Remember these parts in the extras?





( Here is one of the photos that we see taken: )

And because it's where I found the photos, let me take a moment to direct you to TrekCore's monthly GQMF photos and rare photos. If you have any HD space, it's time to kiss it goodbye because the sheer awesomeness of some of these photos will made it explode with GQMF. Seriously, check'em out!

Thank you for your time and have a great day!

I want to get a cute one for my little sister. Something like THIS to make her lunch in, but I have no idea where to buy one. And don't just say "Chinatown" please. A specific store would be best! Thank you!

I honestly have no idea.

Hey folks!

Some of you may wonder why you weren't invited to Geeksgiving. Our original plans were to rent our church hall and have an open house with gaming, movies, and food. However, we weren't able to make that happen. ruiskafleck and wggthegnoll offered to host the event this year, and while they're in a pretty big place, it did mean we had to limit the guest list. We invited folks from the two gaming groups they were involved with, plus significant others.

We are intending to have an open house for New Year's Eve, if you find yourself in need of a place to celebrate. Our house is small and densely furnished, but we can usually cram in about 12-15 adults.

I just found out someone tried to snowflake me and couldn't. I disabled LJ gifts as a mute protest during Strikethrough and never turned them back on. If anyone's tried to send me snowflakes and couldn't, many thanks for the thought; it's much appreciated.

• 20:36 That movie I would go see. RT @toddalcott: Maybe I'm a little behind the times: is "New Moon" a sequel to Duncan Jones's "Moon?" #

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G4's Star Trek: Rock Band parody advertisement. TNG-centric, but there's TOS references as well.



Rock on and prosper!

And since it embeds in a weird way for me:

LINK

Strange Horizons, online publisher of speculative fiction short stories, is looking for volunteer "first readers" whose primary job is to provide the first round of vetting for incoming submissions.

This seems like an excellent opportunity to equalize some of the terrible lack of diversity in SF editorial staff (note: I know nothing about the diversity or lack thereof in the Strange Horizons staff itself). On the other hand, there may be a subtle (or not-so-subtle) anti-diversity trap there, as they mention that successful candidates must have a "fairly high degree of overlap with editors' tastes in speculative fiction," which they test by asking you to pick five most- and least-liked stories from their magazine, and provide an explanation for why you picked each one.

Hello!

For Christmas I would like to get my Dad some Hungarian Garlic Salami. He LOVES the stuff, and claims it can't be found "Anywhere" in Toronto anymore. (For him, that means the three delis he's been going to his whole life don't have it, I think.)
So, I would like to find some for him. Anyone know where some can be found?
Anywhere in the GTA is fine.
Thanks!

Anyone know any short & fast ways to get to Vaughn Mills Mall & Yorkdale Mall? I did some searching & here's what I found below. I'm starting from Finch station. If anyone knows a faster way it'd be much appreciated!

Vaughn Mills
-from Finch Go Terminal take the Viva blue to 16th & Yonge
-take the 85 YRT to Vaughn Mills Mall

Yorkdale Mall
-take the Yonge line from Finch to Lawrence station
-take the 52 Lawrence bus west to Lawrence station
-take the subway 1 stop to Yorkdale

TIA!

I wrote a post over at candaceshaw.ca about my discomfort about charities and 'conspicuous compassion,' inspired by someone linking to a book about the issue (which is much harsher than I am on the subject). I took out every really mean thing I had to say, except maybe the parties and marathons bit, but I knew I was probably going to get some flak for it. I know it's a sensitive issue. I've gotten tonnes of rage from people in the past for simply saying that I mistrust Fair Trade; people have gotten angry enough to start calling me names and disparaging my character.

It's kind of fascinating how angry people get, actually. I rarely come at it from a 'I don't support this cause' angle, but from a 'I question that this action really helps this cause' angle. Changing the colour of my avatar on Twitter has literally no effect on the number of people who are infected by HIV, nor on the number of women who are abused by men. It does little except advertise my empathy, which I'm not comfortable with. It feels like bragging. I might feel more comfortable with it if I actually did something for those charities, though even then I'm not sure I would.

[ETA: I actually also think that publicly displaying my affiliations puts me into a camp, and when I'm firmly in a camp I have fewer opportunities to talk to people outside my camp, and therefor fewer opportunities to talk to them rationally about the issue I support. I think discourse is important.]

It feels very similar in flavour to the anger I get when I talk about my personal experience with abuse. It hits a nerve, because no one really wants to question their own actions, especially if it means disrupting their notion of themselves as doing good in the world, generally. No one wants to admit that, beyond wearing a ribbon or buying a cellphone, they haven't done a thing for the cause they support. And no one wants to question charities, as though somehow the validity of a cause means everyone associated with it are saints.

I'm basically okay with admitting that I have done essentially nothing for many charities whose cause I think is worthy. There are only so many hours in a day, and I don't have the money to make significant donations. I do volunteer for charities and non-profits, all the time, in big ways as well as little ones.

I'm not able to say whether or not I'm doing enough; I'm doing some. I know that I don't have the strength or will right now to volunteer at a shelter or a hospital working with abused women or dying people. That's something which I hope to one day overcome. I have enormous respect for the people that work the crisis lines, the charities that aim to assuage the horrors of what humans do to one another. I'm ashamed to admit that I don't have their strength of character.

