From: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org (chakram-refugees-digest) To: chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Subject: chakram-refugees-digest V4 #194 Reply-To: chakram-refugees@smoe.org Sender: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk chakram-refugees-digest Thursday, July 29 2004 Volume 04 : Number 194 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: [chakram-refugees] Eurotrip [IfeRae@aol.com] Re: [chakram-refugees] Minor YAXI in Endgame. [IfeRae@aol.com] Re: [chakram-refugees] Endgame [IfeRae@aol.com] Re: [chakram-refugees] Random thoughts on Ides [IfeRae@aol.com] Re: [chakram-refugees] Random thoughts on Ides [cr ] Re: [chakram-refugees] Minor YAXI in Endgame. [cr ] Re: [chakram-refugees] Spider-Man reviews [cr ] [chakram-refugees] Complete World of Greek Mythology [KLOSSNER9@aol.com] [chakram-refugees] Action Chicks book [KLOSSNER9@aol.com] [chakram-refugees] Xena mention in Wonder Woman book review [KLOSSNER9@ao] [chakram-refugees] Chakram No.27 [IfeRae@aol.com] Re: [chakram-refugees] Catwoman MOSTLY OT [Lee Daley I was very pleasantly surprised to see how good Lucy was in it. She > totally cracked me up. She actually ACTED as a person who happens to work > as a dominatrix. She didn't just posture herself with a "wink, wink, > nudge, nudge looka me pretending to be a madam" outlook that many people > would have used. > > I admit, I shelled out for the DVD, but only watched Lucy's parts. I agree with your "take." I also liked the way she took the boy's flyer and managed to convey, "Ah, another silly boy" (sigh) and "Oooo, another silly boy" (caCHING) at the same time. And when she whipped that robe off to get down to business, she scared even me! - -- Ife ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 03:02:02 EDT From: IfeRae@aol.com Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Minor YAXI in Endgame. In a message dated 7/27/2004 2:42:47 AM Pacific Daylight Time, cr@orcon.net.nz writes: > The > >treaty was a test which Caesar flunked in Brutus' eyes and Brutus flunked > >in Caesar's eyes. > > Hmmm, could be. I guess that would make the YAXI go away - that it was a > setup by Xena to cause friction between Brutus and Caesar. > > (Or of course it could just be a slip by the writers who missed the > implications of it - but we prefer not to resort to that unless all else > fails ;) > Well, not sure if it makes the YAXI you had in mind go away, or if the writers realized all the dangling ends they'd left. I simply felt that's what Xena had in mind with the "chink in Caesar's armor" comment, which might explain why she might not've cared whether or how much Gabs' signature revealed Xena's involvement. The way we were left, it's possible Caesar's spies told him, which Xena might've considered. Either way, I think she gave Brutus enough honest info for him to protect himself on one hand, yet provoke the kind of "aha" moment for Brutus that would weaken him as a powerful ally of Caesar's and therefor weaken Caesar himself. - -- Ife ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 03:02:05 EDT From: IfeRae@aol.com Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Endgame In a message dated 7/27/2004 2:42:43 AM Pacific Daylight Time, cr@orcon.net.nz writes: > >I agree that Lucy was speaking of Gabrielle, but I also believe she was > >referring to Amarice in the "fumbling" aspect. She certainly was > >"fumbling" in terms of her identity as an Amazon, her ability to be part of > >a community, and her judgment about when to talk/run/fight. Yes, she was > >good at > >self-preservation on her own, but could be a danger to herself and others > >when in a group setting. She was a child in many ways -- potentially more > >dangerous precisely because of her lethal combat skills. > > > >-- Ife > > What do you mean 'fumbling'? Undecided, maybe, and finding her way, but > not I think incompetent like Joxer. >> That's what I meant. - -- Ife ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 03:02:05 EDT From: IfeRae@aol.com Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Random thoughts on Ides In a message dated 7/27/2004 2:42:44 AM Pacific Daylight Time, cr@orcon.net.nz writes: > Given that she was weaponless > >in Ides, with a group of pacifists, I doubt she thought listening to > >hot-headed Amarice would do much. > > But then, Gabs was weaponless in Ides by her own choice.