roseembolism | Entries tagged with fandom

Current Mood: contemplative

So it's been over a week since WorldCon76 ended, which in internet terms is about a century. A week where I had to deal with catching up with work and post-con depression. WorldCon76 is but a distant memory to the generations that have grown up in the last eight days, and yet here I go. Also, next post will have pictures.

When my partner afterward asked me what one quote I thought was most memorable, at the time I couldn't think of any, and I got upset. That's the way my brain disability and speech processing deficit works- I remember concepts and impressions, but things people say? That more and more is becoming lost to me. In retrospect, I remember best N. K. Jemisin's powerful speech. That remains clear, even as the quotes I loved from Ursula Vernon and others failed to embed in my memory.

But I have impressions:

The Last WorldCon I went to was ConFrancisco 1993. I was very conscious through the convention that this will probably be my last WorldCon, due to my age. I think that contributed to my anxiety. Also to my regret that due to life complications I couldn't be more involved

Oh my, the place was white. Whiter even than the local game conventions. Being back at campus with it's diversity of people from all over the world, was a disorienting contrast. And also frankly, a huge relief.

The convention was less male-dominated that I thought it might be, though there I was also comparing it to the highly gender imbalanced game conventions I know. Even BigBadCon, with its commitment to inclusion, is male dominated. So that was good.

The crowd was also about as old as I expected on the average, however I was gratified to see more younger people, in their 30s and younger, than I thought there would be. And gaming was younger still This is one reason that I think outreach to related fandoms, like gaming and anime, is important.

I worked at gaming, and I really appreciated the size and central location of gaming. I was also surprised at how popular it was- we had guests ranging from people who wanted short-two-person games, to a person who was here with their partner, and was relieved they could do something throughout the con. I now strongly think having a large board and tabletop selection at conventions is a good idea.

The assisted facilities at the convention I had no problem with I had trouble walking, but the hallways were broad, and the reserved elevators very appreciated. It was still a problem for me to get from gaming to panels, due to the sheer size of the convention, and the crowding in the hallways next to the panel rooms.

As for crowding, honestly a lot of panels needed more seating in larger rooms. I missed several panels because there wasn't any place for me to sit, and I couldn't stand.

Food was high priced, but not as badly as I thought. And the Callahan's pubs having food bowls was appreciated.

I don't know what that nonalcoholic blue drink at the Expanse party was, but it was wonderful. I'll have to get the recipe. The other parties...remember my hearing processing deficit? Think of the adults from the Peanuts cartoons. I did enjoy going around with a friend. But why the Fairmont of all places? Was the Marriott not available?

Kindle is very convenient, BUT it does mean I didn't have books to sign. I did buy a couple books to get signed, such as Mare Internum. Which, depending on timing, may qualify for a Hugo nomination next year.

Partially because I worked so much in gaming, I felt disconnected from the action of the convention, and missed a number of panels that really would have enhanced the convention for me. My having trouble scheduling myself between gaming and panels, abs being indecisive on what panels I wanted to go to didn't help

The major source of my feeling of disconnect though, was the fact that I have an online handle and persona that isn't connected to my real-world identity. I had good reasons to keep the two separated, though the need isn't as urgent. I don't regret it. But as a result, I chose not to attend things like the File770 meetups, and on the other hand, missed meeting with my local friends, except for bumping into people in the halls.

So I ended up afterwards, asking myself "Did I really get the most I could out of Worldcon? Did I have the best experience? Or, by continually waffling on where I wanted to be, did I miss the best part of it?

This is one reason why I waited to write this up. I had to process, get over my post-con blues, and gain some perspective. And, with the distance of time, I can have the perspective to see the convention as a wonderful experience. If I didn't get everything I could out of it? If I didn't connect with people as much as I could have? *shrug* that's life. I DID have a once-in-25 years experience, and that's what's important.

WorldCon is not dying, SF&F fandom is not dying, and I still am a part of it. That's what I take away.

