Inspector Spacelinks (Joss Whedon, Lady Pens, and More!)

Technically, I wrote this in advance, so I’ll have to sum up my week using my well honed clairvoyant skills. I had a lovely week. After a bumpy train ride up to Sa Pa, I was able to relax in the relative luxury of my hotel room before wandering out to explore the mountains.

Yeah. That sounds good enough.

How about you? How’s your week been?

Here are the best of this week’s (or so) links. If you catch something I forgot while I was busy sipping mango juice and looking at the Chinese border (nyah nyah nyah!), let me know in the comments below!

1. In you-are-my-actual-inspiration-no-joke news, we already knew that Joss Whedon was having a pretty awesome year. From Avengers breaking box office records all over the place, his produced project Cabin in the Woods finally seeing the light of day and some great critical success, and the news that he’s going to be directing Avengers 2 and on board for the S.H.I.E.L.D. show. It’s a lot. But now we know that he’s also getting to screen his passion project, the Much Ado About Nothing he shot in twelve days with his friends last fall. It’s going up at Toronto’s film fest, and cross your fingers that it gets a distributor. I need to see this! Full interview here.

2. In best-time-of-the-year news, not only is it Back to School time (my favorite time), it’s also Premiere Season! Yay! Check out this handy chart for a list of when all your favorites and all your potential new favorites will be airing. I’ll be covering all the female lead shows again this year, so get ready for some epic blogging.

3. In why-is-this-a-thing news, apparently the major news networks have been poleaxed by the mirror-fasting trend. Since mirror-fasting has been around since I went to summer camp, I’m a little confused by the controversy. A mirror-fast is just when you decide to not look at an image of your appearance for a set amount of time. No mirrors, no photos, no reflective surfaces if you can avoid it. It’s a way to get used to yourself without taking your appearance into consideration, and I think it’s a great idea. But apparently it’s a bit baffling to news anchors whose careers depend on looking pretty. I include the men in that too. Whole article here.

4. In also-should-not-be-a-thing news, Bic released a line of pens just for women. Which sounds nice until you think, “Um, can’t I just use normal pens?” Nope! You have delicate lady hands, woman, and you need a shiny pink soft pen to help you write your grocery lists. Basically, the internet has been rolling with laughter over this one. Check it out here to see some truly awesome user reviews.

5. In wish-I’d-thought-of-that news, someone has finally reclaimed the “Fake Geek Girl” meme. It’s the meme where everyone gets to vent their spleen about how “idiot fake nerds” are “ruining the internet”. Which is shit. Identity is what you choose for yourself. If I call myself a nerd, who are you to disagree? So basically this is an awesome reclamation that points out that we have no right to judge our fellow man, especially over something as trivial as how many Batman issues you’ve read. Article here.

6. In shameless-self-promotion news, Small Strokes has hosted another round of the blog carnival! This month was on feminism and education, so you can check out all the articles (including mine) here. Good times.

7. And, finally, our old friend Felicia Day is making a movie! It’s the awesome crowd-funded Rock Jocks, story of overworked government employees who secretly have to save Earth from destruction by asteroids while avoiding budget cuts. I want it.

Well, that’s it for this week. Tune in for Crossover Appeal tomorrow at 6pm PDT on Facebook, Google+ and Youtube. I won’t be there, but I assume they’ll be talking about something pretty awesome. And all but one of them has guested on this blog, so you’ll be among friends.

Happy Saturday!