In a world without Harry Potter…
May 07
Thank you blog Don LaFontaine, for that subject line…
It turns out I’m really, really late to this party – after just discovering the first book by Jim Butcher, Storm Front, I find that there are 10 books in the series. There was a TV series on Sci-Fi. And a comic book is supposed to come out any time now, if it hasn’t already. But it’s not my fault – you see, I only found out about it the other day, when Buffy alum (and creator of The Guild) Felicia Day interviewed author Patrick Rothfuss, who in turn gave a shout out to Jim Butcher. So, really, when you think about it, it’s Felicia’s fault that I didn’t find out about this sooner.
The concept is stupidly simple. I could say “Harry Potter meets Moonlighting” or something like that, or “What if Angel were a wizard instead of a vampire?”, but it would do Butcher a bit of a disservice – mixing noir with magic has been done before, but not always well, and not always with legs.
Free Comic Book Day gave a small taste of IDW’s upcoming comic series and I’m scrambling to find the TV series, but in the meantime, I’m going through the books as best I can. My initial reaction – so far, not bad. My interest remains, though I’m not completely hooked yet. But then, things haven’t gotten too harry yet… I mean, hairy.
The Wachowskis: Hiding Out
May 07Defamer has an intriguing post about this Friday’s Speed Racer wide release and how the notorious reclusiveness of the Wachowskis isn’t doing them any favors at this point.
Like it matters; the Wachowskis haven’t granted an interview in the decade since The Matrix, deferring to mega-producer and de facto representative Joel Silver and their casts to flog their work publicly. Their crews sign non-disclosure agreements. The duo’s contracts entitle them to a luxury rarer than final cut — an opt-out provision shielding them from the promotion of their films. It’s Stanley Kubrick/Terrence Malick/Eric Rohmer stuff, but with one crucial exception: Their films aren’t that good.
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.
