I made a thing, just for fun. I got a copy of the book for Pretty in Pink that has the original Duckie Wins ending, and provide some commentary, analysis and trivia on the movie, the pros and cons of the possible endings, and then read the original ending. Enjoy!
Do you really want to be an author?
Writing is sacrifice, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.
And no, I don’t just mean sacrificing the odd goat to the Goddess of Inspiration (though if you do, also be prepared to sacrifice hours getting those stains out. Lesson learned!)
Nor do I just mean spending a little less time on gaming or Netflix bingeing, though that may also be required.
True, every writer’s writing method and path to publication differs. And every writer’s life circumstance is different. But even if you are blessed to have retired, or be independently wealthy, or have someone supporting you financially, there are still sacrifices to be made.
And sometimes, these sacrifices are ones we don’t like to admit or talk about.
Wonder Woman. So many reactions to this movie. And for me, the movie itself has not only inspired the Feels, but the reactions to the movie have as well, good and bad.
Most reactions that I see are inspiring and wonderful, such as this list of reactions from students in a Kindergarten class, or this awesome video of a woman inspired to play like Wonder Woman and kicking imaginary butt. The garden hose bit gives me endless joy.
I see all of the people uplifted and inspired by this movie and it makes my heart sing.
There have also been negative reactions too. Some, as one would expect, from men who just don’t get it (or feel somehow threatened in their worldview). But also criticisms from women who felt the movie misstepped with hurtful exclusions or stereotyping, or was too narrow in its feminism.
Black Mirror: San Junipero hit all of my (and Finn’s) sweet spots!
I think part of the positive reactions might be due to the fact that Black Mirror is pretty consistently bleak, but reality right now is practically a Black Mirror episode, so an episode that was (possibly) hopeful was such a nice gift.
And yes, the concept’s been well covered, so I understand why some may feel that viewer’s reactions to that concept are overblown, but many viewers may not be deeply read in scifi, so their “mind blown” reactions are understandable and a perfectly good thing.
I am fine if people discover, say, robots through Star Trek or Westworld without going back to read Asimov first (or at all) if Asimov doesn’t appeal to them (and no I’m not saying San Junipero is about robots).
We each have limited time to read and consume media, I don’t think it makes someone less of a genre fan or their love of or reaction to something less valid if they only have experience with recently produced media and not the foundational classics or the past century of fiction.
Yes, knowing the whole history of robot fiction might enrich one’s experience of a new robot story — or at least allow one say clever literary things like “this story was in dialogue with the works of Obscure Author, exploring the metaphor of so and so.”
But it also might not. And in the end, I love the possible conversations a story like this might spark among a group of friends around a table (in between Instagramming whatever artisanal fare they are eating, of course).
Seeing the millions of people marching yesterday was inspirational, and the perfect counterbalance to the events of the previous day.
Thank you!
But when I woke up this morning, my brain couldn’t help but wonder, what’s next?
It is the day after the march. Although millions marched, they weren’t even mentioned on Fox News today (how odd!). And Trump will surely be as delusional and in denial about them as he was about the “millions” who attended his inauguration.
But the marches were not just “preaching to the choir.” Those in power surely took notice. Millions of people of all genders, ages, colors, ability and orientation have become actively engaged, and that is no small thing, and not easily ignored — if it continues. If it leads to something.
If I have any concern at this point, it is that this surge of activism will go the way of Occupy Wall Street.
When that movement began, I was hopeful that it would rise up to be the Progressive counter to the Tea Party. But while the Tea Party was generally united toward specific goals, organized, well-funded, and effectively took over the government from the bottom up, Occupy Wall Street never overcame its beginnings as a sit-in with split focus, unclear demands, little leverage and no real plan to actually effect change.
When I heard one reporter saying how the marchers had struggled with messaging in some cases because, of course, different marchers had different motives and goals and priorities, I felt a brief cloud pass over the bright sun that was the march.
And it seems like other attempts to forge a “Left” movement with equal influence (but more reason and reality-based policy) than the Tea Party also fell away with little effect due (based on my admittedly limited and non-expert understanding) to a lack of cohesion, a lack of strategy and organization, or fell victim to the distractions of infighting and self-policing.
So my personal hope today is that the spirit of activism and participation that swept the country, and the world, yesterday will resolve itself into sustained and effective action.
Here are just a couple of resources that may be helpful with that:
Indivisible Guide is “A practical guide for resisting the Trump agenda where former congressional staffers reveal best practices for making Congress listen.” It outlines how you can invest your time to best effect, what doesn’t actually work; and, importantly, there is a lookup for finding a local group of fellow Indivisible participants to join: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/
Jezebel’s list of pro-women, pro-immigrant, pro-earth and anti-bigotry organizations we can donate money and time to: http://jezebel.com/a-list-of-pro-women-pro-immigrant-pro-earth-anti-big-1788752078
VolunteerMatch is a website where you can search for local, and virtual, volunteer opportunities. I am very happy with my current volunteer positions I found through this site: http://www.volunteermatch.org/
And of course, we must act locally so that we have the strength to prevent voter disenfranchisement and to push back at Federal power when it is abused.
I am cautiously hopeful for the future. Not because I hope that Trump and the GOP will suddenly do anything different than the self-serving and destructive actions they’ve promised to do, but because you all have given me hope, you who marched and shouted and stood up to be heard, that together we will push back and prevent, or undo, their damage with time, with hard work, with love for one another.
Thank you.
And now, I’m going to continue looking at all those amazing photos of marches around the world and grinning ear to ear.
Good luck! And may the Force be with you.