>> Um, weaponless is weaponless. Even if she had been armed, I doubt she would've thought she and Amarice should take on all those soldiers. She didn't have the "Xena's down and out" motivation of the Gabinator. > You can't blame Amarice for that situation. They were up s**t > creek and it wasn't Amarice who forgot the paddle ;) >> I wasn't blaming Amarice for that. I was saying I could see why Gabs wouldn't agree with Amarice's "let's take 'em out" approach to the situation. And Amarice was > > _not_ there by her own choice, she was there as ordered by Xena. So if > anyone had a right to complain about the situation, I think it was Amarice. > > Lumbered by Xena's order with 'protecting' a companion who wouldn't lift a > finger to help herself. >> Amarice chose to follow Xena's orders -- to a point. She would've been killed right off the bat in that jail, if Gabrielle hadn't intervened. > > >She had faith in Xena, which Amarice did not. > > That's ridiculous. Amarice certainly had respect for Xena's abilities, as > evidenced by the fact that she wanted to hang out with Xena. One could > say, > more respect than Gabrielle had, since Gab spent most of Season 4 ragging on > > Xena about her use of violence. > > The only way I can interpret that 'faith in Xena' comment is to assume > Gabrielle thought "Well, I don't have to lift a finger to help myself, > because Xena will always rescue me". (Using, as we have noticed, as much > violence as was expedient in the process :) If you call that 'faith', I > call it total irresponsibility. But in fact, Gabrielle at that > point and for some time past seemed to have more faith in Eli than she did > in > Xena anyway. >> Yes, I meant Gabs had "faith" -- not simply respect. I'm not judging whether that was irresponsible, certainly not moreso than the other times Gabs believed Xena would find a way. However, I also don't think that's why Gabs didn't resist. I think she didn't resist because she didn't think it was practical or in keeping with her new approach. I found it interesting that, while Eli had faith in something else, Gabs essentially still put her faith in Xena -- as the source or instrument of their salvation. I think she even says something like, "I knew you would come." > > Amarice, OTOH, was attempting to do what Xena had ordered her to do - look > after Gabrielle. And that most certainly did not include 'having faith in > Xena' and doing nothing to defend Gabs - else why would Xena have bothered > to > send her in the first place? Xena issued that order because she knew Gabs > was incapable (had chosen to be incapable) of looking after herself. Or > just possibly it was to stop Gabs from following Xena and getting in the > way.>> I'm not judging Amarice in that regard either. She respected Xena's orders and Xena's faith in her, so she put her faith in what she knew best -- herself. I (and probably Xena) wouldn't have expected otherwise. > > >Once Xena lay helpless, Gabs didn't see inner peace as a useful > >alternative. > > That's the best euphemism for the Gabspaz I've seen yet > > But you make it sound like a rational decision. I think it was more > instinctive. >> LOL! I believe it was both. If Xena hadn't been incapacitated, Gabs might've focused on making sure Eli's folks got out safely, trusting that Xena would do her thing as usual. Xena probably would have, if not for Callisto. After that, Gabs knew it was up to her. > > >As for Eli, in Fallen Angels we learn that his appearing to > >nothing included prayers which in fact accomplished more than swords ever > >could. > > Errm, sorry? I didn't notice him doing any praying in Ides. And in fact > it wasn't prayer that saved everybody's neck including his, it was Xena and > her sword. (And Amarice's sword too, don't forget). None of the twaddle > in the condemned cell about 'doing nothing' was going to help anybody. >> We don't know what he was doing during his meditations in Ides. Xena could've been the answer to a prayer we didn't hear. I'm just saying that, after Fallen Angel and Seeds of Faith, I realized Eli's moments of stillness or silence might've involved getting in touch with a higher spiritual presence -- not exactly doing "nothing." > > >>Though, Amarice's questioning doesn't stop at Eli and Gabs, she was quite > >>ready to question Xena's decisions on occasion. In the past that was > >>usually done by Gabrielle, but