November’s Darlings

Feeling a little blue and want something to cushion your first winter day?

Take a leaf from Cumberbatch’s homely delights on this. Light a fire in the grate (it is winter after all), pour yourself a good measure of whiskey (when in doubt, always go Scottish on this), and get yourself comfy for a good read. When only the best will do, here’s our critics’ pick of November’s Top Ten Shards guaranteed to satisfy.

#1 You Are Not White Enough! Laughter and tears was the overwhelming reaction to this humorous rant against the Racist Vagina Police. “There’s no man in this world who will reject you because of your unbleached Bermuda Triangle,” says Vic. This anti-fairness advocacy piece is our critics’ favourite shard.

#2 #SherlockLives  This piece, courtesy of The Batch on Sunday, took the Tweetosphere by storm. It chronicles the fandom’s reaction to the surprise trailer for the third series of Sherlock, as well as musing on the meaning of John Watson’s upper lip décor. The latest news is this: Sherlock comes to UK screens on the 1st of January!

#3 Drunk Sex / RAPED This is the second Let’s Talk Opinion piece to make it to the top of our critics’ list for November. It is a counterpoint to the claim that regret in hind-sight plays a role in reporting intoxication related sexual assaults.

#4 Get Naked. Be Art. By delving into a discussion regarding the intent of this choice, whether artistic or commercial, the author attempts to think through whether nudity in this context is empowering and disarming, or whether it is just another gimmick. “Nudity sells. It has done for as long as there were people willing to be nude, and those with the skill to depict it,” says Vic in response to Sky Ferreira’s C.D. cover and her choice of exposed nipple.

#5 Clichés | Avoid them like the plague! Now this one’s the bees knees! Despite being a late November entry, this little escapade into the world of clichés, has clearly found resonance with readers and critics alike. “Provoking and funny,” says Michael Alexander Chaney, whose piece  Clichés I Don’t Get  happens to be the source of inspiration for this shard.

#6 Brokeback Mountain Whispers is an opinion post about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender rights. The horrific stories of abuse and murder suffered by members of the LGBT community do not make for easy reading.

#7 Temptation is the only poem in the November repertoire to make it onto the critics’ Top Ten list. “Oh hoah, V. A little hot in here – wanna open that window? This one has some of the best lines I’ve seen on this blog yet,” says Holistic Wayfarer. Tempted?

#8 Child Pornography and The Sexualisation of Children  Establishing a connection between paedophilia, child pornography and the sexualisation of children by the fashion, film and music industries, this article argues that amongst other harmful consequences, the increased sexualisation of children in the media may inadvertently result in lax attitudes towards abuse.

#9 Cuffed “They came for me in the late summer of 2011,” begins the story of a young journalist whose life is turned upside-down when the police turns up at her door with a warrant for her arrest. It is the first snippet of a novel, currently under revision. “Ever read the first page of a novel and just immediately know you’re in for a great ride? I have. And I just did again,” says JMC813. Hope you agree.

#10 #BrokebackSherlock In the latest instalment of writer turned director Vic Briggs’ Dreamscapes epic, she takes the Johnlock relationship to another level. “We need Johnny, Benedict and Martin to see this thing. Seriously. God, I am still laughing,” says beddyburc. This is one for the boys.

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Do you agree with the critics’ choices?

Which was you favourite November shard?

Now… You are in your favourite armchair, the fire blazes in the grate, and the whiskey shimmers amber at the bottom of your glass. You’ve got your nice reads at the ready. What could be more wonderful on a cold December day? Here’s to a beautiful winter.

#BrokebackSherlock

If anyone would’ve told me what was awaiting me at home that Friday evening I may have hurried my step instead of lugging through the bustle of Bloomsbury streets at the end of a long day’s work. Then again, I may have decided that some things are best left unseen.

“Honey, I’m home!” I shouted out once through the door, my hands sore with the weight shopping bags, a last-minute escapade in attempt to appease a rather moody fridge that for the past week had only a solitary bottle of champagne to keep it’s innards nice and chilly.

