No, really. All I want is to give a guy rapey thoughts about me in a Thor costume.

So today, Marvel entertainment is having a big sale on Amazon. Awesome, right? They’ve got toys and action figures and clothes for all.

Except when you click on women’s clothing, this is what you get.

Two suitcases, a pair of heels (for some reason I still don’t get) and five sexy superheros costumes. Five. And only one of them is for a female character (that’d be the last one: sexy lab girl, Gwen).

And the girls section? All costumes. For Black Widow, Spider Girl, and some of the male heroes (which are just boys’ costumes put in the girls’ category). Yeah, skin tight faux-leather catsuits for your five year old. Try sending her to school in that.

When sexism and misogyny in marketing and consumerism are discussed, this is exactly the kind of bullshit which exemplifies targeted anti-woman marketing. I don’t usually get on a gender podium, but this bothers the shit out of me. In an age where Marvel, a multi-billion dollar company who could hire whoever they want, market themselves however they want, who has fostered the development of amazing female characters in its films and comics, chooses to have the only available products on the number one online marketplace be tight-bodiced, short-skirted (likely poorly constructed) costumes of its male superheroes, it is literally screaming: WE DON’T WANT WOMEN IN OUR CLUB UNLESS THEY’RE SEX OBJECTS.

It may seem petty on a surface level, but what companies make commercially available to consumers has a direct effect on how that demographic is perceived. If you don’t make it, if you won’t sell it, we can’t buy it. So you use the excuse that girls don’t buy superhero merchandise unless its this incredibly sexist bullshit. That, in itself, is incredibly sexist bullshit.

Don’t tell me a Gamora or Nebula tee won’t sell when you won’t make one to test that theory.

Don’t tell people a Black Widow movie won’t make money when you won’t try making any female-led superhero film (since Elektra *weeps*), and when your Black Widow actress had a hit film this summer that basically involved her running around and being badass to a terrible hole-filled plot. People still came and it was pretty bad. Imagine if it were really good.

Don’t hide behind suits and corporate hullabaloo when it comes to shilling out merchandise. You want to know what consumers want? Try ASKING THEM. Try LISTENING TO THEM. Try NOT PURPOSELY ALIENATING AT LEAST 50% OF YOUR POTENTIAL BUYERS BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE PENISES.

Creating New Magic

AKA: Starting a New Journal

I wrote yesterday about the trials and process of dealing with the loss of magic in one's journal. Once you accept and mourn the loss of one, however, you must move on and discover the enchantment in another journal.

In some ways, choosing a new journal is more vital to me than saying goodbye to one whose magic is gone. I've always felt journals to be precious, magical devices capable of eliciting unencumbered creativity -- so long as you choose one which suits you as an individual. Weird, old-fashioned notion? Yup. Have I tried to break myself of that idea? Yup. Did it work? Hell no. Do I argue with my 'process' of selection anymore? Hell-to-the-no. It just drags out the ordeal, and it can be a long and daunting enough journey as it is. Until I reach a day where 'any old blank book' will do (and honestly, I kinda hope that never occurs), I'll keep to my list of qualifications.

1. Easily portable, but not tiny. I'll buy larger journals (and occasionally sketchbooks) on occasion, but they tend to be for special projects and seldom see use. In order for a journal to become an extension of my writing and creative habits, it's got to be able to fit easily into a medium-sized bag with all my other take it everywhere crap. 5x7 or less in size, but not too small because then it feels like I cannot put anything of decent length in it without having to turn a page every ten seconds.

2. Place marker. I don't care what style it is, or how fancy, I just need something to mark a place in the journal to which I will pick up next time.

3. Lines. I MUST have lines for writing in a journal. Blank pages are daunting enough, the lines provide the tiniest amount of structure in what I otherwise see as a terrifying blank canvas. Plus, it helps keep my furious writings at least barely legible (to me, anyway).

4. A durable cover. It doesn't have to be hard; it doesn't have to be leather. It just needs to be durable. This book will live with me for, typically, at least a year and that requires it to be able to withstand a lot of getting shuffled and bashed around.

5. Paper of decent thickness. I usually write with mechanical pencil, however at times I write with fountain pens in dark ink. I don't want my scribblings to bleed through to the back of the pages. That's a waste of valuable writing space and again can sacrifice valuable writing time to having to flip pages too often.

6. An overall design and construction that is comfortable. See above re: carrying this thing everywhere. The cover design/color must appeal to me. I dislike sharp corners or edges as I can press down pretty hard when writing and don't like cutting myself when I really get into a tear and write twenty pages in an hour. It also cannot be too heavy, again due to the necessity of carrying it with me constantly.

