I’m not at all sure why they bothered with the frame story of Mahadev being a novelist–it weakened the message of the story, especially given the true fates of some of the characters. That said, some supplementary research taught me about hijra in India–called eunuchs on IMDB, but not specifically labeled in the movie.
The Autism/MMR Fraud – Lots of good details on the publication that started the Autism-MMR link that anti-vaccine parents believe in. The comments on this post get very wonky, but the post itself is good.
How to Run a Profitable Garage Sale – I totally want to do a garage sale as we get ready to move. I haven't done one since I was a kid, and based on this article, times have changed.
Just a couple this week. It feels like everyone’s quiet on the blagowubs lately.
Giving Away, Not Selling, My Stuff – So very timely for me. I sold the desk, but clothes, stuff… I just gave it away. I, too, am lousy about getting mail out and keeping up with stuff like listings. I just want it gone, and the money was spent and gone years ago (generally).
Vince Vaughn Responds to the Gay Joke in The Dilemma Controversy – Vaughn says, "Drawing divided lines over what we can and cannot joke about does exactly that; it divides us. Most importantly, where does it stop?" But the issue isn't what you should and shouldn't joke about. The issue is the use of the word "gay" in a derogatory fashion. The joke wasn't subverting that use.
For some reason, I felt like I didn’t have a lot of links this week for all the cruising I did, but I was wrong. I plowed through 280 Google Reader posts and was caught up as of yesterday afternoon. It may never happen again.
$72,000 in E-Books in a Week – 8 Lessons I Learned – Since Greg is considering releasing LORE as a physical book (and e-book/book self-publishing is of great interest to me as well), I've been reading up on book marketing and revenue numbers and what type of experience to expect. It's good reading.
Union of mothers create anti-gay ad because of drama “Life Is Beautiful” – This ridiculous ad stating, “If my son becomes gay and dies from AIDs after watching ‘Life Is Beautiful’, SBS [the broadcasting company] must take responsibility!” A gay Korean actor posted a nicely-written series of Twitter posts lambasting them. Go read.
Do not use Bible to attack homosexuality – A well-written opinion piece. I struggle with the idea of taking any holy text wholesale–so why not pick your passages?–but if you take as a premise that the whole thing is true, then this guy's got a point. I wish they allowed commenting; I'd love to see the discussion that article.
Could ‘Goldilocks’ planet be just right for life? – Yahoo! News – Look at this: "It's unknown whether water actually exists on the planet, and what kind of atmosphere it has. But because conditions are ideal for liquid water, and because there always seems to be life on Earth where there is water, Vogt believes 'that chances for life on this planet are 100 percent.'" …What? Water hasn't been seen yet, but there's a 100% chance of it being there and there being life? Erm.
Bollywood Gay film faces Censors – I very much want to see this film. "Kapil commented on the action taken for the submission and said: 'The Censor Board objected to the kissing and lovemaking. They asked us to delete those scenes. We refused. We aren’t trying to do any kind of sleazy stuff here. Ours is the first ever serious gay love story. The intimacy is essential. Our film is now with the revising committee.'"
Another vote for "Fragmented" – An awesome article quotation from Elf. I agree with this, and struggle with finding a healthy balance for myself. I enjoy having a smartphone, but still consider it a luxury item (i.e., not necessary to my existence or even my happiness). I even debate getting rid of it and going back to a plain ol' phone (shh! don't tell Greg). I feel like a netbook and a normal cell phone would be enough connectivity for me.
If I'm going to break contract on my AT&T/iPhone agreement over Apple's stupidity, maybe I should be looking at doing just that — get a nice, small (!!) cheap cell phone. It's more than a little tempting.
Follow Up: How Do Strangers Treat You? – Nice comments from an older BFD post about how people are treated when they're over- or under-weight. Features the gem: "Yet another man told me that being fat wasn’t my problem, it was merely the first indication to a man that I did not want to be 'pleasing.' Yes, he told me that if I wanted to be 'pleasing to a man,' I would lose the weight. This would indicate that I was agreeable and compliant." Um, about that.
Prometheus 6: "No iPad for me…" – Wow. This is what I get to come back to when I haven't synced my phone in over a week. Ugh. If I weren't about to move, I'd do some hard recalculations on getting out of my AT&T iPhone contract and picking up one of those buckets of does.
YouTube – MORTAL KOMBAT – Okay, this may be the coolest thing I've seen in a hot minute. I love seeing folks put this much effort into what's essentially a fanfic.
