Carla M. Lee

[Links] Sunday Sporadic (1)

Sunday Sporadic: A collection of links from the tabs I’ve opened over the last week. (Inspired by Karen Healey who sometimes does link collections on the weekends.)

Rose Lemberg: Feminist SF/F: On Feminist Characters

Excerpt: The way to get there, I think, is through multiple, intersectional, and diverse (yet not stereotyped or cartoonish) portrayals of women. I want women to be able to be Neurotic Geniuses. I want the Amazing Inventor with bad hair and mismatched socks who yells sometimes and makes her friends upset, and sometimes forgets to eat, and sometimes forgets to do laundry. I want to read about the Magician who forgets to check her email and gets embroiled in a political struggle at her University, which she loses ungraciously. I want to read about Neurotic Creative Professionals – architects, writers, film directors, music composers – who, in throws of creativity, can be quite upsetting to be around. I want to read about a brilliant woman scientist who is also a miserable drunk. I want to read about the person in a wheelchair who loves her work, but who takes her disability really hard. I want to read about women who are child-free by choice, and women who are mothers. I want to read about mothers who decided to stay at home, and mothers who work. I want to read about women who are fat and not, women who struggle with weight and women who do not. I want to read about asexual women, bisexual women, I want to read about people who are genderqueer and trans* and questioning. I want to read about menopausal women. I want to read about a heroine who is eighty two. I want to read about women who are mentally ill. I want to read a book with a feminist anti-hero. I want to read about kinky women, I want to read about dominant women and submissive women. And note, I haven’t even touched upon the questions of racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity!

Alex Dally Macfarlane: Feminist SFF: Female Friendships

Excerpt: I want, so much, to see more SFF where the friendships between women are given as much time and attention as any other relationship. It does happen, but it’s still far too rare. I want women forging alliances. I want women as enemies, too. I want women grappling to understand each other across privilege and cultural gulfs. I want women having lots of friendships with other women. I want lonely women who long for friendships with other women. I want women with vastly different interests finding common touch-points. I want women bonding over fibre crafts and sport and science and children and war and travel and stand-up comedy and books and internet memes and everything else that women bond over in real life. I want women helping each other to survive in the direst of situations. I want women saving one another. I want women being horrible to each other – because of course women are also horrible to each other in real life, but it’s not some kind of special female superpower. I firmly believe that the only reason it becomes gendered is societal. SFF gives us the opportunity to go beyond that! SFF also gives us the opportunity to examine that in careful, nuanced detail. What I don’t want is women being horrible to each other because that’s “our nature”.

James Tiptree Jr. Award Winner, Short List, and Long List Announced

Things to add to my to read list, but also, look at that love for Karen Healey's THE SHATTERING, book of my heart.

Down the Rabbit Hole: YA Cliches You Love

Excerpt: I read a lot of posts that talk about bad cliches in YA and why we don’t like them. I always find these posts enlightening and absolutely love mining their info for my own work. What am I guilty of? And what sort of things do I dislike? But I always see a little note at the end stating that if those things are done well enough, the person doesn’t usually mind them. So what I want to talk about today is which cliches I like in YA fiction.

Jezebel: Missouri Stupidly Decides to Create Rush Limbaugh Shrine in the State Capitol

What the actual fucking fuck Missouri? You’re making me question again why I came back. (Answer: Family and a job I love.)

Palate cleanser time.

Boomtron: Vin Diesel in RIDDICK 3 Action

Riddick 3 is filming. I’m giddy! Riddick 3, Fast and the Furious 6, the joy that was Fast 5 — it is a good time to be a Vin Diesel fan.

Bloody-Disgusting.com: Check Out ‘Riddick’ and His Bone Gun

Another link with the same pictures but slightly different information. Also, I wouldn’t call that a bone gun so much as likely a bone sword (or a really long bone shiv), but we will see.

Techdirt: How the Runaway Success of a Tiny $25 Computer Could Become a Big Problem for Oppressive Regimes

Excerpt: An interesting consequence of Moore’s Law and the ready availability of free software is that powerful computers can now be produced for just tens of dollars, and in an extremely small package. The low cost means that organizations supporting activists can send in many such systems to countries with human rights problems, and replace them if they are discovered and confiscated or destroyed. The size makes it much easier to import them discreetly, as well as to conceal them in countries that try to keep computing under tight control.

I’ve been hearing about Raspberry Pi for awhile now from the tech geeks in my family (so that’d be all of them, really), and I’m intrigued by it and by the potential uses of it.