7. Instinct. This is, obviously, the one aspect I cannot describe with objectivity. So long as it meets the above qualifications the only reason I choose one journal over another tends to be because I just happen to see one and my internal compass points and says, "That one!" And no matter how many journals I find that meet the above requirements, I will not purchase a book that doesn't pull me to it. I need to feel the magic. It must hit me before I ever sit down and start a single word.

At times, this search for a new magic tome has taken weeks of seemingly endless toil -- hours spent in bookstores and on the interwebs hunting for a book that not only fulfills my requirements but reaches out to me, personally, and voices that it belongs in my hands, and mine alone. Thankfully, when I felt the magic draining from my now dearly departed Red, I happened to find a replacement without an arduous or lengthy search. Another clearance item, it beckoned me from an end cap display. The size and weight are perfect, the pages crisp, lined, and decently thick. It even bears a resemblance to a previous journal which my parents got for me as a gift and holds the majority of (the handwritten portions of) my first novel. Above all, the instant I laid eyes on it, I knew. It knew.
It put a spell on me, and now its mine.

I know I'm not alone in this, so what, gentle readers, are your requirements for a new journal/sketchbook/notepad?

Special Author Days and a Special Planner

In my attempt to organize life, and writing endeavors within that life, I invested in a planner for this year. You know, one of those compilations of paper with printed dates on each sheet and spaces between those dates to write important occurrences in one’s life, bound together in chronological order for the calendar year -- you write in it with a pen or pencil. It’s not electronic and you cannot schedule annoying dinging/vibrating reminders, but you have a physical record of what you are doing, should do, might do, and have done, should you choose to record any of those items.
I bought this planner, because well, I am that kind of ridiculous person who needs more than dates on a page to hold my interest when it comes to planners, and assaulting my eyes with deadlines for writing competitions, fellowships, etc. and helpful prompts and information might actually get my fingers typing something more interesting than a blog entry (not to say blogs don’t have merit, but it’d be nice to scribble out a poem or story one of these days).
Since I purchased the planner a few days into January as it was far cheaper, I didn’t start cataloging my life until last week. The planner includes birthday of what I at first thought were famous writers. I noticed as the planner goes on it becomes more the dates of birth of random famous people that the editors apparently think interesting enough to include (Eliza Dushku, I love you, but why are you in my writing planner?).
Still, last week I noted that two of me ‘hero authors’ had birthdays last week. I do not see this as coincidence, nor do I intend to indoctrinate their births as a time for me to emulate their skills. However, I just wanted to mention, for the record, these amazing authors whom I admire and can only hope to one day emulate: Edgar Allan Poe (1/19) and Anne Brontë (1/17).
Poe is, well, a master to put it simply. Not everything he wrote was great, but this is true of all authors, but what was great was nearly miraculous. To be a master of two (especially now) rather disparate genres and truly be responsible for their rise in popularity is nothing short of genius.
Anne,for me, will always be the most talented and sane of her family. Branwell was a mostly-talentless drunk. Emily and Charlotte were intelligent women with general ideas of strong women... but had a major soft-and-blind spot for Byronic men, who sound great in theory. In reality, Byronic men pretty much equate to the mopey, abusive, narcissistic, drunken lout of a cad named Arthur Huntingdon. Plus, Anne penned my favorite quote by any author regarding gender equality/standards in writing, which is why it’s the subtitle of my blog.

Holiday Stress Relief

Most people know that, for various and sundry reasons, the holiday season presses down on us with stress like an older brother presses down on a head-locked sibling. Far from having immunity to these stresses, this week I am exceptionally grateful for not only my office co-workers, but for our newfound form of stress relief thanks to a holiday party gift exchange. During the exchange, filled with fighting and yelling and cajoling over a myriad of cool items (and booze), one item landed itself blessedly into the hands of one of the office staff. Since its arrival on Friday, two other staffers, myself included, have run out to their nearest big box retailer to purchase this ultimate tool in stress relief:















Since Friday afternoon this little toy has brought untold joy and excitement to more than half the staff. We've had shooting competitions involving everything from moving ducks drawn on white boards to targeting by facing backwards with a mirror to straight out regular skill and luck. And yes, shooting these little buggers has a bit to do with luck. It's not an exact science. However, for such an affordable source of fun (and with a few modifications which are already being executed -- and some personal decorating which will happen soon), one can excuse the lack of a completely accurate, scientific and logistical method to firing off several rounds of this magnificent little time waster.

