Many things to discuss, including Offaltine

[cleolinda]

Breaking news: LJ has Reviewed Your Feedback At Length, and comments on locked entries can no longer be cross-posted regardless. Also, they're aware of the pingback bugs. Meanwhile:

Peoples of the internet, I feel compelled to make you aware of something (this sentence originally contained words much stronger than "something") that I encountered today. It is ceilidh_ann's July summary of the Twilight-with-angels YA book Hush, Hush, whose "bad-boy" "hero" makes Edward Cullen look like a paragon of feminism. Yeah. I had heard of the book before (generally in the "it's Twilight with angels, so angels are totes the new vampires" context), but I had no idea it was like this. In fact, it isn't even Patch (PATCH) who's biggest problem for me in what I'm hearing about the book; it's the idea of a sex-education class that's run like an episode of The Pickup Artist. ceilidh_ann:

Then they discuss attraction and how to show a “potential mate” you’re interested. Seriously? [...] Patch uses Nora as an example, practically harassing and humiliating her in front of the entire class as the coach encourages it!

ACTUAL BOOK QUOTES:

Laughter rose in the room. I dropped my hands to my legs.

“She’s game,” said Patch, bumping my leg again. Of all things, I blushed.

“Very good! Very good!” Coach said, his voice charged, smiling broadly at our attentiveness.

ALTHOUGH I AM ALSO PRETTY DISGUSTED WITH THIS AS WELL:

So the 4 of them go to the local promenade/theme park/arcade thing and guess who is there? Patch! And Nora just can’t stay away from Patch even though he’s the sort of character only a fist could love and has a habit of sexually harassing her every time they meet. Once again showing us why we’re supposed to be enticed by this man, Patch grabs her and tells her to go on a rollercoaster with him (called the Archangel – the subtlety, it burns!) despite stating she is afraid of heights. Not exactly helping the phobia, Nora sees that her seatbelt and bar are loose and panics, as you do, but Patch seems relaxed and dickish. After her friends ditch her, Patch takes Nora home on his bad boy motorbike, then using her keys he just ‘happened’ to find, lets himself into her house and proceeds to wield a knife as he shows her how to cook tacos. [...] Is all this supposed to warm me to Patch? Am I supposed to be seduced by his actions and find him as dark and mysteriously sexy as the author clearly finds him? There’s a difference between a rebel without a cause and a known stalker harasser wielding a knife in your home! You fail, Fitzpatrick! More manhandling follows but I am too pissed off to write it all down.

SO DISGUSTED I KIND OF WANT TO READ THE WHOLE THING JUST TO SEE IF IT'S REALLY THAT ENRAGING. And then I remember that there are actual, good, non-ragemaking books I could be reading, and that, also, I have already served my time on the OMG WTF YA beat.

But I will say this: whether I'm writing for adults or teens (and at the moment, I'm working on separate projects for both), I promise I will not write about stalkers and harassers who are not villains. I will only have the heroine make bad choices so she learn from them, and I will not let other characters make choices for her. I will let her fight as many of her own battles as she can (and have her be conscious for them), but if she does go to someone for help, particularly if she is a teenage girl, I will have that someone take her concerns seriously. In other words, the spirit of this promise is, if I write about complete and total bullshit, it will be for the purpose of saying, That was COMPLETE AND TOTAL BULLSHIT, and as such, people had to overcome it. Not completely be taken in by it and float along like it's totally okay and think it's ~so grimdark sexyhot omg.~ Because maybe that's the sad way the actual world works, as far as bullshit goes, but when you're writing, you can show people a better way. Damn.


(A WTF chaser: The Offaltine Milkshake, "foie gras + chocolate.")


Linkspam!

Renesmee Cullen Turns 4! Our Present: Listing Nessie Aspects We're Excited To See In 'Breaking Dawn.' Yeah! Only three more years before Jacob can hit that! Who wants cake?

Watch This: First 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' TV Spot; The best excuse to skip a test ever:

“There is a guy who is obsessed with Harry Potter in my grade. He decided that he would tattoo the Dark Mark on his arm. So today when my teacher announced a pop quiz he pulled back his sleeve to reveal the dark mark and said, “Master is calling.” He then left the room and then did not return for the rest of the period.”

'The Hobbit' Ending May Be Altered For The Movie? I'm okay with this. See also: my constant insistence that protagonist should be conscious for climax of story. I mean, at least I'm consistent.

First Look: Julie Taymor's Insane Spider-Man Costume Designs; 'Spider-Man' Musical Villains Debut, First Song Performed; 'Spider-Man' Musical To Feature Carnage And Sinister Six, Says Director.

Roger Ebert Whips Up a New 'At the Movies' with Diverse Critic Pool.

Images: Disney's Tangled Publicity Stills; Poster Premiere for 'Fair Game', the True Story of Valerie Plame; New Olivia Wilde TRON: Legacy Banner. What... what is wrong with her ass?

Trailers: Megan Fox Spreads Her Wings in this Passion Play Clip; Exclusive Clip from Helen Mirren's British Gangster Drama 'Brighton Rock'; Gwyneth Paltrow Shows Her Crazy Heart in the New Country Strong Trailer; Trailer: Thomas Haden Church in Sam Raimi-Produced 'Zombie Roadkill.'

Garcia Bernal and Luna Join Ferrell in Casa de mi padre.

Sommers Adapting Koontz's Odd Thomas?

Michael Fassbender Reunites with 'Hunger' Director Steve McQueen. 

@cleolinda: I need to talk to an adult now. RT @MaryRobinette: "Sexy Elmo"? I am horrified... http://bit.ly/d9CDFp

@NoelCT: @cleolinda That's not a sexy Elmo. That's a dress made from the pelt of a hunted and slain Elmo. With his head as a hat.

And finally: Santa Claus is Coming to Kill in the Trailer for Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale.