Cam's Corner of the World

I generally think fandom supporting each other and such is a good thing. I do.

But asking people to support getting a grant for a fanfiction hosting site rather than charity? Not on. Not on at all.

Here are some of the other suggestions competing for the 25,000 USD grant Fiction Alley wants: (as listed on the Pepsi website. Highlight 25,000 and then click on load more as many times as you want to see more suggestions)

- Improve our inner-city school's ability to help at-rsik teens.
- Supply a bed for every head in Spokane, WA for homeless people.
- Refurbish computers for children in foster care living in Buffalo.
- Provide care packages for children born with the birth defect CDH.
- Revive a shelter: Give comfort and safety when a home isn't safe.
- Give low income kids in rural Minnesota a SMART start in preschool.
- Prevent homeless kittens in Cincannati through project Kitty Litter.
- Open a pet pantry to feed dogs and cats of families in need.
- Help rebuild underserved and devatstaed communities and inspire hope.
- Provide financial assistance to families affected by CDH.
- Provide basic school supplies for low income children in Hawaii.
- Rescue and adoption centre for cats that doesn't kill the pets or keep them in cages.
- A summer program for abused children.
- rescue and care of injured and orphaned wildlife.
- Use new technology to improve learning in special needs classrooms.
- Provide free therapy to families who have experienced sexual abuse.
- Create a Life Saving Prison Dog Partnership (Don't Throw Us Away)

... and many more in that vein.

And seriously, all of these are more important than a website hosting fanfiction. Yes, the economy sucks for many and my symapathies for increased costs. It sucks, I understand that part. But fanfiction is not a need. It is entertainment. Does it really deserve 25,000 USD over any of those suggsted causes I listed? I say no. I heartily disagree with the FA's representative's claim that Our 501(c)3 is just as deserving as any other. I disagree a lot. And yes, there are more sources of founding available to these sort of causes - because they are far more important causes, FFS. (And originally the post said I've done the research and I'm here to tell you that there are far more sources of funding available to starving children in Africa than there are to fan-oriented websites. Charming, FA! Real charming.) And yet there is still never enough for them, because the world has many worthy causes and a limited attention span.

This is pissing me off, I have to say. I have no relationship with FictionAlley since I've never really been in Harry Potter fandom, but this is souring me on them something fierce.

FA has responded to some concerns raised. Also, it's been picked up Unfunny Business.

Just... WHAT. WHAT THE EFF.

I'm curious flisters - what is the dealbreaker for you when it comes to fandom? What would make you not join or leave a fandom even if you love the show like piechocolate? Ships wars? Her versus slash fights? RPF tinhattery? Particular people? A particular kind of -ism in large supply?

Or do you have no definite ones, just mainly a "as long as the good outweighs the bad" approach?

(You don't have to give specific examples or anything! I am curious because I am wondering about poking into Merlin fandom some, but some stuff I've seen made me a bit hesitant.)

Also, what sort of danger would a Viking!vampire find himself in? Seriously, I can't think of anything workable. I'm half tempted to stick him in a cage above a lake of silver or some such really contrived, and just play with it. (And make jokes about Swedes while at it, of course.)

I made Arthur/Gwen vid, just because. Direct link.
( Embedded behind the cut )

I make vids mainly because I like to make playlists of them on my computer and play them while I also play WoW. Possibly I am weird.

Meanwhile, Norway is having an actual possible conspiracy blow-up, which I never thought I'd see in our tiny little country. Basically, Arne Treholt was in the early 1980s convicted of being a spy. Now there has been claims that the evidence against him was planted and the case might be reopened. If it is, shit will hit the fan.

In other news:

- Controversial film about a Nazi propagada film is released in Germany.
- A Belgian woman is tried for murder by skydiving sabotage.
- Texas considers ban on school books that are "pro-Islam". (SAY WHAT THERE TEXAS?!)
- Ancient remains of a child are returned to the Torres Strait tribe.
- Cat was dyed pink as a prank; people not amused.

There is a side debate that sometimes comes up when debates about racism is being had in fandom, and it's this - do racism in an American context apply for the rest of the world, and should non-Americans be expected to know it and spot it?

I am a bit torn, I must admit. I am a non-American and I do not like the US being held as the standard for the rest of the world. On the other hand, non-Americans digest a lot of American media and can unknowingly help perpetuate something that hurts people. That's not okay.

I guess I am wanting a bit of understanding that non-Americans can miss out on a lot of American context (because while we do get subjected to some American culture, we are not living it - we are watching it from afar, and shallowly at that) and a bit of willingness from non-Americans to not just dismiss expressions of American racism as 'not our problem!' Fandom is a subculture that bridges many nations - if a fellow fan is being hurt by racism, is it okay to say nothing just because it takes a form you're not familiar with? Is it okay to let it happen again?

