I'm going out...

in manchester. actually I went out. it was fun. Manchester is good. affleck's palace is really bizzare but I got a very good little gothic dress from there. i went to stay with a friend, we went out to a club and i got to wear leopard print and dance like a moron. all in all a fun night.

today shall be the death of capitals.

i have recently read:

was by geoff ryman
the child garden by geoff ryman

i am currently reading the anubis gates by tim powers. i hate detective time traveller novels. it's all very boring.

was is only slightly in the fantastical genre. very depressing. good tho. the child garden was a bit heavy going but reccomended. inspired me to get a copy of milton's paradise lost. tried reading that on the train but it wasn't working. anyway will read paradise lost next.

have been outbid on a bunch of thundercats comics on ebay. don't think i really wanted them anyway.

now off to talk to the boyfriend in the bath. rowr.

I have been consuming...

Quite a lot actually. Recently I have:

• Watched the first half of Buffy Season 6, and put in a bid for the second half on ebay.
• Finished reading Duncton Wood. It wasn't very good. Bit turgid.
• Started reading Terry Brooks' The Sword of Shannara but got utterly disillusioned by the utterly cliched and predictable start. It may be a masterpiece, but quite frankly I can't be arsed. Why is so much fantasy so unimaginative?
• Went and bought Ursula Le Guin's The Lathe Of Heaven and The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman. I read The Lathe of Heaven this afternoon. It was excellent, as Ms Le Guin's books always are. I have high hopes for The Child Garden.
• I have recently received or obtained GirlsVsBoys Series 7 soundtrack, a Ben E King compilation and a Gladys KNight and the Pips compilation. All are good.

I have decided that way forward to get my fantasy and sf fix is to read the masterworks series. And to get more shelf space. And a spinny CD rack thing.

Feminism

I am proud to be a feminist. I do not understand why women do not call themselves feminists, or think it's a dirty word. These are otherwise strong successful women who would have a fit if they were being denied something because of their sex. It is very strange to me.

I dislike the words whore, slut and slag. Most of the time these seem to be used to desribe a woman who is wearing revealing clothes. So people assume she sleeps around. How does that work? It aims to defines women by their sexual, for lack of a better word, function. And it makes me very uncomfortable. Much like the casual racism around in Norfolk. Why do people whisper the word black? It's very odd.
Back to the offending words. Why is it so bad for women to enjoy sex? Or make their living by it? There aren't equivalent words for men who go to prostitues. And if a man who sleeps around is called a slag, or slut, that word appears to feminise him and becomes an insult because it implies he is less than male. Because it's such a terrible thing to be female.

The world has not moved on, women's rights issues are not high on the agenda and women don't appear to care. The government (finally) starts an anti-rape campaign and all the media says is that the images are tacky. I know these subjects have been covered before but they are still important and seem to be forgotten about far too readily.

Anyway, this is an excellent website:

http://www.feministing.com/

I can't really think of any other issues I wish to raise at the moment.

I Like...

getting my back scratched. It's heaven.

The art of dressing up

I like dressing up. Whether it be in daft fancy dress or just making an effort ins oem way. It makes clothes fun and I enjoy that.

I am going to a fancy dress party on Saturday, I am probably going to go as Kat Slater. Mostly becasue the theme is TV and film people and I can't think of anyone else to go as. At least, not any that aren't expensive. Of course, this plan may be scuppered due to my hair. My hair which is long enough to tuck into my pants (i'm so proud!) but which is unfortunately a bit long for dear old Kat.

I am now off to see if it is possible to plait sections of my hair then pin it to my head, then I can get a wig. If this doesn't work, I shall hire a crap costume, or go as a pink lady. Then I cna wear my pink lady shoes which will make me happy. :)

Damn stupid long hair. Maybe I could go as the alternative Rizzo.