FCBD 08: I Apologize (No, Really)
May 06Honestly?
I am sorry.
I regret taking more than three comic books on Free Comic Book Day. It was a jerk move–low-rent, immature, and cheap.
I think deep down, I always knew that, and was trying to be snarky, and defensive, and deflect the argument so that I didn’t have to face it. My momma didn’t raise no thief. Looking back on that moment makes me feel clammy and small.
Worse to me has been my reaction throughout–petulant and “edgy,” even when I was trying to engage in “adult” conversation on a topic that holds great interest for me as a fan. I guess the best you can say about my behavior is that they were “crimes of passion,” but that doesn’t make it okay.
To those who came here to talk about the story, I apologize. I’m embarassed by my own behavior. I’m not the kind who “gets off” on this sort of thing, honest. I wasn’t thrilled by whatever attention was paid to my post; at the end of the day, I’m disappointed, because I would rather we were noticed for good writing and smart ideas and funny bits. When these internet things happen, I get frustrated, and angry, and say and do things I regret–it’s not fun. I care personally about my writing and so the occasional flame war gets taken far too personally as well.
I’ve been active on the internet for fourteen freaking years, and I’m still amazed at the capacity it has to reduce me to my lowest common denominator–to turn me into a smartass brat.
(Not that there isn’t still a place for well-timed humor…being a smartass is as natural to me as breathing. I just let it get out of control.)
Anyway, I value this site as a place for sharing ideas, even when we’re all passionate, and even when I make the mistake of allowing myself to believe that being “right” is more important than being decent and human. I’d like to think of this as a momentary, regrettable lapse in judgment, one that I regret, and hope you’ll stick around, new or old–it’s good to have you here.
And I am interested in finding some way to restore my personal karmic balance after taking the comics–I have one good idea toward that, which I’ll be pursuing over the next few days. I’ll keep y’all posted.
Thanks.
Momofuku
May 06
We don’t talk much about music here at Alert Nerd, but I’ve always believed in the grand tradition of gawky guys with Buddy Holly glasses spitting articulate spite into a microphone–basically, geek rock.
There’s your Weezer, your They Might Be Giants, your Ben Folds and Fountains of Wayne…
…and then there’s Elvis Costello, the godfather of geek rock. (I won’t say “grandfather,” because the dude’s got two babies at home–way to go, old man!)
Elvis has a new record out, entitled Momofuku, and it’s pretty fucking good.
Me and FCBD: WTF?
May 05No, seriously: WTFingF???
I blog and write about comics and geek shit for years all over the internet, and no one even notices, even though I have this fucked-up need to gain the approval of everyone I meet, probably because MY DADDY DIDN’T LOVE ME ENOUGH. Boo hoo, right?
Then I write one post about Free Comic Book Day, and it gets one link, and suddenly everyone’s all up on my ass. It’s like the fucking Thunderdome in the comment thread, and over on the Beat, some dude said I was a shitty father because I took some free comic books.
Jesus! I mean, really. Am I gonna be That Asshole Who Stole Comics now forever? As in, “Well, I appreciate Matt from Alert Nerd curing cancer, but he DID steal those free comics a few years back…”
I’m sorry I stole free comic books. Can’t we just be friends? I’ll return them if you want.
True Geek Confessions: I Stole FREE Comics!
May 04Complaining about Free Comic Book Day seems like a true asshole move. After all, it is a day that has become a kind of Nerd Christmas, when the geek masses flood their local geek emporiums in order to receive FREE COMIC BOOKS. In a perfect world, they rub elbows with the great unwashed masses who don’t know from comics, yet also receive FREE COMIC BOOKS, and everyone celebrates the art form and hobby I love.
So first: Thanks to all the stores participating in Free Comic Book Day. You’re doing good work, and mostly, you’re doing it well.
Now let me bitch, like the whiny weasel bitch that I am.
The Marvel Initiative
May 03If you haven’t seen Iron Man yet, do yourself a big favour – sit through the credits. Your thanks can be sent to me in the form of small cash remunerations via PayPal. If you have seen it and you didn’t sit through the credits (and if my showing was any indication, about 95% of you didn’t) I’m sorry. You missed out. You will, in time, through sheer internet osmosis, find out what you missed, and you will be sad. Very sad. You might want to check out YouTube, quick. It may help.
For those of you, my brothers and sisters, who stayed… HOW FRAKING AWESOME WAS THAT?
I will expound shortly – as this is the harbinger of some big things in comic movies – but for the moment, everyone should have a chance to go see the movie
