random babble/linkspam
* Neil Gaiman continues to be awesome. See Why Defend Freedom of Icky Speech?
* I’m lurking at ![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
theemptywriter and quite enjoying it. Nice to see that not everyone is caught up in the Moffat hype! And, man, he just continues to annoy the hell out of me. Here he is in 1996 calling the Doctor’s female companions “bimbos”; what, did I need another reason to loathe him?
* This list of top movie characters is currently making the news rounds. Only one woman in the top 25? Are you fucking kidding me? I mean, what about that “huge lack of respect for anything male” that tragically inflicts our society? (Could it be that Steven Moffat is … full of shit? :P) And… and… Yoda is a better character than Princess Leia???
* Scott Weiland has a new album. How come nobody told me this? His last solo album was actually really good! Hopefully this’ll make up for the entertaining-but-soulless artificiality of his work with Velvet Revolver.
I’m still getting used to this whole thing of enjoying someone’s music but not having any particular interest or respect for them as a person. I think I’m too old and cynical to worship all-perfect musical idols, and this way it’s less disappointing when they inevitably fall. I’ll just try to enjoy them when they’re good and move on to something else when they start to suck. No need to feel all heartbroken and/or betrayed by the whole thing. (I’m even starting to get over Courtney Love’s Hollywood sell-out; none of her later bullshit can take away from the pure awesome of Live Through This.)
* I’m still listening nonstop to David Bowie. The song “Velvet Goldmine” is really, really good. (Now I’m extra disappointed that the movie was so bad.) Wikipedia says the song is about Bowie making out with another man, but I’m listening to the lyrics, and… that sounds like a lot more than making out…?
Also, if you’re ever looking for motivation to weep for the state of humanity, just go to songmeanings.net and look up your favorite song. If the inanity of the interpretations doesn’t make you want to kill yourself, I don’t know what will.
* This ad is currently plastered all over the NYC subway system. Every time I walk by I kind of have to resist the urge to stop and, I don’t know, lick it maybe? Which, eww, NYC subway. But, damn. David Bowie was reeeeeally pretty once.
Current Mood: 
weird
7 Responses to “random babble/linkspam”
Blue Rose on December 3, 2008 7:59 pm | Link
Amen. The idea of Moffat taking over makes me nervous and annoyed, not elated like some.
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MinervaMoon on December 3, 2008 8:25 pm | Link
I agree. Steven could be good as an occasional contributor (I can’t really fault “Blink”), but even within his limited number of stories, you can see that he’s forcing his “get the Doctor to love some random woman, lolz” and anti-feminist agendas far more vigorously than RTD ever forced a gay agenda (as many people say–I don’t see it myself). I can’t imagine what will happen when he has free reign over the entire series, which is why, despite myself, I am relieved that David is leaving before then.
I’m trying not to condemn completely before I see it, because few things bother me more than people’s prejudices completely clouding judgment based on real facts, but I am wary. So very wary.
But also, regarding that Usenet posting:
What.
The.
Fuck.
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rusty-halo on December 4, 2008 7:42 pm | Link
I can sympathize with Moffat’s irritation with the asexualists. I mean, I agree with him; the Doctor being asexual is a fanon thing that has very little basis in canon.
But, y’know, the place to wage fan wars is on Usenet, not in the show itself. Shouldn’t “telling a good story” be more important than “sticking it to the fans I disagree with”?
And the part that makes it extra-offensive is the sexist way that Moffat has crammed the romance in. Creating random female characters for the sole purpose of being love interests is just plain offensive. Hi, women are not interchangeable!
All Reinette and River really come down to is “the Doctor’s romantic interest.” Yeah, we’re told that they’re brilliant and awesome, but what do we actually see? Nearly everything they do in the story is about their romance with the Doctor. I mean, compare this to Rose Tyler, who has so much more going on–she’s equal in narrative importance, has her own stories with Jackie, Pete, Mickey, Jack, and her own arc about becoming a hero, saving the universe, and fighting for the life she wants to live. Or even compare it to Joan Redfern, whose narrative role is love interest, but who stands up for her beliefs and her community and does so much more than fawn after the Doctor.
*sigh*
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JayDK on December 5, 2008 1:29 pm | Link
I loathe River and think she’s a terrible character — we’re just told how special she is, not shown it.
But I disagree about Reinette. She displays courage and leadership in the face of danger, and compassion and brilliance during her discussion with Rose. In fact, my strongest impression from that scene is how much alike Reinette and Rose are, despite their very different origins. I also don’t think comparing Rose’s development over two plus series to Reinette’s one episode makes sense — a more equal comparison, I think, would be to compare Rose’s first episode, err, “Rose” ;-), to “Girl in the Fireplace.”
And I can’t forget that Moffat wrote Nancy, who is not a romantic love interest for the Doctor and is one of my favorite female characters of the series, who also displayed great courage, leadership and compassion while also being a flawed and conflicted character.
Moffat is an ass, but I loved TEC/TDD and GitF, and liked Blink. So I’m trying to reserve judgment based on that. We’ll see…
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rusty-halo on December 4, 2008 7:42 pm | Link
At least not everyone is enthralled by him!
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butterfly on December 3, 2008 10:27 pm | Link
Here he is in 1996 calling the Doctor’s female companions “bimbos”; what, did I need another reason to loathe him?
I know! That made me blink and wonder how in the world anyone could ever think he would be a good showrunner, let alone the person following RTD.
This list of top movie characters is currently making the news rounds. Only one woman in the top 25? Are you fucking kidding me?
The fact that they chose the Terminator and not Sarah Connor for those movies says it all, I think.
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rusty-halo on December 4, 2008 7:46 pm | Link
Regardless of what you think about Moffat’s writing (and, although I disagree, I respect that plenty of people genuinely do like his episodes), his sexism is undeniable. It’s right there, blatant, over and over. I think there’s honestly something kind of sick in the people who refuse to admit that it exists, or who claim that it doesn’t matter. Sexism is bad, people; do I really have to explain why???
The fact that they chose the Terminator and not Sarah Connor for those movies says it all, I think.
Exactly. Sarah Connor is so fucking awesome, and the original film is all about her hero’s journey. But, no, the important character is the robot. *rolls eyes*
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