Thanks for this. I also loved the Kuwaiti dog, and the crabs, and the Indian dancers, and the DMZ, and the New Guinea tribesmen.
I teared up, too.
Thanks for the update. I wondered if the storms had hit hard down there. Hope everyone is ok.
Isn't distrust of smart/schooled (yes, I know--not mutually inclusive) people pretty much an across-the-board feeling here in the States? Are liberals despised more for their beliefs or for what they are perceived to be, over-educated mealymouths with no conception of what it means to work for a living?
Serge@109:
I'm not pro-Chris Matthews by any stretch, in case I gave that impression. I think he's a self-serving suck-up. I can't stand to listen to him, so I don't know to what extent he participated in the Dean pile-on. I doubt he stood on the sidelines, though.
The decision by the press corps to get rid of Hart captures my attention. I wonder if they made the same decision about Howard Dean. I remember a segment on Hardball that ran a few weeks after The Scream. Chris Matthews ran the tape that the news outlets showed, of Dean apparently yelling his fool head off. Then he ran the tape again, only this time it contained the cheers of Dean's supporters, which had been filtered from the version that was released for public consumption. On that tape, Dean can barely be heard above the crowd. He had no choice but to yell.
Matthews wondered aloud whether the press had played a role in scuttling Dean's candidacy. I don't recall any of his guests agreeing, or hearing the matter discussed after that. But when in the last six years has the press engaged in any true self-examination?
As to whether fanfic can be upsetting or hurtful, why, of course it can. Was Teresa saying fanfic is always wonderful, or that its effects are always benign? Of course not. Her point is that discussions of fanfic and its rights and wrongs could benefit from a broader view of how, historically, people have told stories and made texts. She's suggesting we be less provincial. Arguing with her as if the question on the table were "Fanfic: Bad or Good?" is not engaging with the actual matter at hand.
Except that the broader view tends to obscure what to some pro writers are the primary issues, namely the possible detrimental impact that fanfic might have on their livelihood and the sense of intrusion/invasion that may be felt when one sees one's income-producing creation spun off in ways one never intended and may not be thrilled with.
And the use of terms like "less provincial", tend to imply, whether meant to or not, that those on the other side of the argument are at best ignorant and at worst smallminded and unwilling to see the light.
I personally have never seen the term used in a benign manner except when describing certain types of decorating styles.
I haven't read much fanfic over the years. The stuff I have read hasn't been particularly good. I think this is because the characters didn't translate well when written by someone who wasn't carrying all that backstory in their heads. Authorly arrogance here, sorry, but I don't believe anyone writes a character better than the originator. Yes, I've pondered how I would write someone else's characters, but I've tried to pull back from that over the years. They're not mine to play with.
It's the difference between filling in the spaces in a paint-by-number kit and starting from the bare canvas. The thing that's wholly yours is going to contain something that the kit pic never will.
I'm surprised at no mention of redheads, who should of course be avoided as they make the most Doleful Ghosts of all.
Innkeepers' daughters should also be avoided at all costs.
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