No answer. Just as well. I could make it a surprise. It’s not often that I sport the domestic goddess hat. Except…

What’s that noise? Damn. He left the shower running. I shoved the door with one foot, dumped the shopping bags onto the floor and ran to the bathroom to turn off the taps before the flat turned into the next post-impact Titanic scene. Opened the door and…

Benedict Cumberbatch. In my shower. Stark naked. Perhaps this last explanation is unnecessary. After all, people do tend to be unclothed in this context. I can’t say that I shied away from the view. Rather picturesque.

“Oh… Hi,” he said.

I nodded. My tongue decided to take a leave of absence, together with my senses. That however, I could’ve just about coped with, if it hadn’t been for the half drawn shower curtain opening up next and Martin Freeman sticking out his head from behind.

“Jonny should be here in a few minutes. He’s just gone down to get supplies,” he smiles and then disappears back behind the curtain.

I can’t move. Frozen to the spot. Breathed in. Breathed out. No better. I did not just see that. It wasn’t happening. Oh. My. God. What the hell?!

I could sense Benedict’s gaze on me, but making eye contact was a little too much to ask of me that very moment. My eyes had seen, but my mind refused to process the visual evidence. I turned around and fled through the half-open door, leaving my two unexpected guests to their own devices. The image of what that might actually be was stuck to my retina, no less real for it having been imagined.

I stopped outside the bathroom door trying to reassemble myself into something resembling a sentient being. The effect of the scene began to recede. Thoughts flooded in one after another.

Wait a minute. Did he say Jonny’s here too? He didn’t mention being in town. I was sure that he was still busy filming in New York. If this is about to turn into a ménage-a-trois, I need to make myself sparse. Quickly.

“Hey, there you are. I see we’ve had the same idea,” Jonny was standing in the doorway, presenting a bagful of edible delights.

“Jonny, what’s going on? What are Ben and Martin doing here? What are you doing here?”

“Hey! I’m just here for the dinner,” cheeky wink followed.

“So I haven’t just stepped into the prelude to an orgy then?” I followed him through the hallway towards the kitchen, Jonny having insisted that he’s more than able to carry my shopping in as well.

“Come on. You know me better than that,” he laughed, unpacking the goodies into the fridge.

“I thought I knew those two better than that as well. How long has this been going on?”

“The heart gets what the heart wants,” he said, philosophical like.

“Not mine, apparently.” Deflated didn’t even begin to describe how I felt.

“Come on, Vics. Chin up. Didn’t you say that you’d reached the ironic stage in your obsession with Ben? Now you can get over it altogether.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?” I asked, genuinely curious to see what solution he might propose.

“That’s Elementary, my dear Vic,” he said, “Just get yourself another.”

“And who might you offer as a substitute?”

“Yours truly?” he pirouetted on the spot, sporting the best grinning Cheshire Cat impression.

“Swap one Sherlock for the other, you say? No offence, Jonny, but besides the fact that you are positively taken, my feelings for you have always been platonic.”

“Your feelings for whom have always been platonic?” asked Ben. He moved like a puma on the prowl that one. Didn’t even hear him come into the room.

“Why for you of course,” intervened Jonny before I had a chance to reply.

“Hmm…” Ben looked unconvinced.

He suited the just-out-of-the-shower look. Why Oh Why was I doing this to myself? Alright. I had to get over this. It was all getting a little too intense. Clearly Ben and I had one too many things in common. Namely, that whole sleeping with men thing.  “Tea?” I asked to change the subject.

“Whiskey, if you’ve got any,” Ben said.

“Shall I get one for Martin as well?” I asked.

He shook his head in a decisive negative: “He had to leave. Some emergency at home.”

“Right.” I busied myself with a dusty bottle of single malt. After a few minutes I handed him the glass. Jonny had mixed his own drink. Not in the mood for whiskey apparently. I decided to bite the bullet and ask: “So… You and Martin… Are you an item now?”

A loud bang made me start. I looked around. Everything became hazy. No. Wait. I’m not ready yet. Can’t go. I need to find out…

Dream over.

Just my luck. Can’t get a break, can I? A girl can dream… But what kind of masochistic tendency is this? Frustration running high.

Ever since Cumberbatch has infiltrated my unconscious, one disaster follows another. His appearances for quite a while were rather villainous in nature, and the one time I somehow managed to seduce the elusive Cumberbatch, low and behold, instead of the expected steamy sex scene, I got the disappointing tryst of Sex with you-know-who. And now… homoerotic dreams about his presumed affair with Martin. Damn.