I hate Nazis, snakes, and rich people who think art is only meant for rich people.
The Republicans are closing in!
The future remains in our hands.
Whether you woke up today feeling gutted, or terrified, or victorious, and regardless of who wins an election, the things that you can do to be happy and healthy remain much the same. Except now I feel one of those things takes on even more importance.
Before I offer it, I want to say of course, please take care of yourself. I’ve written before about the four areas that can impact your happiness – physical, mental, emotional and social. That article is aimed at writers, but the basic points apply to everyone. Always put on your own oxygen mask before helping others.
And I hope you all are safe, and remain so.
Now let me ask: what were your concerns in the election, or for the coming four years?
Advocacy & Human Rights, Environment, Immigrants & Refugees, Women, LGBT, Crisis Support, Education & Literacy, Employment, Homeless & Housing, Justice & Legal, People with Disabilities, Politics, Race & Ethnicity, Veterans & Military Families?
This list of categories (and others) is found on http://www.volunteermatch.org/, a site that lets you search for local volunteer opportunities.
This is what I wanted to suggest to help get us through the days ahead: volunteering. It has been shown to add greatly to a person’s happiness and health. In fact, “community involvement” was one of the measurements used to determine my total health when I filled out a recent health questionnaire.
EDIT: Adding a link to an excellent list of organizations that you can also donate money to either in addition to, or instead of (if time/ ability does not allow) volunteering: Jezebel’s list of pro-women, pro-immigrant, pro-Earth, anti-bigotry organizations
You can search sites like volunteermatch, or can search Google for specific organizations that support the causes you care about.
These organizations needed our help yesterday, but they will need our help even more perhaps tomorrow.
I myself have volunteered in the past, but admit I have fallen away from it in recent years, giving only money, always feeling it “wasn’t a good time” to commit some of my time just now. I am recommitting to it now, making it a priority to protect some time each week to help others. It is something concrete and positive I am able to do, that I have the privilege to be able to do.
I recognize volunteering does not easily erase the scope of damage that the US government can do with trickle-down economic policies, or ignoring global climate change, or hardline immigration policies, or rolling back decades of progress on civil and personal rights, or, you know, nuclear weapons.
But we can help offset much of that damage I hope, help those hurt by such outcomes, and perhaps even pressure change in the right direction.
And I certainly do not wish to diminish the real fears and concerns of those who have been targeted these past months with hateful speech and threats by suggesting volunteering will make those dangers magically disappear. Again, I hope you are safe, and my thoughts are with you.
I also recognize that there are some people who are genuinely unable to volunteer due to the burden of time, or access to the transportation or resources needed, or due to age or physical or health or legal limitations or other considerations.
Regardless of whether or not community involvement is an option for you, again I hope you take care of your own health and happiness in the coming days and years, and reach out for help if you are in need.
Share love with your family and friends. Perform a random act of kindness today for a stranger to help lift your heart and theirs — then do it again the next day, and the next.
And know that we can get through whatever comes, together.
UPDATE: I have begun one regular volunteer job, and added several regular donations to my budget. I hope to do even more as time and funds allow.
I found myself in a number of conversations at WorldCon where persons were seeking my advice or thoughts on their writing, or seeking advice of a group in which I sat, and would say some variation on:
“People seem to have a problem with me calling it Warrior Wanda the Space Slut. But I mean slut in a positive or ironic way, because she is a powerful woman so she can have sex with whoever she likes.”
Or
“I have a pretty graphic rape scene in my novel, but if I didn’t have it she wouldn’t have that motivation to get stronger from it and learn to fight that is so important in my story.”
These persons were clearly seeking someone to say, yes, that is okay.
And I engaged in these conversations in a calm, friendly, positive way.
Why?
Because I have the privilege to do so.
By this, I do not mean the honor, though really it is an honor to be asked my opinion on anything. Rather, I mean that had such questions been asked of someone who identifies as female, for example, such questions would have been understandably offensive and anger-inducing, and made the person feel unsafe, along with a host of other reactions.
I’m not saying I found the questions pleasant and encouraging, but I recognize that my con experience as a cis white male who presents as het is entirely different from that of anyone who is other than that.
So while I cringed internally, I did not walk away, or mock these persons then, or later with my friends. I gave them a clear but disgust-free expression of “Oooooo, I wouldn’t do that,” and proceeded to lay out in positive terms how they could improve their stories, and their chances of reaching a broader audience.
Here is an example of the types of thing I try to say in these cases, with the goal not being to score points or put him in his place, but to help guide the writer in the right direction where they will hopefully learn for themselves in time what cannot be forced into their understanding in a single argument (And to be clear, I am not in any way saying there are not other approaches, or that outright anger is in any way not a valid response for others to have):
Author, relapsed sarcasm addict, Clarion West graduate, milkshake connoisseur, winner of Writers of the Future, and member of Dungeon Scrawlers.
Randy’s humorous contemporary fantasy series from TOR (US) and Titan (UK) includes:
Bigfootloose and Finn Fancy Free,
now available for purchase, reading, and use in questionable acts.
In this sequel to Randy Henderson's acclaimed debut novel, Finn Fancy Necromancy, Randy Henderson spins another tale full of adventure, magic, and laughs, exploring in more depth the magical world and characters introduced in the first book.
More info →
“… it’s an urban fantasy, one that takes place in and around present-day Seattle. But even though it deals with sinister magic and family tragedy, it counterbalances that darkness with something that’s become increasingly rare in fantasy fiction: laughs, laughs, and more laughs.” -- NPR
More info → 