The US is not the standard of the world. But us non-Americans, we can certainly hold ourselves to a decency standard. If we learn something is hurtful, we can at the very least try not to perpetuate it further. Maybe we can't be the first to spot racism in an American setting, but we can at least help denounce it. We can realise racism might take unfamiliar forms - but it still has harm as its core. Hell, it might increase sentitivity and help us fight racism in our cultural context, where we have no bloody excuses not to.

Racism is not okay. It is not okay in the US, it is not okay in Norway, it is not okay in Japan, it is not okay in South Africa. That it takes different forms does not make any more okay in any of its disguises - it just makes it harder to fight.

That got me thinking a bit about part two to this, though. Non-American racism. Racism takes certain forms in the US. In other places, it can take different forms. Certain things can be similar, but others might not be.

I got a comment some time ago when I was having a discussion in someone else's LJ about racism, in which I was talking about trying to be careful in never dismissing something as not racist in an American setting, because it's not my culture and there is so much context I am missing. I went on to add racism in Norway takes different forms I am more familiar with, but those wouldn't always be akin to racism in the US, just as racist expressions in the US might not be akin to racist expressions in Norway.

(For instance, I did not know watermelons had been used in a lot of racist imagery in the US, and thus was rather confused about a racist joke some American idiot did with an image of the White House with rows of planted watermelons outside. I was very kindly pointed to resources to read up on it, so now I know. But I always worry I might miss similar things and thus not spot them as racist.)

The comment expressed interest in reading about racism in Norway and the forms it takes, if I should ever write that up. I guess I am wondering, would others be interested too? It would be from a white perspective, though I would try to use as many sources as I could from Norwegian PoC perspectives. It would include some history, some politics, some examples from the multicultural school I've been working at this year and attempts to explain certain cultural particulars in Norway.

Maybe it can help illustrate how blatant racism usually takes the same forms, but the less obvious kind is oh so very good at easing itself into different cultural expressions. At least, that is a pet theory I hold.

So, would you want to read a post about that?

A selection of Cam's Fandom Secrets and Not So Much, featuring yours truly's graphic skills. Er, yes. I once again apologise in advance.




( I'd hit that, I ship it & other fandom secrets and not so much )

You may now mock me.

I have new layout over at LJ. Still can't figure out DW ones. lily_winterwood made the banner and some new icons plus helped me muchly with setting the layout up. I may fiddle a bit with it, we shall see.

I also have two banner variations so I can switch between them now and then. A shipping one and a writing one. But for now, Norway is on top.

Hmm, what shall be my next change, I wonder? I'm decidedly in the mood to make them.

2009 Home Team Matches: Round Two. Some of the choices you have to make are just utterly mean :(

I was asked fannish fives, and here's all the answers. (In random order, as I don't want to rate them.)

( Top five generally unpopular characters that you like )

( Five stories you would like to *read* about Spock and Uhura )

( Five favorite moments of OMGWTFBBQ? from any/all canons )

( Top five fictional shags )

( Top five villains )

( Top five non-human characters )

( Top five 'Terribly Overrated By Fandom' characters  )

( Top Five Unpopular Opinons in BSG Fandom )

( Top Five Ships That Never Made It to Canon But Should Have )

( Top Five Characters You'd Like to See in Another Fandom )

( Top Five favorite romantic moments )

So I watched Star Trek the 2009 version, and... Damn. I think I see something shiny.

And also I think I like the potential of Spock/Uhura a great deal. With a side of some Kirk/Bones maybe.

Damn the second.

Now I'm wondering if I should read me some fanfic and maybe write some and then you know I'll be thrice damned. I even scribbled down some lines about logic and languages, bugger.

I got tagged to do this ages ago, but forgot a bit. I fail. But here goes, ten (general) fandom pet peeves:

1. Posting teaser icons to a comm and then announcing to see the rest, you have to friend them/a comm.

2. The same as above only with fanfic.

3. Mushed ship names. 'Rodama'? 'Drose'? 'Grillows'? KILL THEM ALL WITH FIRE.

4. Any variation on 'if this isn't allowed, feel free to delete, mods'. The mods are well aware they can delete (no, really!) and if you're not sure it isn't allowed, check before you post. Or if you're still unsure after reading the rules, ask the mods. Or if you're determined to post even if unsure, do so without that annoying phrase.

5. Female characters being branded sluts, whores and other sexually tinged insults as a way of showing dislike. It's cool not to like every female character ever. Tastes varies and all. But misogynist insults that don't seem to vary much at all, those I am very uncool with.