My hubby laughed for ten full minutes when I related him the shower scene. Well… at least someone is getting a measure of enjoyment out of this. I know I’m not.

Brokeback Mountain Whispers

Let’s Talk Opinion: in conversation with Project O

Bradley: www.howisbradley.com

Question 6: If you could share an opinion on a single international incident or topic that you either feel strongly about or that might not be known to the rest of the world what would it be? You have our attention.

It’s very difficult to narrow down to one, but, I feel most strongly about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender rights. In just the past several months a transgender teenager in Jamaica was murdered by an angry mob when he arrived at a party wearing women’s clothing; a Russian man was brutally beaten, had his clothes set on fire, his anus was slashed open and filled with bottles and his attack ended when a 20 kg stone was thrown onto his head; In Washington DC, my nation’s capital, two women attacked a drag performer, who was a gay man, by biting him on the thigh, and yanked him around by his hair while a bystander videoed the crime and encouraged the fight. I wish these were rare instances, but unfortunately as more cities and countries embrace equality rights for those who are LGBT, more acts of violence are occurring. Homosexual acts are illegal in 76 countries and there are still 5 countries in which the penalty is death.

http://aopinionatedman.com/2013/09/27/project-o-article-110-bradley-california-usa-scheduled-for-9-28-0600/

I feel strongly about this, and hope that the efforts of all communities will result ultimately in effective equality. The stories you shared are horrific. I simply can’t believe that this still happens in this day and age. Truly, deeply saddened that this is the case.

There was a somewhat hostile reply to one of my Project O comments in which I challenged a contributor’s use of the phrase “…even though I don’t agree with homosexuality.” Mandy, incidentally was writing this in the context of a church gathering where she spoke out on behalf of someone from the gay community, so I felt very warmed by her actions. But the phrase still irked me, so I decided to write Be happy. Be gay! in the hope that an exchange might ensue.

I didn’t get a reply from Mandy. Instead, another blogger decided to put me in my place. I gather she deemed my comment to be an attack on Christians. Well. I have to say, that even though I am an atheist, I do not make it my business to attack anyone, and – as a former Christian myself – I have sympathy with those who strive to keep their faith in an increasingly secular world. I am curious to know what you think of the exchange, particularly on the issue of homosexuality, if you would be so kind as to read it: God @TheTweetOfGod Sigh… maybe Nietzsche was right.

In support of the gay community – through what I write and through everyday personal interactions with others – I hope to promote healthier attitudes towards those whose sexual inclination differs from what is deemed to be the “norm”. My favourite haunt in London is Soho. There is nothing that I enjoy more than going on a gay-pub/bar/club-crawl with my best friend and his boyfriend. This has given me the opportunity to meet many wonderful people: gay, transgender, lesbian and bisexual. I feel grateful for the warmth with which they accepted me into their fold, and for the stories they have chosen to share with me. It’s opened my eyes to the obstacles they encounter, and gave me a better understanding of what they have to overcome in their everyday lives. Inspiring people.

This motivated me to be more vocal about difficult issues, defend the community and my own stance on gay rights whenever challenged.

Thank you for your post.  Insightful.

P.S.: On a lighter note… #BenedictCumberbatch goes Brokeback Sherlock, one for the boys.

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Let’sTalk Opinion posts engage with issues that are important to other bloggers, connecting with others on matters close to their heart. If you like a topic and would like to contribute, please feel free to add to the comment box, reblog, share, email or message me on Twitter @shardsofsilence.

Or if you happen to be a fellow Hogwartsian send me a letter by owl.

#BenedictCumberbatch goes Brokeback Sherlock

Welcome to The Batch on Sunday: Your Online-Home For All Things CumberVic

The Batch on Sunday reports!

After flying low under The Batch on Sunday’s radar, vicbriggs reveals the project that kept her in trouble, and out of the celeb columns, since the premier of Midnight Snog.
We are pleased to report that the delectable Benedict Cumberbatch – now officially the world’s sexiest actor, because if our colleagues at Empire Online say so, it is so! – has not abandoned his collaboration with the Dreamscapes Epic director, busy schedule or not.

