Words & ThingsBlog posts I\'ve written.

Jun
01

The Fantastical Mr. Flip’s is Rolling Through

The Fantastical Mr. Flip’s Carnival of Wonders & Curiosities, being an Exposition of the Extraordinary and Unusual for the Edification of the Public, including Alchemical Artifacts of Apocryphal Antiquity and Esoteric Nature, as well as Mesmerizing Entertainments certain to Astonish and Delight, needs your help!

What We Do

Showing off the raffle prizes at Mr. Flip's Carnival.

Showing off the raffle prizes at Mr. Flip’s Carnival. Photo courtesy of Fairhaven.com.

Our goal is to invite “local” musicians, artists, makers, and authors—”local” from Vancouver, BC to as far as Portland, OR—to come mingle and display their arts and wares, introducing steampunk to the broader community.

We also raise funds at the event itself, utilizing locally donated Award-Winning (and Steampunk-Approved!) Clam Chowder from Skylark’s Hidden Cafe and raffle tickets for baskets of beautiful items and prizes. That money goes entirely to the Caleb Kors Memorial Scholarship, which goes to benefit underprivileged children with dreams of performing like Caleb.

Please come visit our campaign and, if you have a dollar to spare, put it forth to a wonderful event!

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May
31

Damned If You Do(n’t): Being a Woman Writing As a Woman About Women (But Not Just For Women)

SFWA Bulletin #200

Ah, the classic warrior woman. We all know her. From the very moment we reach for the science-fiction and fantasy shelves, we see her in all her glory on the covers. She is tall, lithe, sometimes sporting a little muscle. She carries a giant sword, often poised over her freshest kill, and enjoys inexplicably effective armor comprised of bikini-like chainmail. And she has soft, fleshy, ginormous boobs the likes of which I—as a young, impressionable reader—could only hope to show off one day, classic warrior style.

…That was the correct takeaway, right?

Look, let’s be brutally honest here. The reputation of science-fiction and fantasy in regards to gender treatment doesn’t have the most endearing track record. What was “the way” years ago—especially in my “read all the things” stage in bookworm pupation—is not so acceptable now, and that is the reflection of progress and change. Women, often laughably underdressed and overwhelmingly utilized as The Victim or The Whore in SF/F, maintained a role not wholly dissimilar to the lingering views on women through the ’60s and ’70s.

The problem stems from the fact that while society has progressed as a whole, our books—and our writers—have remained distressingly stagnant. (more…)

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May
22

Adventures in Depression III: Attack of the Real World

DEPRESSION_by_guille1701

DEPRESSION by ~guille1701

Drugs can’t buy you happiness (the body is in constant state of flux and ebb). Money can’t buy you happiness (everything needs money, more money, more). Love can’t buy you happiness (the ups are great and the downs are the most stressful out of everything else). Happiness can’t buy you happiness (because it leaves—it always leaves).

What seems like a solution—we don’t say the “cure” word around these parts—ends up being a reprieve, and it all comes back without anybody asking you. In so many ways, a reprieve is worse than just coping. You start to feel normal, healthy, balanced. Happy. And then something tips, that clock hand ticks over to the right/wrong number, and you’re there again. Only it’s worse, isn’t it? Because even though nobody says the “c-word” anymore, a part of you was maybe—just maybe—starting to hope.

But you know the worst part?

The real world doesn’t give a damn what you’re feeling.  (more…)

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