Current Mood: crazy

So this all started on metafilter, where we were discussing Orson Scott Card and "Hamlet's Father". Someone started a list of writers and their dark habits, and someone else noted that this list could be set to the tune of "88 lines about 44 women. One thing led to another, and this horrifyingly brilliant thing was the result:

(Courtesy of lousybunch)

( 88 Rumors about 44 Fantasists )

Current Mood: contemplative

The Television Tropes wiki has introduced a new service, called Useful Notes, which is a collection of more-or-less factual articles designed to inform and educate readers, and "debunk common media stereotypes". In other words, it's to do much the same thing that TV Tropes was originally created to do. It's interesting that TV Tropes has become so huge and unwieldy it needs a fact page, but not that surprising. I personally think that some time ago TV Tropes passed the point of usability and is now just about how many video game and anime series references one can fit to a given trope.

I've also been hearing from some writers that TV Tropes has become an active detriment to their writing anything. Some have told me that they develop a writer's block after reading TV Tropes, and others have mentioned that they get too depressed to write. In both case, they state thhe problem as being "WEll, all the tropes have been done before, so I can't do anything original.

I can't help but think this is a product of Television Topes own success. TV Tropes used to be useful both in describing some of the "Cheats" that writers used, and in pointing out the cliched, racist and sexist elements in TV shows. However I'm starting to see it used as a substitute for actually describing what's going on in a given piece of fiction. Believe it or not there IS a difference between Madmen and Supernatural, even if they share some tropes- which I know they do, because ALL shows share tropes. That's where I suspect the sense of depression really comes in, from knowing that one's work won't actually be judged for what it has to say or the quality of our writing, but merely cataloged on what tropes people can glom onto. It's description as a substitute for criticism.

Not only has the situation become like that joke where prisoners simply say the numbers of jokes, TV Tropes is rapidly becoming prescriptive, not descriptive. I've actually heard writers say "Well, I'm doing a story about subject X, so according to TV Tropes, I need to have Tropes A, B, and G-R in it. Hell, I can practically do my writing by numbers now." It's like an author listening too much to what fans want to see- the end result is Piers Anthony.

I suppose the answer could be as simple as a writer not reading TV Tropes, but TV Tropes has had a valuable role to play in pointing out bad writing and cliches, especially those that are racist, sexist, or other-ist. And of course it leaves the problem of other people putting too much emphasis into TV Tropes. Maybe it's just time to start over, or do some vigorous editing of the site?

What do you all think?

The news article about it is here: Reclusive small-time writer kills himself by setting fire to the tons of papers, stories, articles and rejection slips that filled his apartment. The community knew him as a recluse, but the fan community knew him as "Froggy", a brilliantly witty author and internet poster. Such a tragic end to a man who was unknown to the larger world, but honored by fandom. Fans are Slans and all that.

But wait, there's more, as both the article and

nihilistic_kid 's livejournal post explores. The man deliberately cultivated an air as an enigma, cultivating multiple backgrounds and identities. He claimed to have been married three times, and to have had adventures all over the world; nothing could be confirmed, no details given, he was merely the eccentric who dressed like an 19th century time traveler. Neighbors on the other hand knew him as a far right-winger who would only talk about obscure historical topics or dogs, and would occasionally scream about his childhood abuse late at night. And, in what the paper bizarrely describes as "the most sordid story", 10 years ago he kidnapped, tied up, and sexually assaulted a neighbor.

And finally last week he spammed a couple newsgroups with reports that he was "going away for a while" (Quoting an arctic explorer's last words) and then set fire to his apartment and himself. To observers, it's clear that he not only wanted to kill himself, but take all of his neighbors with him.

