K.A. Laity's Blog, page 148

Rationalizing

I am back to columnizing while I panic about the big move. Reminding myself: break it down, do it little by little, stop looking at the enormity of it all! Applies to both subjects, I suppose. Sigh.



Atheists, Rationalists & RapeBy K. A. Laity



The "rational answer" depends entirely upon your starting point.



While most of the hubbub on both sides of the pond focuses on various egregious examples of tabloid mayhem (depending on whether you hate Nancy Grace or Rupert Murdoch more), there's been a smaller but just as shocking story developing in the rational (not necessarily to distinguish it from tabloid) world.



At a student leadership conference where she had been invited to talk about the religious Right's War on Women,

You may recall that last week I posted this video, in which I describe an unpleasant encounter I had with a fellow atheist that I thought might serve as a good example of what men in our community should strive to avoid – basically, in an elevator in Dublin at 4AM I was invited back to the hotel room of a man I had never spoken to before and who was present to hear me say that I was exhausted and wanted to go to bed.

 What she was unprepared for was an atheist community—both men and women—who dismissed her discomfort with an unsolicited sexual comment and accused her of everything from outlawing sexuality to "constantly" telling men " how sexist and destructive they are"...

Read the rest at BBHQ.

The Fall in Manchester, 3 June 2011

I won't say I flew into Manchester instead of Heathrow in June just to see The Fall, but once I realised the opportunity existed -- well, no way I was going to pass it up. Besides, I'd never visited Manchester and had the chance to meet up with a couple of friends, so it was all good. I should add that I don't have the set list, I just swiped it from one of the guys on the forum.



Moho Live looked like any of a million subterranean venues, painted black and kept in the dark because if you saw what it looked like in the light you would be horrified. No ticket stub: it's all digital now. The woman from Action Records was there with all the merch. I passed up on the chance to get the blue lyrics book (I'll give in one of these days, but £30?!) but I got a t-shirt for Marko and some badges for us both.



There are so few female Fall fans that I never had to wait in line at the loo. Those who know me well will know how significant that fact is. When I met up with fellow female Fall fan Julie in Leicester (who friended me after reading my Spectator piece on the Fall) it was good to talk to another woman who has the madness.



The first band hit the stage in a squall of noise, pseudo-punks whose name I did not catch though I immediately regretted leaving my earplugs in the hotel room. A thrashing, assaultive barrage requiring only that they all play as loudly and as fast as possible. Yawn. I wandered around crowd-watching and texting Marko just to make him envious share the excitement.



The second band intrigued even as they were starting up. Scumbag Philosopher (no, not a promising name, but oh well) drummer Anne Reekie had just a two piece kit, accentuated by fairy lights, including some hanging out of her pockets. I loved her playing. They started out with a "cut-rate" John Cooper Clark intro which got the audience going. Fun, odd stuff -- check them out. I can see why MES chose them.



Of course the buzz only grew after that, especially once they unfurled the Fall backdrop: a guitar-playing cowboy. I fought my way up near the stage because I just had to do it, though I knew I wouldn't last long. I kept close to a bunch of old geezers, clearly long time fans, who helped keep the obnoxious drunk young guys in check. Quiet menace in action: I was impressed with the polite but utterly unflinching threat when he turned to the stupid kid who'd been shoving people around him and laid a hand on his shoulder and said, "You're going to stop that now."



After what seemed like an impossibly long time, at last the band came out and it sounded like a jet had landed in the tiny club. Hometown crowd, eh? The space in front of the stage began to sway wildly and slam back and forth, erupting even further when MES came out -- just a roar of delight. The old curmudgeon even looked pleased for a moment before hiding it behind a scowl, launching into the new song "Cosmos" with gusto. He looked good: much healthier than the first time I saw them.



I lasted the first two songs and then had to stagger out of the madness and find a new vantage point. Deafened, dripping with sweat but grinning because -- well, just because. I took up a position on the exit stairs which put me on eye level with MES. I was thirty feet away instead of five but I could breathe -- and more importantly -- stand. It was fantastic. I won't give the blow by blow (check the forums for that in abundance) but they were on: the band working, heads down, unsmiling except for Elena who was grinning and having a grand time. MES pottering around the stage adjusting this and that, keeping the band on their toes and sticking his tongue out at Elena and even occasionally addressing the crowd. "Funnel of Love" really seemed to get the crowd going (such a catchy rockabilly tune) and "Psychik Dance Hall" roared along. It was odd that the band came out on stage eventually for an encore but MES stayed back stage -- odd, but not unprecedented. We all left deafened, dripping and vibrating from head to toe.



