The Caffeinated Penguin

Posted By matt on February 23, 2006

Edit: Somehow, things got a little SNAFU-ed between this post and the one I loaded and edited to make this post (here). The comments attached to this post actually belong to the other one. I think because I updated the old one, changed the date, then submitted it, rather than creating a new ID, it used the old ID, to which the comments are linked in the DB. So, sorry about that.

I haven't updated this in awhile, so here it is. Also, I'll be omitting periodicals from here on out. Suffice to say that, interleaved with all this, I'm reading American Rifleman and Game Informer.

Just Finished:
Finding Serenity : Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly, Jane Espensen

Mini Review:
This was a good read for any FireFly fan. Some of the essays are thought-provoking, some of them amusing, and others are just a bunch of circle jerking praising Joss Whedon for having strong female roles because it inspires and motivates women, and that is sorely lacking in our culture.

(Uhm, no it's not, and is it fair to call someone a feminist if they're merely writing characters who reflect real life? Maybe in your strange world, it's full of weak women, but mine isn't. But then again, maybe that's because the women I know are all scientists and engineers, and not whiney, insecure, superficial, fashion design majors).

Additionally, there was a very good essay (which the editor hated, of course) about the nature of chivalry in FireFly, and how it's an unsustainable system (the typical “if you put women in harm's way, then society will crumble because there will not be anyone to have babies” argument). This presents a well written, but completely incorrect thought, and I want to respond to it more fully, posting my response here, and emailing it to the author as well – just not right now.

Currently reading:
How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must), Ann Coulter

Added to the stack since my last book post:
We Were Soldiers Once… and Young, Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway
Great Issues in American History, Volume II – From the Revolution to the Civil War, 1765-1865, Richard Hofstadter.
Great Issues in American History, Volume III – From Reconstruction to the Present Day, 1864-1981, Richard Hofstadter and Beatrice K. Hofstadter

Currently on the stack:
(the above stuff that was added)
Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower, Stephen King
SAS Survival Handbook, John “Lofty” Wiseman
The Underground History of American Education, John Taylor Gatto
People's History of the United States : 1492 to Present, Howard Zinn
On Killing : The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society, Dave Grossman
On Combat, Dave Grossman
Serenity: The Official Visual Companion, Joss Whedon; Paperback
Serenity Role Playing Game, Jamie Chambers

Category: LJ Import
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