Fangoria review The Cabin in the Woods (mostly without spoilers)

Excerpt: Like SCREAM, THE CABIN IN THE WOODS is going to be mistaken by some people for a spoof of the genre. It’s not; like the Wes Craven film, it’s a straightforward horror feature that happens to have a good, satirical sense of humor about itself. This one goes beyond honoring just one subspecies of fright to become a wildly entertaining catch-all homage to the cinema of fear as a whole—it’s like all your favorite horror movies wrapped up in one.

I am super leery about The Cabin in the Woods. On the one hand, this is exactly what I love, horror stories about terrified teens surrounded by trees. On the other hand, despite how much I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer (fifteen years ago yesterday the pilot of the tv series premiered, but I also love the ridiculously cheesy movie), I do not trust Joss Whedon’s work lately (at least ever since Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog, and certainly with Dollhouse). However, I really want to give The Cabin in the Woods a chance, and so I will, and if it goes badly, I will then vent a lot.

(Also, how in the world does Christ Hemsworth change sizes so much? Good grief, man, tiny GIANT tiny GIANT. I know, I know, filmed at different times and in different orders, but it is sort of jarring. And also, sort of awesome.)

(Speaking of GIANT and watching Joss Whedon projects despite my side-eyeing him, is it May yet? No? How about now? WHY ISN’T IT TIME FOR THE TONY STARK SNARK EXTRAVAGANZA?)

Finally, this is the first I’m hearing of Likeme Lighthouse, a new lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community center here in Kansas City, but I am intrigued. Also, they’re having a NOH8 photo shoot today, for you locals who are interested.

Tags: Links, links: sunday sporadic

Links | Carla M. Lee | March 11, 2012 2:40 pm | Comments (0)

[Music] Rockfest 2012, May 12, Kansas City

Who’s in?

Check out this line-up: Black Oxygen, Adelita’s Way (!!!), New Medicine, Rev Theory (!), Art of Dying, Theory of a Deadman (!), Cavo, Chevelle, Trivium (!), SLASH GODDAMN SLASH OKAY (!!!!!!!), Black Stone Cherry (!), Five Finger Death Punch (!), Volbeat, Hell Yeah, Shinedown (!), and a fireworks show to end it all. I will need so much alcohol to deal with the crowds, but damn, how much do I not want to miss the 20th anniversary.

$35 for 15 bands and 12 hours of music (or $25 for presale if you’re a registered rockaholic with 98.9 The Rock) is an amazing deal. Who wants to come visit me and rock out?

Tags: me: adventure, music: rockfest, music: slash

Music | Carla M. Lee | March 6, 2012 12:22 am | Comments (0)

[holidays] Recommended Gifts

For your gift-giving pleasure, I recommend the following items and/or small businesses, in no particular order.

+ The Shattering by Karen Healey

Blurb: Seventeen-year-old Keri likes to plan for every possibility. She knows what to do if you break an arm, or get caught in an earthquake or fire. But she wasn’t prepared for her brother’s suicide, and his death has left her shattered with grief. When her childhood friend Janna tells her it was murder, not suicide, Keri wants to believe her. After all, Janna’s brother died under similar circumstances years ago, and Janna insists a visiting tourist, Sione, who also lost a brother to apparent suicide that year, has helped her find some answers.

As the three dig deeper, disturbing facts begin to pile up: one boy killed every year; all older brothers; all had spent New Year’s Eve in the idyllic town of Summerton. But when their search for the serial killer takes an unexpected turn, suspicion is cast on those they trust the most.

As secrets shatter around them, can they save the next victim? Or will they become victims themselves?

As I’ve said before, The Shattering is the book of my heart. I think it would make an excellent gift, particularly for those who like supernatural adventures and friendships and amazing flawed characters and chosen families.

+ Raised By Wolves and Trial By Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

Blurb (for Raised By Wolves, to avoid later spoilers): At the age of four, Bryn watched a rogue werewolf brutally murder her parents. Alone in the world, she was rescued and taken in by the mysterious Callum, the alpha of his werewolf pack. Now fifteen, Bryn’s been raised as a human among werewolves, adhering to pack rule (mostly). Little fazes her.

But the pack’s been keeping a secret, and when Bryn goes exploring against Callum’s direct orders, she finds Chase, a newly turned teen Were locked in a cage. Terrifying memories of the attack on her mom and dad come flooding back. Bryn needs answers, and she needs Chase to get them. Suddenly, all allegiances to the pack no longer matter. It’s Bryn and Chase against the werewolf world, whatever the consequences.

These have been my favorite werewolf media of 2011, combining so many of my favorite things, werewolves and strong female characters and best friends who are badasses and, again, chosen families. Highly, highly recommend.

