Several Things

So, Neil Gaiman was also at the Frankfurt Book Fair. I knew that. And cursed my extremely tight schedule for not being able to drop by at the Heyne (= his German publisher) booth when he was there to get anything signed. Ah well, I probably would only have stammered and embarassed myself and said something like "Mr. Gaiman, Sir, I really like your work". Anyway, if you want to know his impressions, read his journal.. Also, who told the poor guy Germans didn't want their books signed after readings so that he was surprised by the 300 or so who did? To quote Quark on the Ferengi, we're a deeply misunderstood race.

With something called "marriage protection week" in the US and a row among the Anglicans about gay clergymen on our side of the Atlantic, it's time to ponder the attitude of various cultures and religions towards homosexuality again, throughout history. Which rozk does, very intelligently, here. One of the many great things about this post is that Roz doesn't go for the easy (and wrong) cliché of seeing the ancient world as some blissful haven of buggery.


Emma Thompson plays Sybil Trelawney in Prisoner of Azkaban? How come I only find out about this now? Ah yes, I was at the Book Fair. Anyway, it's great news.

On the fanfic side of things, I have to recommend several gems. Firstly, artaxastra did it again. The start of X-Men, from four points of view, here. Secondly, I already pimped this one, but it bears repeating since the author has just updated a great story about Connor post-Home. Co-starring the late Daniel Holtz, Lilah and Faith. And lastly, Kathy pointed me towards a wonderful Pirates of the Carribean story. It's Jack/Norrington eventually, but if you don't care for m/m slash, you can still give it a try and stick to the first part, which is strictly Jack'n' Norrington. (Looking at honorh here.) The dialogue sparkles, and the characterisation is superb. Of course, I can't guarantee you won't be drawn into reading the second part...