Showing posts with label Fandom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fandom. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

I Respect Your Joy

A number of people asked me about this shirt, which I wore on Saturday at Gallifrey One. This is the link to Zazzle. Please feel free to take my words and make your own version - I am not claiming this as my own by copyright. We all should respect each other's joys.

The back of the shirt has a quote from a David Gerrold Facebook post on it (edited to allow wearing in public). Should anyone purchase this shirt from Zazzle, any commission I get will go to a charity I know Gerrold supports (I couldn't figure out how to just turn off commissions).


Front:
I respect your joy
My fandom is inclusive not exclusive

Back:
Don't chill my thrill,
Don't yuck my yum,
Don't stop my bop,
Don't poop my boop,
Don't sad my glad,
Don't stress my bless,
Don't ploy my joy,
Don't flay my play,
Don't troll my droll,
Don't quibble my tribble —

— or I will launch your haunch.

-David Gerrold (May 2018)

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Relay for Life

I'd like to write a big ol' update on what's going on in my life, but I've been a little distracted. Worse, I threw out my back Thursday somehow, and I'm in agony. The painkiller and muscle relaxant the doctor prescribed is making only a slight dent in the pain.

Then.

This morning I got news that a friend of mine I met at Anglicon last year has lost his fight with cancer. Justin Manning, the guy in the blue shirt at the center of the photo below, passed away this morning after a long battle.


I was dithering on whether or not to do the Relay for Life this year, but Justin has prompted me to do it again, in his honor. If you would like to donate, visit my relay page. But even if you cannot donate, please spend a couple of minutes after you read this thinking of those we've lost to cancer.

Thanks.

Wednesday, October 07, 2015

Star Wars Tapestry...

The Daily Mail has a report on an obsessive Star Wars fan who created a Bayeux-style tapestry that tells the story of the first six Star Wars films...



I admit, it's awesome. However, I would want one without the prequels if I were to invest in something like this. And with the new movie about to be released, I have to wonder if another tapestry will be in the making at any point? Check out the artist's website for more of his work.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

More Links

Pepsi to stop using aspartame. Well, it won't get me to drink Pepsi, but it's nice to know that somebody is dropping that stuff. It tastes awful. I don't know how people can stand it. Yuck.

A hiker catches the start of a volcanic eruption. Yikes.

Hubby-Eric says he wants this book. Ok.

My former local PBS station, KCTS-9, has laid off most of its production staff. Yikes.

Pasta sauce so good you'll lose your head.

So apparently all the dinosaur toys we played with as children were actually of plucked dinos.

Like a good neighbor... State Farm ad fan fiction.

Why most "vaccine injuries" aren't actually vaccine related at all.

White Privilege is not generally something we notice... it's like being a fish underwater, we just live in it and don't think about it. Boing Boing has a cartoon that tries to explain it. It can't succeed, not fully, because there will always be people who say, "Well, I never benefited that way!" not understanding that it's more than just that. Still, I found the cartoon useful. Maybe somebody else will, too. I also found this article about reparations to be an excellent source of understanding the problem more fully. There's a lot that happened, and is still happening, that I was and am ignorant about. At the least, I hope to reduce my ignorance before talking about the subject.

Lastly... A video that's sort of Doctor Who related, as far as I'm concerned (hint: Gridlock). Plus I just like well-done hymns.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Linkity-link!

As a reporter, I sometimes need to be out where it's slightly dangerous. A neat safety vest is something I ought to get sometime. I just would want to put my company's logo on it.

The Cliff Mass Weather Blog reports on strange cloud lines. SCIENCE!

I wanna make some notebooks.

The BBC has posted some totally wonderful pictures of a 13-year-old girl using a golden eagle to hunt in Mongolia.

How the Muppets created Generation X. I still firmly believe that a person who has never worked with the Muppets is not a real star. Any so-called TV, movie or music stars that came along since the Muppet Show first aired but haven't worked with the Muppets? Not stars. They are all wannabes. Please note: working with the Muppets does not automatically make you a real star, but you cannot be a real star unless you have worked with the Muppets.