Gabs' questions were usually dictated by > >>morality. Amarice's questions were strictly practical. >. > > > >And often short-sighted. :-) > > No, 'practical'. In order to take the long-term view, first you have to > survive today. Gabrielle's morality was not exactly a long-term >> >> survival-enhancing charactersitc, considering the number of times she >> dropped >> Xena in it. >> >> Amarice's attack on the guard did not seem particularly "practical" to me under the circumstances. She survived only because Gabs used her body as a shield and appealed to Brutus' sense of justice -- practical, given the players. Gabs did the same thing for Xena in Crusader, this time appealing to what would work with Najara. In both cases, Gabs might well have been killed, but managed to talk herself and others into surviving longer. I would also argue that she didn't "drop" Xena into anything -- unless you're saying Gabs turned the WP into a mindless disciple with no free will. > > >Mind you, I liked that she pointed out the > >contradictory (some might say hypocritical) aspects in X&G. However, as > >adults, X& G had experienced the "grays" of trying to fight for good > >against evil. Amarice still had the black-and-white view of the young -- > >unable to appreciate G's courage and wisdom or X's strategic thinking and > >choice of violence as a last resort. I should add that "adult" and "young" > >are not to me necessarily tied to chronological age. > > > >-- Ife > > What 'wisdom' exactly was that? Sitting there like a bump on a log doing > _nothing_? Since Gabrielle was about to renounce that sort of thing in no > uncertain terms, one can hardly blame Amarice for not instantly appreciating > > the wisdom of that approach. >> You keep forgetting that Amarice would've been dead, if not for Gabs -- even if she she would've died because she was there to protect Gabs. Perhaps that seems contrived to you, but that's what we were given. - -- Ife ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 21:11:07 +1200 From: cr Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Random thoughts on Ides On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 19:02, IfeRae@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 7/27/2004 2:42:44 AM Pacific Daylight Time, > > cr@orcon.net.nz writes: > > Given that she was weaponless > > > > >in Ides, with a group of pacifists, I doubt she thought listening to > > >hot-headed Amarice would do much. > > > > But then, Gabs was weaponless in Ides by her own choice.>> > > Um, weaponless is weaponless. Even if she had been armed, I doubt she > would've thought she and Amarice should take on all those soldiers. She > didn't have the "Xena's down and out" motivation of the Gabinator. > > > You can't blame Amarice for that situation. They were up s**t > > creek and it wasn't Amarice who forgot the paddle ;) >> > > I wasn't blaming Amarice for that. I was saying I could see why Gabs > wouldn't agree with Amarice's "let's take 'em out" approach to the > situation. You may have noticed that Amarice, when clearly outnumbered, didn't try to take on Brutus's platoon. But that wasn't really the point. If there had been just Brutus and a couple of guards, which would have given Amarice a fighting chance of saving them all, would she have got any help from Gabrielle or Eli? I think not. In fact, but for Amarice's presence, Brutus could have captured the lot just by sending one soldier with a sword. "Hands up everybody and follow me back to jail and certain execution". And they would have been stupid enough to have done it, too. > > And Amarice was > > _not_ there by her own choice, she was there as ordered by Xena. So if > > anyone had a right to complain about the situation, I think it was > > Amarice. > > > > Lumbered by Xena's order with 'protecting' a companion who wouldn't lift > > a finger to help herself. >> > > Amarice chose to follow Xena's orders -- to a point. She would've been > killed right off the bat in that jail, if Gabrielle hadn't intervened. At what point did she depart from Xena's orders? She took a very long shot at being able to stage an escape. It didn't work, but since they were all (including Gabrielle) facing execution, how was taking that chance departing from Xena's orders? Xena would have done the same. > > >She had faith in Xena, which Amarice did not. > > > > That's ridiculous. Amarice certainly had respect