wyoh who is recognizably herself, and yet made more realistic and given flesh through a deeper treatment. I would also love to see some deeper exploration of what it is to be a woman in Luna society, how that affects and is affected by economics, politics, interpersonal relations, etc.
Wonder Woman--She's Wonder Woman. What more needs to be said?
Okay, okay. I love the whole superhero shtick. Costume, secret identity, fighting evil, alter ego, the works. But I also love people who are realistic, who live in the real world. Sure, Diana can fly. What's life like for her on the ground? In the day-to-day stuff besides fighting evil, and what's it like to go from fighting evil to normal life and back again? How's it different living in Man's World than Themiscyra? Not just the big stuff or the obvious stuff, but the little things that trip you up the most. I want to see her friendships, how they affect her and how she affects her friends.
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/151
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/150
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/150
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/150
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/149
Well. To make a long story short, I have just finished scanning a book. It is now ready to be handed off to someone else to OCR. The book is True Christianity, by Johann Arndt, which was one of the major Lutheran devotional works of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and was the first spark in what became the Pietism movement within Lutheranism. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, if a Lutheran household was going to have only two books, chances were one of them was the Bible and the other was True Christianity. Which makes True Christianity a major work, and one that should be easily available, for scholarly research if no other reason. And while part of the book is on Google Books, it is nowhere complete, and the Google Books version isn't that readable, as is so often the case. So I checked an 1863 copy out of the seminary library, borrowed a scanner from a friend, and have spent the last month scanning pages while doing my homework. And it is now finished! Yay! All 542 pages!
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/149
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/149
Title: To the Lord I will Sing
Written by:
beatrice_otter
Rating: PG
Book/character: Miriam (Exodus) and Deborah (Judges)
Warnings: brief non-graphic mention of torture.
Summary: Deborah and Miriam: singing the word of the Lord in times of trial.
Word Count: 3,739
Betaed by:
devohoneybee
Author: Katt (
Rating: Teen (strong language)
Fandom: DCU (aka comic!verse)
Characters: Lois Lane
Summary: I'm Lois Lane. I'm the best investigative reporter living.
Go now. Run, do not walk, to read this story.
Even if you have no interest in comic books or the media based on them, you MUST read this story. This is perhaps the best story about a professional woman I've ever read. This is the Lois I love, the woman who is kickass and Made of Awesome and sharp and witty and strong and is able to balance being her own woman with sharing her life and love with Superman and isn't a bitch. (I have a strong problems with stories where women can only be strong if they are bitchy, and if they're not bitchy the story is all hearts and flowers and puppy dogs. Yeah. This story? This story is how to do a strong woman right.)
What are you waiting for? Go! Read!
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/148
I'm still excited about
Meanwhile, I've got a Reboot Spock/Uhura piece dealing with some harsh Vulcan realities that's almost certainly going to have one of those completely open-ended 'endings' that I like because they're realistic and other people don't like because they don't give closure sitting on my harddrive. It needs a scene and a half, some tweaking, and a betaing, but between classes and my
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/148
