dragonimp

From the book Sex at Dawn:

pg. 78: [comparing humans with chimps and bonobos] There is a high degree of variability in potential sexual combinations in humans and bonobos; homosexual activity is common in both, but rare in chimps. [Bonobos are the only primate besides us that has sex for reasons other than reproduction.]
....
pg. 103: Recognized as a way to build and maintain a network of mutually beneficial relationships, nonreproductive sex no longer requires special explanations. Homosexuality, for example, becomes far less confusing, in that is is, as E. O. Wilson has written, "above all a form of bonding . . . consistent with the greater part of heterosexual behavior as a device that cements relationships."

In other words, homosexuality is not only 100% natural, it likely evolved because it was a benefit to society.

And ladies, there's evidence that we might all be a little bit gay.

Borders.com just told me that Twilight: the Graphic Novel will be released in March.

O_o. Um. Yeah. No.

Scholastic U.S. reverses decision to ban book

... In a letter sent to her publisher, Amulet Books, Scholastic’s book fairs division asked her to clean up the relatively mild language and to change the two same-sex parents to a straight couple. “The other issues [Scholastic had problems with] – words like ‘crap’ – just made me shake my head and laugh,” said Myracle. “But the idea that two moms could be problematic ... well, astonished would be the best way to describe my reaction.” ...

Now, why am I thinking that complaining about words like "crap" was a case of "we have to find something else to take issue with so we don't look quite so homophobic!"

Interestingly, Scholastic Canada didn't have an issue with the book.

Are all romance novels White, or is it just my library? Are the romances featuring non-white characters hiding behind the anonymous covers? Even the ones with titles like "The Sicilian's Mistress" or "The Spanish Billionaire's Bride" feature awfully pale-skinned mediterraneans. Out of all the romances I've seen come across the desk, I've seen one - exactly one - that had a non-white character on the cover. It made me do a double-take, which is sad. I shouldn't be startled to see a dark-skinned Cover Hunk. Do only Caucasians get to have romance or something? If this is some sort of directed marketing attempt, it's failed, because a lot of non-white women read romances.

Anyway, off to taxes, and then to schoolwork. It's getting down to the wire, so I'm not going to be around much online. I'm still reading, but if it would take more than minimal brain function to comment, I'm probably not going to ^^;;. See everyone after the 20th.

I finished Twilight this morning. It's ... cute. And yeah, I can see why it's so popular with teenage girls. But I kept finding myself reading like a writer. I'm not sure exactly why. But if the story can't grab me and keep me reading like a reader, then the book's not doing its job.

It really does read like Mary-Sue fanfiction. Which I think is part of its appeal. What teenage girl doesn't want to be Bella, the awkward nobody who suddenly becomes OMGPOPULAR and has Mr. Gorgeous Vampire falling all over her? I felt like I was reading one of my teenage fantasies (except for the popularity part; that sounds more like a nightmare). Problem is, most of the fantasies I had as a teenager wouldn't make for good writing. The book was a little too heavy on the wish fulfillment for my tastes.

And, I'm sorry, but I can't take the sparkling thing seriously. I like for there to be logic behind my fantasy, and that smacks of nothing more than "Oooh, wouldn't that be cool??" Why the hell would they sparkle?

Will I read the rest of the series? Eh... my reading list is already a mile long.

Stopped into Barnes and Noble today. I haven't browsed - truly browsed - through a book store in a while. It was very satisfying. It also got me thinking about books and Amazon's e-reader, kindle. Personally, I don't think an e-reader could ever completely replace the physical book. There's something sensual about books that can't be reproduced. The heft of the book tells you something about how much information is inside and what kind of read it's going to be. When you're reading it, you can see at a glance how much you've read, and how much of it is left. Browsing in a book store as I did today is a completely different experience than browsing Amazon. I found two books serendipitously on the bargain shelf that I never would have gone looking for. You can follow trails at Amazon and find some interesting things, but it's still not the same as moseying through the shelves. And then there's the feel of the book, the paper, the cover, the binding (I know I'm not the only one who looks at a book's construction) - and flagging pages doesn't work the same with an e-reader.

I read an article last semester talking about the kindle and the pros and cons of e-readers in general, and I will admit that e-readers have their place (or will, when the price comes down to something reasonable). Text searching, for one thing. Being able to carry many volumes at once. Instant access. But it won't replace the codex.

After the book store we went shopping for clothes, which was ... productive (at least in my case - 4 pairs of pants for $24!), but not nearly as enjoyable an experience.

Back when I first put on this weight I had the thought of "maybe I'll actually be able to find clothes that fit now!!" Obviously that was a moment of delusion, because I had forgotten that today's styles simply are not cut for my body type. I don't think they're cut for anyone's body type, but they're really not cut for mine. Probably 95% of pants that otherwise fit gap at the small of my back. Even pants that are otherwise too small will gap. All four of the pairs I bought today come with belts, otherwise they wouldn't be manageable (okay, yeah, for $6 a pair I would have bought belts, but it's nice that they come with them).

Ironically, I'm still apparently in the same size range I was in before, even though I've outgrown most of my old pants, but that's the vagueness of the fashion industry for you. Where a size 6 could be larger than a size 8, and neither of them fit right anyway.

(I'm getting a kick out of having to shimmy my pants over my hips, though, I haven't had to do that in years.)