for Xena's abilities, > > as evidenced by the fact that she wanted to hang out with Xena. One > > could say, > > more respect than Gabrielle had, since Gab spent most of Season 4 ragging > > on Xena about her use of violence. > > > > The only way I can interpret that 'faith in Xena' comment is to assume > > Gabrielle thought "Well, I don't have to lift a finger to help myself, > > because Xena will always rescue me". (Using, as we have noticed, as > > much violence as was expedient in the process :) If you call that > > 'faith', I call it total irresponsibility. But in fact, Gabrielle > > at that point and for some time past seemed to have more faith in Eli > > than she did in > > Xena anyway. >> > > Yes, I meant Gabs had "faith" -- not simply respect. I'm not judging > whether that was irresponsible, certainly not moreso than the other times > Gabs believed Xena would find a way. However, I also don't think that's > why Gabs didn't resist. I think she didn't resist because she didn't think > it was practical or in keeping with her new approach. That, to me, is irresponsible, every time she did it. "I can screw up all I like, Xena will get me out of it". But I agree, that isn't why Gabrielle didn't resist. She didn't resist because of Eli's 'way of love'. I don't think practicality came into it. > I found it > interesting that, while Eli had faith in something else, Gabs essentially > still put her faith in Xena -- as the source or instrument of their > salvation. I think she even says something like, "I knew you would come." No, it was "I'm so glad to see you! " But she did say to Amarice: AMARICE I always thought I'd die in battle, not hung on a cross. Do you think Xena will make it in time? GABRIELLE She'll be here. > > Amarice, OTOH, was attempting to do what Xena had ordered her to do - > > look after Gabrielle. And that most certainly did not include 'having > > faith in Xena' and doing nothing to defend Gabs - else why would Xena > > have bothered to > > send her in the first place? Xena issued that order because she knew > > Gabs was incapable (had chosen to be incapable) of looking after herself. > > Or just possibly it was to stop Gabs from following Xena and getting in > > the way.>> > > I'm not judging Amarice in that regard either. She respected Xena's orders > and Xena's faith in her, so she put her faith in what she knew best -- > herself. I (and probably Xena) wouldn't have expected otherwise. Yes, she did the best she could in the circumstances. That's why she took the slender chance of catching the Romans by surprise in the cell - it was a totally forlorn hope (though of course Xena would have pulled it off!), but she knew they were all going to die anyway. As she said to Eli, "You know if I had a little backup, maybe I could have pulled it off". I know that was unrealistic, the amount of backup she could expect from Eli's flock of sheep was precisely zero. > > >Once Xena lay helpless, Gabs didn't see inner peace as a useful > > >alternative. > > > > That's the best euphemism for the Gabspaz I've seen yet > > > > But you make it sound like a rational decision. I think it was more > > instinctive. >> > > LOL! I believe it was both. If Xena hadn't been incapacitated, Gabs > might've focused on making sure Eli's folks got out safely, trusting that > Xena would do her thing as usual. Xena probably would have, if not for > Callisto. After that, Gabs knew it was up to her. Interesting that on this occasion, Gabs didn't throw herself on Xena and yell out "You'll have to kill us both!" Or similar sentiments. Maybe she was too far away. I still think she just snapped. (Heck, after months of having dangerous things happen around me and carefully not defending myself, culminating in a whole day in a cell doing nothing with Eli, I'd feel like killing something. Anything. ;) But then, I';m not Gabrielle ) > > >As for Eli, in Fallen Angels we learn that his appearing to > > >nothing included prayers which in fact accomplished more than swords > > > ever could. > > > > Errm, sorry? I didn't notice him doing any praying in Ides. And in > > fact it wasn't prayer that saved everybody's neck including his, it was > > Xena and her sword. (And Amarice's sword too, don't forget). None of > > the twaddle in the condemned cell about 'doing nothing' was going to help > > anybody. >> > > We don't know what he was doing during his meditations