And now an unpleasant topic... women are being harassed for being comic book fans with opinions again. This is, sadly, nothing new. Fanboys of all types of things: comics, sports, science... whatever it is... often feel threatened when women start to intrude on the boys' clubs with a different perspective and new attitudes. While I tend to believe that the boys who are actually actively hostile are a vast minority, they tend to be vocal and nasty. A bigger problem is that many men have utterly no clue that the abuse is happening, even when they witness it. The result is that the stupid boys feel justified, or at least comfortable, in continuing to be aggressively horrible. Andy Khouri talks about the latest demonstration of idiocy, as does Brett White.

Look, I don't know the solution, if there is one, but I sure hope that the men out there will pay enough attention to recognize when the boys are acting up and call them on it.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Inclusive rather than Exclusive

Pardon me while I rant about something that may or may not be true...

Monday, July 29, 2013

Monday, October 10, 2011

Links! (I'm not dead yet)

If you recall Katie, who was teased for her Star Wars thermos, then you'll be delighted to hear how Katie was treated at GeekGirlCon.

Check out these 33 scary stories available on-line.

Removing DRM would reduce piracy. Those determined to steal will do so regardless of DRM. But most people would rather be honest than dishonest, so punishing the honest as if they are already thieves just results in frustration and, eventually, piracy.

Do you have a cool lunch bag? Here's ten cool ones, including some anti-theft sandwich bags.

The following sound clip is from the Bachmann soundbite at Bad Lip Reading. Be sure to check out the others, they are really odd and amusing (most disturbing: Michael Buble's "Russian Unicorn"). But this clip... this one just consistently cracks me up:


And lastly, for my Mom.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Linkdump Long Overdue

It's Star Wars Day for Katie.

How to Open a New Book.

Paging The Physician...

Neil Armstrong on the first moon walk, and why it covered such a small area.

Ancient Giant Penguin. Cool. Of course, little penguins can be daring, too.

Some of the most memorable Google Doodles.

Organ Donation.

2,000 Ping Pong Balls and 30 Middle-School Teachers in Zero G.

Evolution.

Dogs Don't Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving. I Made Food! I'm Magical!

The Real Rules of the Blue Moon.

A victim of the overblown hype about Wikileaks posts to reddit.

Creepy Photos at the Tower of London.

If you plan on buying the Girl Genius Novel from Amazon, consider buying it on January 12th, Kaja Foglio's birthday. I would, but I haven't got any money for it.

Another, better, use for tobacco?

I am so far behind on these...

I think I'm caught up. Whew. How long has it been since I've done a proper linkdump?

Pug puppy for the in-laws

Monday, November 01, 2010

My Favorite Rally Signs

The Huffington Post has a gallery of rally signs from the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert Rally on October 30th, and some of the other rallies that happened that day in support. I've shamelessly stolen some of those images that I really liked to post here for your amusement.

Generic Sign

Save the Clock Tower!

Devoted Honey

Keep Your Towel Handy

Beaker in Seattle

Bring Back Firefly!

Text Messages

"This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith or people of activism or to look down our noses at the heartland or passionate argument or to suggest that times are not difficult and that we have nothing to fear. They are and we do. But we live now in hard times — not end times. And we can have animus and not be enemies.

"But unfortunately, one of our main tools in delineating the two broke.

"The country’s 24-hour political pundit perpetual panic conflictinator did not cause our problems, but its existence makes solving them that much harder. The press can hold its magnifying up to our problems, bringing them into focus, illuminating issues heretofore unseen — or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire and then perhaps host a week of shows on the sudden, unexpected dangerous flaming ant epidemic.

"If we amplify everything we hear nothing."

-Jon Stewart

Monday, June 01, 2009

Monday Morning Linkdump

Comic Books Legends Revealed #209: The Yellow Kid.

Comics are educational.

Eight ways that comic book fans and shops are stereotyped on TV. I'd only seen two of them, personally.

Want.

DRM turns users into pirates. It's pretty simple, really. If your product doesn't work because it's got some crappy "protection" on it, people will look for a copy that works.

