Month: October 2014

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I’m finding a balance. I usually have a bad time at comics parties/events, so I focus on what I know works for me instead of the event-oriented nightlife. Finding a dark corner somewhere, leaving the con, walking and talking, whatever whatever. Talking about comics with strangers. I’ve taken to doing quiet, small-scale dinners with close friends instead of the sprawling comics dinners. Starting the show off on a good foot with a no-pressure thing. It works. It’s working.

4thletter! » Blog Archive » Comic Cons: Work vs Play

a minor glimpse into what conventions are like for me, a cool dude with a bad ‘tude

(via iamdavidbrothers)

David Brothers is always worth reading, of course, but this might also explain why I didn’t see him once during Rose City this year. Also: On the occasions when I do make it to San Diego Comic-Con, there’s a tradition of having breakfast with Lauren Davis early on for much the same reason as what David’s talking about above: Catching up with good people in a low-key setting really does help get you in a really good mindset for what’s likely to be a crazy day ahead.

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I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

Eliot’s meditation on growing older meets the Internet. “Rolling up your trousers is cool now!”
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As the first generation of Ukrainians born after the Chernobyl tragedy comes of age, a small subculture of them is now doing the unthinkable: defying government prohibitions and illegally entering the highly radioactive Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, or “Dead Zone”—for fun. This group is monitored and pursued by the police and not fond of journalists: They curry in the forbidden, recover meaning from Soviet detritus, and take digital appropriation to new extremes. “It’s a post-apocalyptic romance,” as one young man put it.

From here.
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“To spend that extra energy and time you don’t have, to make something that’s worth making, to make it awesome, wears you out,” he says. A backward red cap hides the top of his head; a checkered shirt buttoned to the top conceals his plump body; and on his face, there is not so much a beard but a hair force field, keeping anything from penetrating the world he’s created for himself. “It’s a beast of a show. And the more popular it gets, the more the ancillary things – like the merchandise and games and everything – keep getting bigger.”

And so, Ward confesses, one day during Season Five, unbeknownst to his fans, “I quit because it was driving me nuts.”

He says this not with sadness or frustration, but with relief. “For me, having quality of life outweighed the need to control this project and make it great all the time.” So he stepped down from running Adventure Time to become simply one of the show’s writers and storyboard artists.

Asked if he’d ever want to create another TV show, Ward responds with horror: “No, never. That sounds like a nightmare!”

I am, no joke, obsessed with “success will fuck you up” stories. (From here.)
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Look, there’s some wild, funny weird and silly shit that happens in some of these movies, and it’s okay to laugh. But laugh because it’s funny—don’t laugh because you’re just trying to show how superior you are to the movie. You get no points for laughing at an old movie just because it’s old. You look like an idiot.

Death to ironic laughter.

From here.

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It seemed like you were going to explore Isabelle being the late Victoria Hand’s (Safrron Burrows) love interest from the comics.
Whedon: There were versions, but it started to be irresponsible if we addressed it to not address it with more weight and time and energy.
Maurissa Tancharoen: And then we would’ve been known as the people who killed off two lesbians on the show.

From here.

I am, I admit, still trying to process this interview, flagged up by Andrew Wheeler at Comics Alliance yesterday. Namely, I’m trying to process the quote above and everything involved in it. To wit:

  • Why go out of your way to underscore that you’ve killed off the only two lesbian characters on your show?
  • Why kill off either character, anyway? Or, what I really mean is, if you brought a character in specifically to die, why make her the girlfriend of the only other character you’ve killed on the show who’s managed to remain dead? Wasn’t there anyone else who could’ve fit that role? Really?
  • If you don’t want to be known as the people who killed off two lesbians on the show, then why kill off two lesbians on your show?
  • What’s with bringing in characters who are lesbians and then never actually referencing that in the show, but going out of your way to reference it in interviews after the fact? It either matters or it doesn’t, surely?

More than anything, it’s the fact that the interview specifically points out that SHIELD has done this that just boggles my mind. “We don’t want to be known for this, so we’re just going to point it out here in case you missed it.” What?

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Tell Intel that legitimizing the actions of *gamer*gate* is unacceptable.

Tell Intel that legitimizing the actions of *gamer*gate* is unacceptable.

likeapairofbottlerockets:

***PLEASE REBLOG***

Click above to send them feedback, use my form letter if you like:

Dear Intel,

I am appalled by your decision to end your advertising campaign with the website Gamasutra. The people who convinced you to take these steps have been harassing and threatening women online for months, and your decision legitimizes their efforts. Everyone from TIME Magazine to the New Yorker have described the deplorable actions taken by those involved in ‪#‎GamerGate‬. By making this decision you are falling squarely on the wrong side of history, and are losing the good favor of sane people everywhere. I urge you to reverse your decision.

Sincerely,