in Ides. Xena > could've been the answer to a prayer we didn't hear. Umm, something like "God of Love and total non-violence, please send an angry ex-warlord to kill lots of these Romans so we can go free" ? But anyway, Xena was going to rescue Gabrielle, we always knew that. Any prayers from Eli in that direction were totally superfluous. Not only that, but if he prayed for Xena's success they were ineffectual too, against Callisto. Unless he just prayed for rescue for himself and his flock (excluding Gabrielle) and didn't bother with Xena. > I'm just saying > that, after Fallen Angel and Seeds of Faith, I realized Eli's moments of > stillness or silence might've involved getting in touch with a higher > spiritual presence -- not exactly doing "nothing." Well, he didn't say that. ELI You don't understand, Amarice. In order to become a perfect vessel for love, one has to cease all activity, not only physical, but mental as well. It's only when you've reached that state of emptiness, that you're ready, at last, to be filled with love. Seems to me that love didn't work. What worked was Xena and her sword. And Amarice's. > > >>Though, Amarice's questioning doesn't stop at Eli and Gabs, she was > > >> quite ready to question Xena's decisions on occasion. In the past > > >> that was usually done by Gabrielle, but Gabs' questions were usually > > >> dictated by morality. Amarice's questions were strictly practical. > > >> >. > > > > > >And often short-sighted. :-) > > > > No, 'practical'. In order to take the long-term view, first you have to > > survive today. Gabrielle's morality was not exactly a long-term >> > > survival-enhancing charactersitc, considering the number of times she > > dropped > > Xena in it. > > Amarice's attack on the guard did not seem particularly "practical" to me > under the circumstances. She survived only because Gabs used her body as a > shield and appealed to Brutus' sense of justice -- practical, given the > players. It was a desperate outside-chance attempt which, as I said before, would probably have worked for Xena But anyway, what was to lose? She knew they were going to die anyway, rather go down fighting than be executed. > Gabs did the same thing for Xena in Crusader, this time appealing > to what would work with Najara. In both cases, Gabs might well have been > killed, but managed to talk herself and others into surviving longer. She tried the same thing for David in Giant Killer, IIRC. GABRIELLE You're gonna have to kill the both of us! DAVID Are you out of your mind?! GABRIELLE I know what I'm doing. DAGON All right. GABRIELLE What? DAGON I said, 'All right.' We'll kill the both of you. I got a good laugh out of that. Dagon obviously has a sense of (black) humour. > I > would also argue that she didn't "drop" Xena into anything -- unless you're > saying Gabs turned the WP into a mindless disciple with no free will. Umm, no, I was thinking of occasoions like The Debt. I don't recall her letting Xena exercise her free will in that matter, do you? Return of Callisto when she couldn't kill Callisto and Xena got captured trying to rescue her. I don't recall her consulting Xena on that, either. Legacy when she couldn't keep her mouth shut and derailed Xena's plans broadside across all tracks. I'm sure there are quite a few more..... > > >Mind you, I liked that she pointed out the > > >contradictory (some might say hypocritical) aspects in X&G. However, as > > >adults, X& G had experienced the "grays" of trying to fight for good > > >against evil. Amarice still had the black-and-white view of the young -- > > >unable to appreciate G's courage and wisdom or X's strategic thinking > > > and choice of violence as a last resort. I should add that "adult" and > > > "young" are not to me necessarily tied to chronological age. > > > > > >-- Ife > > > > What 'wisdom' exactly was that? Sitting there like a bump on a log > > doing _nothing_? Since Gabrielle was about to renounce that sort of > > thing in no uncertain terms, one can hardly blame Amarice for not > > instantly appreciating the wisdom of that approach. >> > > You keep forgetting that Amarice would've been dead, if not for Gabs -- > even if she she would've died because she was there to protect Gabs. > Perhaps that seems contrived to you, but that's what we were given. > > > -- Ife I expect Amarice would acknowledge Gabs saving her life, temporarily. Though