"That's all you need to know about tonight," a woman said in the toilets after the show, pointing to her mud-spattered, sandal-clad feet.  Yep.

Publication: Soap Opera Digest

My humor piece "Soap Opera Digest" appears in the new issue of Dragnet Magazine. Drop by and give it a read -- and help spread the word if you like. They have a great sense of fun and design which makes for an enjoyable little package suitable for tablet readers or mobiles as well as your standard issue 'computer' thingamajig. The trailer is good silly fun.





Dragnet Issue Two Cinematic Trailer from Dragnet Magazine on Vimeo.

My Readercon Schedule

Just to whet your appetite, here's my events at Readercon, July 14-17 in Burlington MA; looks like there will be some entertaining fun (as usual):



 Thursday July 14



8:00 PM    G    We All Produce, We All Consume. Paul Di Filippo, Gemma Files, Robert Killheffer, K.A. Laity (leader), Jamie Todd Rubin. In a 2008 blog post, Leah Bobet connected the dots of increasing media interactivity and increasing independent authorship. Both trends have only escalated in the years since. When every blogger is an author, every commenter is a reviewer, and every work is assumed to be the start of a conversation, how does that change the experience and culture of reading? Was it ever possible to be a passive reader, or are we simply bringing our marginalia and book-flinging out into the light? 



Friday July 15



9:00 PM    NH    BroadUniverse group reading. Suzy Charnas, Gwendolyn Clare, Helen Collins, M.C.A. Hogarth, Elaine Isaak, K.A. Laity, Jennifer Pelland. Members of BroadUniverse read selections from their work. 



Saturday July 16



11:00 AM    G    Are We Not Men?: Human Women and Beast-Men in Paranormal Romance. Stacy Hague-Hill, Victoria Janssen (leader), K.A. Laity, Delia Sherman, Ann Tonsor Zeddies. In a 2009 blog post, Victoria Janssen wrote: "Paranormal romance almost always features the hero as a paranormal being and the heroine as an ordinary human. How does this resonate with gender relations and power relationships in our society? And is it emblematic of women seeing men as Other?" In addition, many of these stories feature women who metaphorically or literally tame men who have non-human aspects, turning them from bestial creatures driven by base urges into civilized, socially acceptable mates. We examine the social context of this narrative and its appeal to paranormal romance readers of various genders.



2:00 PM    ME    Tin Foil Hat Open Mike. Rose Fox (moderator), K.A. Laity, Shira Lipkin, David Malki !, Charles Platt, Eric M. Van, Harold Torger Vedeler. Bring your wildest and wackiest ideas to this open mike session. Each speaker gets five minutes, ruthlessly enforced, to try to convince the audience of an unprovable (and ideally undisprovable) theory related to speculative fiction. The viewers are free to applaud or heckle as they see fit. No handouts, no visual aids, no multimedia, no Q&As, no spitballs, and please, no politics or religion.





I have no idea how that last one will go: some wag suggested it, I was amused enough to float my name for it. I figure it's my chance to channel EL Wisty or Arthur Grole. We shall see. Meanwhile I'm adjusting to being back, which mostly means moping, whinging and sighing at the huge piles of work I need to face. I was a bit perturbed to get to my office and find I had no computer. So much for good intentions, eh? But all it took was a phone call to get it delivered, so I had to try to work anyway. Sigh.

