links for 2010-01-23

Pant will besonders heiratswillige Paare ins Land locken. So sollen gleichgeschlechtliche Paare mit "Pink Mountain" am Fuße des Mount Everest heiraten können. Die Gäste sollen dabei auf dem Rücken von Elefanten zur Zeremonie gebracht werden.

When you really think about it, a lot of fantasy has kind of creepy subtext.
The message in these fantasies seems to be support the status quo! Don’t question it! Change is bad! What does it mean that we readers find such comfort in these fantasies that we’ve made quite a few of them bestsellers?
And what about all those fantasies which feature magic-users with inheritable, as opposed to learned, skills? I’m all for the idea of talent running in families;
and whenever the “specialness” transcends humanity in this way, it takes on an unpleasant whiff of eugenics.

For gay viewers and especially for gay fans of science fiction, Caprica offers something special in the form of Sam Adama (Sasha Roiz), the brother of Joseph. Sam is special because for all of the talk of science fiction's progressive thinking and social relevance, nearly all science fiction series — most notably Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica itself — have failed miserably when it comes to gay inclusion.