I do believe that the places I've volunteered are, for the most part, vital to society. They also conveniently align with my interests and abilities, and look nice on a resume. Other people may argue about my priorities, in which case I invite them to go volunteer for the causes they think are most important. We do what we can. But it matters that we do something.

Maybe because I posted it on a Sunday, but so far just one woman has said anything.

She said "I wonder..who do you think you are? I know there’s a disclaimer for this page that states something like, ‘this is my opinion and nothing more’, but I still don’t think someone should be allowed to write publicly who knows so little."

And then came back and said "I came back to remove my comment but I’m unable. I’m sorry for being so rude, I should have censored myself.
I was angry and spoke too soon.
I disagree with your post, and have fair reason to, but I don’t feel like publicly discussing it, and would like to pull my comment from here as though it didn’t exist."


Who do I think I am? Ah, such an angry question to ask.

Y'know, I don't think ribbons are wrong. I'm not saying you're a baby-killer if you wear a yellow/pink/red/white ribbon. If you want a pink standing mixer, by god, go buy yourself one. I'm saying we should examine the things we accept without question, and not pat ourselves on the back for a job well done when we haven't actually done anything at all.

While I agree that the personal is political, I don't think that's enough.

I'll just leave it in Patrick West's words, which seem to me much more challenging than what I've written. I'm not sure I absolutely agree with him; I'd have to read the book.

"Such displays of empathy do not change the world for the better: they do not help the poor, diseased, dispossessed or bereaved. Our culture of ostentatious caring is about projecting your ego, and informing others what a deeply caring individual you are. It is about feeling good, not doing good, and illustrates not how altruistic we have become, but how selfish."

There are needs...

This chapter is rated FRAO.

Wrath of Tobar - Chapter Eight

There are needs...

This chapter is rated FRAO.

Wrath of Tobar - Chapter Eight

In a new survey of South African men, one in four admitted raping a woman at some point in their lives, and one in twenty had raped a woman in the past year. On the flip side, one in ten had themselves been raped. (Article discusses statistics but no actual incidents; trigger level is low.)

The Harper government is planning to close down Canada's six prison farms to save the country all of a million dollars. The intention is to pave them over to build new "super-jails". The Save Our Farms organization mentioned in the article has links to sign an electronic petition and/or email Harper with a pre-written message.

From littlehoudini: The head of UK's homeopathic manufacturing association and a representative of one of the largest retailers of homeopathic remedies (Boots) give conflicting evidence to Parliament over whether there is evidence of their "efficaciousness".

What happens when a freelance writer decides her pretty-good marriage needs a tune-up, and decides to tour the available methods? You get a ten-page article in the NYT Magazine, apparently. It's an interesting story, although I feel like the writer is generalizing too much from the value of the particular therapists she had to the value of therapy in general (I liken this reaction to having a bad experience with a hairdresser: no one says, "Getting your hair cut is for the birds! I'm never doing that again!"), and I also feel like she brought up a couple of things that seem like big issues in her marriage, and then concluded hastily that they'll be just fine ignoring them.

Some people are expressing concern over the vague and potentially overly-broad "duty to disclose" rules to which therapists who treat the US military are subject. I feel like this article doesn't make a clear enough distinction between the rules that all therapists are bound to and the extra ones that are causing concern in this case, but it's a good read nonetheless.

A guest opinion piece in the NYT from an American high school senior noting how more and more colleges are marketing themselves as similar to Hogwarts -- and asking them to stop.

A University of Toronto prof speaks out against the locavore movement, saying that it's not good for the environment or the economy. There was also a follow-up Q&A with the prof.

Oh, Rowan, you make me sad: Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams speaks out against US election of second gay bishop.

The New York Times has a look at the controversy over gun control in Canada. It also briefly discusses the Montreal Massacre as the primary motivating event for the gun registry law.

An MIT team won the DARPA red-balloon challenge on Friday (I saw one of the balloons on Rte 2! Very exciting!). Part of their winning strategy was promising up to $2000 for tips. In response to this, one of the DARPA organizers said, "They got a huge amount of participation from shockingly little money." Has this man never heard of lotteries and contests, and the mad things people will do for a chance at a couple grand?

After the loss in New York state, the gay marriage battle shifts to New Jersey.

UK scientists have found a strong genetic link to severe childhood obesity.

Title: In Medias Res
Pairing and Characters: Kirk/McCoy
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
From the bridge2sickbay prompt: Kirk, McCoy - It's Everywhere You Want to Be

Leonard wondered how many CMOs made regular non-medical visits to the bridge...

***

Title: A Bourbon by Any other Name
Pairing and Characters: Kirk/McCoy
Rating: PG-13 maybe bordering on R?
Warnings: Abuse of bourbon
From the bridge2sickbay prompt: Kirk, McCoy - A different breed of bourbon

"Bones, I had no idea you were that much of a snob."

***

Title: Stiff Upper Lip
Pairing and Characters: Kirk, McCoy
Rating: PG
Warnings: If you're squicked by injury, pass this by.
From the bridge2sickbay prompt: Kirk, McCoy - Once you pop, you can't stop


"Why the hell didn't you tell me about this beforehand?" Jim demanded...