interpellate


Frackin’ A!
April 4, 2008, 3:27 pm
Filed under: Popular Culture | Tags: , ,

I thought I might make it through the day without mentioning how excited I am that the fourth (and sadly, final) season of Battlestar Galactica debuts this evening. For those who still stubbornly refuse to believe that this is an amazing show that transcends sci-fi vulgarity: snap out of it! Then, check out this Salon article that demonstrates how BSG

has proved that the genre, when liberated from the body-hugging Lycra jumpsuits and staid dialogue that have plagued most post-”Trek” science fiction series, can be a vehicle for both scathing political commentary and genuine pathos.

It then outline in pornographic detail how the narrative has unfurled over the last three seasons, a mini-series and a movie. Really, the recap got me a little “excited” (and I guess the article really is more for the already converted… newbies shouldn’t be denied the pleasure of watching every glorious episode for themselves). Bring on the frackin’ show!



Attn: Oprah (or, Bad Questions to Ask a Transsexual)
April 3, 2008, 8:18 am
Filed under: Ideas, Popular Culture, Social Justice | Tags: , ,

As the story of Thomas Beatie hits the mainstream today with his “first television interview” on Oprah (thanks for the heads up Bug-Eyed Broad), I feel that it would be inappropriate to allow Calpernia Addams polemic on exactly what is and is not appropriate to ask a transsexual to languish in the comments section (but many thanks to Mike Soron for bringing it to my attention).

While not exactly the same thing, as an openly (whether I like it or not) gay man, I can relate to Addams’ position (while still acknowledging that gay men are not exempt from atrocious behavior).  Why do people feel that they can ask you deeply personal questions about your body and/or sexuality just because you don’t embody the norm?  From now on, I’ll be responding in Calpernia-fashion: “If you need to ask, you don’t need to know.”



Strombeshi
April 2, 2008, 4:23 pm
Filed under: Popular Culture, Stupidity | Tags:

While there’s nothing wrong with a man with a nose ring (ahem!), I do find George Stroumboulopoulos and Jian Ghomeshi’s brand of Toronto-centric, hipster “politics” insufferable. It all comes down to when George did his show on gay marriage and, instead of taking a stand, played “journalist” and had on an anti-gay advocate. You know, the same way we need to respect the anti-women and anti-people of colour lobbies. Take a stand George! Or is your grasp of the issues so tentative that you don’t understand what you did wrong there? Thanks to the Bug-Eyed Broad for giving me an outlet this afternoon.



From the Mouths of Babes
March 20, 2008, 3:37 pm
Filed under: Politics, Popular Culture | Tags: , ,

Old favorite commercial:

New favorite commercial:

(I know I’m a tad slow on the uptake when it comes to the latter. Thanks to Mike for drawing my attention to it and to my diminishing capacities!)



Visibility is important. And I’m a geek.
March 17, 2008, 10:09 pm
Filed under: Popular Culture | Tags: , , , ,

Yeah, I’m loving Torchwood this season. I will even confess to be being rendered giddy a few times, as much by the far superior writing (compared to the first season) and the guest arc by Martha Jones as by Russell T. Davies‘ penchant for queering the sci fi genre (see below). While I fully expect it to be surplanted in the next couple of weeks once the final season of Battlestar Galactica finally premieres, in the meantime I am very contented sandwiched between Captain Jack and Ianto.