still pretty windy.

[hafital]

I work right by the water front and even on calm days it's windy here. Today was a real struggle getting to work. :) The wind kept pushing me every which way. LOL. Nearly got swept off to sea. hee.

In class we're reading Freud's Dora: A Fragment of a Case of Hysteria which I found deeply disturbing for some reason, and so did the rest of my classmates. More so than the actual text warranted, in my opinion. The professor had a tough time getting us off our disgust of Freud and onto the actual critique and analysis of the text in the context of the class (which is focused on the fin-de-siecle Decadent movement). Anyway, I mention this because at the start of class while we were waiting for the professor to show up, we were all commiserating over our many issues with Freud and how we felt he (mis)handled that poor unfortunate "Dora" and someone brought of Jung and then someone else brought up the speculation some have over Freud and Jung's "relationship". And of course I'm thinking that's an RPS pairing that can just die die die. And *then* someone else brought up (I had no hand in this at all, I swear) Tolkien and C.S. Lewis! and their supposed "love affair"! Slash is taking over the world! LOL. Meanwhile, I'm having a tough time not snorting in laughter, and the true test came when someone then brought up Frodo/Sam and how, some say, theoretically, it's supposed to be a reflection on Tolkien/C.S. Lewis. *boggle* From Freud to LOTR Frodo/Sam in about 10 minutes. :) It was rather surreal.

Should someone from that class actually stumble onto this post: Howdy!

So, recs.

First, carenejeans has written a lovely Highlander piece called Twelve Kisses (A Baker's Dozen) which I enjoyed muchly. Yay for new HL writers! woo. I loved how this story is structured, how it carried you through their developing relationship.

Second, I'm terribly late with this and I'm sure everyone's read it already, but if you haven't I recommend yahtzee63's X-Men story His Terrible Swift Sword. I don't read much in the X-Men fandom, but I have enjoyed the movies and I'd been hearing about this story all summer *g* and it was interesting to hear Yahtzee talk about it and stuff and I always admire an author who handles plot well. And it was a great story. :) Fun to read. Nice and long and I read bits and pieces in between work and so it lasted a long time and kept me entertained. I*loved* the Logan/Rogue relationship -- by far my favorite parts. The story was interesting and clever and I was engaged throughout. The Eric/Charles relationship, I must admit, is not so much for me. Neither is Bobby/John. Doomed relationships are just so doomed. *g* But I did realize reading this story that should I pick a slash pairing in this fandom, I'd likely go the Scott/Logan route. yum. :) There isn't any Scott/Logan in HTSS, but just their interaction I found really compelling. I like the "on the same side but we don't like each other" dynamic. Reminds me of early Voyager Chakotay/Paris. sigh. I so loved that pairing.

It's Talk Like a Pirate day. Arrrr. So, I'm asking, anyone know of good Jack/Norrington?

Comments

[nestra.livejournal.com]

Heh. My fin de siecle lit class yesterday talked about degeneration. We spent a lot of time rolling our eyes at the central ideas.

I am grateful we're not reading any Freud, though.

[hafital.livejournal.com]

I really rather like the fiction of the period. It's so weird and over the top. But yeah, the Freud was rough going. I'm still trying to figure out why I reacted so negatively to it.

[jacquez.livejournal.com]

Dora drove me INSANE. The bit that pushed me over the edge was when he asserted that Dora had something wrong with her because she was upset about the friend of her father's WHO KEPT STALKING HER AND TRYING TO FORCE HER TO HAVE SEX WITH HIM.

If I could time-travel back and stab old S.F. in the eye with a fork I would.

[hafital.livejournal.com]

Dora drove me INSANE. The bit that pushed me over the edge was when he asserted that Dora had something wrong with her because she was upset about the friend of her father's WHO KEPT STALKING HER AND TRYING TO FORCE HER TO HAVE SEX WITH HIM.

Oh my God that is EXACTLY the part that made me just red with anger. Well, obviously there's something wrong with her because she doesn't want to fuck this creepy guy who's coming on to a fourteen year old! Duh! *shiver* Clearly she's having sexual feelings for Freud and secretly wants to give him a kiss! At that part, I lost the last possible shred of respect I might have had for the man.

I'm so there with the fork.

[jacquez.livejournal.com]

I think it's massive cultural change that makes us see Freud the way we do. He violates things that we consider normal and good, and he's writing about a time when a girl like Dora had almost no power.

If, when I was fourteen, I'd said to my father "Dad, this friend of yours keeps trying to have sex with me", my father would have had a problem with that, and not with me. And I had an upbringing that said "People can't do this to you; if they do, tell someone." So I think part of my reaction is some kind of deep-rooted cultural offense, as well as sympathy for Dora.

My dad used to tell me that Freud was a smart man who got everything wrong. As I've grown older and read more S.F., I've come more into agreement with my dad on this issue.