she would rather have had, as she said, some 'backup'. ;) But that's not what I was referring to. I was referring to the total futility of Gabs and Eli - well, I'll leave it to Amarice to express it: AMARICE We're gonna be nailed to crosses tomorrow morning and you two are bragging about doing _nothing_?! cr ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 22:58:18 +1200 From: cr Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Minor YAXI in Endgame. On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 19:02, IfeRae@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 7/27/2004 2:42:47 AM Pacific Daylight Time, > > cr@orcon.net.nz writes: > > > The > > > treaty was a test which Caesar flunked in Brutus' eyes and Brutus > > > flunked in Caesar's eyes. > > > > Hmmm, could be. I guess that would make the YAXI go away - that it was > > a setup by Xena to cause friction between Brutus and Caesar. > > > > (Or of course it could just be a slip by the writers who missed the > > implications of it - but we prefer not to resort to that unless all else > > fails ;) > > Well, not sure if it makes the YAXI you had in mind go away, It does, because the YAXI was the contradiction between telling Brutus not to mention Xena, and giving him a treaty that would have tipped Caesar off. If the contradiction was intentional on Xena's part, then no YAXI. > or if the > writers realized all the dangling ends they'd left. I simply felt that's > what Xena had in mind with the "chink in Caesar's armor" comment, which > might explain why she might not've cared whether or how much Gabs' > signature revealed Xena's involvement. The way we were left, it's possible > Caesar's spies told him, which Xena might've considered. Either way, I > think she gave Brutus enough honest info for him to protect himself on one > hand, yet provoke the kind of "aha" moment for Brutus that would weaken him > as a powerful ally of Caesar's and therefor weaken Caesar himself. > > -- Ife Well, it's a good rationalisation, anyway cr ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 23:05:26 +1200 From: cr Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Spider-Man reviews On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 06:47, KTL wrote: > > Kirsten Dunst's character improved a lot in this movie. In the first, she > tended to scream more than was necessary and was not self-reliant. In the > second film she thinks more for herself. > > > Now who does THAT sound like? > > Yup-cr. ;-> > > KT What, I scream a lot? I assure you, only when independent thought convinces me it's appropriate. cr ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 19:26:24 EDT From: KLOSSNER9@aol.com Subject: [chakram-refugees] Complete World of Greek Mythology Below are the contents of The Complete World of Greek Mythology, by Richard Buxton. Thames and Hudson/Norton, 2004. $39.95. Note the last part--Greek myths in the modern world. This might have the TV shows. Anyway, the book looks interesting. Boeotian "Contexts, Sources, Meanings" describes the main literary and artistic sources for Greek myths, and their contexts, such as ritual and theater. "Myths of Origin" includes stories about the beginning of the cosmos, the origins of the gods, the first humans, and the founding of communities. "The Olympians: Power, Honor, Sexuality" examines the activities of all the main divinities. "Heroic exploits" concentrates on the adventures of Perseus, Jason, Herakles, and other heroes. "Family sagas" explores the dramas and catastrophes that befall heroes and heroines. "A Landscape of Myths" sets the stories within the context of the mountains, caves, seas, and rivers of Greece, Crete, Troy, and the Underworld. "Greek Myths after the Greeks" describes the rich tradition of retelling, from the Romans, through the Renaissance, to the twenty-first century. ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 19:42:20 EDT From: KLOSSNER9@aol.com Subject: [chakram-refugees] Action Chicks book review of new book in Choice magazine, June 2004 Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture, ed. by Sherrie A. Inness. Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. 