The Blog - The Archive

Edit, much much later: This was me with my privilege and my arse hanging out. I'm sorry about this, and I take it all back. I'm not taking it off the internet, because I don't want to hide the fact that I was an arse, but I want to say that I'm sorry I was such a crappy person back then (yes, I've emailed the girl involved and apologised to her too) and I'm doing my best to be a better person now. My personal advice would be to skip this post, lest it shatter your good opinion of me as a human being and go tie your hair in odango or make the moo-less chocolate pie. Again I'm sorry.

   Things that really tick me off include...
people who accuse me of racism. In high school, my best friends were Lan (Vietnamese), Nada (Lebanese) and Sarah (English). And while I appreciate that indeed, my use of characters of a certain bloodline in a story was stereotypical and in some ways bad, didn't this person ever read the superman comics or watch Lois and Clark? Every non-main character in that show was two-dimensional, so if I was indeed guilty of following their lead in my first chapter, I don't see what was so wrong about that. But I'm digressing. For the sake of making me feel better (and because Drew said that I should put this where others can read it), I'm going to post both the email I recieved and my reply to it.
I'll let you all know if anything further happens about this.

______@aol.com wrote:
i was reading ur story fly me to the moon and i thought it was cruel of you to say the bad people were of "arabic descent" and FYI there is no such thing as "arabic" descent

Catherine - Sailor Coruscant wrote:
Dear ______@aol.com (not sure what else to call you, given that you haven't told me your name):

If you had gone on to read more of the story, you would have seen that it was only in the first chapter that the bad guys were of "Arabic descent". Since then, there have been bad guys who are blonde and dark-haired european, and indeed, I think that perhaps I have been somewhat racist only in the fact tht I haven't gotten around to writing some bad guys who are black, native american or asian. I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually, it's a long story.

Now, as to your lovely abbreviation "FYI" (what happened, couldn't remember how to spell "information"?), I refer you to our good friend the dictionary (Websters, 1982):
Arabic: of Arabia or the Arabs.
Arabia: peninsula, largely a dessert, in SW Asia, also known as the Arabian Peninsula.
Arab: a native or inhabitant of Arabia.
Descent: lineage, ancestry; one generation (in a lineage).

Now, based simply on that dictionary definition, anyone whose family for at least one generation has lived on the Arabian Peninsula is of Arabic descent. Perhaps I was mistaken here.

And while it is true that, for the most part, Lois and Clark seemed to only feature white peoples, I thought to spread the joy around and write characters that were more multicultral, as one would expect in a modern Metropolis.

I do apologise for having offended you, and hope to share the joy around by introducing new and exciting bad guys from different cultures as the story progresses.

Thanks for sharing your concerns with me. They have been duly noted.

Catherine - Sailor Coruscant

Edit: Have removed email address at the request of my correspondant. Perhaps I will add further replies tomorrow, but right now I have work to do. Apparently being willing to embrace, accept and understand the way a person of a different culture things is not conducive to being non-racist.

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   Things that make me laugh include...

The "Daddy On A Rampage" Scale -- D.O.A.R.S. - As outlined by Akin Z

0.- Glare - Barefist:	He's a stranger who's asking for the time.
1.- Baseball Bat (iron):	He's a friend who's holding your hand to help you get off the bus.
2.- Hockey Club (sharp):	He's a very good friend who's giving you a birthday hug.
3.- Small Gun (.33):	He's a very, very good friend who's kissing you on the cheek (the friendly way!).
4.- The Family's Sword:	He's kissing you. On the lips. He's your boyfriend. He's doomed.
5.- Shotgun (single barrel):	He's kissing you, you are kissing back. Very intimate.
(double barrel):	Watch your hands you two!
6.- Magnum (.45):	He's not watching his hands. Neither are you.
7.- Hunting Rifle for rhinos):	Phew! It's getting hot in here!
8.- Tommy Gun (classic design):	It's getting TOO hot in here!
9.- Chain Gun (doom like):	Last warning...
10.- Bazooka:	*blush*
11.- Satellite Beam:	That's gross!!! AND DADDY SAW IT!!!
XX.- Tuxedo Suit:	Oh well... It happens in the best families... ^-^ (Happy ending!)

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   Hehe...
Notes of Note

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   Lookie Lookie...
I got woken up early this morning, by a very enthusiastic Australia Post worker. He rang the doorbell about eighteen times, which was probably what was required to get me up and out of bed when one considers that I'd only gone to bed five hours previously. But that's not the point. The point is that he had this great big box to hand over, which was accepted gratefully.
Now, I did try to go back to sleep. Really I did. But the box called to me. And thus it had to be opened. And it was. I suppose one could believe that this image had been photoshopped from that which appeared on Amazon, with a little creativity and the like, but just to prove that it really is what I say it is, here are two more images, showcasing the never-before-seen other side of the "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon" boxset: and So fear me! For I have 46 episodes of subtitled Sailor Moon on DVD, even though it still hasn't officially been released yet!
Rah!!!!!

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