(no subject)

Happy birthday, awils1 and coffeeandink!

The dolphin tempted me...

In this week's 'wot abaht bestiality' update: Man who had sex for a year with a captive Dolphin called Dolly... claims SHE seduced him.

Question: when a dog humps his leg, does he assume that the pooch wants to get jiggy with him? I think what we have here are all those assumptions about dolphins as different.

He has clearly, you should excuse the term, milked this encounter for all it was worth:

Brenner told the story of their year-long affair relationship again in Dolphin Love, a new film which premiered last week at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Slamdance, which takes place at the same time as the more famous Sundance film festival, is seen as its edgier alternative and hosts more niche films.

Does 'edgier alternative... more niche', decode to 'nudge wink'?

In previous interviews about this encounter, which he also turned into a novel called Wet Goddess, Brenner has claimed the relationship was consensual.

This is not so much the Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name as the one That Will Not Shut Up.

The Poncey Artsie Higher Codswallop, I show u it:

Filmmakers Kareem Tabsch and Joey Daoud have defended their film's content, say that Brenner's experience is 'unique' and an 'appealing' subject for a documentary. They told the Miami New Times: 'However uncomfortable it can be as a subject matter, what Malcolm experienced is unique and very real and very serious to him. 'He is a member of a community (zoophiles) who live on the outermost fringes of society. 'Their reality is something most of us can not comprehend, relate to or know much about- all of that makes it all the more appealing to me as a subject to tackle.'

I think they really need to get together with the chap whose film inspired (I am not that 'inspired' is quite the word) this post, reviewed with a Poncery Level = Maximum by Peter Bradshaw.

We await the independent film-makers award for Best Bestiality Pic of the year, since this seems to be becoming practically a trend.

This really isn't the answer

I was irritated to come across, in a discussion on a post about under-representation of women characters to which somebody linked, the adjuration to 'write it yourself'.

(This was particularly ill-judged as the original poster is in fact a writer and has written quite a number of books which do not fall into this error.)

But, really.

Some people are readers, not writers, and there is no reason why they should not express preferences and put forward suggestions as to what they would like to see in the books they read.

Does this kind of dismissal to 'do it yourself' ever arise when people make comments about other unsatisfactory things? If, for example, one complains about e.g. some inadequacy in kitchen design, the lack of sufficient cupboards and counters and a layout that suggests that the designer has never tried to cook anything, ever, I don't think one is exhorted to Design and Build One's Own Kitchen. Or, should one, say, deplore the lack of, or inadequate depth of, pockets in women's clothing, is one told to go away and make one's own clothes? (though, actually, I would not entirely rule out that possibility). Is the answer to 'Girls' Departments' of overwhelming pinkiness in toyshops to handcraft suitable playthings oneself?

There is some recognition that given individuals do not necessarily have the resources, time, energy and skills to undertake various projects that might improve their daily life significantly.

Also, even if one can write one's own stories, there is the desire to see what other people might do with a wider range of characters. Astonish me!

Furthermore, supposing someone to be a writer, it may be that what they write is X, but among the things they read is Y, which they don't write.

Horses for courses, among other things. Among the works of history and biography that I should really like to see, and quite apart from not personally having infinite amounts of time and energy to research and write up, I should like these works to be produced by people who have certain areas of expertise that I don't. I'd really prefer the definitive work on suits for nullity of marriage to be written by someone with the legal history chops, and, much as I adore GB Stern, I am sure that there are people who have a much fuller and more nuanced understanding of early C20th fairly secularised Anglo-Jewish families which were part of wider international familial networks. (I also feel that perhaps I am not quite the person to be able to provide the best account of her conversion to Catholicism, no, really, Gladys, WTF?)