Publication: The Wyandotte Haunting

There Was a Crooked House... Edited by Jessy Marie RobertsISBN-13: 978-1-61706-111-0Cover Price $15.99



Lots of crooked stories, in a little crooked book...

includes the following  pieces of short fiction: Cat Call by Kat HeckenbachThe Crooked House of Coins  by Jeff ChapmanGlass House by Heidi MannanDon't Let the Rain Come Down by  Gerald CostlowWith Breath Too Sweet LaShawn M. WanakUnexpected Guests in My  Basement by Charles DayAliens, Angels, and Arsenic by M. Kaye

Moon, The Other  Side of Silence by Fiona GlassWrong Side Down by Rob Rosen, Her by Walter  CampbellLittle Girl Blue by Kevin McClintockCrooked Time by Samuel GibbSummer Schwartz and the Crazy House by David PerlmutterRemembered Sins by H.J.  HillOlverston Grange by M. Leon SmithThat's What Little Boys Are Made Of by  Emma EnnisEvery Choice by Mary-Jean HarrisThe Mobile Home by Gregory L.  Norris22 Beckett St. by Deb EskieI Am But Its Instrument by George Wilhite Nightmares Every Night by Gary BuettnerMetamorphosis by Eva Glynn StephensThe Nanny by Susan York MeyersEviction Notice by John H. DromeyCan't Stop  Growing Old by Patrick ShandThe Wyandotte Haunting by K.A. LaityThe Girl in  the Crooked House by Katherine SimmonsClown Fish by Richard Jay  Goldstein.$14.49    





[Coming to Amazon soon!]

Alt.Fiction

A great time had by all, although Adele and the Unbound crew spent most of the day recording the podcasts. Clearly the QUAD was not accustomed to hosting writers as they ran out of both pint glasses and every kind of beer except Stella by Saturday night. Here's Adele  modeling her new tattoo, a line from her friend Vince's forthcoming novel. I had a wonderful time getting to know Vince, Kat, Vick and everyone else. Interesting adventures all weekend, including hotel strangeness (maybe I should have tried the black pudding).





I had a reading first thing, which is a bit awkward, but we had a good audience. I also had a chance to hear Graham Joyce read from his new novel (wonderful!) and chatted with him after, talking about Galway after I mentioned I'll be heading off there. I was delighted to hear from him about the pirate queen Grace O'Malley who was based there.



Before the madness commenced: the podcasts went on all through the day. I was part of a couple of them. I'll link to them when they go up at Ubound.





Here is the lovely Miss Chloe! I was so delighted that she came all the way from Switzerland to the conference. We had a wonderful time chatting and hanging around. Lovely!



Back at the fabulous Adele's now: it's blistering hot in the East Midlands! What's up with that? A good excuse for a party, right?

Littlehampton by the Sea

Chanctonbury Ring at Midsummer

Liz and I sallied up the rather muddy and slippery slope to Chanctonbury Ring today, which was a bit more daunting than we assumed. In part that was due to the lack of signage. In fact we initially drove past the parking area because there was no warning for the picnic area, just a small sign tucked away next to a cattlefield. Not exactly an optimum picnic spot, but it is really pretty countryside. But where to go from there. We followed a woman who seemed to know where she was going with her black Lab, but she turned back when she saw how muddy it was. We pressed on, being determined to make this walk. Of course it was a lot steeper than we thought it would be, slippery through the woody paths. Recent rain had brought down a lot of detritus and mud which made the trail challenging, but the forest was beautiful and quiet but  for bird songs.



We were congratulating ourselves on at last reaching the top, but when we walked out into the meadow at the top, there was no sure indication of which way the ring lay. Ah, we thought, noticing an intrepid pair of obviously seasoned walkers, we'll ask them. Well, they had no idea; they had much more detailed maps of the area and yet were uncertain exactly where we or the ring fort were. But we all agreed on the most likely direction and struck off again (they quickly pulled ahead of us). We admired the sheep and were cheered to see the growth of trees in the distance that seemed to look like the ring and admired the view around us -- well, as long as it lasted because the clouds closed in and the rain began and the wind whipped up to show us who was boss.



However, we were determined now and nothing would stop us from making the last bit of the journey and sure enough we could see the earthen wall and walked up into it to find a guy with his bike (I'm guessing he did not come up the same path) gathering mushrooms. We had quite a feeling of accomplishment as the wind whipped around us and decided to  celebrate by heading back down. It's quite an amazing journey. Legend says that you can conjure the devil by running around the ring counter-clockwise seven times. He will offer you soup for your soul.



Liz made soup for lunch; I ate it anyway. It was very good.

London Life

Snapshots of London

I got to play Sarah Angliss' theremin :-) I've hung out with the decadent aesthetes and enjoyed the summer in London and met up with friends and caught the Bard of Salford, too.