Consent, Cosplay, and Cuddles

Consent, Cosplay, and Cuddles — Blue Ink Alchemy

I don't think I'm very influential. This site tends to get just under 100 views a day. Some days it's lucky to hit 50. So in some ways, this may simply be preaching to the choir. I'm aware of this. But I also know that some of the people who read this are folks I don't know personally, and may help spread the word to people who would otherwise be unaware of the following. So with that in mind, and simply wanting to promote positive behavior as much as possible, let's talk about consent at conventions. Convention season is in full swing. It's great to meet people there. You may even be compelled to shake hands or even hug someone. Make sure they're cool with it first. You may think it's fun to give someone a 'surprise hug' but the fact of the matter is, there are a lot of people who have had bad experiences when it comes to being touched. An unexpected brush or contact can bring all sorts of unbidden memories and emotions roaring to the surface of the mind, and nobody wants that to happen. We gather in these placed to have fun together, not to hurt one another. It doesn't take a lot - "May I shake your hand?" "Would you like a hug?" - but it will mean a world of difference to people if you act with courtesy and wait for consent. This especially applies to cosplayers. A lot of people spend months preparing costumes to show off in large public places where people have shared interests. They do it for fun and to celebrate their fandoms. They, too, deserve the respect of being approached like a human being, rather than sized up like a piece of meat. If you catcall a cosplayer, or worse, impose yourself physically on one without your consent, you're being part of the problem. Remember: cosplayers are not wearing their costumes for you. They're doing it for them, and they deserve to be proud of that without having to worry about getting creeped on by strangers. Everybody needs contact, reassurance, even cuddles. There's nothing wrong with any of that. As long as there is communication and consent, we can make our gatherings positive and memorable experiences. We have to work together to do it, and we have to look out for one another. That doesn't just mean communication between the parties involved, but also communication with those that can help. If you see something questionable, if someone's getting hurt or being made to feel uncomfortable, tell someone. If you yourself are put in a position of which you do not approve, tell someone. Staff members are there to help you. There's bound to be one disconnected from all of the goings on who will not only hear you out, but speak up on your behalf. Yes, there are bad experiences, and yes, sometimes things go sour even when you try to do the right thing. What's the alternative? Give up entirely? If we all did that, if we all just gave up when things got frustrating or didn't turn out the way we wanted, we'd get nowhere, and communities would crumble, all the good and positivity they create dissolving into nothingness and leaving this world a colder, more empty place. I think that dissent can be a good thing, and those who have a legitimate beef that goes unheard have the right to say what they have to say. My point is that, if we're all working together, offering consent and speaking up for one another, it shouldn't have to get to that point. Things can and will get better, but only if we all contribute towards making it so. We all have to work together. One person, alone, can change very little, but again, that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Ghandi once said "If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do." The more we work to make the collective experience better for everyone involved, the greater our influence on the flow of events and the lives of others becomes. We can, and will, change both how our communities work, and how they are perceived by others. And believe it or not, it all hinges on asking one simple question. Can I have a hug? (Images courtesy The Mary Sue)

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Consent, Cosplay, and Cuddles

