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Oct. 1st, 2009 @ 01:23 pm An overdue 5 happy things post
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Because it's been way too long since I've made one, and I really ought to right now for all the things that are weighing on me (nothing catastrophic, which is even more reason to focus on the good things).

1. I'm at work and getting paid for it. This is a happy thing for many reasons, both irreverent (I'm stealing a few minutes to write a blog post, for one) and not (I have income, health insurance, other benefits ...).

2. I went to see Wicked at The Paramount on Sunday with [info]ratzeo, [info]lunapome, and [info]music_enforcer. We had great seats, the cast was fantastic, and I had as much fun as I did the first time I saw it live (I was wondering if the effect would be lessened by the fact that I'd seen the show two years ago).

3. My copy of The Mermaid's Madness, second book in Jim Hines' princess series, arrived yesterday, when I expected it wouldn't be released for a few more days yet.

4. I've recently been working on creating epic-level abilities for my D&D character (based on Crusader schools from The Book of Nine Swords, if anyone is interested), which is the most creative activity I've done in awhile. It's been nice, and gives me confidence that I might get back to creative endeavors yet.

5. I'm off to eat my lunch, which is a leek and potato soup I made after [info]shadawyn's entry reminded me of how much I like it (plus linked to a nice and easy recipe). It turned out a little too thick, I think (more like ... very light mashed potatoes than soup), but it's tasty and the weather is perfect for it.
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Sep. 10th, 2009 @ 10:34 pm The Stepsister Scheme by Jim Hines
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First, some context: I first heard of Jim Hines when I found his LiveJournal during RaceFail, and appreciated his voice as one of the few white authors who spoke sense, and who also owned up to the gaps in his knowledge. So while I have resolved to support more authors of color by buying their books, I also picked up The Stepsister Scheme with confidence that I wouldn't want to bang my head against a wall or throw the book across the room.

The premise of the book itself is a lot of fun: a retelling of popular fairy tales (some Disney version, some not), wherein Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty are essentially secret agents for the queen of Cinderella's home nation. Our POV character is Danielle (Cinderella), who is new to all this business and only got pulled in because her stepsisters kidnapped her husband, Prince Armand.

The book took a while for me to get into, for a couple of reasons. First, it's a mix of comedy and drama, which is more lighthearted than what I usually go for. The comedy isn't slapstick, though, and Hines makes you smile without trying to impress the reader with his wit all the time, so I ended up enjoying it once I got into the flow of the book.

Second, I had to feel out the book to see how high my defenses needed to be. (It's something I always have to do, but sometimes books answer the question early on by being very clearly status quo - for instance, fantasy that is squarely in the Western tradition, usually medieval-ish setting, where everyone is white and straight and there might be strong female characters but no grappling with feminist issues. For better or for worse, that tells me early on to lower my expectations for the book, but at least then I know the book will entirely avoid issues of race and sexuality, and I'll need to tolerate only the omission rather than a royal fucking up.) The Stepsister Scheme, as a reworked fairy tale(s), indicates early on that there will be questioning of the norm. So Danielle is Cinderella - but she's not the demurely feminine Disney version who sings a lot and doesn't get angry. Is she Liberated (in the mainstream-fiction's-interpretation-of-feminism sense)? She's uncomfortable being a princess - just because it's different from what she's used to, or does she question the fact that there are peasants laboring away for her luxury? Does she accept pretty dresses and motherhood without question? And so on.

High expectations? Sure, but I don't apologize for having them when I'm sharing the money that could be dedicated to underrepresented authors. And when these questions actively affect my reading enjoyment, the whole reason I buy books in the first place.

A brief overview on my verdict regarding these and other questions: ( cut for mild spoilers )

( really spoilery )

Damn, but I had a lot to say about this book. And I even cut it down a bit. I think I'm having a little Joss Whedon Syndrome here - I feel like I'm close to really loving the work, and because of that my defenses are accordingly lowered and my expectations are accordingly raised. (See above re: omission versus fucking up.) I want to support a book that is aimed at mainstream readers and accessible to younger (teenaged) readers and also assumes that the wife being the husband's savior, or that the women being both heterosexual and homosexual, needs neither preamble nor excuse. I have high hopes that this is a book I'll be able to describe someday as, "a relatively weak start to the series, but still quite enjoyable, and man do the rest of the books really realize the potential here and get awesome ..."