When Vic imparted the nature of her latest project however, The Batch on Sunday could not help but be somewhat perplexed at the turn the CumberVic professional relationship has taken.
Despite flirting with rainbow innuendo in Sherlock, the explicitly erotic nature of the next Dreamscapes instalment may be one step further than even the multifaceted Cumberbatch could have been expected to take this early in his Hollywood takeover.
Mind though, since every time you try to google Cumberbatch, the top option is always “Benedict Cumberbatch gay”, this must be one for the boys!

BoS: “We await with trepidation the release date for Brokeback Sherlock, the next chapter in the Dreamscapes Epic starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Can you tell our readers what has inspired you to pursue this angle?”

VB: “I have to admit that it was Benedict himself who got this particular project off the ground. I was at a loss as to what the next step for Dreamscapes might be. At one point, even considered abandoning it altogether, but then one night Benedict shows up at my flat… Twenty cigarettes and almost as many espressos later, Brokeback Sherlock was born.”

BoS: “We understand that Benedict is not the only Sherlock star to make an appearance in your Brokeback Mountain meets Sherlock fandango. This is the first time you have worked with Martin Freeman, is it not? If so, why did you choose him, over other potential options, to act opposite the Batch in Brokeback Sherlock?”

VB: “I have always admired Martin’s work, starting with the Office and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but there were other, perhaps less well known appearances that I enjoyed just as much. There is a mixture of strength and vulnerability that was needed for this piece – so difficult to enact – and Martin gets it right every time. I could not think of a better choice for the role. And, of course, there was the matter of chemistry. Watching Martin work opposite Benedict on the Sherlock set would’ve removed any doubts, if I had any left in that respect.”

BoS: “There is great secrecy surrounding Brokeback Sherlock’s key scenes. Unfortunately, we were unable to get hold of the leaked shower stills for this piece, as they were taken down within seconds of hitting the web. Is such secrecy really necessary, and don’t you think it will end up ultimately damaging your Epic’s ratings at the blox-office?”

VB: “I find that actors work best without distractions, particularly paparazzi interference. This is a project that endeavours to be very sensitive about how intimate relations between men are portrayed. There is humour, and tenderness, and heartbreak too. Given the difficulties encountered during the filming of BBC’s third series of Sherlock, I thought it best to avoid such unnecessary pressures, and ensure that both Martin and Benedict would be able to put their best foot forward for this project.”

BoS: “We understand that they put forward a little more than their foot hehe! Is this a strictly behind the camera project for you, or do you still make an appearance on-screen?”

VB: “Ha! Actually, I do, but only in a cameo appearance this time.”

BoS: “Any chance of a preview?”

VB: “I’m afraid it may be too steamy for an interview. Let’s just say, if you’ve dreamt of it, it’s probably going to make an appearance in Brokeback Sherlock.”

Brokeback Sherlock is due to be released on a vicbriggs blog-screen near you in November, following into the footsteps of PROJECT R: Relationship Interrupted.

Well. You can’t say better than that! Although… Vic may be underestimating the dreaming capacity of The Batch on Sunday reader. Only Brokeback Sherlock will tell!
We bid farewell to the Dreamscapes Epic director, and await her November addition to the #BenedictCumberbatch portfolio!

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New to The Batch on Sunday and want an urgent pre-Brokeback Sherlock Benedict Cumberbatch fix? Take a look at the links below.

In the order of appearance:

1.  I don’t fancy Benedict Cumberbatch. Daily Prompt: Pants on Fire or the confession that started it all.

2. Sex with you-know-who will steam up your windows. Beware!

3.  COMING SOON… a snippet of Cumberthings yet to come.

4. The Batch on Sunday Interviews vicbriggs on working with #BenedictCumberbatch and life after Sex with you-know-who.

5. Midnight Snog – the sequel to Sex with you-know-who is finally out.

6. Truth stranger than fiction… #BenedictCumberbatch, for you to no longer doubt that the story of my meeting Benedict Cumberbatch can be an essay on time and the meaning of life.

7. Danger! Danger! High Voltage!!! On the (un)expected side-effects of writing/thinking/dreaming of Benedict Cumberbatch.

Enjoy! and thank you for stopping by

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/daily-prompts-strange/