+ Leila by Elizabeth Reeve

Blurb: When college student Megan hits the library, she’s looking for sources for a paper on Carmilla, an early vampire story. But in gorgeous librarian Leila, she finds much, much more. It’s no surprise that Leila haunts Megan’s dreams, but as her fantasies heat up, she begins to wonder — is Leila really who she seems to be?

Sexy, charming, and fun, I love this lesbian vampire and human love story.

+ Lilo & Stitch

An alien lands on Kauai and goes from bad to good. Siblings being heartbreaking and sweet and delightful and the most adorable chosen family ever.

+ Fast Five

I actually recommend most of the series (The Fast and the Furious, Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and Fast & Furious, at least), but this one is a delightful heist movie full of characters of color. I was surprised that this ended up being one of my favorite movies, but it was a grand adventure.

+ Three Cheep Chicks

Three friends of mine (one of whom is also my sister) make beautiful, affordable jewelry. I have a ton of pieces from them, but every time I see something new, I find more to love. Shiny, inexpensive, but quality bits and bobs are wonderful.

So what are some of your favorite things this year?

(NB: Links to Amazon are affiliate links. Karen and Eliza and the Three Cheep Chicks are all friends of mine, but I objectively love these things as well.)

Tags: family: kris, friends: eliza, friends: karen, Links, recommendations

Links | Carla M. Lee | December 18, 2011 5:07 pm | Comments (0)

[books] The Shattering by Karen Healey

[Image transcript: Three teenagers, a boy with black hair and medium-brown skin, a girl with blonde hair and pale skin, and a girl with light-brown skin and dark-brown hair, all dressed in jeans and casual tops, are running over a field of dying grass, their faces turned slightly away from the camera. They are partially silhouetted against the sun on the horizon, either rising or setting. What looks at first glance like a dark blue sky with clouds in the top third of the composition is actually an ocean with white wave patterns.] (Transcript from Karen Healey’s website.)

Well hello, long-neglected blog. I have been, and still am, very busy with work and my family (not to mention the first horrifically hot and now frustratingly frigid temperatures parts of the Midwest have swung between over the past few ~~months~~ ~~weeks~~ days), but I wanted to tell you about this book. Oh, this book.

You may remember me mentioning The Shattering by Karen Healey before, and if you have, you may be tired of hearing me say this, but I am saying it again, because it is true.

The Shattering is the book of my heart.

For full disclosure, Karen and I are friends and early readers of each other’s writing. I’ve read a couple different versions of The Shattering, and though I loved it from the very beginning, watching the way Karen developed it — watching the way Karen developed Keri, one of the main characters, the main character I adore most — was amazing. Reading this book while Karen wrote it got me through very frustrating and terrifying times. The arc she sent me arrived at a time when I desperately needed to see the dedication. (It is to me and it made me clutch the book to my chest when she surprised me with it.)

But this isn’t about me or my friendship with Karen. It is about this amazing, gorgeous, funny, slightly creepy book full of diverse characters I adore (none more than Keri, character of my heart) struggling to uncover secrets and solve mysteries and stop more people from dying, characters who are strong and weak in very different ways and yet always feel so real. It is about friendship and created family and how the desire to protect people can go so far astray. It is about thinking you’re prepared for anything and really being completely unprepared and pushing on despite that.

It is a story about three teens having supernatural adventures, and you should go buy it right now.

(I prefer the gorgeous New Zealand/Australia cover at the top of the page. The USA version, not so much. I will be buying one of each, because that is how much I love this book. Yes, one of each on top of the arc I already have. I may fill a shelf with this book, just so I have spare copies to give to people at any moment.)

Blurb: “If you want to find out who murdered your brother, follow me.”

Seventeen-year-old Keri likes to plan for every possibility. She knows what to do if she breaks an arm or gets caught in an earthquake or a fire. But she isn’t prepared for her brother’s suicide, and his death has left her shattered with grief. When her childhood friend Janna tells her that his death was a murder, not a suicide, Keri wants to believe her. After all, Janna’s brother died under similar circumstances years ago, and she insists that a visiting tourist, Sione, who also lost a brother to apparent suicide, has helped her find some answers.

As the three dig deeper, disturbing facts begin to pile up: One boy is killed every year, all were older brothers, and all had spent New Year’s Eve in the idyllic town of Summerton. But when the teens’ search for the serial killer takes an unexpected turn, suspicion is cast on those they trust the most.

As secrets shatter around them, can they save the next victim? Or will they become victims themselves?

Buy The Shattering by Karen Healey now.

Note: Links to Amazon are affiliate links which may result in a small compensation to me.

Tags: friends: karen, recommendations

Books, Friends, Reviews | Carla M. Lee | September 17, 2011 11:20 am | Comments (1)

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-06-12