I actually really think you all should read this book, and I highly encourage you to purchase it rather than borrow it (for similar reasons as I encouraged you to buy Silver Phoenix).
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Aug. 31st, 2009 @ 09:15 am GMH
Current Mood: smug
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At [info]nekokoban's recommendation, I found GivesMeHope and put it on my Google Reader, so now I get a handful of hopeful true stories every day.

Today I found my own progressive fan version: Sparkymonster GMH!
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Aug. 30th, 2009 @ 08:45 pm Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon
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I highly recommend that you all read Cindy Pon's Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia [note: some spoilers in the review excerpts], and I'll talk about why in a bit.

However, I also really want you to buy Silver Phoenix, for two reasons:

- Cindy Pon is a first-time published author, and while it's always important to buy the books of authors you want to support, I especially want to do it for this author whose career is one book old.

- An editor rejected the book, not on the strength of the writing, but because he said that "Asian fantasy does not sell." FUCK THAT SHIT, and let's show him that it does.

On to the review: Silver Phoenix is a Chinese historical fantasy about Ai Ling, a 17-year-old girl who seems normal for the daughter of a scholar - except, early on in the book, we learn things like the fact that Ai Ling can read and write, that most girls her age are already betrothed, and that her father was banished from the imperial court in disgrace. When her father goes missing during a trip to the capital city, Ai Ling does what any teenaged fantasy heroine worth her salt would do: she goes to rescue him. On the downside, she runs into demonic monsters along the way. On the upside, she also discovers her own mysterious abilities, meets a handsome and honorable stranger named Chen Yong, and eats some delicious food.

(I have to say, one of the things I love about Ai Ling is her voracious appetite. A kindred spirit! ;D She also describes most of her meals with delicious details, which of course I strongly approve of. Even if it did make me hungry at times when I could not access delicious Chinese food.)

Her journey itself is a lot of fun, and she meets a wide variety of fantastical creatures (not all demonic) along the way. The plot is pretty straightforward, but there's enough mystery to keep it intriguing, and enough adventure to keep it exciting.

One of the things that gave me the biggest thrill while reading this book was the fact that I was reading about a Chinese girl in (fantasy) China, and it was all perfectly normal. Ai Ling and her family are more or less traditional, and (not but) she is also an independent, intelligent heroine worthy of being a fictional role model. Unlike books that borrow East Asian elements for exotic flavor, the Chinese culture didn't feel tacked on or paraded around for our amusement/condescension/appropriation/judgment. Ai Ling's strengths are not presented in contrast to, or rebellions against, her more patriarchal than "us" culture. The habits and customs of the people in the book are described just like, oh, "normal" Western European fantasy books describe Western European (-analogue) cultures. It was very comfortable to read this book.

Somewhat relatedly, Ai Ling is feminine in a comfortable way as well. She isn't the only nurturing one, the only soft-hearted one, the only passive one, or the only scared one of the main characters. She does dress and wear her hair in typical feminine fashion - she doesn't challenge gender roles in a radical way - but she isn't a Girl Character (clearly distinguished from the Boy Character), if that makes sense.

( mild spoilers )

( really spoilery )

Do read this book - buy it if you can - and keep an eye out for the forthcoming prequel.
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Aug. 27th, 2009 @ 01:04 pm Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
Current Mood: hungry
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I was a big fan of Jacqueline Carey's original Kushiel's Legacy trilogy, and have started her new Kushiel trilogy, but I completely missed that she had a standalone* book coming out. Luckily I ran across Oyceter's review of Santa Olivia and picked it up. I finished it awhile ago, but haven't gotten around to posting a review until now.

At first glance, I was tempted to think that Santa Olivia was Carey's attempt to throw her hat in the paranormal romance/urban fantasy ring, what with the cover that features a shadowed, tough-looking young woman. But that's a shallow reading - for one, we follow Loup, the main character, from childhood through her teenage years over the course of the book, so she's not your typical paranormal romance heroine. Santa Olivia also feels less ... slick? ... than the types of paranormal romances that are currently popular - there is no leather, no gunfights or swordfights, no snazzy magic or epic destinies. It's just Loup, a girl trying to make things a little better in her town. Despite the "urban" of "urban fantasy," you don't see a lot of books that deal with contemporary urban issues (though one exception I've found is L.A. Banks' Vampire Huntress Legends). While Santa Olivia's premise is fantastical, I liked the verisimilitude of Outpost No. 12.