Consent, Cosplay, and Cuddles — Blue Ink Alchemy

I don't think I'm very influential. This site tends to get just under 100 views a day. Some days it's lucky to hit 50. So in some ways, this may simply be preaching to the choir. I'm aware of this. But I also know that some of the people who read this are folks I don't know personally, and may help spread the word to people who would otherwise be unaware of the following. So with that in mind, and simply wanting to promote positive behavior as much as possible, let's talk about consent at conventions. Convention season is in full swing. It's great to meet people there. You may even be compelled to shake hands or even hug someone. Make sure they're cool with it first. You may think it's fun to give someone a 'surprise hug' but the fact of the matter is, there are a lot of people who have had bad experiences when it comes to being touched. An unexpected brush or contact can bring all sorts of unbidden memories and emotions roaring to the surface of the mind, and nobody wants that to happen. We gather in these placed to have fun together, not to hurt one another. It doesn't take a lot - "May I shake your hand?" "Would you like a hug?" - but it will mean a world of difference to people if you act with courtesy and wait for consent. This especially applies to cosplayers. A lot of people spend months preparing costumes to show off in large public places where people have shared interests. They do it for fun and to celebrate their fandoms. They, too, deserve the respect of being approached like a human being, rather than sized up like a piece of meat. If you catcall a cosplayer, or worse, impose yourself physically on one without your consent, you're being part of the problem. Remember: cosplayers are not wearing their costumes for you. They're doing it for them, and they deserve to be proud of that without having to worry about getting creeped on by strangers. Everybody needs contact, reassurance, even cuddles. There's nothing wrong with any of that. As long as there is communication and consent, we can make our gatherings positive and memorable experiences. We have to work together to do it, and we have to look out for one another. That doesn't just mean communication between the parties involved, but also communication with those that can help. If you see something questionable, if someone's getting hurt or being made to feel uncomfortable, tell someone. If you yourself are put in a position of which you do not approve, tell someone. Staff members are there to help you. There's bound to be one disconnected from all of the goings on who will not only hear you out, but speak up on your behalf. Yes, there are bad experiences, and yes, sometimes things go sour even when you try to do the right thing. What's the alternative? Give up entirely? If we all did that, if we all just gave up when things got frustrating or didn't turn out the way we wanted, we'd get nowhere, and communities would crumble, all the good and positivity they create dissolving into nothingness and leaving this world a colder, more empty place. I think that dissent can be a good thing, and those who have a legitimate beef that goes unheard have the right to say what they have to say. My point is that, if we're all working together, offering consent and speaking up for one another, it shouldn't have to get to that point. Things can and will get better, but only if we all contribute towards making it so. We all have to work together. One person, alone, can change very little, but again, that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Ghandi once said "If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do." The more we work to make the collective experience better for everyone involved, the greater our influence on the flow of events and the lives of others becomes. We can, and will, change both how our communities work, and how they are perceived by others. And believe it or not, it all hinges on asking one simple question. Can I have a hug?

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Blue Ink Alchemy

500 Words on Chuck Wendig

500 Words on Chuck Wendig — Blue Ink Alchemy

Courtesy terribleminds If you don't know who Chuck Wendig is by now... First of all, watch this. Second of all, what the hell is wrong with you? I've worshipped at the Altar of the Terriblemind more than once. It involves sacrifices of coffee, whiskey, tacos, and an outpouring of creative swears while dancing naked under the light of a full moon. While it's yeilded quite a few fantastic books, which I'll get to, it's also given me the sense that I need to kick my writerly ass. The last few months have been surprisingly stressful at the dayjob, which is perhaps due to extenuating circumstances in my head and diet and whatnot, but that's not really an excuse. The dayjob only lasts a certain number of hours per day, and I could easily carve out more of the remaining time for writing. Hell, Hearthstone has long queues, as does Heroes of the Storm (waiting on my invite, Blizzard!), World of Warcraft has pauses for travel and queues of its own... and those are just the Blizzard games! I like to write posts like this while watching Crash Course or The Cinema Snob. It's possible to pour the words into the cracks between the day's longer hours. I just need to do it more often. A while back, Chuck posted a photo of where he writes. It's beautiful. Isolated. A window to the outdoors, a rig for his iPad (disconnected from the Internet, I'd imagine), a place for his coffee. I'm reminded again that not only do I need to make the time, I need to make the space. Sitting here tapping out blog posts isn't too difficult, writing-wise, but it's still incredibly easy to be distracted and if I want to get anything done, I need to focus. I must do that more often, just like I should work out more often. I can make all of the excuses I like about the dayjob or my mental/emotional state or what have you, but in the end, the only way to write is to write. Wendig reminds me of this because, damn, that motherfucker's prolific. He's writing novels, novellas, serialized fiction, non-fiction about writing... basically everything a canny genre writer can write to keep writing. He's got various points of entry if you're not up on his work, too. Are you into vampires and/or zombies? Read Double Dead. Want a powerful female protagonist? Blackbirds is for you. How about urban fantasy mashed with gripping crime drama? Try The Blue Blazes. Young adult reader looking for something unique? Under The Empyrean Sky might be your bag. Just need advice/a kick in the ass for your own writing? Buy The Kick-Ass Writer already. See what I mean? Whenever I worry that my ambitions are too "all over the place", that what I write can't possibly make it, Chuck reminds me that such thinking is bullshit. All I have to do is get off my ass. Or at least sit my ass down and write.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Movie Review: Noah

