Arrested Links (Epic Space, Being a Girl Online, and More!)

via juliancallos.blogspot.com

This week I pretty much schlubbed around, listening to lectures on iTunes U (because I am a massive nerd), reading fanfiction (see above), and coming up with awesome spectacular ideas (more about that later – hopefully). Oh right, and watching a crap ton of television. Sweet.

Anyway, I hope your week has been as satisfying as mine, and more exciting, if that’s what you’re into. Either way, have some links.

1. In aaaaaah-so-cool news, Cracked has yet another awesome article about space up. I love stuff like this, where you can really see how spectacularly amazing our universe is because it is just SO FREAKING AWESOME! So, er, here’s the article. Have fun.

2. In preach-sister news, public_username from Reddit has written an explanation of how it feels to be a girl on the internet. It’s a personal experience, but it does a lot to address the unwitting sexism that we tend to face when we show ourselves online. So, check it out. Feel free to disagree, but think about it.

Sigh. Summer Glau. Sigh.

3. In well-put-ma’am news, Lucy Gillam over at Fanfic Symposium wrote an article on Fandom and Male Privilege. Now, the articles not exactly fresh, but I think it still applies, especially with all the recent brouhaha over Fake Geek Girls. Check it out here, and put your thinking cap on.

4. In oooh-spooky news, The MarySue has a cool article explaining how JRR Tolkien (he of the LOTR and all things awesome) predicted the inherent structure of videogames well before they were a twinkle in a programmer’s eye. The whole thing is a little weird, and has more to do with story structure than you think, but it’s worth a look and certainly an interesting idea. Article here.

5. In so-you-don’t-forget news, we need to not forget what happened with Anita Sarkeesian and the bullying she faced for wanting to be a woman talking about videogames. If we forget, then we allow room for it to happen again, and I don’t think any of us want that. So, to remind you, here’s a Forbes article explaining why all of this matters.

6. In times-are-a-changin news, Jamie Frevele at boingboing takes shots at an LA Times writer who posited that uneducated (in film) young kids were going to ruin film history. Because we don’t necessarily think Citizen Kane or The Godfather or Casablanca is the automatic best movie ever. Cue an eye roll. Anyway, Frevele has a good rebuttal that you can check out here. Cultural tastes change. That doesn’t mean that things aren’t as good.

7. And, finally, in urgh-so-true news, Jenna Marbles (probably not her real name) has a hilarious youtube channel, and in one of her recent videos she takes aim at the “Nice guys finish last,” myth. And it’s pretty freaking cool. So, watch and enjoy. But don’t watch it at work. She’s a little swear-y.

So, that’s it for this week! More television to come next week, and you can tune in for Crossover Appeal on Sunday at 6pm PDT. For realsies this time. Promise.

Happy Saturday!