Originally published at Out of Sorts. Please leave any comments there.

I am banning news from my computer. If something happens in the world, I’m hoping one of my good friends will clue me in. Only of course, after the facts have been checked through various credible sources, like, “The Daily Show”.  (Insert eye roll here) Why have I finally thrown in the towel? Keep reading, please.

This is a screen shot from my local news station’s website:

(You can click to embiggen)

Do you see on the lower half of the main content where is says, “Talk of the Town”. Yeah, now read that.  Just in case you can’t — here is the quoted text.

Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt; Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee; Britney Spears and Kevin Federline — they’re just some of the celebrity couples who have gone from wedding bliss to calling it quits. Now there’s talk of banning all divorces i…n the state of California. One man has set up a Web site dubbed California Marriage Protection Act 2010. What do you think?

The website they are pointing to  is this one: Rescue Marriage

Anyone with half a brain and who spends five seconds on the site, quickly comes to the realization that this is what intelligent people might just call sarcasm. Its purpose is to criticize the ban on gay marriage in California. If the front page didn’t give you a clue, the site is full of hysterical stuff.

This is a great example of creatively countering an ongoing argument. I think it’s brilliant.

The problem is that not everyone visiting the site (including news organizations) have the brains to comprehend satire. If they were able to discern, the question then becomes: Why is this “news” organization intentionally misleading it’s readers?

Is this really a platform for discussion? Would it have been better served to phrase the question differently? I don’t know, something like — “Opponents to the Californian ban on gay marriage have come up with creative ways to illustrate their points. What do you think? Is it effective?”

By leaving out both the link and misrepresenting the content, people immediately follow the logic that credible news site= credible web site on banning divorce. This “news” organization has crossed a rather interesting line that continues to grey. Day by day, the public (part of which contains a growing population that subscribes to the ideas of government conspiracy and messages of hate) is encouraged to open up debate on hot topics which center around real people. When a great majority of the populace is not above an eighth grade reading level,  it’s hard enough to have balanced conversation. Add what was once a reputable news agency blurring the lines of truth and sarcasm becomes dangerous.

It’s a numbers game and so far, the intelligent who can decipher the difference in cases like this are losing.

Update: I sit here wondering how many donations that the site has received (to ultimately help overturn Prop8) have been from people who truly believe in the cause of banning divorce. Tricking stupid people out of their money is both brilliant and sad at the same time.

Originally published at Out of Sorts. Please leave any comments there.

I hate to follow up all of the fluff posts on this blog with something so dark, but I sit here absolutely compelled to write about this. I arrived home this evening and did my usual search of the news. As I scrolled through, a story caught my eye. I am not going to mention the title or the news site, only because it serves to prove a point.

Today, September 4th, against the wishes of a father who recently lost his son, the Associated Press published a photo of a brave Marine’s last moments. This wasn’t a flag draped coffin. This picture depicts a man who has lost both of his legs, is bleeding out, and being dragged away by members of his squad.

I don’t care what your political leanings are regarding this ongoing war in Afghanistan. There are some things that should remain sacred. This Marine’s father watched his son volunteer to protect this country. How awful that the last image he has to remember him by is gruesome and the stuff made of nightmares. Any parent would be devastated to know their son died bravely. To add salt to the wound by publicly offering up such a horrid last moment is depraved and ultimately unjust.

If I were a betting woman, this is what happened:

As the AP was neatly wrapping up these photos with the word, “EMBARGO”, stamped on the front, some greedy bastard was licking his/her lips at the amount of hits and controversy these pictures would cause. Oh so clever, he/she prepares a bullshit, CYOA excuse if general reaction gets out of hand.

As I briefly discussed this with a good friend, he mentioned being torn. Sympathy for the family who lost their son vs. dealing with wars too easy for the American public.

I am sorry, but for me, there is no question in my mind that sympathy and respect for the family wins that argument every single time.

This Marine was a volunteer.  This Marine was fighting for you and for me. This Marine died for his country.

 The AP essentially wiped their ass with any thought of handling this in a professional and respectful way and then passed out the shit stained document like it was caviar.