Movie Review: Noah — Blue Ink Alchemy

Biblical epics are nothing new for Hollywood. One of the most well-known producer/directors of Hollywood's past, Cecil B. Demille, worked with many such films, including The Sign of the Cross, Samson & Delilah, and of course The Ten Commandments. For a while, such spectacles have fallen out of favor, thanks to the rise of conservatism in the United States that lead to fundamentalist Christian audiences eschewing things like broad interpretation or the idea of the Bible as metaphor. The tide seems to be turning back, though, if Noah is any indication. Ten generations after Adam and Eve walked in the Garden of Eden, Noah dreams of the destruction of the world. He goes to see his grandfather, Methuselah, who helps him understand that, according to his dream, he must build an ark to save the innocent animals of the world from the oncoming deluge. As he sets about his task, Noah is approached first by the Watchers, fallen angels cast out of Heaven for wishing to help mankind, and Tubal Cain, king of the rest of the world and its strip-mining industrial cities. Noah is dedicated to his task, but the question of what that dedication will compel him to do gets asked over and over again as the rain starts to fall. Variations on this story exist all over the world. Long before the printing press was capable of putting copies of the Bible in the hands of multitudes, people have been passing on tales of floods, arks, and rainbows. Noah does borrow the bulk of its material from the Judeo-Christian tradition, but it doesn't seem to have an agenda tied into that establishment. It refers to a "Creator" and at no point is a language other than English spoken, so Biblical purists will have a beef with the film long before the stone angels and magical snake skins show up.
The world is less Ten Commandments and more Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome The thing of it is, some of Noah's source material comes from apocryphal texts such as the Book of Enoch and the Dead Sea Scrolls, which technically could be part of holy writ but no Bible printing is likely to include them. These texts speak of a world utterly unlike our own, where angels walked alongside men and miracles were worked by those tied closely to the Garden of Eden. Noah taps into this strangeness and these wonders the same way that Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings tapped into things like sentient tree-people and magic swords. In fact, director Darren Aronofsky approaches the Bible the same way Jackson approached Tolkien: there is deep respect and even love for the source material here, but there's also a boldness that allows for expansions and cuts where you might not expect them. Case in point: the Watchers. When these angels chose to break the Creator's command not to interfere with humanity, they fell to Earth and were covered in stone, preventing them from flying. The way these creatures move is disconcerting and otherworldly, which makes perfect sense: they spent millenia flying through the vastness of space, but now must trudge along one foot at a time. Noah makes tangible sense of the esoteric concept of a fallen angel. Likewise, when Noah tells his family the story of creation, it is juxtaposed with a fantastic montage of a visualization concerning both the Big Bang and Darwinian evolution, demonstrating be means of a major Hollywood production that yes, such Biblical texts can in fact be metaphors for demonstrable scientific theory. So much of Noah is fearless in its respectful interpretation, that things like actors' performances and actual story points feel almost superfluous in comparison.
Noah's wife and adopted daughter have major roles to play, nicely offsetting the male swagger. However, that isn't to say that Noah doesn't have merits there, as well. While Russel Crowe and Ray Winstone are playing mostly to type as Noah and Tubal Cain respectively, they do turn in good performances and neither tries to over-complicate their characters with odd accents or strange affects. In a text and story mostly dominated by men, Jennifer Connolly and Emma Watson do a fantastic job standing on their own, demonstrating strength and bravery that arguably outshine the battle scenes. Darren Aronofsky is more than just a bold storyteller bringing us the cinematic version of a beloved tale, he's also an adept and skilled director, and the man who brought us Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, and Black Swan continues to challenge our perception and our interpretation of events. Outside of its context as a Biblical tale, Noah is a solid film with good character and world-building as well as fine performances and a well-paced story. Within context, it's incredibly bold and unafraid of being as bizarre as the Old Testament could truly be, even in the mostly sanitized text that you'd find in most church pews. I can understand why it would make conservative viewers uncomfortable or even angry on the face of the visuals, but underneath the interpretation and metaphor is respect, which drives the narrative forward rather than holding it back. The fact that Noah even got made in a world of lackluster Kirk Cameron schlock and batshit Mel Gibson-style anti-Semitism is significant in and of itself, and the fact that it is this respectful, this bold, this bizarre, and this good is nothing short of its own miracle.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Flash Fiction: Some Small Things