So this tragedy actually gets revealed as a severely disturbed sex offender whose stories were accepted at face value by fandom, and whose incipient meltdown went almost completely unnoticed. Fandom once again shows it has a hard time telling eccentricity and bad hygiene apart from people with serious mental issues. As for me? I'm trying hard to have some sympathy for the guy, but well, some fans simply choose to end up as object lessons for other fans. He sounds like someone who constantly constructed a fantasy persona to avoid dealing with his actual life. And that's a real object lesson and warning for all fans. Of course I'm probably a bit more vehement than I need to be, because I've known fans that remind me of him. The three-hundred pound hairy unhygenic fans who try to use their fandom as a crutch and a shield from the world. The thing is, in that sort of private war, the world always wins. you can only retreat for so long and so far from the world.

And now, I think in spite of my sore knee, I'm going out for some exercise, and to meet people.

Current Mood: amused

For some reason, this video parody of a well known pop star garnered a bit of controversy in the fan community, mainly to the tune of "Why did they get a bunch of models? Why didn't they use real gamer girls?" But as people who read the credits pointed out, the singers are gamer girls. Hell, they even supplied the action figures. As for me, I think it's cute and funny.

Anyway, here it is, including special guest appearances!

Originally from

shadesong 's LJ.

Current Mood: annoyed

(Nicked from James Nicoll's blog):

From a HerosCon comics panel: the issues of minority characters taking up the mantle of established characters, only to be killed off was brought up:

A serious topic came up about how characters who are minorities who happened to be legacy characters like Ryan Choi are killed off so their caucasian counterparts can return and how they feel like they are being cheated or sidelined out of their roles. Sattler took a more serious tone. "It's so hard for me to be on the other side because it's not our intention. There is a reason behind it all. We don't see it that way and strive very hard to have a diverse DCU. I mean, we have green, pink, and blue characters. We have the Great Ten out there and I have counter statistics, but I won't get into that. It's not how we perceived it. We get the same thing about how we treat our female characters."

Translated: "We don't have problems with minorty representation, because we have GREEN and BLUE characters!"

...right.

Thanks DC, for reinforcing my decision to switch to webcomics.

Current Mood: thoughtful

Carl Macek (1951-2010)

Summary: Carl Macek, the writer who was responsible for the Robotech saga, as well as English dubs for Studio Ghibli films such as My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service, passed away Sunday, April 18, of a heart attack.

I know that he's been highly controversial, with a number of fans decrying the liberties he took in tying together three unrelated series into the Robotech Saga. However, I'm not one of them. For all the compromises and flaws in his productions, he did something that was previously thought impossible- brought a moderately adult and sophisticated animated series to American TV. In doing so, he revitalized the anime scene and brought a whole new generation of anime fans into the hobby. He's really one of the major people responsible for the popularity of anime today. In addition, all of the best sophisticated animated series, from Batman, to Justice League, to Avatar succeeded in part because of the groundbreaking work Carl Macek did.

And for my part, I remember during high school running up the mile-long hill to my house, so I could get home in time to watch Robotech. So, rest in peace, Carl Macek. You did good.

Current Mood: confused

...but I'm surprised at how quickly this developed. No wait, on second thought, I'm not surprised. Not surprised at all.

(Nicked from James Nicoll's LJ, who in turn nicked it from nihilistic-kid.)

Na'vi Anti-Defamation League

Community: We Are Na'vi: worth reading for the amusement value of the invasion by the Daleks, the "interest" expressed by a U.S. military commander, and the anti-Na'vi propaganda posters.

Confused?

fridgepunk explains as snarkily as possible about Otherkin, the Na'vi Otherkin, and the conflict they're between the two groups, caused by the Otherkin finding Na'vikin weird and not true Otherkin. That's right: the Otherkin find them messed up.

Now there's some people who suspect that the NADL is a joke. I'd like to think so, but well....

Current Mood: curious

So, I've always been a bit bemused by the fascination that SF writers have with Galactic Empires. But just now, something new grabbed my attention. We all know that in history, there's been a number of empires -- some of the more famous and powerful ones in fact -- have been headed by women: Elizabeth, Victoria, Catherine the Great, and so on. But here's the question: in SF literature, story, can one name an interstellar empire run by an Empress?