You can find a summary of the book here, so I won't go into the plot. Instead, I'll say that I really enjoyed the book, despite it being quite different from what I've come to expect from Carey. No flowery prose, no intensely convoluted political intrigue, and relatively little sex. There is some sex, and some mystery, but both the writing and the world feel more spare than the lush setting of the Kushiel books. The story is on a much smaller scale, and it worked well.

One point that made me squee is that Loup is POC - more than that, she's multiracial! Granted, Carey doesn't spend much time developing Loup's ethnic identity; rather, any meditations on race and ethnicity are subsumed into the Outpost in general, and its relationship with the U.S. Still, this is worlds better than the exotification and Othering of the non-white analogue nations in the Kushiel books (I loved those books, but ... man).

( mild spoilers )

( really spoilery )

Overall, I definitely recommend this book. A little post-apocalyptic, a little urban fantasy and/or sci-fi, a little coming-of-age, all blended together into an enjoyable book.
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Apr. 2nd, 2009 @ 06:24 pm 5 things make an anti-oppression post
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( Some personal background explaining the reasons behind this post )

1. For those who are still asking, "What is RaceFail '09?" the briefest answer I can manage is: what started as another instance of the discussion about misrepresentation/lack of representation of people of color in science fiction and fantasy has resulted in a particularly public and particularly ugly backlash from (often white) writers and readers.

For a timeline of specific events, please start with this summary by Avalon's Willow. Further events occurred later, as described here by [info]rydra_wong, who has also painstakingly collected all the RaceFail-related links she could find, under this tag

If you're ready for further detail, please see my LiveJournal memories for (what I consider) some of the important posts.

And finally, please refer to this guide to the positive, productive actions taken by POC and allies in the face of RaceFail. Not because of. In the face of.

Read as much as you can. Learn as much as you can. If you take nothing else away from this, remember these two things: This is not "just another wankfest," because it's about race, racism, and representation - not individual personality clashes and this or that book. Also, this is not the first or only such conversation, even if it's the first time you've heard of one like this.

2. One of the best responses to RaceFail has, by far, been the creation of Verb Noire, an e-publishing company dedicated to written works by and about people of color and/or queer people. Please support them by donating.

3.I've posted this before, but remember: if you are an Asian woman or an ally, please contribute to the first Asian Women Blog Carnival. The deadline is tomorrow.

4. This is not a new study (it was published in 2007), but it's highly relevant: Subtle Discrimination is More Taxing On The Brain. Instances of ambiguous racism were more detrimental to black test subjects than obvious cases.

"Interestingly, white volunteers were more impaired by overt racism than by the more ambiguous discrimination. Salvatore and Shelton figure this is because whites rarely experience any racism; they do not even notice the subtle forms of racism, and are thrown off balance when they are hit over the head by overt acts. Many blacks, by contrast, have developed coping strategies for the most hateful kinds of racism; it's the constant, vague, just-below-the-surface acts of racism that impair performance, day in and day out."


This is why I'm more disturbed by expressions of privileged ignorance from people whom I have some trust in, rather than dude-on-the-street spouting a racial slur. This is why I care more about creative works that fail in race or other areas when they come from creators who should know better, based on their previous performance (Joss Whedon, I'm looking at you).

5. This is not race-related, but it's important: March 31st was End the R-word Day, a day dedicated to ending the use of "retard"/"retarded" as a derogatory term.

I have succeeded in removing the word from my vocabulary, but I've utterly failed in speaking out to the people around me. There's no excuse for this. I wouldn't tolerate people using "cunt," "pussy," or "gay" as insults to me, so I can't tolerate "retard" used in the same manner.

I will start by resolving to respond to derogatory uses of "retard"/"retarded" by saying, "Please don't use 'retard'/'retarded' as an insult." That's all. It's just a start.
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Jul. 7th, 2008 @ 08:39 pm Book talk
Current Music: "Dead End Poem," Octavia Sperati
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( Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism )

( Y: The Last Man volume 1(ish) )
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Feb. 28th, 2008 @ 04:18 pm A geeky thought
Current Mood: thoughtful
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In James Alan Gardner's Explorer Corps series, each member of the Explorer Corps is drilled into acquiring one of three automatic responses to being surprised: some Explorers drop, roll, and rise in a fighting stance; some become utterly immobilized; and some (I believe) drop and crouch or cower. The idea is that, when Explorers are poking around in unknown planets, they have no idea what local predators are like, and what behavior constitutes a proper defense versus provocation of an attack, so you might as well try each technique and hope at least one person gets out alive.