Flash Fiction: Some Small Things — Blue Ink Alchemy

For the Terribleminds Flash Fiction Challenge, Five Random Words.

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"Bless you, dearie. Granny can always count on you two." The words rang in Caroline's ears as she and the mass of wrinkles beside her picked their way through the woods towards the city. To be fair, the wrinkles were mostly on Seymour's face - the long, beige body of the hound was sleek and muscular, the body of a creature bred for hunting and snatching prey. To Caroline, there was a understated beauty about her most reliable companion. Every wrinkle told a story. There was no duplicity in the hound's eyes, no tricks, no facade of civilization hiding a monster within. The same could not be said for the bustling figures in the streets before her now. She pulled her flat cap down towards her eyes. With her disheveled and dirty clothes nicked from some other urchin years ago, she could pass as a boy. This suited her just fine. She saw girls her age flit here and there, decked in finery and giggling to one another about parties and parents and lessons and boys, always boys. As much as the dresses and hairstyles were pretty, Caroline wondered if they had any idea what the world was really like as she and Seymour picked their way through the crowd towards their destination. Granny needed some small things to complete her work. A topaz, some foxglove, a raven's wing bone - not unusual requests from Granny. They passed the building bearing the sign 'ORPHANAGE', and the girl shoved her hands in her pockets and kept her head down as they walked by. Her orphanage was in the past, as was creepy Mr. Harrigan and his wandering hands. She reminded herself to go back one of these days and burn the place down. Not today. Today Granny had sent her on a mission. "A love potion" were the words Granny had used, and Caroline couldn't think of a sillier thing to waste precious time and wonderful charms trying to make. Granny could work miracles with her gnarled hands and spindly fingers; why a love potion of all things? It wasn't Caroline's place to ask, though. She reminded herself that it was Granny, a hermit who owed her nothing, that had found her when she ran away, taken her in, given her a chance at life. A life in transit, mostly, of moving from place to place almost constantly and having very little to call their own, but it was a life all the same, and it was freedom and adventure and challenges and the world, the real world, not the one these people around her tried to close off with doors and windows and wine and employment. It was a gift, this life, and all that came with it, including Seymour. And it was a gift Granny had given her, only occasionally asking something in return. Seymour nudged her towards the proper street. Caroline shook her head and stroked the hound's fur. She had no idea if this town had leash laws or anything, but she didn't plan on sticking around long enough for it to be an issue. Seymour was always close by unless she told him to stay somewhere, and even then he had a keen awareness of where Caroline was and if she was being threatened. A feeling deep in her guts told her that such skills might be required. A gesture put Seymour right outside the front door of the jeweler's. Caroline walked in, finding the large man behind the deck at the other end of the floor engaged in conversation with a young couple. She looked through all of the display cases until she found the semi-translucent beige stones she had been sent to acquire. Granny only needed one for her potion, but Caroline saw no reason not to pocket a few for herself. She reached for the case. "Miss? Can I help you?" Caroline turned, putting on her best smile while silently cursing to herself. "Just browsing, thank you." "Looking for something in particular? A gift, for Mom or Dad?" The shopkeeper leaned closer, and Caroline glanced towards the large windows facing the street. As if on cue, Seymour started barking. The shopkeeper looked away and turned towards the noise, giving Caroline the chance to do a turn of her own and slip her blade into the seam of the display cases' lock, tapping it open. The young couple had also moved to the big windows. Caroline pocketed the gems and slipped past the adults to get outside. Upon seeing her, Seymour immediately stopped making noise and fell into step behind her. She kept her pace at a brisk walk until she was around the corner. The cries of "THIEF!" didn't emerge until they were a block away, and by then, she and Seymour were running. They stopped for breath not far into the forest, and Caroline immediately spotted some foxglove. With that, they returned home. However, the hearth was already burning despite it being warm and mid-day, and Granny usually didn't start her fire until it was cold, dark, or she had all of her ingredients. Caroline and Seymour stepped into the tiny log cabin. Stretched out on the couch Caroline had helped 'liberate' from a trash heap was the woodsman's boy, a gangly kid with straw hair a few years old than Caroline. They'd met, made nice, bickered and even on one occasion fought before. "Oh, dearie, dear, thank all that's good you've returned," Granny said. "The boy's been snake-bitten, he needs medicine." "One thing at a time, Granny." Caroline placed the potion ingredients on the table. "What does he need?" "Find the snake. Don't kill the poor thing, of course, just bring it to me. We can milk it for a little venom to make medicine." "I'll find it. Seymo-" The dog was already sniffing the wound, and was out in a flash. Caroline turned to follow, then looked back at the boy. Suddenly, she understood why Granny would want a love potion.