(note: planetary empires, of the sort headed by the beautiful queen just waiting to be impressed by a strapping Earthman don't count)

Hmm...I honestly can't think of any. And what does this say about Science Fiction and gender?

edit: My beautiful wife did point out a female GE empress: the Ahb empire in the anime/novels Banner of the Stars.

Current Mood: quixotic

Arcologies are constantly popping up in the literature of Science Fiction, and there's something about huge, "cities in a building that just seems to appeal to the fannish sensibility. I've always wondered why. Well, apart form they're being spectacular, if impractical applications of extreme architecture.

But there's always been something monolithic and extravagant about arcologies that seems to hint at a sort of utopian monomania. In fact, the notion of an entire city in a single, pre-planned building implies a sort of top-down authoritarianism, as opposed to the organic growth that a normal city has.

So oddly enough, it was no surprise to find out that Soleri grew up in fascist Italy. And multiple critiques of Arcosanti, Soleri's perpetually-in-construction seed arcology by a former resident, has detailed a structure that denies dissent and critical discussion. Aside from Dr. Neutopia, sociologist Paul Ray has reported on the lack of workers rights and freedom in Arcosanti. The needs of the individuals in the community are subjugated to the vision of Soleri, which is odd, considering that Arcologies are supposed to be a better way to live.

Certainly there seems no element of human scale in Soleri's designs, no scope for individual contributions. It is also too easy to imagine a place like Hexahedron (above), being divided into the elite in the top half, and the workers in the lower section; the design seems all to useful for restricting flow of people and items. Critics like Neutopia have compared the management structure at Arcosanti, to that of China: "based on the age old authoritarian, patriarchal model of command and control of the masses." Perhaps that's a reason why China seems to be leading the race to build a functioning arcology, and not just their need for low-ecological impact housing.

The larger question here, is whether this is merely a problem with Soleri's particular vision, or whether authoritarian governmental structures go hand-in hand with the idea of arcologies. And if so, what does it say about the science fiction culture's fascination with the idea?

I won't really go into the latest racefail controversy, AKA "Mammothfail". I just want to point out that it's really a distressing feeling to read the comments of an author you respect, and find yourself muttering "No, No, no! Just, stop. You're NOT helping. I know you're trying to support your friend, but you're making things worse. No see, you're still typing. That's bad. Aw, no, not with the metaphors, just back. Away. Slowly."

A part of my mind is trying to adapt the Tom Leher song "Who's Next" to Racefail, as I wonder who the next author I respect is going to make the mistake of explaining their way deeper into a mess.

Current Mood: sleepy

It's enough to warm a former drafter's heart.

So there's this guy out there who is doing engineering schematics of various Star Trek vessels. That is, not blueprints, but those computer diagrams you saw on the show that showed a side view, along with a list of major systems, done up as futuristic graphics. Like for instance, The Enterprise:

But that's not enough for him. he had to tackle NASA as well. And this is my favorite:

One really has to appreciate the amount of effort and skill someone put into this project.

Current Mood: awake

Evidently some of the grognards in the SF field were grumbling, because YA books won the Nebula (Powers, by Ursula K. LeGuin), Tiptree (The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness), and have even been nominated for the Hugo. John Scalzi has a trenchant response that should send these grumblers back under their rocks, but don't stop there; the responses include a number of recommendations for new YA novels that adults may find interesting.

I find this particularly interesting, because YA books were what got me into reading Speculative Fiction, and some of the ones I read, I'll put up against any adult novel. Books like have Spacesuit Will Travel, or The Star Beast, or The Homeward Bounders, or The Spirit Ring or The White Mountains are books I'll happily have on my shelf next to any "adult" novel.

I admit that I have a weakness for YA books, because they tend to have more of a straightforward concentration on character and plot, and they are one of the few groups of SF novels that actually adhere to the concept of putting everything in a reasonable length. And I admit my writing style is more in the line of YA writing. But beyond that, YA books have been a gateway to a broader interest in SF for generations, and its nice to see them get recognition for that fact.

