Geek Friday
Jul 24All right, so I am not going to Comic-Con. I know all of you who listened to our podcast (Matt’s mom, my husband, etc.) were anxiously awaiting the outcome of that little debate. I am totally OK with it, though, and plan to refresh The Beat hourly for updates. I am especially OK with it because Saturday sold out already and the prospect of entering that hot ‘n’ sweaty fray is not a pleasant one.
I am, however, making my Friday as nerdy as possible to compensate. First up is a showing of The Simpsons Movie at the Arclight with a big gang of people. My friend Jenelle, who is the most passionate Simps fan I know, is leading the charge. Incidentally, Jenelle and I are both Oregonians and we are pissed that the Oregon Springfield was not named as the “official” Springfield. Matt Groening was born in Oregon. There should be no question!
After that, some of us are heading to a midnight screening of Wet Hot American Summer. David Wain and assorted cast members are supposed to be in attendance. That movie made me a Paul Rudd fan for life. It’s also the reason that I respond to stuff I don’t like with a hearty “BOOOOOOOOOO!!!” Should I go in costume? I could totally pull off Janeane Garofalo’s awkward camp counselor thing.
Burn Down The Mission
Jul 24Superstar retailer (and ringleader of the magnificent new incarnation of The Savage Critics) Brian Hibbs chimes in with his on-the-ground reporting of Countdown and DC, and it ain’t pretty.
TILTING @ WINDMILLS 2.0 #42: BURN OUT THE DAY, BURN OUT THE NIGHT
Harry Potter Comes Out
Jul 20So not only are copies of the last Harry Potter novel leaking onto teh intarwhebhesetes, but they’ve also apparently been shipped early by a few online retailers. D’oh! Fire up your lawyers, DeepDiscount.com!
I’ll be the first to admit that all of this is getting a little…how do you say…IDIOTIC. Still, it’s a relatively safe and enjoyable way to stoke the flames of anticipation inside my own black-cold heart. And hell, maybe the leaks ARE a fake, and Scholastic invested a small chunk of change into hiring someone to write and fake-publish a false version, just to create this mania. Stranger things have happened (see Blue Harvest: Horror Beyond Imagination).
I love the part in CNN’s story where Scholastic asks those who have received the book early to keep it in the package and hidden until 12:01 a.m. on July 21.
Yeah, right. That’s gonna happen.
Countdown to Failure
Jul 20Once again, Dick Hyacinth is prompting some contemplation from me via his post on the state of DC Comics today in the era of Countdown.
The short version: I think he’s dead right, and DC is experiencing a creative, critical, and commercial landslide that is breathtaking to behold as a detached observer, and heartbreaking to suffer through as a fan.
Me so spoily…
Jul 18Ahoy! NO SPOILERS BELOW!
Right now, it’s taking physical restraint not to spoil myself silly on the last Harry Potter book.
I’m almost done re-reading book 5, and then it’s on to book 6. Then, hopefully, book 7 will be out and I can jump right in.
Until that moment, I already know that spoilers exist. Reliable spoilers. It took Slashdot a few days to pick up the story, but I found the photographed pages of what’s allegedly a library copy of the book on Demonoid Monday afternoon.
(Supposedly, the nimrod who took the photos left the camera’s serial number somewhere in the image–how dumb can you be? For that reason alone, I hope Scholastic lays the legal smackdown on his sorry ass–you have to be truly inept to screw up digital piracy in this day and age.)
It’s not so much that I want to download the book and read it–I just get this gut, visceral reaction knowing that a few Googles or clicks away, someone has written up all the dirty details that I’m craving. Who dies, who lives, and how it all goes down. Hell, I skim pages where I suspect I could even accidentally be spoiled, with this weird scary butterfly tingle in my belly, like I’m playing Russian Roulette.
I need a hobby. No, a REAL hobby, like curling or knitting. Something that doesn’t involve this goddamned machine.
