lessthanthree

instantjoy: Got a light?

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:33:34 -0400

Got a light?

Post-Franschhoek

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:21:00 -0400

This weekend was Franschhoek Literary Festival, and not only was it my first time at the fest, it was also the first time in Franschhoek itself, so I spent most of the time I was there saying, “Oh my god how beautiful is this place?”

I travelled with writer S.A. Partridge, photographer Warren Talmarkes, and women24’s resident Book Diva Tammy February, which was probably the best way I could have done this inaugural toe-dipping into the SA book world. Fabulous people.

The first thing up was Thursday’s school talks with S.A. Partridge. We spoke to the matrics at Bridge House and Franschhoek High, and I gotta say – if these guys are any indication, the future is looking bright. They were friendly, funny, and asked great questions. I can only hope we entertained them a bit (or at least gave them a break from regular class-schedules.)

Because everything looks like this - the drive into our guesthouse

After that, and way, way too many coffees, we checked into the beautiful Knorhoek wine farm in Stellenbosch, where Carol made us feel very welcome. The whole place feels like home on a grander scale - fireplaces and a wall of old cameras and a fridge full of wine. We were staying in the bed and breakfast which I believe was the converted stables and blacksmith. I don’t know how thick those old buildings’ walls were, but I can say that while it was freezing outside at night, I was a Very Warm and Snuggly Cat.

this was my room that I had all to myself, be a little jealous.

That evening we drove through to join everyone at the official welcoming meet and greet thing in the town hall, then grabbed ourselves some poppers and chicken strips from the little pub in the converted train station. This weekend was awash in wine and food, so I am pretty sure I came back about five kilograms heavier. When one of the events sponsors is Porcupine Ridge (the other was Sunday Times) and knowing what happens when you put writers and vast quantities of free wine together, the weekend certainly turned out to be interesting.

Friday was rather busy (for me – I’m used to hiding in my little house in Muizenberg and not really interacting with humans), and we decided that since I had my Very First Panel Thing happening that morning, we should start the day with a brisk walk followed by a wine tasting. (This is the problem with staying on a wine farm…)

Yes. Damn those wine tastings. I was quite content to just sample, but ended up buying more wine than I normally do. Ever. I’m not even a fan of white wine, but I pretty much adored the Knorhoek Chenin Blanc. We had a moment.

On to Franschhoek and the panel. I was a little star-struck, being on a Dystopian Fiction panel with Sarah Lotz, Karen Jayes, Lauren Beukes, and Rachel Zadok, but it seemed to go well by my understanding of these things. The venue was packed, and we soon rambled off-topic so if you were there to learn something about dystopia….hah. I have no idea what I said because I was in a state of terror, and I kept feeling like I was going to burp into the microphone (weird…fear?) but luckily the seasoned pros were there being generally awesome and articulate.

LindsayCal took this pic of all the panellists:

L-R: Sarah Lotz, Karen Jayes, Lauren Beukes, Rachel Zadok, Me.

The rest of the weekend might have devolved into me wandering around and gate-crashing parties, eating masses of ice-cream and chocolate, and having lunches with fantastic people, which is code for Having A Grand Old Time. The only downside of the whole thing was that Anthony Horowitz unfortunately was very ill and had to be flown back to the UK, so I never go to meet him or hear any of his talks.

Look at me, hanging out with all the cool people. Amanda Coetzee, S.A. Partridge, Tammy February in the front, and me hanging on to a wine glass for support.

On the very last morning, the farm’s bull terrier Merlot came to give me a little farewell head-on-the-knee snuffle and grunt, and it was the perfect goodbye under the oak trees turning pink and gold in the crisp autumn air.

leaving

"Why Society Still Needs Feminism Because to men, a key is a device to open something. For women,..."

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:33:26 -0400

“

Why Society Still Needs Feminism

Because to men, a key is a device to open something. For women, it’s a weapon we hold between our fingers when we’re walking alone at night.

Because the biggest insult for a guy is to be called a “pussy,” a “little bitch” or a “girl.” From here on out, being called a “pussy” is an effing badge of honor.

Because last month, my politics professor asked the class if women should have equal representation in the Supreme Court, and only three out of 42 people raised their hands.

Because rape jokes are still a thing.

Because despite being equally broke college kids, guys are still expected to pay for dates, drinks and flowers.

Because as a legit student group, Campus Fellowship does not allow women to lead anything involving men. Look, I know Eve was dumb about the whole apple and snake thing, but I think we can agree having a vagina does not directly impact your ability to lead a
college organization.

Because it’s assumed that if you are nice to a girl, she owes you sex — therefore, if she turns you down, she’s a bitch who’s put you in the “friend zone.” Sorry, bro, women are not machines you put kindness coins into until sex falls out.

Because only 29 percent of American women identify as feminist, and in the words of author Caitlin Moran, “What part of ‘liberation for women’ is not for you? Is it freedom to vote? The right not to be owned by the man you marry? The campaign for equal pay? Did all that good shit get on your nerves? Or were you just drunk at the time
of the survey?”

Because when people hear the term feminist, they honestly think of women burning bras. Dude, have you ever bought a bra? No one would burn them because they’re freaking
expensive.

Because Rush Limbaugh.

Because we now have a record number of women in the Senate … which is a measly 20 out of 100. Congrats, USA, we’ve gone up to 78th place for women’s political representation, still below China, Rwanda and Iraq.

Because recently I had a discussion with a couple of well-meaning Drake University guys, and they literally could not fathom how catcalling a woman walking down University Avenue is creepy and sexist.
Could. Not. Fathom.

Because on average, the tenured male professors at Drake make more than the tenured female professors.