293 p. $59.95; paperback, $18.95. This volume looks at women's aggressive images in comics, film, television, wrestling, video games, female action figures, and science fiction--that is, at contemporary heroines who defy gender stereotypes. One of the strengths of the study lies in its analysis of how contemporary tough-women images differ from earlier representations fo forceful women. The contributors look at how the new styles and behaviors may suggest "a profound shift in the relationship of women to power, sex and aggression," and they explore various characteristics of women heroines, some contradictory--e.g., how toughness and maternity can go hand on hand. The dynamic of women in powerful feminine community is examined in Xenia [sic!]: Warrior Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Although the subject of this study is narrow and addresses areas not always encountered in scholarly stuides, the book will be valuable for those interested in women's studies, feminism and popular culture. Summing up: Recommended. Besides not knowing how to spell Xena, the reviewer did not meniton Inness' earlier book Tough Girls (1998), on the same subject, or two more recent books - -- Athena's Daughters: Television's New Women Warriors, by Frances Early, and The Warrior Women of Television, by Dawn Heinecken. Boeotian ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 19:50:49 EDT From: KLOSSNER9@aol.com Subject: [chakram-refugees] Xena mention in Wonder Woman book review My local paper, July 25, 2004, published a syndicated review by Michael Dirda of the Washington Post, of three new books by Les Daniel on Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. The reviewer writes of Wonder Woman-- "She presented a usable role model for the girls who would eventually spearhead the feminist movement of the 1970s. (Compare Xena and Buffy in the 1990s.)" Later he refers to the three heores as "the Man of Steel, the Dark Knight and the warrior-princess." The book looks like a good one for Wonder Women fans. Dirda writes-- "It's important to stress how good Dirda's text is, if only because the illustrations and layout of these three volumes display so much eye-popping, gosh-wow, full-color razzle-dazzle." The book is --Wonder Woman: The Life and Times of the Amazon Princess, by Les Daniels. Chronicle Books, 2004. 206 p. $18.95. Boeotian ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 19:57:24 EDT From: IfeRae@aol.com Subject: [chakram-refugees] Chakram No.27 Oooo, I got my Chakram Newsletter No.27 today (7/28). Haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it has an interview with ROC, Steve Sears on "Past Imperfect," Paul Coyle on "The Execution," and photos from the 2004 convention. - -- Ife ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 21:47:39 -0400 From: Lee Daley Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Catwoman MOSTLY OT KT wrote in part: >>Of course, we've all been spoiled by Lucy's absolutely dead on >>presentation of a warrior at work. Lucy's presentation was that of a "hero (shero?)" at work. The average "warrior" is ill-fed, ill-rested, ill-led, ill-washed, and is mostly motivated to keep him/herself and his/her companions alive (actually those people that Xena kicks the stuffing out of). "Band of Brothers" did a good job of presenting this reality. "The Last Samurai" did a decent job of showing the transition from the classical "hero" to the modern "warrior". I think "The Way" is indicative of Xena's feeling about being a "warrior", it is a dirty, nasty job, you have a hard time feeling good about yourself. Krishna's speech about "when you ride into battle...." says much about the concept of "a just war". (and to me is a crock of .....) It's hard to feel good about ending a life, you do it, but you don't have to like it, mostly you dehumanize the enemy and that lets you sleep at night (if sheer exhaustion doesn't). Combat sucks, no two ways about it. Thank The Goddess that in this generation the public can divorce the warriors from the war, that certainly was not the case in my generation. We need to remember that the genera we are dealing with is fantasy. Reality has no such fine philosophical points. Enough of my rant. >>However, I can use this idea for Catwoman. I could go buy a ticket for >>that movie and then go watch another. Well, I'll just wait for it to show up on cable, I don't have a Nelson box on my TV so it won't have any sociological or monetary impact. LeeD, Warrior Jester ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ End of chakram-refugees-digest V4 #194 **************************************