Don’t get me wrong, I agree that as a country, with the recent exception of 9/11, we are relatively sheltered. We don’t seem to care about fighting or deaths unless it’s happening on our own soil. When news of casualties both innocent and coalition are reduced to footnotes on news broadcasts, only to be followed by a news story that flip- flops are out to kill you, its no wonder people have tuned out.

This isn’t an easy war. If newspapers and networks weren’t balancing budgets by playing the fear game, news would be news again. Instead, this war and probably any future war takes the back seat until spectacular and gruesome images just happen to be caught on film. Then we remember. Scratch that, then we are forced to remember.

If anything, the AP is counting on both sides of the political spectrum to attach themselves to this controversy. The AP is also counting on the darker side of human nature as well, hoping that as the story gains momentum, it will bring visitors to sites carrying the picture if only to sate morbid curiosity.

However, and I’m hoping there are more out there like me, who will be appalled that any semblance  of conscience has finally left our news agencies so eager to make a buck and win pretentious awards.

There is always a heavy cost to any war being fought. The war in Afghanistan is no different. The AP had the decision to run a story without the photo and to most of us, the ones who do care, it would have mattered. Just like it would have mattered to a devastated father and mother.

And the only reason it matters now is because this picture is nothing but propaganda and dollar signs.

Rest in peace, Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard. Truly, a most sincerest thank you for fighting and making the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Originally published at Out of Sorts. Please leave any comments there.

**contains language**

Let me make something perfectly clear right off the bat– This post is not a slight on Jeremy Tolbert or Steve Eley. I am humbled and privileged to have read for Escape Pod. It’s all the  fucktards out there who need to have their virtual tongues cut out and smashed under very large and heavy rocks.

As many of you know, I am a narrator and a podcaster. I am also fucking pissed.

This last week, a story by the lovely Genevieve Valentine, read by me, was put up on Escape Pod. While I’ve listened to Escape Pod audio in the past, I never dived into the forums or comments on each. I usually got the episodes from Itunes.

As any curious narrator would be, I wanted to know what people thought of the reading. I’m always interested in constructive feedback to enhance my future narrations. If you thought it was deadpan, fine. I can take it. I’ll make a note and try to be more enthusiastic next time I’m reading about death. No, really.

When I went to both the forums and the comments on the individual stories on the Escape Pod site, I found myself barely controlling my rage at some of the comments. In case the entire Internet hasn’t been taught — there are ways of offering criticism that don’t include the words, “Suck”, “terrible”, “Bad”, “Boring”…. the list goes on.

It’s fine. A story may not work for you.  You may be disappointed where the author (and reader) take you while on your journey. You may find yourself wondering why you stuck around for the ending. People are entitled to that opinion.

What people aren’t entitled to be are assholes about it.  See: how to offer constructive criticism.

I was once a proponent of open commenting and forum posting. No one should be moderated. As I started my blog, visited Youtube,  read news articles which allowed comments, visited friend’s sites, and saw the pretentious, asinine drivel flow like rabid spittle from the mouths of inconsiderate beasts who should never have been allowed an internet connection, my stance slowly changed.

See John Scalzi — “Moderation Matters”.

John is happy that most of the members of his community are civilized human beings who pride themselves on having compassion and understanding for other members of this race.  It’s fun when you have an adult conversation comprised of adults acting like adults. It’s great to have lively discussions that don’t veer off into hate-filled, often unassociated tangents.  It stops being fun when scum start adding their drivel to the mix.

See, here is the deal. I don’t care you said nasty shit about me. Really, I don’t. What I care about are the people who pour their hearts into bringing you content every week. What I care about are the writers who are telling a story. What I care about are the producers and editors who are mostly volunteers and don’t get paid for their effort and time. What I care about are the listeners who have constructive things to say.

So really, to all the people who can’t stop vomiting up shit and getting off on their self proclaimed righteous verbal masturbation; fuck you. Seriously, fuck you.  Oh, that’s twice. You know I’m angry, now.

Places like Escape Pod who offer free content for the love of the genre, should be commended for their dedication and perseverance. Especially on the internet, where the term “asshole” is not only a state of mind, but now comes in anonymous flavor packs.

