Why Women Don't Read Fantasy [Excerpt]

From page 344 of A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

Beauty, they called her . . . mocking. The hair beneath the visor was a squirrel's nest of dirty straw, and her face . . . Brienne's eyes were large and very blue, a young girl's eyes, trusting and guileless, but the rest . . . her features were broad and coarse, her teeth prominent and crooked, her moth too wide, her lips so plump they seemed swollen. A thousand freckles speckled her cheeks and brow, and her nose had been broken more than once. Pity filled Catelyn's heart. Is there any creature on earth as unfortunate as an ugly woman?

 Italics are from the text.

This Brienne woman is badass: she is basically the equal, if not the better, to most men in battle. But she fails in being beautiful. And therefore is to be pitied. I almost threw the book when I read that part.

It reminded me of when someone wrote on a Huffington Post blog this of Elena Kagan's mother's reaction to her daughter becoming the first female dean of Harvard Law School:

She nodded, unsmiling, and sighed in that stoic way that was now so familiar to me. "Yeah..." then a long silence..."but I really wish she were married."

Never mind her other accomplishments...How is she doing with the menfolk?

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Abraham Lincoln's Birthday

Happy Birthday You Sexy Beast!

From The Pleasing Hour by Lily King (page 54):

     "He's hilarious-looking," Leslie said. "Tall for a Frenchman. Kind of like Abraham Lincoln but not half as sexy."
     "Abraham Lincoln is not sexy," Beth said.
     "Abraham Lincoln is very sexy."

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The Old 97's Should Be On Saturday Night Live [Is America Ready?]

I don't know whats been happening since I received the above blog post in my Google Reader. But it should happen, yo! Go 'Like' the petition over on Facebook.

THIS should be on teevee:



Or "Champaign, Illinois." Or whatever they feel like singing! America must be slammed with Rhett Miller's gyrating hips on Saturday Night Live. It must happen.

Abortion Cat [This isn't funny...its hilarious!]

Abortion cat is coming for your kittens! Honestly, just go ahead and Google Image Search ABORTION CAT. There is more than just this LOLCAT.

[via]

Frak It Friday: Bright Eyes - "Shell Games"

Lyrics:

Took the fireworks and the vanity

The circuitboard and the city streets

Shooting star, swaying palm tree

Layed it at the arbiters feet

If I could change my mind, change the paradigm

Prepare myself for another life

Forgive myself for the many times 

I was cruel to something helpless and weak

But here it come, that heavy love

I'm never gonna move it alone

Here it come, that heavy love

Tag it on a tenement wall

Here it come that heavy love, someone gotta share in the load

Oh, here it come that heavy love, I'm never gonna move it alone

I was dressed in white, touched by something pure

Death obsessed, like a teenager

Sold my tortured youth, pissed in vinegar

I'm still angry with no reason to be

At the architect who imagines

For the every man, blessed sisyphus

Slipping steadily into madness, now that's the only place to be free

But here it come, that heavy love

You're never gonna move it alone

Here it come, that heavy love

Tattooed on a criminals arm

Here it come that heavy love, someone gotta share in the load

Oh, here it come, that heavy love, you're never gonna move it alone

No I don't wanna play, it's a shell game

It's a shell game

Distorted sounds on a oscilloscopes 

Distorted facts I could never cope

My private life is an inside joke

No one will explain it to me

We'll be everything that we ever need

Everyone on the count of three

Everyone on the count of three

All together now

Here it come that heavy love

We're never gonna move it alone

Here it come that heavy love, playin as a cylinder rose

Here it come that heavy love, I only want to share in the load

Oh it here it come that heavy love

I'm never gonna move it alone

White Stripes Call It Quits

Its like they wanted to be a noted band of the 2000s decade.



I'm a little upset that this means that I will never, ever be able to see them live.



The White Stripes will be missed.

[WhiteStripes.com]

The 150 Book Challenge for 2011

Last year, after making the decision to keep track of all the books I read, I finally got an accurate count of how many books I read in a year.

One hundred, thirty seven.

Or 137.

However you put it, its a lot.

Here's the end of the list:

And this year, I thought: can't I do a little bit better than that? Why not go for 150? It averages out into 12.5 books a month. Finishing a book every 2 or 3 days.

So far, its going okay:

Yeah, that's right. I included Zombicorns by John Green (apparently, the spreadsheet has it misspelled) on the list, despite the fact that its not quite polished yet. Is that cheating? Since I made the rules...no, no its not! Plus, I donated $25 to Partners in Health to get that PDF'd to me, so I totally get the credit.

Anyway. I hope I stay on target. Its a long year ahead.