Fixing a space telescope? No problem! Playing a DVD? Problem. One expects it wasn't a case of crappy DRM...

Just because a check has "cleared", doesn't mean it's actually a valid check. Oops.

There are monsters in the water.

Wired reports on hobbyists building "fully functional" Wall-E replicas. By "fully functional" do they mean they pick up garbage?

Yup, you can find anybody on Facebook.

LOLCat Theology.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Wednesday Afternoon Links

While several comic news sites were careful to cover up spoilers to the ending of a DC book I had pre-ordered that arrived today, ComicList had the spoiler right up front in a headline of their RSS feed. I've now unsubscribed from ComicList and will no longer visit the site. I hate spoilers. I don't care if the New York Daily News already spoiled it. I don't READ the NY Daily News. ComicList changed the article after the damage was done, to their slight credit. I'm still annoyed.

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #152: Mutants, Patricia Highsmith, and Wizard of Oz.

Speaking of Oz, read this interview with Linda Medley. Yes, there is Oz content. One of the projects she was working on when she took her break from Castle Waiting was an Oz book. I've seen some of the art from it, and I think Oz fans would love it.

And if you have any comic book questions, Comic Book Questions Answered will help.

Burma Shave!

Going to Mecca makes Muslims more moderate. Perhaps we should make an effort to help more pilgrims get to Mecca.

We're wrecking our feet with shoes.

I don't see any Bloggers do it with... on the list.

EMI claims that storing files online is illegal. So you can't back up your own files on-line.

Pathetic. Penguicon is tainted by the Open Source Boob Project. Tamora Pierce chimes in with support of Penguincon, links to other commentary, and disgust for the twits behind the "project".

A cake in celebration of the Power of Two.

Don't like icy roads? Maybe under-road radiators could help. A pilot program is ready to start in the UK.

The first oil paintings in the world may have been painted in Afghanistan. The article also mentions the Taliban's desecration of artwork.

Drew Carey: Battle of the Bacon Dogs. The zinger of the video is that the woman who was arrested and spent 45 days in jail for selling bacon dogs was licensed (by the health department) and knew proper food preparation techniques. The smaller vendors who get her business now that she dare not sell with bacon are fly-by-night operators without any licenses. So the health department efforts to protect consumers is doing just the opposite.

The zebra pranksters write to the Museum of Hoaxes. The museum also lists three more pranks, one of which was harassment and got no punishment, one which was harmless and funny and got the students week-long suspensions (serious over-reaction), and one that was just strange.

I'm with Ken Jennings on the whole Harry Potter reference book thing. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with him, or even disagrees politely.

I am only linking to this article because of the name of the seal.

Another sad pug for the in-laws.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Tardy Linkdump

The 100 Most Powerful People in British Culture.

More from Mike Manley on babymen. While I don't agree entirely with everything he says about fandom, I agree with most of it.

Polite Scott has a cool article that links to a very cool short story. Thanks Scott!

Making Light reports on a book cover that would just annoy me.

Teen creates Chemistry Card Game: I want. Can you add your own cards, I wonder? Expansion packs would be cool.

As of July 1st, Washington state is going to have a tax like this, and it's insane. Especially since the state's tax affects small businesses that really can't afford to figure out the tax for every single municipality in the state. Sales taxes are regressive, anyway. I think they aren't the best way to get money for government.

The Bad Astronomer makes a webcomic about Creationist "logic".

Doctor Who Quiz Answers.

Earthquakes off the coast of Oregon are probably Godzilla.

Invasive species are BAD.

LOLcats are developing their own theology. I like it a little better than FSM in some ways. Happycat is happy. Ceiling cat is a pervert.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Blurgh!

Garrett is joining the fight against leukemia. Consider a donation if you have any cash to spare.

Dorothy #7 is about to hit the stands. *WHAM*

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #91. Hubby-Eric wants to know when the book is coming out.

Brian Wood gets letters.

Jeff Parker continues to speak of the forbidden. What a brave, brave man.

This reviewer clearly has read the book.

The Seattle Times is excited about Pogo collections.