For the record, if you read this Genevieve, and countless others who’ve been ripped apart by people who really should be wearing muzzles and straight jackets and locked in rubber rooms:

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for writing, producing, narrating and editing.

Originally published at Out of Sorts. Please leave any comments there.

Strange Horizons is a Spec-Fic Online Magazine that needs your help. Their August fund drive to raise $7,000.00 is in full effect. With the generosity of John and Krissy Scalzi, any donation made by you, today only will be matched 1 to 1, up to a grand total donation by the Scalzis of $500.00. That’s 27 hours to support online short fiction, because as we all need to propagate through the community, short fiction is not dead!

You can get the full announcement from John, here. The link to donate to Strange Horizon’s is here.

I have donated. How about you?

Originally published at Out of Sorts. Please leave any comments there.

Wow, the internet has shown us a lot of apologies that aren’t this weekend.  I have definitely put more stock in the saying that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness (not really/or  in convoluted ways) after the damage has been done.  What happened to using your brains before you attempted anything like this in a public forum?

Here is EA’s !apology for the ” we encourage you to molest a booth babe, but not really” err, I mean, “Sin to Win (it’s all in good fun)” stunt they pulled at Comic Con this weekend.

http://kotaku.com/5322781/ea-apologizes-for-sin-to-win-booth-babe-promo

“Costumed reps are a tradition at Comic-Con. In the spirit of both the Circle of Lust and Comic-Con, we are encouraging attendees to Tweet photos of themselves with any of the costumed reps at Comic-Con here, find us on Facebook or via e-mail. “Commit acts of lust” is simply a tongue-in-cheek way to say take pictures with costumed reps.”

So, the faux tattoo on some nice size DD boobs depicting outlines of incredibly sexy naked female asses wholly represented the “costumed reps” at Comic Con? Trying to asexualize the booth babes so your legal team doesn’t have to fight out sexual harassment complaints  really doesn’t cut it.

I did happen to go to the Facebook page mentioned in the promotion and it does look like the majority of the people did behave themselves while taking pictures. EA is lucky.

It still doesn’t excuse the stupid.

Originally published at Out of Sorts. Please leave any comments there.

I’ll admit, season one and two of Torchwood, was no Battlestar Galatica, but it filled my insatiable void for mainstream science fiction. Quirky characters, fun little stories, unbelievable conclusions, it was like Mulder and Scully got sexy and fun.

A pterodactyl? Check. A glove that brings people back to life? Check. A sex robot who lives on orgasmic energy and turns her victims to dust? Check. It was safe to say that the first two seasons of Torchwood were a nice distraction from everyday life.

However, Children of Earth, the five day mini-series event, changed all that. This post gets terribly spoilerific, so if you haven’t seen the newest installment by Russell T. Davies, go no further.

Day One starts out much like the original series. After a flashback from 1965 involving children walking into a strange light, we see Gwen standing at a Cardiff ATM when two children in her immediate vicinity just stop moving. Staring straight ahead, both sets of parents figure their children are playing a game. After a few moments, the kids move on as if nothing happened. It wouldn’t be Gwen if she didn’t find something odd about the situation, so she investigates on the down low. Turns out, reports have been coming in that it was not an isolated incident.

Later the same day, it happens again, except that all the kids start to scream and then speak in unison. Like a heavy antique circus train trying to chug up a hill, “We, we, we” is repeated, building slowly to the full sentence “We are coming.”

It’s one of the creepiest scenes I’ve ever experienced in televised history. Having children of my own probably added to my visceral reaction. I wanted to check on my girls to make sure they were sleeping soundly in their beds.

As the series progresses, we learn that an alien entity named the 4,5,6,  (I’m still confused where they get the name — I know it’s the radio frequency on which the being transmits, but it also has 3 heads as well) has come back to Britain. Is it alone or part of an invading armada? All we know is that it’s extremely dangerous.