Anyway. As you can imagine, Gardner uses the trained responses as a characterization technique. Festina Ramos, Our Heroine, is trained to the first response. She also has a tendency to seek out and/or attract conflict, and wades right into it. Youn Suu, the protagonist of Radiant (the latest novel in the series), is trained in the second response. Her personality, as well as the arc of her narrative, involves observing, deliberating, and coming to a conclusion, rather than fighting directly.

This isn't the only potential interpretation of the "freezing" response - someone who reacts that way could also become immobile and impotent, refusing to interact with the surroundings and letting things pass by without either engaging or learning about them.

I'm afraid that, at times, I react to surprise or conflict in this way - freezing rather than simply pausing, withdrawing rather than acting judiciously. I do try to move towards the latter, though - the Youn Suu response, I guess you could say. I want to be a deliberate, thoughtful person who takes considered actions. But sometimes I fall prey to weakness and just hide.

Just a thought I had. No real point to this besides that.
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Dec. 21st, 2007 @ 02:29 pm Hunted
Current Mood: chipper
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I just finished reading Hunted, my fourth James Alan Gardner book.

As is to be expected, I really really liked it.

( spoilers within )
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Dec. 12th, 2007 @ 04:36 pm Surface Tension
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The full title is Surface Tension: Love, Sex, and Politics Between Lesbians and Straight Women, edited by Meg Daly. I picked it up a couple of months ago at the library book sale, and, like all the books I get there, I didn't actually read it until much later (though this is still better than the dozens of books I've bought there and never read at all).

( My review )

P.S. When I started this entry, it was beginning to get dark outside of my window, and I wondered, "Is it almost time for dinner?" But no, it was only 3:30 p.m. D:
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Jul. 26th, 2007 @ 09:00 am Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
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I stayed up until 1:00 last night finishing the book, and then discussing it with [info]kyonkun. *iz ded*

( Spoilers under cut and probably in comments as well )

Hello again, f-list. *starts catching up*
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Jul. 16th, 2007 @ 09:32 pm Nerdish indulgences
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This weekend I got to hang out with [info]kyonkun, which was nice because our schedules have clashed and we haven't really hung out much since I got back from London. ( Harry Potter and shopping )

And now for some game blather. XD ( Hunter and Warmakers )

Today I finished Jose Saramago's Blindness, a book that [info]lilisin sent to me months ago for my birthday. ( Book review )

Oh, and tonight I might actually get started on that London recap I keep promising. :P
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Jan. 1st, 2007 @ 10:35 pm My yellow face
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One of my Christmas gifts from [info]ratzeo was Body Outlaws, published by the woman-friendly Seal Press. It's a collection of essays by women attempting to rewrite body image outside of conventional beauty standards - and not just white, middle-class, straight women, but women who experience all forms of oppression, including racism.

The first essay is "My Brown Face," by Mira Jacob, an Indian-American woman who constantly finds herself fetishized by white men. Most women of color are familiar with this experience - the 'positive' counterpart of racist degradation - when men tell you how 'beautiful' and 'exotic' you are. This can be accomplished either through ebullient and chivalrous praise, or through crude and fetishistic verbal harassment; Jacob describes instances of both. These anecdotes are presented as contained sections of the essay, without direct commentary - and yet her indignation and disgust towards her 'suitors' is palpable.

I love this essay for the clarity and energy of the writing, the juxtaposition of caustic anger and humor, but also for the personal nuances that Jacobs provides, which are so gratifying to read because they echo my own experience. Very few voices from women of color are heard in the mainstream conversation on body image - one of the reasons I asked [info]ratzeo for this book, in fact - and it was comforting to read things that were familiar to me, but so often overlooked by standard (white) analyses.

