spark; stranger; scripture; sting
I went to a wedding earlier this summer. I'm in my 30s, so I go to a lot of weddings, but this one was special: it was the marriage of two people who I had met online, and I attended it with a crowd of other people I had met online. In fact, out of the 20ish people there who I knew, I had only met two of them in person before, despite years of close friendship. It was one of the most joyful experiences of my life.
I've reflected before on how it felt to move to a city and find myself part of a supportive queer community, and this was that dialed up to 11. Here there was no need to find common ground or interests, because we'd done all of that already--it was how we'd stumbled into friendship in the first place. Later, my mom inquired if anyone had asked me why my name was Door, and I was initially baffled by the question. What we each wanted to be called was a nonissue, quickly dealt with. Some preferred to go by their real names, some by an internet handle, and nearly all had nicknames--which frequently varied based on who was speaking to them--earned from long-ago online community engagement. As delightful as it was to find a home and community in my city with people who understand identity as a sometimes-shifting process, among this internet-based group it was an accepted, unspoken truth.
I came of age with the internet, so I remember when it was this terrifying frontier. We were warned never to use our real names and not to trust anyone we met online because they were probably lying to us. I think the internet today is more terrifying than it was in the 90s, for very different reasons, and I cannot argue that people lie online. But in my experience of being part of communities on the internet--this one and others--I've found that mostly, we are telling each other truths. Truths which are often far more important and interesting than where we live or what we do for a living.
Every day, I check in with various group chats--some of these are people I met first in real life and people who I see on a regular basis, some are people who have since moved further afield and the chat is how we keep in touch. And one or two are composed of people who I found via twitter, or tumblr, or even livejournal--people whose faces I may not know even if the rest of them I do. I love each of these groups equally, all of them made up of real friends. I may not meet all of them in person, but oh, if I do--there is joy.
Dog Thing
Mixed Media
good reads: Instead of gnashing my teeth about my continuing inability to read fiction, I have been trying to read as much nonfiction as my brain will let me. My particular areas of nonfiction interest right now are British country houses and Europe during the interwar period (queer folks in particular), so to that end I read The Story of the Country House: A History of Places and People by Clive Aslet, which was a comprehensive and sometimes gossipy tracing of forts, castles, grand houses, anything we might think now as constituting a "country house." On the whole, I enjoyed it! I also read The House Party by Adrian Tinniswood, which was a slim volume I had seen described as an epilogue to his book about the end of the British country house (which I read earlier this year), and it was that! It's very slim, so don't go in expecting a heavy history--this is a sparkling overview.
The fiction I have managed to read have been two dated mysteries by Barbara Michaels--Into the Darkness and Someone in the House. I'd recommend the first only if you have a high tolerance level for rich people nonsense, and the second if you really, really like reading about haunted houses.
good film: If no one has told you to go see Nope yet, let me be the one: go see Nope. It's an incredible piece of filmmaking, brilliant and elegant. I saw it nearly two months ago and am still thinking about it. If you are also a weenie about horror, let me pass along my friend's comment which got my butt in the cinema seat: it's tense, but it's not scary. In more things which are not typically my thing, I watched Prey, the new Predator movie which is set in the American Plains in the 18th century and sees a predator facing off against a Comanche woman. It was my first Predator movie, and I had a great time! As did my dog, who loved watching all the animals.
This past week, I've watched the first two Peter Ustinov portrayals of Hercule Poirot, in Death on the Nile (1978) and Evil Under the Sun (1982). Great films, and Evil Under the Sun in particular is a visual feast. The dramatic coastline? The costumes? Yes, please.
I also watched The Last of Sheila, a 1973 murder mystery cowritten by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins aptly described by my friend Dolly as "the cattiest film ever made." I heartily recommend it.
good tv: I started Truth Seekers on a whim and then loved it so much I tore through it. It follows internet technicians/amateur ghost hunters who suddenly get much busier with ghosts than internet. It stars Samson Kayo before he was on Our Flag Means Death, and he is just as delightful in this. Hoping for a second season!
good games: I played Control, about a woman who breaks into a shadowy government agency and finds a much wilder situation than she anticipated, and loved it! I also really loved this video essay I watched about it afterwards: Control, Anatomy, and the Legacy of the Haunted House. I also replayed all 4 Mass Effect games and they remain: games I like a lot!
good pods: I listened to all of Bad Gays, and loved it. Two gay historians telling the stories of complicated people throughout history through the lens of their queerness. I've also started listening to About Buildings + Cities, to scratch my perpetual architecture itch. I started at the beginning and have a lot more podcast to get through, but I'm enjoying it a lot so far!
good fic: I spent a lot of time rereading fics I love this summer, so forgive me if some of these are repeats.
Sanguine (series) by glimmerglanger. Clone Wars, Obi-Wan/Cody. This is an AU where everything is the same except that Obi-Wan is a vampire. It covers pretty much the length of the war, and gets deep into how that single difference in eating requirements would change...everything. Deeply enjoyed this.
The 1,000 Hour Sleep by spqr. Star Wars: Strange New Worlds, Kirk/Spock. This is the only SNW k/s fic I have read so far and it has set the bar HIGH. While working as a spy for the Federation, Kirk encounters the Enterprise and finds a crew of people who would just like him to sit down for a minute. Maybe have a nap.
Unresolved by Pheonike. Mass Effect Andromeda, Scott Ryder/Reyes Vidal. While replayed ME:A, I was reminded of how much I love Reyes as a character so I went hunting for this fic, which slightly retells Reyes and Ryder's story and deepens both characters in a very satisfying way.
In Better Light by cosmogyral & sunsmasher. Ace Attorney, Apollo/Klavier, Phoenix/Miles. The Pacific Rim AU. Simply a work of genius. Cannot recommend it highly enough.
Lastly
My favourite random discovery of the last two months was St. Ann's Court, a modernist house built in 1936-37 by Raymond McGrath for George Schlesinger, a stockbroker and a queer man who wanted to be able to live openly within the house while still necessarily disguising his sexuality. The result is gorgeous, and included innovations such as a main bedroom which could easily be split into two if callers arrived unexpectedly. Happily, St. Ann's Court still stands today.