Continuing on, we find out a number of things. Gwen is pregnant. In the same moment we find she is  six weeks along, we find out Jack has been the victim of a nefarious scheme aimed at taking Torchwood out of the picture. A bomb has been planted in his stomach and he manages to get Gwen and Ianto out of the super secret lair before it blows sky high.

We learn Jack was to be contained (since he’s got that whole, immortality thing going on) in a cement prison because apparently, what you didn’t see in the beginning 1965 flashback, was that he was the person leading the children into the light.

More plot details unfold — hey, I have to leave some surprises, and ultimately we find out that the 4,5,6 want ten percent of the world’s children. Again, I’ll leave out the reason why as the discovery is one of the most disturbing moments in the series.

There is resignation from politicians,  balking by people who give a damn  and there are severe consequences related to both. One of the most insightful and horrifying things portrayed in CoE are how the heads of state react to this alien threat. The Americans rush over to Britain and hurl insults while screaming about “national security” and UN resolutions. Oh, how high and mighty we are in the face of something so vile. Noting the British incompetence, its the US which takes immediate control of the situation.

I can’t say I liked the portrayal very much, but with that said, I don’t doubt it would go differently. Depending on of course, who is president at the time.

My only other minor complaint had to deal with the lack of panic. A great big column of fire decends into London, the children of the world are mind controlled by an unknown entity and it’s business as usual? Where are the protests, where is the panic, where is the looting? Davies puts a lot of faith in the human spirit when the government asks for trust. As we’ve seen, it only takes something little to tip the scales and induce a mass hysteria. I still can’t turn on my news without hearing about Michael Jackson…

CoE is as much character driven as it is superb story. We find out that the British PM is a total coward, hiding behind small glasses, a polite accent and paperwork. He’s the kind of guy who retreats when it counts and leaves the most difficult decisions and work to other people, hoping to coming out unscathed in popular opinion.  It’s those kinds of people that make me sick and all to often, they are the people at the wheel of a sinking ship. It’s disheartening.

One of the most intriguing parts of the series was the character, John Frobisher, the Permanent Secretary to the Home Office. I wanted to hate him at first, but I slowly realized that he was a peon in the civil service, used as a pawn and thrown into a situation over his head. A complex character arc, he does what he thinks is necessary and right to protect his government and is ultimately betrayed in the end. I had to walk away on Day Five to control my crying and shaking in his last scene. I don’t think I’ve ever been that upset, moved, disappointed, and angry at what this man is forced to do.

As far as Torchwood is concerned, I find it interesting that throughout the whole event, they are ineffective as a group. In episodes past,  standing together was their strength and usually dictated how well they worked with one another. Not the case this time around. In this story, it comes down to the heartbreaking decision of one of the members that ultimately dictates the conclusion.

There are no happy endings in this series and I think this is one of the rare cases where I’m glad it happened as such. Had all the strings been neatly tied and organized into proper places, I would have been less satisfied. There are severe consequences for everyone involved and the chaos is at times overwhelming.

If you haven’t seen Torchwood: S1 & S2, I would at this point tell you not to bother unless you’re interested in something entirely different. While the original year series is everything that I mentioned, CoE is vastly different. Even the characters are different in spirit if not by name. It’s almost like watching a horny college student grow into adulthood and suddenly realizing that there are far more responsibilities out there than waving a gun, having sex and blowing up alien goo.

I hope there are more events like this going forward. There has been talk that the series will continue provided the success of this 5 day mini-series and if early numbers are any indication, I think we’ll see more Torchwood in the future.

I watched the conclusion on Friday and still, I’m asking myself questions and digesting the content. Would I have made the same decisions? This is one of those experiences from which you walk away thinking about everybody involved. You need to put yourself in their shoes and realize that while it’s unlikely in my lifetime to ever see an alien threat, it could be something as simple as war, or disease that sets a similar chain of events into action. In any effect, it made me squeeze my kids a little harder and hoping I’m never put into any such situation.

Originally published at Out of Sorts. Please leave any comments there.

Because really, it’s totally okay for women to be sexually harassed when it’s all in good fun.

What the CAPITAL Flying FUCK was EA thinking with this contest? You know I don’t like to swear in my blog posts, but I can not believe a reputable gaming company would treat people like this.