( more )

x-posted on Shrub.com
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Dec. 23rd, 2006 @ 10:23 pm Books, games, and getting older
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I made it safely home to my parents'. The train ride was uneventful, as usual, and during the trip [info]kyonkun lent me her DS and let me start Phoenix Wright. Since then (Thursday), I've been playing pretty non-stop and have gotten through half of the fourth case. It's so much fun. XD And so slashy. XD;;

Time not spent either with Phoenix (my new favorite dweeb :D) or my family has been spent reading -- for fun. How joyous! At the moment I am just over a third of the way through Anything We Love Can Be Saved, a collection of essays by Alice Walker. ( more on that ... )

In other reading news, I've finished the first six collections of Runaways, which is now my favorite work by Brian K. Vaughan. As part-superhero saga, part-teen adventure, it appeals to my love of both traditional Western comics and shounen manga. As the least overtly political of his titles, it does the best job of conveying his political beliefs without beating us over the head with them. As [info]ratzeo (whom I borrowed the books from) and I've discussed, this makes his beliefs more convincing, in a show-rather-than-tell kind of way.

I'm also 22 now. Thanks to everyone who gave me birthday wishes, birthday gifts, and/or attended my birthday dinner. ^_^

And alas, I'm on a dial-up connection here (14.4kps, WOEZ), so this may be the last you hear from me until I get back to Seattle on the 30th. I'm trying to keep up with email and LJ, but it'll be a test of my patience. I may just give up on the Internet and go back to Phoenix Wright. XD;;
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Aug. 10th, 2006 @ 04:20 pm Influential books
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Stolen from Ragnell:

( Book meme! )
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Mar. 3rd, 2006 @ 12:05 pm Link dump
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Some highlights from what I've been reading this week:

-From Shrub.com, a post on Octavia Butler, notable primarily because it provides links to some of her stories and other writing. One of the links is to "Amnesty," a story I read last quarter for my sci-fi class - great stuff.

-Biting Beaver clarifies the statement that rape is about power, not sex. At the same time, she illuminates the connections that exist between sex and rape, while explaining why it would be hard to explain the concept to the population at large.

The rest of these links may make you want to kill things. They did for me. (Thanks to [info]ratzeo for putting temporary moratorium on my angry ranting so my blood pressure didn't hit the roof.)

-In case anyone's forgotten that homophobia kills, Pandagon gives us a news story that refreshes our memories. The state of our country's law enforcement, people.

-We treat rape victims with the respect they deserve, right? Especially in court. Women only have to watch the video recording of the rape or risk jail time. The judge has since backed down - more likely from outside pressure than the realization that he's a fuckwit - but what does it say about us that this issue was even raised? (From Feministe.)

-Clearly inspired by the moral righteousness of the South Dakota abortion ban, Utah wants to enforce parental notification even in cases of incest. Because a father deserves to know if his daughter is having an abortion - even if he's also the father of the baby. "Abortion isn't about women's rights," says Republican Senator Chris Buttars. There you have it, straight from the horse's mouth. (Another one from Pandagon.)

-In light of the disgusting anti-abortion legislation that seems to be popping up everywhere, the information for women in South Dakota from Molly Saves the Day ought to be shared again. It's frightening and horrifying - but no more frightening or horrifying than what's going on in South Dakota, Utah, Mississippi, and god only knows where else.

*sigh* As [info]ginmar put it so aptly: I swear, some days I feel like a proctologist with an overbooked schedule. Too many fucking assholes and not enough suppositories.
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Dec. 27th, 2005 @ 03:48 pm Memoirs of a Geisha review
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Last night [info]kyonkun and I went to see Memoirs of a Geisha. I was pretty hesitant about this movie for a couple of reasons -- first, it's an adaptation of a book, a book that I really liked. Then there's the mishmash of ethnicities -- the three main female characters are played by Chinese women, and the director, producer, screenwriter, and even composer are all non-Japanese (and white, as far as I know). Overall, though, it was pretty good.

( There's always a 'but' ... )
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Dec. 24th, 2005 @ 09:37 pm Book rec and GIP
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I just finished reading Kushiel's Avatar, the final book in Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy trilogy, and damn. Damn, damn, damn. I want to write like that -- to have plots of tremendous scope and sensuously evocative imagery and, most of all, to write characters that complex and affecting and memorable. And the romance -- my goodness, a romance that includes actual and believable obstacles, overcome in an actual and believable way? Bestill my heart!

