bulletins from the front

[fictional]

This has clearly been a poor time to not be on the internets! But alas. While I was otherwise occupied, it seems amazon has been, well, having epic fail. Which sucks, for many, many reasons but is also hugely irritating because I FUCKING LOVE BUYING BOOKS FROM AMAZON. And is also sad, because okay, evil, corporate, whateverthefuck, fine. I'm used to it. We're all freaking used to it, aren't we? But aside from being bigoted, it's also insane. Because it is not good business practice to try not to sell books if you're, you know, a book shop. And sex has been selling for a long time, my friends. And teh gay? ALSO DOING PRETTY WELL, especially of late. Also, James Baldwin? Come on.

And another thing, glaring incompetance at handling the internet from an internet company. This is web 2.0, folks. Did you think that if you just ignored it, people were just going to shut up and go away??? Um, no. This is the internet; being outraged is its hobby. Ditto writers, critics, fans, etc... and all of them have access to keys, and big, loud, cybervoices. Snuggling under easter eggs and hoping problem vanishes = no good. Sigh. Anyway, y'all have heard this already from a myriad of places that are not me, so I will stfu. But yeah. You know the drill, write email, sign the petition. Speak up!

Summing up my thoughts pretty successfully are the salon broadsheet and bodlon's post, where he also discusses the bias implicit in the way queer stuff is considered more "adult" than equivalently explicit straight material.

In other news: my dad is bad-tempered, tired and discomposed by various bodily functions not quite operating via standard parameters. I'll just leave it at that.

Last weekend, we had the cousin-brother invasion. God, so many of my boys in one wee nyc apartment. It was insane, oldest + wife, another one + boyfriend, and the second to youngest. Plus me and D. of course. All the boys put to work moving sofas, dressers, chairs etc. D. was an enormous hit, as he is immensely handy, and also I think they all have little boy crushes on him. Some more platonic than others. The one with the boyfriend, the boyfriend and I did a fair amount of non-platonic heckling at any rate. Fun times.

My dad, of course, decided he wanted to also move things. And mop the floor. I became afraid he was going to have to be physically restrained, but instead after a few minutes of exertion, he simply fell asleep.

I tried to help with the moving of things, but was held back by a horrid pinched nerve or something in my back, which has been going on for a week now in what I can only describe as fluctuating between excruciating agony and bearable pain. I have an appointment with a chiropractor today. I've never been to one before, and am terribly nervous.

Last night I couldn't sleep and watched Bright Young Things. David Tennant plays unsympathetic really well, it's amazing. (I also am beginning to think that the Doctor is the sanest of his many roles. Frightening thought.) Anyway, it's a fun time, this flick, even with the too-hollywood romantic ending. And the actors! Spectacular, one and all.

Then I had terrible nightmares about byzantine intrigue and magical plots and wormholes surrounded by green and blue rubber bands. If the bands were cut: apocalypse. My father had the scissors, and cut them as I begged and pleaded with him not to.

My subconscious is terribly boring these days, don't you think?

Comments

[troygirl68.livejournal.com]

Haha; you're sounding more like your old self which I see as a good sign. I know things still aren't hunky-dory, but you seem to be making the most of everything.


LOL just as I was falling asleep last night, in that place between awake and asleep, I start dreaming I was eating S&V Pringles. My mouth even started moving! That has to be the most weird dream I've ever had, because it was so ... ordinary!

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

*grins* thanks!

And yeah, those "this is exactly like being awake" dreams are really weird.

[guinness-duck.livejournal.com]

*huge giant hugs* about everything.

Oh, and to try and reduce internet fueled rarrrr before it gets too bad, there's another side to every story, just thought you might be interested: http://tehdely.livejournal.com/88823.html

*more hugs* You are a great person, and its always an honor to know you. Hang in there.... ugh.. doesn't that just always conjure pictures of that silly kitten hanging from a tree...

Anyway.

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

doesn't that just always conjure pictures of that silly kitten hanging from a tree...

Either that, or Tarzan. Which is better? Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks, hon. *hugs back*

I saw the post you mention, but regardless, I think that Amazon handled the whole thing pretty badly from a pr front, and were particularly vulnerable to this kind of trolling based based on their whole "adult" policy, as well as biases that probably exist, as they do in say, film rating, or what have you. Also, their public face is peculiarly non-transparent, and they are extremely hard to communicate with -- which sucks for an internet company. This whole hooplaha could've been avoided if they'd handled it better. But one imagines they'll learn, esp. since major news outlets are picking it up at least a little.

[sykii.livejournal.com]

Just remember that there is no apocalypse-- nor rubber bands-- in Jane Austen.

[mellacita.livejournal.com]

I hope your chiro can help. Mine helped a lot last summer. It will probably take a series of treatments, but I did feel better after my first one.

As for Amazon. Yeah. What you said.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Val just showed me Bright Young Things a few days ago, very much in a "you're writing a story set in this time in this place, you should watch this" spirit. I enjoyed Michael Sheen queening around with his race car driver boyfriend, and I thought the writer was a woobie. It did have a romantic ending, but I think in the Hollywood ending they would have kept the money and chucked out the David Tennant character without much sympathy.

My brother and many friends have had good luck with chiropractors.

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

Hooray you! We've missed you. Yes.

Sorry to hear about your father's discomfort, but I like to think that being cranky at one's infirmity can be a good sign. Obviously your (and his) mileage may vary.

Family madness sounds mad. As someone with a (very) small family, I am ducking and covering.

Good luck with the chiropractor!

[haplily.livejournal.com]

Green and blue rubber bands being cut and bringing on the apocalypse. Regardless of the symbolism, it's a beautiful image. I love it.

Also I laughed out loud at this: "This is the internet; being outraged is its hobby."

Hahaha.

Love to you! That is also sometimes the internet's hobby.

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

Your dad sounds a bit like my father-in-law... feeling horrible but with the best intentions of pitching in. *hug*

Hope you can get some satisfactory relief for your back. I've had a pinched nerve (hurts like the devil) and the thing that worked for me: Codeine for three days. I was basically flat on my back the entire time.

But I didn't have access to a chiropractor, either. Maybe that would have been better. :)

[artistwife.livejournal.com]

You sound like you are bearing up under adverse circumstances very well. As I am not a praying person I am holding good thoughts for your father and you. I hope the chiropractor was some help with your back. Those kind of things just adding to the general misery can be a wear. Lovely nightmares, sounds like, brilliant better than life, technicolor too. I was probably more angry at Amazon for disrupting my joyful purchasing of their wares. than I was at what they had done. I did find another wonderful outlet for dvds but very small and books and cd's I will manage with B & N or Borders. I noticed that they did give a half-hearted apology explaining that it was just a glitch. However I will not settle for that. They need to apologize more fully for their homophobic behavior even if it was of an innocent error in their software. Yeah likely!