But then again, didn’t Sony sacrifice a goat and offer fresh offal for everyone to eat to celebrate the sequel release of God of War? They had topless women feeding grapes to guests at that party, too.

It’s bad enough when I have to suffer teenage male hormones on MMO games like World of Warcraft, and Age of Conan. But offering up females in the flesh at events like product launches and gaming conventions crosses a line and manages to piss me off all at the same time.

I can see the appeal to young females willing to make some cash at these things by standing around looking ditsy and pretty, but if EA is encouraging its male fan base to grope and oogle, they lose all respect from me. I dont’ think I’ll be purchasing any more EA games.

More often than not, I’m playing FPS games that feature nothing but male characters with guns. The few games I do play that offer female leads, the women in the stories are usually half naked and boob-a-liscious or evil and turn into fire breathing dragons. I don’t know who is doing the storyboarding, but these writers need a serious dose of reality.

If designers can make a realistic, trained man, they should be able to make a realistic, trained female that retains all her clothes.

Regardless, I digress. Naked pixels and the objectification of women on a monitor is one thing. I’m not even saying that is cool, either, but it’s understandable. It’s fake. If a prepubescent teen wants to look at an almost naked night elf ass all day, fine. Not saying he needs extensive amounts of therapy.

But it seems like the decision makers who utilize real, living women the way EA and Sony have done so far, need a lot of psychiatric help.

Shame on you, EA.

Originally published at Out of Sorts. Please leave any comments there.

Am I on crack or something? It seems I’ve pretty much dissented with every major critic on the summer blockbusters this year. The new Harry Potter movie follows this same trend.

I did not care for the movie at all.

Most of the critics praised the useless forays into budding teenage romance. Some even considered it, “A fitting transition leading to the final chapter of the series.”  I couldn’t disagree more. This should have been a story that stood on its own and yet maintained a steady world line.

For me, the highlights were few and far between, and I think this is the first movie out of all of them where I enjoyed the book more than I did the visuals.  I can’t look at a movie and give it my seal of approval for wonderful landscapes and cinematography. I can get those at my neighborhood science centers in their 3D or IMAX presentations.

I distinctly remember the Half-Blood Prince being a lot more poignant. We followed Harry as he immersed himself in the mysterious pages of a potion book and sniffed out the darker paths which would help rid both worlds of Voldemort.  This interpretation of Rowling’s work however,  should have really be entitled: Harry Porker, the Half-Assed Annoying Teenage Romance.

It’s almost like when they were writing the script, the powers that be were trying too hard to be like “Twilight”.  Oh woe be the love lives of horny teenagers in fantastic settings.

I’m sorry. I know that really wasn’t appropriate, but really, I mean, really!? I felt I spent half of the movie cringing at the triangle between Ron, Lavender and Hermoine.

Did Yates suddenly forget that Voldemort was back? I certainly did and that’s not a good thing if you ask me.

**spoilers ahead**

The thing that bugged me the most was that the altered potions text was a character itself in Rowling’s story. As soon as it was introduced in the novel, I instantly wondered who could have been behind the scribbles.

Yet, this script mentioned the actual Half-Blood Prince, like three times. There was no anticipation. There was no time devoted to finding out and there was certainly no magic.  After Dumbledore is killed, and Harry chases Snape from the castle with the rest of the Death Eaters, Snape’s like, “I’m the HBP.”

Cue Snape knocking down Harry and running away.

Yep. That’s pretty much it.

Despite Rickman’s talent, the line was meaningless because more than half the movie was dedicated to a flow chart depicting who was snogging who.

The only other highlight in this dreadfully flat flick was Draco Malfoy. Tom Felton has come a long way as an actor. Usually, I want to punch him in the face with his overacted lines, but he played the part of unwilling minion perfectly. Despite the years of torment he’s poured upon Potter, I actually felt for him at the end. So Kudos, Mr. Felton on a job well done.

As the entire world knows, Dumbledore bites it in the end by the hand of Snape. Those of you who know the motivation revealed in Book 7, understand the climax. Yet, the way this was filmed, I felt nothing. I was expecting to tear up and blubber when one of the greatest wizards of all time was dispatched so violently.