If you haven't read it, do. I own the trilogy, and am happy to lend it out. I don't think there's anyone I know who wouldn't like it -- primarily because the type of fantasy it is (destined/religious quest with a liberal helping of court intrigue) is normally not one I enjoy. It won me over anyway. The basis of the story is a reworked history of Europe (and eventually some of Asia and Africa), such that each nation in Carey's world bears a name, culture, and politics based on actual history. It could've been kitschy, but instead it works well, and I think the European history buffs among my friends would have a good time with it. The main character herself, Phedre, is an adept (prostitute -- think Firefly's Companions) with the divinely granted ability to take pleasure in pain. (At least, that's what the book says -- it also encompasses domination and cruelty. She's really more of a masochist/submissive combination.) This aspect, too, could have been done really poorly, but it isn't. It's not raunchy, not demeaning, not even extraneous to the plot. (A rarity if ever there was one.)

Now I have to recover before I can start a new book. :P But I can rest easy in the knowledge that there's a follow-up book, centering on a secondary character (saying who it is would be a spoiler), coming out in June. Squee. XD

Also, merry early Christmas to everyone who celebrates!

Also, GIP.

Also, I'm legal now. :D When people are back in Seattle, perhaps once the quarter has started, I'd like to do (another) group dinner, this time somewhere I can make use of my twenty-one-ness and legally buy a drink. XD
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Sep. 2nd, 2005 @ 11:49 am Summer reading (part III)
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HALFWAY THROUGH FRIDAY HALFWAY THROUGH FRIDAY WHEE WHEE WHEE

See, it's things like this that will make my co-workers think I'm happy to leave here. And I'm not, really -- everyone's friendly here, and it's a nice job, and the only thing I don't like is the customers. (But who doesn't hate customers, hey? XD;;;) But I'm not sure how to convey "yes, I'm happy, but not about leaving, it's just that I'm looking forward to Tuesday, so coincidental timing, you see, though actually I'm glad that I won't be working that day and so yes, I'm glad to leave, but ..." in a clear and concise fashion. For the moment, I'm just saying goodbye to people and trying to keep my mad grin to myself.

I petted a kitty this morning. :D A little black fellow, tiny but with a big fluffy tail, was crouching next to the sidewalk as I made my way to the bus stop. I called him over, and he came at me with that "running self-petting" motion cats seem to like (run by and rub side of head against human hand). I could only stay for a minute because I was running late (as per usual), but he was sweet.

( Cut for book talk )
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Aug. 23rd, 2005 @ 01:33 pm Finding Serenity
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Okay, so the essay on chivalry in Finding Serenity? Did anyone else find that to be an overblown piece of reactionary tripe? I mean, honestly, I couldn't find much in the way of a point, and what I *did* find consisted of, "Men who aren't classically chivalrous are unmanly," and "Giving respect to whores is funny." There was also the "Wah, poor Christianity," as well as the implication that Buffy and Angel were nice pats on the head to the silly little people who don't like sexism or racism, but admittedly those were minor points.

I was particularly impressed by the so-called description of the plot of "War Stories." Wash, just to be clear, was not heroically inserting himself into Zoe's role to save her from danger. Mal only let him tag along because this particular drop-off was a "milk run." Also, though he is certainly concerned with Zoe's safety, Wash's motivations in this particular instance were not courageous, but jealous and petty. (Which is not to say I don't find them believable and sympathetic!) He did yell at Mal for (potentially) putting his wife into such a dangerous situation, but it was an issue of "How dare you risk this person whom I love" rather than "How dare you risk a woman, you unchivalrous person you."

And yes, the episode was indeed constructed to show that there was "something wrong with a husband trying to safeguard his own wife" -- or rather, with *this* husband wanting to protect *this* wife in *this* way. Wash's move was *stupid.* Zoe is the soldier; she is the one who should go along with the captain. Wash is the pilot; he is the one who should stay on the ship, and be ready to fly them out of there. It's not a husband/wife thing, or a man/woman thing. Were this situation about, say, Mal and Inara, it would make perfect sense for Mal to take the physical risk. It's all about whose strengths are where.

On the whole, though, I'm loving the book so far. "Firefly vs. The Tick" in particular had much funny, and I loved the examination of Wash and Zoe's marriage. I also appreciated the sex therapist's look at the historical tradition behind Companions -- I've actually read a similar history about the "holy whore" in Whores and Other Feminists. (Is it just me, or am I attracting material on sex work? Granted, I sought out the books on sex worker feminisms, but then there was Firefly. And last week I started reading Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart, wherein the heroine is pretty much a professional sub. Hm.)
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