So I’ve finished everything that can be finished in the single player campaign of Red Dead Redemption. I feel hollow inside, like I’ve gained nothing but a temporary and meaningless accomplishment. I must play more video games to distract me from this realization.
I’ve just finished watching the first season of Attack on Titan. It’s about the last human stronghold in a world overrun by giants. It be awesome. The lunacy of the fans is also awesome. Case in point, a fan video of the characters as the Spice Girls in Wannabe:
Question: What would erotica be like if a man wrote it?
This chick showed up at my place with humungous tits. We banged for a while then I came on her humungous tits. Later on another girl with humungous tits showed up, same deal. Also there was a dinosaur.
One year ago, I decided to track how many books, movies, TV shows, and comics that I consumed. That project has now come to a close. What have I discovered?
First, most of what I read is science fiction and fantasy. Overwhelmingly so, actually. Second, I have a tendency to binge watch on TV shows. Third, when given a choice between watching a two hour movie or four 30 minute TV episodes, I will watch the TV show because for some reason I’m daunted at spending two hours on a single leisure activity. Fourth, I read a staggering amount of comics. Last, I kind of wish I watched more movies.
Anyway, the final tally is below.
Books: 83
Movies: 56
Comic Books (including manga): 940
TV Shows: 427
And in case for some reason anyone out there is curious exactly what fiction I consumed, here’s the list I made.
Kind of late, but it’s still an event to mark despite the delay.
And some advice from the dearly departed:
I’ve only now discovered that Lev Grossman – author of such works as The Magicians and The Magician King – reads fanfiction. Not only that, he recommended Archive of Our Own (also known as AO3) in his official capacity as a writer-type person for Time Magazine. Mostly I’m astonished because I’m peripherally involved in AO3 and I’m always surprised when I discover fannish kinship with an artist I like. I feel like when I found out Neil Gaiman also reads Gunnerkrigg Court.
Still, dear Lev does have a point that fanfiction is an important and unheralded literary movement. I wonder if he also writes fanfiction? I know N.K. Jemisin does. To be honest, I only discovered her professional output through her fanfiction when I started looking for other stuff she’d written. And I know of one English professor who writes Star Trek novels to pay the bills. Well, barring a drastic reorganization of the copyright system I don’t suppose anyone will ever discover the fanfiction that professional writers have produced. Oh, well.
Last night I saw a mouse ducking under the stove as I walked into the kitchen. Thirty minutes ago I set a mouse trap and baited it with peanut butter.
So begins a contest of wills between man and beast. This will only end in the destruction of one or the other – to the victor, glory; to the loser, death.
They’ll be watching Season 2 of The Legend of Korra, because it’s coming out this September.
I don’t think I can express how much I like Terrifica, my favourite Real-Life Superhero. Let’s just say it’s a lot. Who could not like someone who dresses up as a superhero and goes from bar to bar saving women from drunken hook-ups they’ll probably end up regretting? (Besides jerks, of course.)
I haven’t heard about her lately so I assumed she retired. Be that as it may, I just found out a couple of neat things about her.
First, The Womb has a couple of songs about her (remastered version here). They’re free to download, too, though I chipped in on Paypal just because.
Second, Terrifica used to have a website of which no full record exists. She stopped advertising her superhero career on it after a while. She’s also an artist, which explains why her costume is nicer than for a lot of other Real-Life Superheroes. You can actually find out the school where she got her Bachelor of Fine Arts from simple googling if you so desire.
Third, Terrifica apparently trademarked her name and image all the way back in 2000. Well, she applied for it back then, as apparently it takes a few years to trademark things since it wasn’t officially registered until 2004. If anyone out there ever wants to get in touch with our erstwhile superhero, that’s where to find her (more contact info here). Heck, you can look at the actual paper application yourself. The filing makes her sound like a performance artist, which makes perfect sense:
The description provided to the USPTO for TERRIFICA is educational and entertainment services performed by a superhero, namely conducting lectures, seminars, and classes regarding social responsibility to public drinking and victims of intoxication.
Also, a pharmaceutical company abandoned a trademark for the name “Terrifica” which was apparently a thingy for “combined nutritional additive and sweeteners for use in food and beverages for human consumption”. They filed in 2004 and the application is marked as ABANDONED – NO STATEMENT OF USE FILED as of 2006. The little guy wins against the corporation! Terrifica, fighting injustice by her mere existence.
However, Terrifica is menaced by that most insidious supervillain of all: legal bureaucracy. Apparently trademarks need to be renewed between the ninth and tenth year of registration or they will be considered abandoned, meaning it has be done sometime in 2013. I wonder, will our heroine renew her trademark?
Evidently Terrifica (or rather, Sarah) has moved on from this part of her life, so it’s entirely possible she’ll let the trademark lapse.
But stay tuned, dear readers, because I will definitely follow this story.
As was foretold by Nostradamus, someone has posted a snarky takedown of the plot holes in Man of Steel. I liked the movie okay but I admit to having low expectations. My good feelings toward the film may also be be as a reaction to the virulent antipathy one of my viewing companions had toward the portrayal of Superman. Have you ever stumbled across the online rantings of a comic book nerd railing against ridiculous minutiae? Watching the movie with this guy was like that, except I was hearing the words come out of an actual person’s mouth.
So I thought the movie was okay but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be better. It was too long, for one thing, and the climactic action spectacle was kind of turning into a mishmash of violence and camera cuts by the end.
But why read what I say, when you can read the snark over at io9?
Samples:
(on Krypton)
Jor-El: Our planet is dying. Clearly, the only solution is to shoot a baby into space.
Lara-El: It’s the only thing that makes sense anymore!
————–
Young Clark: So I’m kind of thinking I should use my powers for good, to help people and stuff.
Pa Kent: HOLY SHIT NO. You must never reveal your powers to anyone! People will figure out you’re an alien! The government will take you away? Got it? You must never help anyone ever.
Young Clark: Even if it’s a schoolbus full of children about to drown?
Pa Kent: Especially if it’s a schoolbus full of children about to drown! You just sit there, and watch them drown, one by one.
Young Clark: That doesn’t seem right.
Pa Kent: And if for some reason someone else saves the bus, IT IS UP TO YOU TO PUSH THAT BUS BACK IN THAT LAKE AND MAKE SURE THOSE CHILDREN DROWN.
Young Clark: Wait, what?
Pa Kent: YOU ARE GOING TO BE A BEACON OF HOPE WHEN YOU GROW UP, CLARK, A BEACON OF HOPE THAT WATCHES CHILDREN DIE WHEN HE COULD HAVE EASILY SAVED THEM.