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2005-05-20, 1:35 p.m.:
From Andrew Rilstone's essay, "I, Fanboy" on the site linked below:
I think that fanboys are differentiated from scholars and mere enthusiasts by the way in which they approach their chosen subject. Fanboys have a large amount of factual information at their fingertips; but their attitude to that information is acquisitive and un-critical. Someone studying for a post-graduate degree in cultural studies with reference to comic books (and there must be a few) could tell you how the changing attitudes to superheroes between, say, the 1950s version of Batman and Dark Knight Returns' reflects changing attitudes to law enforcement during that period; or even how Wil Eisner's art influenced Frank Miller's. He would probably get stuck if you asked him 'In which issue of X-Men did Marvel Girl first wear the green costume?' The fan-boy would know the latter but not have anything to say (or understand, or care about) the former.
This is a qualitative difference, and gives us a good reason to despise fanboys. They learn facts about their material, but they do not think about it or seek to understand it. 0 comments
2005-05-20, 11:45 a.m.:
This is some of the best, thoroughest, most incisive and yet most loving (from a true fan's perspective yet without bias) genre criticism I've seen on the Web. Thoughtful criticism instead of the knee-jerk lobbing of quips and cynicisms - that's where I'm at right now. I don't want things torn down, necessarily; I still want to love the things I think are flawed. Right now I'm combing through the criticism of the Star Wars prequels.
It sounds like I'm so focused on other things right now - the worlds of fantasies and mythmaking and stories and entertainment and feeling - that I couldn't possibly be about to have a baby in, like, five minutes. But I am. Just passing the time here in the most comfortable, most escapist, most enjoyable and thoughtful way I can imagine till then. Keeps me from wallowing in pain and discomfort if instead I can spend my time pondering Anakin's pain in the lava fields, how Obi-Wan finally shouted at him in anger and loss and disgust. 0 comments
2005-05-20, 11:06 a.m.:
Who guessed what an evocative writer Anakin Skywalker would become as Darth Vader? 0 comments
2005-05-19, 10:29 a.m.:
Another MetaFilter thread, this one on Kubrik's 2001: A Space Odyssey, which, for the record, I hated ... except for the part about HAL and the famous cinematic opening salvo with the monkeys.
But that's not to imply that I like my science/speculative fiction exclusively in print and my space opera only on the silver screen (see plethora of Star Wars posts below) ... I just find 2001 incredibly dull and overly ponderous - without the payoff. And it's true: Space opera and film is a match made in heaven, god bless Obi-Wan and all that. What I wouldn't give to see Honor Harrington fight the Peeps on the big screen. 0 comments
2005-05-19, 9:59 a.m.:
ALL SITH, ALL THE TIME ...
Yahoo's page of Star Wars-related stuff.
Rotten Tomatoes on Revenge of the Sith.
Miniver Cheevy's review roundup.
The online-only continuation of Steven Silberman's interview with George Lucas in the latest Wired.
The inevitable MetaFilter thread on ROTS (caution: full of haters!).
More links forthcoming, but right now I have to negotiate a few babysitting hours so I can catch a matinee today ... . 0 comments
2005-05-17, 8:46 p.m.:
Contents of our Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith special charity premiere VIP gift bags:
1. Burger King toy ("Dude, I got you a LEIA!")
2. TPM or AOTC action figure (Obi-Wan/Royal Guard)
3. Collector's pin (Wookiee rage!/Yoda)
4. Plastic rain poncho
5. Toothbruth (non-Star Wars themed)
6. Coupon for 1/2 lb. bag of Peaberry coffee
7. Coupon for $10 off Robert Cray/B.B. King concert
8. Info sheet about Rocky Mountain Fan Force (the cool costumed volunteers)
9. Star Wars Lego keychain (we got Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2D2 and 2 Yodas)
10. Darth Vader Bustup Micro Model Kit
11. High-boucing ball (with the name of the sponsoring law offices embossed) with motion-activated red flashing light inside
12. Special dated premiere poster
13. PlanetToys sticker
14. Tiny Star Wars-themed M&M dispenser
15. My bag also contained a C3PO pez
As for Burger King toys, in all we got 2 Taun-tauns, 2 Boba Fetts, a C3PO and a LEIA.Good times, all.
Update: Oops, forget to mention the trading card packs. We got at least three of those. In short, a fangirl-and-collector's dream, this. 0 comments
2005-05-17, 7:41 p.m.:
Scandal in the world of poetry. An interesting read on its own merits, though I have to say the most amusing bit is speculation at the end as to how Mr. Cordle's site might damage his wife's "poetry career." Dunno, just tickled by that term. 0 comments
2005-05-16, 12:08 p.m.:
A.O. Scott at the New York Times deems Revenge of the Sith "better than the original Star Wars" (i.e. Episode IV).
Whoa. 0 comments
2005-05-13, 7:50 a.m.:
I SAW IT! I WAS HERE! And, no joke, it was AWESOME. 0 comments
2005-05-02, 11:41 p.m.:
Henry Jenkins on Star Wars fandom, gender bias in LucasFilm's treatment of participatory fan culture and what killed off Star Trek.
(I have to say that I don't agree that Viacom's quashing of creative fan offerings led to the Star Trek franchise's demise. Though it certainly was a factor in the souring of fan goodwill overall. No, it was the lowering of quality, the pandering to the lowest-common-denominator audience member (UPN and Brannon Braga trying to reach a mass audience and ever dumbing things down just too much for true fans and scifi veterans), a stubborn refusal on the part of TPTB to even acknowledge the tradition of the canon they were adding to, to try and tell truly SF-worthy stories, to even look back and see what had already been contributed by the good SF, scifi and Star Trek writers who came before. What arrogance, what hubris; what misguided trash was produced in the name of a more populist Star Trek. I found 'Star Trek: Enterprise' totally unwatchable. What a sad way to end up. Just thinking about it makes me want to go steal a few graphics from startrek.com then write some slash pairing Tuvok and Tom Paris - or, heh, B'Elanna and Seska.) 0 comments
2005-04-29, 9:17 a.m.:
Re Poetry, I still can't find the Franz Wright letters (really, the editors were very, very naughty to include them), but these exchanges are enjoyable enough. 0 comments
2005-04-28, 9:17 a.m.:
Wow, the new Poetry Magazine letters section is like the hottest thing around right now. (Unfortunately, you can't read Franz Wright's string of incensed e-mails and the magazine's snarky note on them - published in April's issue - online, just in the print edition.) I love that people are getting up in arms, though I wish it wasn't always on the issue of "What is Poetry?" and/or "Quo vadis, 'serious'/literary/academic poetry?" 0 comments
2005-04-27, 12:20 p.m.:
People are writing some fine, fine stuff and publishing it out there in blog-o-land. 0 comments
2005-04-21, 9:44 a.m.:
Weird. And wonderful.
(Both links thanks to the instructive and interesting Language Log. 0 comments
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