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LiveJournal for Names Is For Tombstones, Baby.
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| Thursday, July 16th, 2009 |
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O MAN! Rumor has it that Sean Bean has been cast as Ned for the pilot of HBO's upcoming A Song of Ice and Fire adaptation. Oh boy oh boy oh boy! I had him as Ned in my fantasy casting from years back. I so hope that this rumor isn't a dirty lie. |
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| I just saw the first pieces of art for a publishing project I hope I can bring to market sometime next year. It is freakin' gorgeous. When you people see it, you will just plotz. | ||
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| Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 |
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Much love to xraytheenforcer, who goes in for surgery today to get her Dark Passenger removed. Remember, Martha, I want a copy of the pathology report when all is said and done! |
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| Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 |
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Did you ever wonder why Worldcon is shrinking, why fandom is greying, why new people aren't joining at the same rate that the old-guard is dying out? This is the problem, friends. This is the problem. In fact, honestly, every single comment by Eric Van in these two posts is the problem. Now, it would be easy to say that calimac and ericmvan's tin-eared comments weren't carefully considered, the result of post-con burnout and irritation and ultimately just the cranky brayings of a couple of disgruntled old-timers. That may or may not be, but ultimately their attitude is representational -- and symptomatic of the greater issue.In brief, the problem is that like any other dynamic entity, fandom is constantly faced with the choice to adapt or die, and time and time and time again, they have chosen not to adapt. The old guard, having found their promised land, promptly built a wall around it and decided that anyone who didn't conform to their standard would be rebuffed, rejected and cast out from their private playground. I see this attitude reflected a hundred times a day at every convention I go to, in every programming track, every panel discussion, every dealer's table, every closed circle of grey ponytails at almost every room party I've ever been to. It's a combination of institutional myopia and the fear of becoming irrelevant -- it's difficult, after all, for the chronically insecure to relenquish their stranglehold on being the big fishes in the tiny, tiny pond. As a result -- well, see for yourself. Worldcon, once the gathering of the nerd tribes, has a good year when it hits 8,000 people, the average example of which is probably pretty close to collecting Social Security. By contrast, Otakon is a non-profit, volunteer-operated anime convention that started in 1994 with less than 400 attendees. Today, average draw is about 26,000 with an average attendee not old enough to legally drink yet. And it's by no means unique -- DragonCon has 30,000, the bigger anime cons pull 40,000, and San Diego Comicon regularly breaks 100,000. The simple, logical and Darwinian solution is to let the old-model conventions die out by simple attrition -- sooner or later, peanut-butter-and-cheeto sandwiches and scooter accidents will take their toll, and all that will be left are the for-profit, new-model conventions, the slick commercial operations run by multibillion-dollar corporations. On the other hand, where does that leave us, the (dwindling) generation of younger fans? I'm looking at you, stegoking, yuki_onna, tithenai, redstapler, rosefox, misunderstruck, farwing, xraytheenforcer, aghrivaine, zarhooie, kdsorceress and all the rest of you that I'm too tired to name. What's the solution, assuming we don't all decide to pull a Paul T. Riddell* and retire from fandom to pursue a (admittedly very entertaining) career of flinging poo at the grognards from the sidelines?Frankly, I don't really know, but something's going to have to be done. I tend to be conservative by inclination, but every con that I attend makes me want to declare a revolution, storming the barricades and flinging greybeards** from the ramparts, just a little bit more. It seems as if the first step might be organization, though what form that organization would take, I have no idea. And yes, txtriffidranch, I know what you're thinking, but first of all I don't have chains that heavy, and besides where would we find anthills big enough?* Whose books, incidentally, I highly recommend. ** a gender-neutral term, often literally so. ETA: Cross-linking of this post would be welcome. I'm looking for dialogue, to help create ideas. |
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There's grim, then there's grim. When did George R.R. Martin Start writing this show? Bonus haiku: Dear Russell Davies, I'm sorry that some bastard Ran over your dog Bonus bonus haiku: I did not predict That, or that, or that. That, though That was obvious. Bonus bonus bonus haiku: This is what happens When the Doctor takes a break Amateur hour. And a last one: A show jumps the shark When it goes asymptotic To its own fanfic ETA: Spoilers allowed in the comments |
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| Monday, July 13th, 2009 |
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Readercon was an adequately good time. It was fun to hang out with the usual suspects. stegoking's Now I'm poor and tired. |
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| Friday, July 10th, 2009 |
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I'm Boston-bound, y'all. See some of you soon, and the rest Monday.  |
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| Thursday, July 9th, 2009 |
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| Why has nobody told me about this show? This is a brilliant goddamn show! | ||||
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Belated congratulations to kylecassidy for being elected King of the Internet last week. I'd like to remind his fawning public that as his chief of staff, I must insist that any lobbying or bribery attempts be brought to my door first. Access to the Great Man is strictly controlled. |
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| Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 |
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Hey revsaintmichael, someone's stealing your business model.
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| Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 |
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Poll #1426379 Who Would Win In A Fight? Vol. II, No. V Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All Who Would Win In A Fight?
View Answers The Blob The Stuff The Mist The Thing (John Carpenter version) The thing growing in My (Yagathai's) Friends List If it existed in real life, of which would you be most terrified?
View Answers The Blob The Stuff The Mist The Thing (John Carpenter version) The thing growing in My (Yagathai's) Friends List Which is your favorite movie?
View Answers
The Blob The Stuff The Mist The Thing (John Carpenter version) The thing growing in My (Yagathai's) Friends List |
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| Monday, July 6th, 2009 |
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RIP Tom Wilcox, aka EnlightenmentHK. You were my political brother from another mother. I'm gonna miss the hell out of you. |
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| A very interesting interview with Henry Kissinger on statesmanship, idealism and the failings of the Treaty of Versailles. | ||
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| Illustrated and annotated, kinda. | ||||
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Today's Music Monday entry is by "Trollhammeren" by Fintroll, a Finnish band which hybridizes folk music, black metal and polka*. Yes, that's right: Folk-polka-death metal. By trolls. Don't say I never got you anything nice. *Technically humppa, which is a Finnish take on the more familiar oompa, which is the kind of polka you hear at Oktoberfest. |
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| Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 |
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| 4 AM? Ah, insomnia, my old foe. I see you have returned. | ||||
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| Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 |
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| Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 |
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Poll #1423309 Who Would Win In A Fight? Vol. II, No. IV Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All Who Would Win In A Fight?
View Answers Oprah Martha Stewart Jesus Beelzebub Me (Yagathai) Who Owns The Most Souls In Modern Western Culture?
View Answers Oprah Martha Stewart Jesus Beelzebub Me (Yagathai) Upon Whose Bad Side Do You Most Fear Getting?
View Answers
Oprah Martha Stewart Jesus Beelzebub Me (Yagathai) |
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| Monday, June 29th, 2009 |
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And now for something completely different: |
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| Thursday, June 25th, 2009 |
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| Apparently Thursday is my night to get drunken. I blame the Mad Scientist for bringing rum instead of beer. Pity that I am running Houses of the Blooded. Players are in for a fun time. | ||||
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LiveJournal for Names Is For Tombstones, Baby.
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