Category: 1

So what did Kyle actually say?

See, in watching the 201st episode of “South Park,” I just figured the over-the-top use of bleeping out dialogue, up to and including Kyle’s lengthy “I learned something today” speech, was a brilliant meta-commentary by the “South Park” creators on the nature of censorship run amok. Turns out, no, it actually WAS censorship run amok. Kyle delivered an entire summary of what he had learned regarding the nature of hatred and intolerance, and the entire thing really was censored by Comedy Central even though it made no mention of any inflammatory names.

So I’m really curious to know what he said.

PAD

Remember the Deletionists? The ones who go around targeting random Wikipedia entries and declare that the subjects of those pages aren’t important enough to warrant inclusion in Wikipedia? They targeted actor Kristian Ayre, declaring that she wasn’t notable because she’d only been a supporting cast member of a TV series (“Space Cases”) that had run only one season, and had no other roles of note. This despite the fact that Kristian has in fact starred in a number of films and TV shows, and “Space Cases” ran two seasons, not one, that Kristian was a co-star and not a supporting cast member, and by the way, Kristian’s a guy.

According to author Kevin J. Anderson, they’re at it again, and their accuracy rate has only gotten worse. Kevin reported:

“In my work compiling the 25-year retrospective book for Writers of the
Future, I’ve been doing spotlights on some of the past author winners who
have gone on to publish multiple novels. One of those is Rod Garcia, who
writes as R. Garcia y Robertson. Rod was a familiar figure at west coast SF
conventions in the 1990s, published several novels from Avon and Tor, but
pretty much disappeared after about 2006. He doesn’t have email, as far as
I know.

“When gathering some basic information about him, I went to his Wikipedia
entry only to find the odd notation that his entry is being considered for
deletion because someone named “Deb” says there is “No evidence of
notability. All books appear to be self-published through a variety of
companies such as Avon Books.”

Continue Reading “The Wikipedia Deletionists, Round 2” →

And I don’t want it to take over the other thread:

Yes. A “Young Justice” animated series has been announced. I look forward to watching it.

Discuss.

PAD

What I found most buoying at C2E2 was the number of young fans in attendance. Babies in strollers, sure, but there were also quite a few youngsters who were genuine comic book enthusiasts. At a time when young readers seem in short supply–when kids wear Spider-Man shoes and shirts and backpacks but would never come near the comic book–that was great to see. And the fan enthusiasm overall was high. I didn’t see as many people as I would have liked to, but it was a first-time convention, and not every city is capable of turning a first-time convention into a death trap that gets shut down by the fire marshal (New York is Number One!)

But I admit I find stark contrast between what I see in person and then what I read on the Internet. Panels that are well-attended and enthusiastically received in person are then dissed and dismissed by people who weren’t even there. Perhaps you get out of something what you put into it. To attend a convention requires time and effort, and you wear a badge with your name on it, and you’re spending money on it. So basically you’re invested in it, and you go into it looking to have a good time and thus seek out positives. By contrast on the Internet little time and no effort is involved, you’re cloaked in anonymity and it’s pretty much free of charge. With nothing invested, the default reaction is negativity.

And I just find myself wondering how many of those same young fans, so enthused in person, discover comic boards and think they’re going to encounter like-minded enthusiasts and instead find themselves sucked into a morass of negativity. How many of them have the joy and interest in comics sucked right out of them?

Indeed, it often seems that there are people who are not fans of books, but instead are fans of hating the books. What floats their boat isn’t anticipation of upcoming stories, but hating the upcoming stories. Hate fans dissing stories before they read them and slamming others who dare to have differing opinions.

Am I saying that such negativity is crippling the next generation of readers? No. Am I saying older fans need to muzzle themselves? No.

But I’m saying that when I was a young fan I existed in a bubble, judging stories on how they made me feel when I was reading them and oblivious of other fan opinions beyond what I read in the letters pages. In my ignorance, my enthusiasm for comics was blissful. And undiminished by adult negativity.

There’s something to be said for that.

PAD

X-Factor #39. Jamie Madrox absorbs his child. One of the most talked about single-issues of the previous year. Ignored for the Eisners. Harvey nominations are due end of this week.

Just sayin’.

PAD

The worst gig in the world for someone doing their civic duty:

Juror on a case where the defense attorney is Perry Mason.

Why? Because you’re wasting your time. The case is never going to get to the jury since some áššhølë always breaks down and confesses to the crime. So if you’re sitting on the jury and you find out Perry Mason is defending the guy, you’re thinking, “Man, this is gonna be a week of my life I’ll never get back. This is going to end with a sobbing confession on the witness stand and the judge thanking us for our service and sending us home. I should have just burned the dámņëd jury summons.”

PAD

Several hundred people showed up at the Best Buy for the Coheed & Cambria Q&A and musical set. I did a reading from the novel as what was, effectively, the opening act. I have to admit, I was worried that about thirty seconds in they’d start shouting, “Bring on the band!” But no, they seemed to be listening and laughed at all the right places, so that was good.

Friday morning, off to Chicago.

PAD