tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post4860809408938664127..comments2024-03-28T17:59:09.906+08:00Comments on Monsters and Manuals: I Wish I Did Not Know About "Steven Universe", or the Place Where Nerds and Sport CollideUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-25482577993595856082016-08-20T18:05:01.295+08:002016-08-20T18:05:01.295+08:00Haha, nice.
Funnily enough I have been thinking ...Haha, nice. <br /><br />Funnily enough I have been thinking for ages about some sort of RPG involving fantasy sports that sounds vaguely similar to that.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-33983806217414421452016-08-20T10:33:07.384+08:002016-08-20T10:33:07.384+08:00before this devolves further into pseudo-political...before this devolves further into pseudo-political quagmire.<br /><br />backgrounds on the steven universe are drawn by the sam bosma. you can see his RPG and fantasy friendly work here http://sbosma.tumblr.com/<br /><br />he is also author of the super fun YA fantasy series called (wait for it) fantasy sports (for now basketball and beach volley). the series follows an adventuring somewhat d&d-ish protagonists as they travel around and engage in fantasy-infused sport events. so - steven universe > sam bosma > fantasy sports > soccer. voila, the very heart of your cross-section. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-59068761365731391092016-08-19T17:51:47.168+08:002016-08-19T17:51:47.168+08:00Excellent! Thanks.Excellent! Thanks.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-49175146747072900342016-08-19T13:05:14.856+08:002016-08-19T13:05:14.856+08:00Well in traditional print media, letters full of u...Well in traditional print media, letters full of unsolicited story ideas for established authors would never make it past the editor's circular file. So any pre-internet examples of fan suggestions are most likely lost to the ages. BigFellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03052419088140204154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-40158001626951777772016-08-19T12:54:06.624+08:002016-08-19T12:54:06.624+08:00An excellent example of politically correct (attem...An excellent example of politically correct (attempted) censorship is when the radical feminists of Gamergate harassed Anita Sarkessian for giving conservative commentary on video games.anarchisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05546197561922726279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-16273625794178283822016-08-19T12:32:17.025+08:002016-08-19T12:32:17.025+08:00People are taught that artists don't have righ...People are taught that artists don't have rights and should kowtow to public opinion. Especially when "political correctness" is involved. <br /><br />It's disgusting, but not surprising. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-78964211354850292962016-08-19T11:53:27.169+08:002016-08-19T11:53:27.169+08:00[note the 'minus' sign][note the 'minus' sign]anarchisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05546197561922726279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-22477416477182775142016-08-19T11:52:50.960+08:002016-08-19T11:52:50.960+08:00If you want to get less irrelevant alerts, you can...If you want to get less irrelevant alerts, you can change the alert to include something like -"Stephen Universe".anarchisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05546197561922726279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-87507792815196079482016-08-19T06:24:19.251+08:002016-08-19T06:24:19.251+08:00@BJ Johnson: That does seem like a new thing, does...@BJ Johnson: That does seem like a new thing, doesn't it? It is hard to imagine Dickens getting letters demanding he change his plots or characters...but then again, maybe he did and I'm just parading my ignorance. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-48988191136292481882016-08-19T06:22:43.885+08:002016-08-19T06:22:43.885+08:00@JB: Yeah, that's a good point actually. There...@JB: Yeah, that's a good point actually. There is a distinction in that sense. I think the similarity is just the levels of vitriol. The kind of things people say on social media to people they dislike is really quite strikingly similar to the kind of abuse that gets hurled in a football stadium.<br /><br />One thing that interests me is the difference between sports. Football/soccer fans are notorious for being extremely abusive. But go to a rugby or cricket match and the crowd will be nothing like that and will be very family friendly.