Roman Polanski

I really didn't know very much about the man until this week. I knew he had exiled himself from America to avoid going to jail for criminal charges, but I didn't know what the charges were or anything about his life. In my twenties, I watched several of his movies and enjoyed them, most notably The Ninth Gate.

Since posts about the petition to exonerate him of charges started circulating on the flist, I've done some research about Roman Polanski, and I have this to say about the controversy:

A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL PERSON CAN NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, CONSENT TO ANY SORT OF SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH A FORTY-FOUR YEAR OLD MAN PERSON. EVER. EVER. THAT IS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS RAPE, AND IT IS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS WRONG.

I suppose we are to assume that the celebrities that signed that petition won't mind if Roman Polanski rapes their children. He's so awesome, after all.

Edited to more accurately reflect my position.

Meta on SGA Vids: Vidder LaPrincesseNini [SPOILERS FOR VIDS]

LaPrincesseNini is an SGA vidder that makes narrative vids that I find very surprising in an awesome way. (Find all hir vids HERE).

I'm used to narrative vids that take the most popular pairings in a fandom--McShep or Sparky or Wincest or Jack/Daniel or Sam/Jack--and make from clips of the show a narrative that runs parallel to but is very different from what canon is explicitly showing us. It helps that in canon, many of these characters really are gazing at each other with expressions that look a hell of a lot like naked desire, wistful longing, and the unbearable palpitations of their wee little hearts. Do TPTB mean for Sheppard's soulful glances at Rodney to signify that they're doing it in the transporter after briefings? Probably not, but Sheppard and Rodney really are giving each other those looks, whatever they mean. Same thing with Sam and Jack, although to be fair, TPTB probably do mean for those looks to signify the unworkable Epic True Love canon hints that those two share.

So what's really startling and cool to me is to see these same images used in different ways that controvert fanon, especially when those images are used in vids that narrate a story about a rare pairing.

( McShep, McBeck, and Michard Ahoy! LOL )

( One of the best SGA vids I've seen and the best Ronon vid I've seen period )

And finally, this one goes outside the cut because it's just that awesome. This is the best SGA vid I have ever seen. Hands down. No contest. Five Years Of... is what I love about SGA and what I love about the show. The chorus of this song begins, "Be my friend," and I love the moments used over that line: Ronon stepping in front of Rodney when Koyla threatens the team, Elizabeth patting Rodney on the back, Teyla taking Jennifer's hand. There's a moment at 2:42 that I can't place from the show but it looks a heck of a lot like Elizabeth protecting Ford which rocks so hard I can't even say. Every damn time I watch this, I cry, because it is so sweet and bittersweet and all the reasons that I am still fannish about SGA. I encourage all of you to watch this one even if you give the others a pass.