Hey, where's Oz? The DC Universe map is interesting... it contradicts the recent map in Aquaman (and probably pre-dates it by awhile, too).

Masi Oka and Stan Lee behind-the-scenes.

Paul says to go listen to song. I did, I laugh. Ha ha ha ha!

Twenty-Six Toes!

This guy is right out of Usagi Yojimbo.

How to Avoid Colloquial Writing. Just reverse all the instructions, and you have lessons on how to write blogs. Via Unqualified Offerings.

Comments about the food service on campus. I recall our dining hall up at Western had a very responsive staff, even when we made up foods to complain about.

A Total Lunar Eclipse is coming March 3rd! Sadly, I'm too far West to see it.

I want.

Can we trust an accounting firm to count the Academy Awards?

Great Headline of the Day: Naughty potty to blame for accident on I-5.

SETI@Home finds a stolen laptop.

On-ice beating may have saved hockey ref's life.

The History of Electronic Arts. Oh man, I loved those games. I'd love to play Standing Stones again.

All of my hunting through old comic books to find old Aquaman stories has given me an appreciation of Mutt and Jeff, so it's good to see that those tales are being reprinted. Couldn't happen to two nicer guys.

The Leaky Cauldron reports on hubby-Eric's friend Gili Bar-Hillel, the Hebrew translator of the Harry Potter books (and a big Oz fan).

Wanna go Skyfishing.

Ooooh pretty picture of a Russian rocket blowing up over Australia.

One way to prepare for a possible flu pandemic: store food and water.

Beware Young People. Be sure to follow the links, the Penny Arcade note from the stepmother of one of the murderers is absolutely heart-breaking.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Infodump

Countdown. Hey, the pic includes Aquaman. And yes, I like the new guy quite a bit, thank you.

Jeff Parker speaks of the forbidden. Seriously, as one commenter said, if you want to know what sort of advantage a publisher can get by having free digital copies of their books available, TALK TO PHIL FOGLIO. I would love it if all my comics followed the Girl Genius model - months of daily/weekly pages followed by a collection. I'd buy nothing but collections and love it. But I digress from the topic... Jeff is wondering about pirated comics.

Lots of folks linking to Kevin's rant about buying comics that suck. It's a slow progression for me, but yeah, I've been moving my money from superheroes to more diverse books for years, and never regretting the books I leave behind. But you'll have to pry Aquaman from my cold dead fingers.

I love (postmodern barney)'s Blogging post. Go read it if you have any intention of blogging, or even if you already blog.

Brian Wood is exhausted but fine.

Yay. I've bought my tickets to Emerald City Comicon and only paid $7.12 extra for the privilege of making the purchase through #&%@$! Ticketmaster (and yes, the obnoxious fees are worth the lack of hassle... just barely... my main issue with them is Ticketmaster doesn't tell you about them up front, only after you've gone through multiple steps do you find out the full amount of fees).

I was once told by a computer science student that it was possible to predict with 100% certainty what a computer program would do. Having had several years of tech support under my belt by that time, I contradicted him, saying it was theorectically possible, but in reality not possible at all. He called me ignorant. I've been vindicated.

Oz and Ends reports on a clueless review of the Bridge to Terabithia movie.

Encourage the fans, grow the fanbase. Duh.

Paul Cornell has pictures from Gallifrey. MAN I wish we could go back to that convention. Someday, Paul.

Here's a link to a lovely review of the new AirPort Extreme Base Station. I used Netgear routers for a couple of years, then realized they were crapping out on me too quickly. We've had almost no problems since we switched to an AirPort. When our current AirPort craps out (if ever) I'll plan on buying the new one. Nice to know it's even better.

Look, Up In The Sky!

Check out Garrett Fitzgerald's Report on hearing Paul Rusesabagina speak.

You can help Julie, the tech-ignorant substitute teacher who has been threatened with 40 years in prison at the worst, and the loss of her ability to teach at the least, for other people's mistakes.

Evoting researchers buy used machines on the cheap. Yeah, REAL secure.

More on the robber from the Seattle Times.