Current Mood: chipper

It's been only two years since the writer Jo Walton proposed a day to give away work for free online. This was in response to the resignation speech of Howard Hendrix, former V.P. of the SFWA, turning into a rant on giving away writing for free. The specific words that caused this holiday proposal were from his resignation speech:

Webscabs claim they're just posting their books for free in an attempt to market and publicize them, but to my mind they're undercutting those of us who aren't giving it away for free and are trying to get publishers to pay a better wage for our hard work.

Since more and more of SFWA is built around such electronically mediated networking and connection based venues, and more and more of our membership at least tacitly blesses the webscabs (despite the fact that they are rotting our organization from within) -- given my happily retrograde opinions, I felt I was not the president who would provide SFWAns the "net time" they seemed to want at this point in the organization's development, or who would bless the contraction of our industry toward monopoly, or who would give imprimatur to the downward spiral that is converting the noble calling of Writer into the life of Pixel-stained Technopeasant Wretch.

Obvious reaction to technophobia from a science fiction editor aside, the first year met with huge success, resulting in a list of free online works from some fairly big names in the SF community. This year, the International Pixel-Stained Technopeasents community is proud to keep the traditon alive. In addition we have a some other writers giving their contributions

Ryk E. Spoor AKA Sea Wasp

Lawrence Watt-Evans

Jonathan Schattke

Please give them a read, and if you know of any other writers celebrating IPSTP day, please let me know and I'll put them on the list. Come and celebrate one of the best aspects of the internet!

Current Mood: sarcastic

It's not quite a social fallacy, but it's one that I've seen often enough. Some fan sees something he doesn't like in an upcoming movie, and taking inspiration from by the old Trek fan campaign that kept the original series on TV for a season, he believes that the power of fans opinions can make or break a major production. I've seen it time and time again, in fan reactions to films ranging from Star Trek, to Star Wars, to Lord of the Rings: it usually involves some statement about how no true fan will go to see the movie, and they will get all of their friends to boycott it as well.

In fact, they usually resemble statements like this one I saw today:

Paramount should want there to be a RPG based on the new movie, not because some game company pays them a lot of money, but because it will help them out in the long run. Roleplayers are a disproportionate portion of the traditional Star Trek fan-base. There's a lot of Trekkies who hate the very idea of a new movie and can't imagine anything worthwhile coming out of revisiting the license. They're not just going to boycott the movie, they're going to flood the fora and convince all their friends to skip it to.

Oddly enough, I've never seen one of these threats of mass action have an effect. But these fans never seem to stop believing that they have a power of numbers that just doesn't exist.

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Page Summary

WorldCon76, impressions.
Not your normal filk: 88 Rumors about 44 Fantasists.
TV Tropes: Threat or Menace?
When a Fan Dooms Himself to be an Object Lesson.
Gamer Girls: the Video
Oh those wacky comic book editors!
R.I.P. Carl Macek
I suppose this was inevitable...
And another SF thing: Galactic Empires and Gender
Authoritarian Arcologies?
*sigh* When authors should know better.
Ah, schematics, how I love thee.
Scalzi and YA fiction, an recommendations!
Happy International Pixel-Stained Technopeasent Day!
Another Geek Fallacy?

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Erratica Reduex

Meanderings by a born dilettante

Entries tagged with fandom

WorldCon76, impressions.

Not your normal filk: 88 Rumors about 44 Fantasists.

TV Tropes: Threat or Menace?

When a Fan Dooms Himself to be an Object Lesson.

Gamer Girls: the Video

Oh those wacky comic book editors!

R.I.P. Carl Macek

I suppose this was inevitable...

And another SF thing: Galactic Empires and Gender

Authoritarian Arcologies?

sigh When authors should know better.

Ah, schematics, how I love thee.

Scalzi and YA fiction, an recommendations!

Happy International Pixel-Stained Technopeasent Day!

Another Geek Fallacy?