Some offices have pool and Foosball. Some even have arcade games. We have Nerf guns, and damned if we don't have just as much fun with our little six-shooters as any group of kids (or college students playing humans vs. zombies) would.

Horror, Horror Everywhere!

Makes me a cheery Goth.

On a random venture to the ATM this past weekend I decided to take a stroll down the local drag since it has been months since I did so. Imagine my surprise, delight and abject fear for my finances at discovering that two new stores stood side by side in dangerous luring. The first, a store for writers, I managed to keep from flying into like a chocoholic passing a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (though rest assured my resistance will not last long). The second drew me in through its portal of horrific awesome and held me with talons of terror.
Previously located about an additional half-mile further from me than the new location, I eschewed Dark Delicacies only because I knew it would get me into trouble, fiscally that is. Still, a bibliophile can only resist the siren call of books for so long before succumbing to their entrancing song and crashing ourselves on the rocks of debt in order to feed our addiction. Thus, though I entered with a steeled demeanor, I was no match for the pleadings emanating from tomes on the shelves.
However, I do not regret venturing into this fabled land of the Gothic as it rewarded me with two wonderful books (and a third I will purchase very soon). The first is an autographed first edition of Mansfield Park and Mummies (which you may recall me gushing about previously), the second is a Dracula-related teen novel (yes, I need another one; I need them all) I'd never heard of -- which is saying something.
Though I missed a signing on Sunday due to an intense headache brought on by too much theatre, I do know that Dark Delicacies can depend upon me to wander its floor and continue singing its praises plenty in the coming months.

Reasons to 'like' the Interwebs

I realize I've been very 'down with the internet' recently when it comes to books, reading and writing. So today I'd like to take a moment and address somethings I love about the internet when it comes to these categories. For as much as I might rant and rail about the perils of too much technology, there exist some pretty damn awesome sites and resources online that would otherwise never be available to us. (Also, I'm going to leave off The Twitter on this post. It has its own advantages and pitfalls that deserve their own recognition at a different time)
Here are just a few that I love. If you have others, please feel free to comment!

Goodreads:
What it's for - Keeping an online catalog, or bookshelf, of books which can vary from books you have read or want to read to very specific, user-designed shelves for whatever you wish.
What else is cool - Goodreads now has authors involved with the site to follow and connect with, as well as other members across the world. There are various quizzes and polls to partake in and create. There are also book swaps and giveaways, and even meet-ups organized for some cities.
The downsides - Like any social networking site if you choose to be searchable by anyone, you can be found by anyone. However, you can lock your account down as well. Though in the reading/writing community I'm more apt to add someone who shares similar interests than on most sites. Some aspects of the site are difficult to navigate, but overall it is pretty intuitive.

Amazon:
What it's for - The mecca of online shopping. Amazon is responsible for fueling and destroying the publishing industry.
What is cool - The wishlist will always be my go-to place for tracking items I want. It's also very user-friendly in terms of navigation and typically has the most detailed descriptions and reviews of any other site.
The downsides - see above re: destruction of publishing industry. It also can be a little too overwhelming with all the information. And if that homepage tries to shove a Kindle down my throat one more time I may vomit.

Writer's Digest:
What it's for - The official site for the main writers' magazine in the US. Designed to help writers learn, explore, craft, network and get work.
What else is cool - Their email newsletters are incredibly helpful and cram a lot of great information and links into a digestible space. I have yet to be able to afford one of their webinars, but many of them look very helpful
The downsides - As a subscription-based magazine there is some 'members only' content unavailable to us poor folk. Also, it is a MASSIVE resource site and thus navigating and finding what you want can be a little difficult This is why I love the emails, because those break great sections down into smaller bits that are linked to for easier resource-finding.

National Novel Writing Month:
What it's for - As the title states... writing a novel in the span of only one month. November, every year, to be exact. The site focuses on uniting participants in this crazy undertaking to assist them in writing and connect them so they can help each other.
What else is cool - Municipal liaisons for many major cities/areas who organize meet-ups and write-ups during the month. Word sprints on Twitter. Encouraging pep talks by the staff AND famous (often participating) authors. Areas on the site specifically designed to help break writer's block and/or give a little distraction when it hits. The terrifying concept of writing a novel in 30 days and the exhilaration of finishing it.
The downsides - The site isn't always reliable and can crash at peak times (i.e. at the very beginning and very end of the month). The terrifying concept of writing a novel in 30 days.