Hell, I cried when Gandalf fell.

Ultimately, I think I was missing immersion in the story.  I kept looking at my watch, wondering when the movie would be done.

I missed the wonder. I missed the fear that spreads in the wake of a terrible foe. I missed the magic.  I might be leaving this one off my collection when it comes out to DVD.

Originally published at Out of Sorts. Please leave any comments there.

One of my favorites scenes so far in season one. It’s 2 a.m and I’m only through episode 7. I.can’t.stop.watching.

This show has everything a lonely single woman loves in a show. Good stories, memorable characters, swearing, guns, aliens, murderers, blood, guts and sex! Wooo. Why I didn’t start watching this show long before now is a mystery to me. Thank God, Captain Jack Harkness can help me figure that out. Oh, and he can totally help me perfect my real life shooting skills any day.

I am watching it on Itunes, only because I have no idea what censors do to the show once it gets here after airing in Britain. Trust me when I say, this show is a dish best served whole…with good stories, memorable characters, swearing, guns, aliens, murderers, blood, guts and sex! (Oops!)

Originally published at Out of Sorts. Please leave any comments there.

It was the whole “busy life” thing that got in the way of my reading. No, really. It seemed like every time I sat down to read the first installment of the “Destroyermen” series, something always pulled me away.

Determined to finally finish it, I did over the past week.  I am certainly glad I did. Into the Storm was fantastic. I have a soft spot for anything involving United States Military, and Taylor certainly didn’t disappoint.

The book opens in World War II, with the USS Walker, a four-stacker WWI era destroyer, running from the Japanese. The sheer momentum under duress by her crew is anxiety inducing. Exactly what you’d feel if you were on lookout for enemy ships or suicidal fighters above.

Cut to mysterious squall, sickening colors and vertigo.

One surprise after another continues to rock the story as it moves along in the strange new world. Confronted with two new sentient species, we quickly find out, the strange raptor dinosaur looking creatures and a full human size lemurian species are at war with one another.

The crew of the Walker, doing their best to understand their current predicament are thrust into the middle of the conflict and are forced to choose a side in one climatic scene. If not only for their own survival and needed repairs, but ultimately for the sake of doing the right thing.

We meet very interesting characters as we travel along the unfamiliar rolling waves of this strange new Pacific,  which in turn, makes the story believable. Some handle the new pressures well, while others can’t seem to complete their faithful duty. Holding on to the only normalcy they have left, most of the men and women of the USS Walker cling to their roles as Destroyermen, if only for the slim sanity it provides in an unsafe reality.

For Taylor Anderson’s freshman effort, I was pleased by his well rounded and professional writing. I wish my first story had sounded nearly as good. Some writers are gifted out of the box, and I had to keep curbing my jealousy of his prose as I continued on with the story.

Having recently just signed another three book deal with Roc, Taylor is busily banging away at book four, while  I’m onto the second book in the series entitled, Crusade.

Taylor Anderson is definitely an author who is growing in popularity–and ultimately, I would love to read other stories as well from him. His attention to character detail and world building is excellent. Most of all, I had fun.

There is a fine line between wanting more from a story and craving more storytelling and I’m very happy to say that Into the Storm follows the latter category.

Available in paperback now – from Amazon.com

Originally published at Out of Sorts. Please leave any comments there.

The only thing I have to say to critics who panned this movie is:

When you go to an amusement park to ride the biggest and fastest roller coaster you can find; do you leave your seat saying to yourself, “Gee, yah, that sucked. It had no story what-so-ever. There was no depth! Wahhhhh.”

Cause really, that’s what a good majority of you sound like and then I remind myself that critics like you don’t go to those sorts of places anyway…

This sequel was spectacular in everything it was designed to do. When I finally got off this blockbuster of a summer ride, my legs were shaking and my adrenaline was pumping.

WoO!

Oh, and by the way–Josh Duhamel can totally meet me in five minutes for some “Fuck yeah, we just saved the world,” sex. I’d be totally fine with that.

Fergie can come too.