Because more people on campus complain about chalked statistics regarding sexual assault than complain about the existence of sexual assault. Priorities? Have them.

Because 138 House Republicans voted against the Violence Against Women Act. All 138 felt it shouldn’t provide support for Native women, LGBT people or immigrant women. I’m kind of confused by this, because I thought LGBT people and women of color were also human beings.
Weird, right?

Because a girl was roofied last semester at a local campus bar, and I heard someone say they think she should have been more careful. Being drugged is her fault, not the fault of the person who put drugs in her drink?

Because Chris Brown beat Rihanna so badly she was hospitalized, yet he still has fans and bestselling songs and a tattoo of an abused woman on his neck.

Because out of 7 billion people on the planet, more than 1 billion women will be raped or beaten in their lifetimes. Women and girls have their clitorises cut out, acid thrown on them and broken bottles shoved up them as an act of war. Every second of every day. Every corner of the Earth.

Because the other day, another friend of mine told me she was raped, and I can no longer count on both my hands the number of friends who have told me they’ve been sexually assaulted. Words can’t express how scared I am that I’m getting used to this.

Because a brief survey of reality will tell you that we do not live in a world that values all people equally and that sucks in real, very scary ways. Because you know we live in a sexist world when an awesome thing with the name “feminism” has a weird connotation. Because if I have kids someday, I want my son to be able to have emotions and play dress up, and I want my daughter to climb trees and care more about what’s in her head than what’s on it. Because I don’t want her to carry keys between her fingers at night to
protect herself.

Because feminism is for everybody, and this is your official invitation.

”

- Caitlin O’Donnell, Drake University. (via on-another-note)

"Critics who treat ‘adult’ as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be..."

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:45:40 -0400

““Critics who treat ‘adult’ as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish: these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.””

- C.S. Lewis (via catachamadan)

bowtiesarecool4: lunapics: theshells: I can’t stop laughing...

Sun, 12 May 2013 11:44:05 -0400

bowtiesarecool4:

lunapics:

theshells:

I can’t stop laughing at Harry running the fuck away, the boy who lived ladies and gentlemen.

….You realize, of course, that Hermione Granger lit a teacher on fire when she was eleven, and kept a person alive in a jar for a year when she was fourteen, and studies dark and forbidden magics for kicks, and is one of the brightest and strongest witches of her era. If she came at me, even wandless, I would aparate to Neptune to get away from her.

^^ THIS

G R I M E S: I don't want to have to compromise my morals in order to make a living

Sun, 12 May 2013 05:10:53 -0400

G R I M E S: I don't want to have to compromise my morals in order to make a living :

actuallygrimes:

i dont want my words to be taken out of context

i dont want to be infantilized because i refuse to be sexualized

i dont want to be molested at shows or on the street by people who perceive me as an object that exists for their personal satisfaction

i dont want to live in a world where…

theartofanimation: Julie Dillon

Sat, 11 May 2013 09:01:23 -0400

theartofanimation:

Julie Dillon

trishisthinkingagain: House Doller I think I’m in...

Sat, 11 May 2013 08:28:25 -0400

trishisthinkingagain:

House Doller

I think I’m in Trish’s House to be honest…

nnnghhhh final pic.

Thu, 09 May 2013 02:36:13 -0400

nnnghhhh final pic.

Now please could someone make me a dark and angsty Merlin/Arthur...

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:53:50 -0400

Now please could someone make me a dark and angsty Merlin/Arthur fanvid to this.

“Cause I feel like I’m the worst So I always act...

Mon, 06 May 2013 12:51:41 -0400

“Cause I feel like I’m the worst
So I always act like I’m the best.”

All the Marina LOVE tonight

Mon, 06 May 2013 12:46:06 -0400

All the Marina LOVE tonight

Video

Mon, 06 May 2013 06:11:13 -0400

I miss Donna so so so much.

Wed, 01 May 2013 02:50:14 -0400

I miss Donna so so so much.

Photo

Wed, 01 May 2013 02:47:58 -0400

Sometimes I think I'm Doing Parenting Right.

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:00:52 -0400

So today The Younger Spawn says to me, “One day when I’m an adult, I’m going to pick flowers from my garden, and then give them to a girl in Africa where we live, where girls can marry girls, and then we will get married and have lots of fun.”

the secret world.

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:18:24 -0400

the secret world.

cupcakeandy: Happy Book Birthday to Suzanne Young’s The...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:14:26 -0400

cupcakeandy:

Happy Book Birthday to Suzanne Young’s The Program!

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

alexdallymacfarlane: eorthagan: An Da Shealladh by Richard...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:24:53 -0400

alexdallymacfarlane:

eorthagan:

An Da Shealladh

by Richard Moult

I need to stop seeing every fox/bird art as very oblique Fox/Falco art.

And yet.

Here we are.

(There are STARS, even.)

Twenty Lines

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 03:21:00 -0400

I love making lists of chapter titles; they have a weird poetry to them that makes me eager to get back to work. (In this case back to work on the final part of the revisions for House of Sand and Secrets.)

1- A Plague of Houses
2 - Bone-grinders and Butchers
3 - Glassclaw and Splinterfist
4 - Paper Marriages
5 - Studies in Oil and Ink
6 - Proposals
7 - Two Crows
8 - Pretty Collars
9 - Fire, Ash, Skin
10 - Seven-fold Futures
11 - A Small Truth
12 - The House Imaginary
13 - Silk Armour, Glass Armour
14 - Pieces in Play
15 - The Lark
16 - Pity’s Sword
17 - In the Palace of the Mata
18 - Offerings
19 - The Melancholy Raven
20 - Dogleaf