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-65828782770504945202016-08-19T05:20:56.080+08:002016-08-19T05:20:56.080+08:00This part is a rather new form of entitled behavio...This part is a rather new form of entitled behavior I've noticed more and more on the internet, especially with social media and comment sections offering fans unprecedented access to the creators of the media they consume. With some web comics I follow it seems like the author is constantly in a low grade conflict with the fans in their comment streams. <br /><br />Even as a very small time creator of content myself I've had to tell viewers/readers, sometimes forcefully, that I'm not taking requests or suggestions for my work. It really is like trying to play a piano concerto and having audience members trying to sit down on the bench next to you and bang out their own tune. BigFellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03052419088140204154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-86313336742865693402016-08-19T03:21:37.983+08:002016-08-19T03:21:37.983+08:00The difference here is that (one might argue) part...The difference here is that (one might argue) part of the "entertainment value" of a sporting event is the fan interaction. You can watch a game on your TV, but if you pay money to show up at the stadium part of the experience is cheering (and sometimes booing) during the match, no?<br /><br />There are extremes of poor etiquette/sportsmanship of course that a rational person would deem unacceptable (I don't start fights with folks wearing the other team's jersey in the stands, for example) but cursing and groaning (or cheering and "high-fiving") is as much part of the experience as drinking $12 beers. <br /><br />Interfering with a TV writer's writing though, is kind of like running onto the pitch and interfering with the goal-tending. But I hate social media, so I'm biased...I'm hoping Twitter and whatnot collapses before civilization does.JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-41311046735991135072016-08-19T00:31:08.092+08:002016-08-19T00:31:08.092+08:00You're welcome. Not a problem - the internet i...You're welcome. Not a problem - the internet is really not an ideal communicative tool. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-23939127418084095272016-08-19T00:26:06.614+08:002016-08-19T00:26:06.614+08:00Not entire un-serious. Of course I am not serious ...Not entire un-serious. Of course I am not serious about it being justified to dismiss Steven Universe out of hand. Nor am I serious about this really being a signal of the fall of Western civilization. Or about Amedot. <br /><br />I am serious about fans needing to re-examine their sense of entitlement and understanding of fiction, and about the crossover between nerds and sport fans. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-34978551843901855002016-08-18T23:29:25.953+08:002016-08-18T23:29:25.953+08:00Nevermind. That's a stupid question.Nevermind. That's a stupid question. Ivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923725063649465366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-2263308976984608822016-08-18T23:25:23.792+08:002016-08-18T23:25:23.792+08:00But really -- is this post entirely un-serious? But really -- is this post entirely un-serious? Ivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923725063649465366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-61508433178812103072016-08-18T23:24:56.415+08:002016-08-18T23:24:56.415+08:00Probably.Probably.Ivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923725063649465366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-37152624720603753372016-08-18T23:19:06.993+08:002016-08-18T23:19:06.993+08:00I'm always mystified when people think I'm...I'm always mystified when people think I'm being entirely serious on the blog. Is it something about humour not crossing the Atlantic very well?noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-62760006892439183012016-08-18T23:14:19.395+08:002016-08-18T23:14:19.395+08:00Fans care a lot about work of fiction. Fans get un...Fans care a lot about work of fiction. Fans get unreasonably pissed when work of fiction doesn't do what they wanted it to. Yawn. As your football example shows, this isn't exactly something new. <br /><br />Something, something, ... fall of Western civilization?!? <br /><br />I'm very surprised to read this sort of hysteria here. Ivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923725063649465366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-2358647094029135632016-08-18T22:55:59.590+08:002016-08-18T22:55:59.590+08:00Thanks!Thanks!noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-69006873492716848752016-08-18T22:17:39.180+08:002016-08-18T22:17:39.180+08:00No, you are just an everyday, garden variety assho...No, you are just an everyday, garden variety asshole. A kind most common on the Internet. Your martyrdom is as petty as the rest.David Oakesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-83601466020072423682016-08-18T19:31:09.808+08:002016-08-18T19:31:09.808+08:00I'm really, truly sorry for making you feel th...I'm really, truly sorry for making you feel that way. (I suspect that in any face-to-face conversation, this entire exchange would have as been as simple as: "Oh, but you're not suggesting...?" "No, I'm not," and that would have been the end of it.)<br /><br />And, as promised, I'm sorry for picking on the things you *did* say and asking "Are these the negative space around a Wrong Opinion?" I won't make excuses for myself; it's not pleasant behaviour.