6. When someone makes an insulting/utterly stupid/factually wrong statement, then gets a negative reactions and starts whining that he/she is only exercising free speech. Yes. But so are the people telling you off. Freedom of speech is not the freedom to say offensive shit without anyone telling you what an asshat you are. No, really.

7. Making non-American characters celebrate Thanksgiving. Or things in a similar vein of 'The World Is Not Only the US, Imagine That'.

8. Acting superior about writing a particular genre of kind of fanfic, be it het/slash/gen/a particular pairing.

9. 'I know all about racism/sexism/rape/trauma/LGBT/random issue despite no direct experience/involvement myself. Let me now lecture people with actual experiences/involvement, because my wisdom is surely that awesome!'

10. Authors who seem unaware of writing fairly blatant non-con. Even more so when having a hissy fit at the mere suggestion that some of their writing can come across that way.

What are some of yours?

Continuing the issue from my last post, which now seems to have blown up even more so. (I know, I know, I'm harping on this issue, but it's struck a nerve in more than one way.)

Getting away from the actual warn versus not-warn issue, the thing that really, really got me was the kind of arguments some of the not-so-keen-on-warning people were pushing out there.

A lot of them have now been deleted, but some are quoted here. Following aukestrel's 'suggestion' that impertinence seems 'to look for the negative in any situation and to paint yourself as more of a victim (if you could be) than you already are' she made this post (now deleted, that's a screencap of what was a public post) that rather reads like a suggestion impertinence is lying. There's also a delightful claim that victims are 'privileged' because of their trauma and a few claims to knowing impertinence's state of mental health and issues better than she does. And then there's the whole 'it's your own fault if you read it' and'well, victims of sexual assault should just get friends to read fics ahead of time and tell them if something in there might be triggery or just not read at all'.

Yeah, and I suppose I should never leave my house again since I could risk being raped again.

Look at the sort of arguments you're making. Just look. Take three deep breaths and look at those arguments and the things said in there. About rape victims. Those are shitty, nasty things to say.

So you feel dogpiled, badly treated and want to defend what seems a somewhat unpopular opinion. I can feel a bit of sympathy for you for feeling unfairly treated and having been called names. I can. But where is your compassion saying things like this to a victim of sexual assault, FFS? Look at those things said.

Because here are some of the delightful side-effects that come with being raped: (Will vary, depending on situation.)

1. People not believing you.

2. People making judgements on your sexuality because you were raped.

3. People thinking you carry part of the responsibility for being raped or plain out brought it on yourself.

4. The rapist not being brought to justice for what he/she did. (Frighteningly common.)

5. People implying you're making a bigger deal out of it than it was and playing the victim.

6. Triggers and possible PTSD.

7. People thinking they know exactly what you're going through and how to handle it.

Any of this look familiar? Looking at those arguments, I'm sure seeing recurring themes.

I've said this before and I say it again: rape is a shit thing to have happen to you. And the aftermath of it is no less so. Part of the reason for that is the sort of things I listed above. Those and some others are why so few rapes are reported, why so many people struggle to come forward with their stories. There is still a huge social stigma attached to rape for the victim. And that's bloody unfair.

Don't turn it on the victim. Have a little compassion. If for no other reason, do it because tomorrow it could be you. Or someone in your family. Or a friend. It will happen to someone you know, if it hasn't already.

If you don't want to warn, you don't want to warn. People will disagree with you, but don't argue your case this way. Really don't.

(I shall mention in the interest of fairness I'm a bit iffy on some things said and done by the other side as well. trigger_fence for instance, I'm not sure how I feel about that. I try to be aware of my bias and be somewhat fair here, but it's really hard when reading some of the comments. It's like being kicked in the stomach.)

I need a shower and breakfast and some reaffirming that people are also awesome, please.

Sometimes, I feel like I fail at fandom. I mean, I participate in various ones and write fic that some do like. But I always feel just slightly like an outsider whichever it is. I think it's partly that I can be a bit reserved as a person and partly because my fandoms are British or American and I am Norwegian.

It is a bit sometimes like playing a game where you only know half the rules, or dancing when you're not sure about the steps. You watch your feet and feel awakward.

I got to thinking about this because of the BSG lovememe here. My name was brought up and a few really nice comments were left - and thank you for those, really! - about my writing. And I guess that's what I do in fandom. I write. I read fanfic and leave feedback too, but I feel a bit awkward doing that too. "Not bad" is a compliment in the part of Norway I grew up and I'm just not great at giving praise.