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My words: Hermit, Hound, Topaz, Foxglove, Orphan.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Quick Belated Update

Quick Belated Update — Blue Ink Alchemy

The dayjob has, in a word, gone crazy. Tasks have flown at me in a crazy way and it's been all I can do to keep my head above water there. Add to that the looming arrival of PAX East and the nagging sensation that I'm just not writing enough, and you have a tasty recipe for stress. As I've worked to get things back into some semblance of a proper order and pace, some items have unfortunately fallen to the wayside. Like blogging. I hate it when that happens, as it's my primary day-to-day outlet and a means to get more people's attention. I'm hoping to change that, though, in the very near future. So while I ruminate upon that, we're adjusting this week. No Tabletalk, but Flash Fiction tomorrow and a review of Noah on Thursday. The Friday 500 will be back, probably talking about pets or something.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Do What You Gotta

Do What You Gotta — Blue Ink Alchemy

It's an unfortunate truth: we don't all have the luxury of doing what we love all day, every day. Some do, and that's wonderful. The world needs more people who come fully alive and do what they love for the benefit of others as well as themselves. I support them wholeheartedly. But we can't all do that. Some of us toil. Some of us put aside what we want to fulfill our obligations and make ends meet in a more expedient but less satisfactory fashion. You have to remind yourself that this is okay. There's nothing wrong with committing to a bit of the old day-in day-out. Being as present as possible where you physically are can help make a better future for yourself. Employers like to see reliability and adaptability in their assets, and these attributes can make future employment opportunities easier to secure. From that perspective, putting aside other ambitious is a worthwhile sacrifice. You also have to remind yourself not to give up. Our dreams matter, and are worthy of being pursued. Having goals beyond the mundane day-to-day helps us see beyond the inbox, work through the frustations that come from tasks that ultimately have no real impact on us, and give us hope for the future. Our problems are temporary. To paraphrase Theodore Parker (who was himself paraphrased by Martin Luther King Jr), the curve of history is long but it bends towards justice. If you can hold onto what's good in your life, and strive towards your goals even if your steps on that journey falter, you will see that your setbacks and failures do not matter anywhere near as much as your joyous occasions and your successes. In the end, our measure is not truly taken in the unfortunate difficulties that hinder us and the oversights and mistakes we are bound to make. We're going to get in our own way. We're going to leave aside what we've put aside for the sake of our sanity and decompression. These are forgivable, human, and ultimately temporary conditions. If we keep moving forward, if we persevere, if we eventually reach that goal towards which we strive, all of the frustation and all of the shame and all of the despair will evaporate, and satisfaction is all that will be left. Tomorrow will be a new day, no matter how badly today might go. Try to remember that, especially when the days begin to turn sour. You can make it. And you will. Until then, do what you gotta do.

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Blue Ink Alchemy