<br /><br />I enjoy owning Yoon-Suin (and reading your blog!) - rightly or wrongly, a different answer might have diminished that (and I wouldn't have come back here). So I'm selfishly, fannishly glad I don't have to find out! Thank you for the things you do and the words you write.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04529487798805193538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-45241485781389742322016-08-18T18:38:42.822+08:002016-08-18T18:38:42.822+08:00It's not about the "Gay Agenda". It&...It's not about the "Gay Agenda". It's about agendas. The idea that works of fiction should <i>primarily</i> serve an agenda (any agenda) in my view undermines the fiction. And if the creators of fiction end up feeling as though they have to serve an agenda (any agenda) <i>before</i> serving the interests of plot, character and drama, then the fiction is critically weakened and will surely die. <br /><br />I don't really appreciate the feeling that I have to answer to anybody for possibly hinting that I might have a Wrong Opinion about something, especially as here when it feels as though you are doing the classic internet comment thing of assuming that I am starting from a position of bad faith and arguing from there. But if it makes you feel better about buying Yoon-Suin I do not have a sincere belief in a "Gay Agenda" nor any problem with gay characters appearing in Steven Universe. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-63582949625148668982016-08-18T18:19:45.174+08:002016-08-18T18:19:45.174+08:00I'm absolutely not making an argument that abu...I'm absolutely not making an argument that abuse is okay. What I am is worried about the reasoning on display behind *this* argument:<br /><br />1: that the fans is question are "grown men and women", and that their actions spring from childishness,<br />2: a good observation about sense of entitlement that I'd be perfectly happy to make myself,<br />3: "why have they got to make eerything political",<br />4: oh, fine, the portmanteau character name thing is silly and usually makes dreadful ugly words, but you realise it comes from celebrity "journalism", right? "Brangelina"? They didn't invent it as a thing. And I realise that it's for humourous effect, but it's a repetition of the accusation of childishness, no?<br /><br />As I've already said, Jeff originally raised the point that from what we know of the fandom - hell, from the awful way they've acted over this - the people doing this are very probably *not* adults, and quite probably queer.<br /><br />And when Jeff made the point, in reply, noisms...talked past it, about "calm".<br /><br />Taken together, that's, let's see - a group of adults, with a agenda, who need to calm down about it?<br /><br />So how's this for fannish entitlement: I've got a copy of Yoon-Suin on my bookcase, which I bought with my own money, and I'm only human - so I'd like to believe that if I ever found myself waiting for a delayed train or whatever, and noisms (or the creators of any other thing I like) happened to be there, we could have a nice chat and go our own ways afterwards thinking well of each other. A sincere belief in The Gay Agenda would be a dealbreaker for me, so I'd like to believe that that's not what's on show here. (Which is entirely plausible - if I thought that what's written here demonstrated that, rather than possibly suggesting it, I'd have cut my losses and left without commenting, never to return!)<br /><br />I'm sincerely hoping that noisms will tell me that it's not the case, that I've inferred something that's not in fact there. In which case, as I said, I've got a sincere apology standing by for suggesting it.<br /><br />Abuse is not justifiable. Coming down on abusers *for abusing someone* is fine with me. But if, *if* the thought process is actually "see what the gays and their agenda did", that's...not, as far as I'm concerned, coming from the moral high ground.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04529487798805193538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-53385944891126328282016-08-18T16:55:33.786+08:002016-08-18T16:55:33.786+08:00The idea that expecting people to control their em...The idea that expecting people to control their emotions to the bare minimum level of not being abusive towards others is itself "an abusive silencing tactic" is completely ridiculous. <br /><br />Public debate in 2016 in Western societies is completely dreadful regardless of the content of the politics. That's what I meant by there being too much "feeling strongly" around. Everybody it seems "feels strongly" about something, and also feels that it entitles them to vent their spleen wherever they feel like, whenever they feel like, and against whoever they feel like. I'm not sure when precisely it became unfashionable or "abusive" to insist that people behave like grownups and control their strong feelings, but I'm not about to change my view on that. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.com