I don't know, am I totally weird? Does everyone else get fandom and I don't? You do put something of yourself in your writing, so maybe feeling like an outsider is mostly in my head.

(In any case, I decided to be a good girl and sit down and write with my iPod on so I wouldn't get distracted - good plan, except I suddenly started writing not on my work in progress, but some new Bill-and-Laura-tell-each-other-slightly-naughty-bedtime-stories thing. Brain, you fail at going with the program. On the bright side, I think that one shall be finished soon. Also I posted RPF again, whoops.)

Elsewhere on the Internet, a member of the vegan/activist community gets accused of rape and harassment and apparently one community
declares making posts about it is not allowed, then change their stance somewhat. A post about the accusations against him with his real name used is here. Some discussion of it here well.

Oi. If the allegations are true, that's quite horrid. Not always easy to verify things said on the Internets, mind you. However, that doesn't mean it's impossible. Depends on the situation.

Meanwhile, a football player here in Norway was convicted of using his fame and position as a footballer to have sex with a 14-year-old girl. (The legal age in Norway is 16.) He was playing for the local team here when it happened, now he's playing for another. Ugh. Kinda glad he's not around here anymore. He used Facebook to get in touch with the girl, so yeah, do be a little careful online. Asshats can use a keyboard as well as a decent guy.

To finish on a light note - A rather amusing look at rules of fandom (part one). Yeah, I think I've seen that in action a few times.

I'm misscam also at dreamwidth, if anyone wondered. I'll possibly crosspost stuff to there, but I'm not leaving LJ. FYI. I see there's some blah blah over anti-gay marriage ads having appeared on LJ, though as someone rightly pointed out, that goes via a third party.

Ew, still.

Meanwhile, a guy wrote a 80,000 word essay on everything he disliked in the Harry Potter books and how it should be rewritten. And not one word about shipping either, which impresses me. But it does beg the question - if you had 80,000 words to rewrite a Canon of your choice, what would it be and how many words would you devote to what?

I know if I did BSG, there would be at least 20,000 words for more shagging. Because I am easy.

Weekend accomplishments:

- Finished Adama/Roslin piece for Month of Love thing (probably). Anyone willing to give it a look since regular beta already has a piece to do and life is madly busy?
- Posted RPF again. Oops.
- Had icons made out of my photos.
- Lead raid in Ulduar, killed annoying Baby Voice Boss. Played with Iron Council.
- Cleaned up last of garden stuff.
- Made reindeer dinner. Mm, reindeer.

In other news:
- Chrystler may be bought by Fiat - or go bankrupt. judge is still out.
- YouTube helps man deliver baby.
- Swine flu seems to have peaked in Mexico. So maybe now hysteria can too?
- Wife of Italian PM Berlusconi to divorce him.

How was your weekend?

So. There was new Who.

( Spoilers for Doctor Who's Planet of the Dead )

Overall: Liked, but wasn't overwhelmed. Good fun at times. Some lines I really liked. I give it mostly approval.

There is also new Red Dwarf (OMG) which I will comment on when I've seen all the parts. But I loved that show so much back in the day; revisiting it is lovely either way.

Meanwhile, Woody Harrelson is accused of assaulting a paparazzi and offers the following statement:

"I wrapped a movie called Zombieland, in which I was constantly under assault by zombies, then flew to New York, still very much in character. With my daughter at the airport I was startled by a paparazzo who I quite understandably mistook for a zombie."

... Either he's being really funny or really scary. I can't make up my mind.

Easter accomplishments of the Internet kind:

- Posted BSG crime fic. That was fun. And fitting of Norway's "Easter crime" tradition, which none of you get. But that's all right. We don't even know why we have it ourselves.
- Finished BSG/Doctor Who crossover with Adama/Roslin, Lee/Martha and the Doctor getting punched in the nose by the Admiral. With beta, whee.
- Finished Kara/Lee piece for faithful and much too lovely beta lyricalviolet, which is with another beta so she doesn't have to do work on her own gift-fic.
- Wrote and posted MM/EJO RPF. (Requires membership at bsgrpf to read.) Am going to hell. Then again, was going already.
- Fixed my LJ memories because they were a mess. Now I just have to remember to use them.
- Finished and posted my Adama/Roslin manifesto to ship_manifesto.
- Got my shaman to level 69, and my guild now has Satherion with two drakes down on heroic. Yes, that's World of Warcraft.
- Spent too much time pondering if I should sign up to bsg_remix or not. Am torn. Anyone have good or bad experiences with that?

Lazy Easter like whoa, oh yes. Though I did also do the first biking of the year in brilliant, brilliant sunshine. IT'S SPRING. This makes me ridiculously happy like you have no idea.

How's your life doing?