Really cheap solar power.

Uh-Oh. They're Back!

Another Pug for the in-laws.

Tech Corner:

Ok, I've found one BIG problem with Google Reader. It does not appear to alert me when an entry has been updated. This could be a problem, as I've often been interested in the update more than the original entry (usually with Boing Boing). This, along with the lack of blogrolls, could be the killer for this app. Well, that and the fact that it's very very slow.

What Google Reader needs, in my opinion (only one full day using it): Blogroll capability, original AND last updated dates on entries, a way to indicate when an entry has been updated, more speed, a way to see how many users are subscribed to a feed, and a way to mark entries as read from the list view. Not a lot, but possibly more than they will deliver.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Jerry Bails - June 26,1933 - November 23, 2006

From the GCD Mailing List:

This is the saddest notice I have ever had to pass along to my friends in comic book fandom.

I just received a call from Jerry's wife Jean of the news that Jerry Bails, The Father of Comic Book Fandom, died in his sleep today of an apparent heart attack. He was 73.

Jerry had been suffering a serious heart condition for the past several years. In recent months the physical discomfort he had experienced had kept him mostly homebound, but his mind remained as sharp as ever, thanks to the contact he was able to continue with friends and family through the internet.

At this time, details of any services or funerals are not yet known. According to Jean, Jerry's wishes were for something simple and the family are in the process of working on that.

Jerry was a lot of things to a lot of people. For me, he was a mentor, a teacher, a guide--whose wisdom and kindness helped make the world an even better place for many. But most important, I am and will always be deeply proud that I consider Jerry to be my friend. I am a little less not to have his wisdom gracing my ears any longer and I am much MORE knowing that I did have time on this earth in having that same wisdom touch my heart.

My deepest love goes out to Jean, Kirk, and all other family members and loved ones of Jerry.

-Ray Bottorff Jr
When I joined the GCD many years ago, looking mostly for more information about Aquaman, he was not just helpful, he was encouraging and wonderful. He sent me information about the people who worked on Aquaman and even sent me an original piece of Nick Cardy artwork, a page from Detective #293, which is framed and on my wall. Every time I look at it, which is every day, I think of Jerry and Nick. I was fortunate enough to meet Nick, but I never got to meet Jerry and I wish I had. Without Jerry, much of what I've done in hunting down the history of comics would not have happened. Without Jerry, my Aquaman website would be less interesting and less useful.

Jerry has been called the father of comic book fandom. Mark Evanier writes that he started Alter Ego and was one of the first people to put fans in contact with each other. He started checklists and compiled reports of the early creators in comics, many of whom would have been forgotten without his work. He reportedly wrote some of the earliest letters to editors. Comics were his passion and he delighted in sharing that passion with anyone interested.

Jerry was active on the GCD mailing list, and some of the most touching tributes I've seen have been posted there. My own initial reaction of shock and dismay was posted last night when I read the news. I had been thinking of him Thanksgiving morning. I wanted to e-mail him and ask a few questions. I decided to wait until after the holiday. It's too late now.

Saturday, October 26, 2002

My New Theory of Comic Books

I thought that I really enjoyed last week's Smallville episode, but after reading some on-line reviews, I "noticed" a bunch of inconsistencies in the plot and designs, and suddenly realized I thought less of it than I had before.

With that revelation in mind, I started thinking about the last few years of comic book fandom, and came up with a theory, just a theory mind you, about why so many people on-line seem to hate comics, despite posting in comic book forums.

Could it be that the ability to read other people's opinions about the books we read so soon after we read them affects our ultimate enjoyment of the books?

Back in the good ol' days, a person had to wait weeks or months before seeing another opinion about the story they just read. Most readers never noticed the inconsistencies so rampant in the books. Their opinions had time to fully form and solidify before they were challenged.

Nowadays, you need only read the book then go on-line to read an opinion. Heck, you don't even have to wait until you've read it! And while many reviewers emphasize the good points of a book, it is much easier to point out the flaws.

So, what do you think? Are we, the on-line community, enjoying our books less because of the reviews we read of them?