It’s been a hell of a summer. Since I’ve been hella busy recently, here’s a collection of the best links to fascinating and enlightening outside content that I’ve been reading over the past few months.
What is the best way to see the Perseid meteor shower? – The Guardian. While the spectacle of the meteor shower from the comet Swift-Tuttle is as of two days ago waning all the time, there’s still a chance to catch some shooting stars. Just make sure you make a wish.
A History of Women in Animation: Mothers of a Medium – The Mary Sue. Carrie Tupper on the forgotten women who pioneered animation, without whom some of our favourite films would be unrecognisable or even non-existent.
A Little History: LGBT Representation in Mainstream American Comics, Part 1 and Part 2 – The Mary Sue. Another great history piece from The Mary Sue, this time on LGBT characters and representation in American comics, by Alan Kistler.
The H Word: The Intersection of Science Fiction and Horror – Nightmare Magazine. Lucy A. Snyder on the common ground between the science fiction and horror genres.
Your Princess Is in Another Castle: Misogyny, Entitlement, and Nerds – The Daily Beast. Arthur Chu writes empathetically on the sense of entitlement he finds rampant in male nerds. Also make sure to check out his follow-up piece…
Who Died and Made You Khaleesi? Privilege, White Saviors, and the Elusive Male Feminist Who Doesn’t Suck – The Daily Beast. In this article, Chu examines privilege and saviouring (of the white and male variety) from both sides.
A Field Experiment on Gender Stereotypes and Video Game Interactions – The Mary Sue. A study by Adrienne Holz Ivory shows how traditional gender norms effect player interactions in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
We Are Sansa – Pornokitsch. Anne C. Perry on why Sansa Stark is her favourite character from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones series, and why the haters can step off.
Amazon’s Latest Volley and Amazon Gets Increasingly Nervous – Whatever. John Scalzi takes apart Amazon’s PR in its battle with publisher Hachette, demonstrating the fallacies behind the company’s public line.
The Rich and Their Robots Are About to Make Half the World’s Jobs Disappear – Motherboard. If nothing else, read this important piece by Brian Merchant, senior editor of Motherboard, about how the technological revolution is accelerating capitalist-driven inequality, and how there’s more of the same to come.
The Misery of Seasonal Allergies in Literature – The Paris Review. On a lighter note, this is a topical little piece about allergies by Sadie Stein, sure to make the afflicted sniffle in recognition.
YA Authors Sort Their Own Characters Into Hogwarts Houses – BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed collared several Young Adult authors at LeakyCon this year and asked them which Hogwarts Houses their most well-known characters would have been Sorted into. See the results!
Philosopher-on-Philosopher Insults: The 30 Best – Flavorwire. If you’ve any grounding in philosophy, do read and see if you can suppress a snort (or a nod of agreement).