As a side note, I've participated in NaNoWriMo three years, and 'won' two of those years ('winning' means you wrote 50,000+ words in 30 days. It does not mean you have a finished, publishable work, but it does mean you cranked out the equivalent of a novel in only one month). Whether I participate this year or use the month to perform serious edits on the two books I've previously scribed I have not yet decided, but my advice to anyone contemplating participation is this: whatever excuse or reason you think you have to NOT participate is not viable. NOTHING, save the inability to type, is an excuse to not try. You are the only blocker to not trying and only you can tell yourself to get over whatever obstacles you think exist and just do it. Whatever happens, whether you 'win' or not, you will have written something that otherwise may never have been written. You have nothing to lose, at all (except perhaps some sleep and a social life, both of which are overrated), and everything to gain.

Eventually, you do plan to have books in your bookstore, right?

Am I the only one becoming increasingly disheartened at the lack of book selection in bookstores?
Sure, my standards are a little high seeing as how I grew up in bookstores. No hyperbole in this instance -- I literally grew up spending a significant portion of my formative years in my local college bookstore, used bookstores, new bookstores, libraries, book fairs, etc. Not to mention my family's living and dining rooms are basically libraries with cushy seating, a dining table and a TV. Moving into my own places did not diminish the need to surround myself with books, either.
So it is with much dismay that the past year or so each time I walk into a bookstore, especially a big box chain, I find fewer books and more 'stuff.' Stuff ranges from e-readers to larger cafe space to expanded DVD and/or magazine sections and, even moreso, pointless tacky gift sections. I mean, I like a good one of these, but not to buy... and certainly not to buy in a bookstore.
Case in point: I entered a local big-box store on a whim during lunch the other day. It occurred to me that a new novel by Cornelia Funke came out this week, so I eagerly meandered to the children's section to find it. Alas, while there were copies of the Inkheart trilogy, and one copy of The Thief Lord, no new book could be discovered. Upon returning to a computer I investigated further, only to find Reckless out of stock at 3/4 of this bookstore's locations in the greater Los Angeles area.
This woman is one of the top current children's authors. Her books have been put onto film (where many good books go to die). She lives in California. Yet in one of the largest metropolitan cities in the country, her book is not stocked on its first week of release in 75% of stores. Granted, a search at another major retailer shows the book as in stock, but when you're talking about billion-dollar stores that can't even be bothered to stock a new release from a popular author because they have to sell more Kindlenookreaders... it makes me want to scream and cry and throw up a little all at once, and it's not entirely the fault of the retailer -- it's our fault.
Now, my own personal issues with electronic readers aside, my major complaint here is that in an industry that is already struggling not just because of advanced technology, but because of a country that is increasingly interested in getting everything instantaneously and not having to put thought into any activity or be culpable for any action, we decide to remedy this problem by feeding the masses what they think they want. We push upon them this magic box which condenses a real, physical experience into a flat tome that delivers the same words to our eyes, but not the same experience.
Yes, I admit it, as a paragon of anti-snobbery, I have just proclaimed myself a book snob. Why? Because for me, putting a book into a tiny computer does not make it more accessible. It makes it less valuable. We already put so little emphasis on the power of reading and excitement of what the right words can do to people, and now we are taking the only lasting, physical evidence of a book's power and transferring it to a tablet of plastic and metal in which the book only exists when you call upon it. Books don't work like that. They exist whether you're around or not. They whisper when you aren't there (and often when you are, if you're keen enough to listen). Their physical presence in your hands demands you attention and you must perform a physical act to stop reading, close the book and put it away -- not just tap a screen. It requires thought and energy both to read and cease reading.
All this brings me back to the simple point that without physical books in bookstores we are disengaging ourselves from the activity of experiencing a book and engaging in the passivity of just reading words scrolling across a screen. In doing that we diminish the power of the books and the publishing industry suffers... but so do our minds because reading should be a sense-memory activity like exercise. The more we plug ourselves into electronic boxes of any kind, the more our bodies and minds pay the price.
So get out there, visit your local bookstore, whether it be chain or independent, new or used... or hey, even go to a library. Ignore the shiny electronics and accessories being offered, walk past all the knick knacks, resist the urge to plop down in the cafe with your laptop or iPad or netbook and check facebook for the 200th time today, and spend some quality time communing with the books. Pick them up, feel them, flip through the pages, smell them, enjoy the sensation of caressing the leaves and the cover. Then, when you're ready (and this may take a few visits to acclimate yourself to the idea), take one home with you and read it. The book will thank you for it, and so will your mind.