Monday night, eating Peeps

[cleolinda]

Okay, I'm hugely behind on the linkspam because I spent all of last week either 1) puppying, 2) hand-writing and editing 300 in Fifteen Minutes (now with many icons), or 3) sleeping for dear life. Moreover, I kind of don't care. I have a huge list of starred links on my Google Reader, and I'll probably cherry-pick the very best (and no longer hopelessly outdated) ones for this week. But really, I feel like I'm too dependent on linkspam these days anyway.

So: I saw two movies last week--300, obviously, and I pretty much started laughing when Marching Flute Guy showed up and didn't stop from there. If there had been any doubt, the Guitars of War pretty much sealed my fate. I totally want this on DVD and spent my week in the Comedy Mines listening to the soundtrack. I feel like the Fifteen Minutes turned out pretty well--it actually beats Van Helsing by about 100 words in terms of Shortest Parody Ever, although... well, if you've seen the movie, you'll understand how it's a pound of plot in a ten-pound sack. Still, I worked pretty hard at tightening it as much as possible, if only as practice for the second book (which I hope will have shorter parodies--but more of them), so 2300ish words is like beating the four-minute mile for me.

The other one I saw was The Namesake, which people have been raving about, and even the Lovely Emily gave two thumbs up to the book. I don't know if I was just tired out of my skull or feeling contrary or what, but I went into this one daring it to impress me (and then feeling bad for being so negative from the word go). Part of it might have been that the trailer gave me the idea that it was about A Young Man on a Journey to Learn the Truth Behind His Name, and the entire movie unfolded in my mind and I was already exasperated without even having seen it. (Anything where I can pretty much imagine exactly how it's going to turn out annoys me, which is why I don't really dig the rom-com genre.) Fortunately, the movie was actually a lot more--a lot more--about Gogol/Nick's first-generation immigrant family and Indian culture in general; I'm not sure that Kal Penn was even in the first half hour of the movie. Maybe this is just Mira Nair's feminist sensibility shining through, but I actually feel like the movie is far more about Ashima, the mother, than "the namesake," the boy carrying the name, or the father who gave it to him; it begins and ends with her. Basically, Nair steps back and lets a number of vignettes unfold without pushing an obvious plotline or moral, which is probably the best aspect of the movie--it gives the film an expansive, universal quality where Gogol's family feels like your family, not characters in a movie.

April 23, 2007 is International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day! Have you heard about this? One of the Grand Poobahs at the SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) has decided that, in his opinion, professional writer who posts his/her work online free of charge is a "webscab" (leading to the question, "Who's on strike, exactly?") and, moreover, a "pixel-stained technopeasant." Many technopeasants, myself included, claimed that title (rather gleefully) for our own. So papersky's idea is to have next Monday be, in essence, Give Your Work Away Free Day:

On this day, everyone who wants to should give away professional quality work online. It doesn't matter if it's a novel, a story or a poem, it doesn't matter if it's already been published or if it hasn't, the point is it should be disseminated online to celebrate our technopeasanthood.

What I find so boggling about this whole brouhaha is that I owe my published book to giving out my work free of charge--as you may recall, I got my book deal in the first place because an editor saw "Troy in Fifteen Minutes" online. The only logic I can wring from the SFWA VP's rant is a fear that because we're giving away our work, no one's buying his:

I'm also opposed to the increasing presence in our organization of webscabs, who post their creations on the net for free. A scab is someone who works for less than union wages or on non-union terms; more broadly, a scab is someone who feathers his own nest and advances his own career by undercutting the efforts of his fellow workers to gain better pay and working conditions for all. 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.

The reason I find this to be such a bizarre piece of reasoning is that I'm pretty sure that no one has bought my book without reading some of my work first, whether that means the buyer already knew my online work or simply started reading the book in the store while browsing. I don't have any empirical data to back this up, but I would be willing to bet that absolutely no one bought the book without any idea of what it was about, what my writing was like, or from simply seeing it on Amazon UK--a point which becomes important as more and more people buy their books online. I have been known to buy books sight unseen because I'd heard how good they were, but how did people know to tell me they were good? From reading them. How did they decide to read them? Well, isn't where we came in? I suppose professional reviewers get copies--free copies, aren't they? Maybe those don't count because they're not offered to the public at large. I don't know--I can see how putting your work out there might hurt your own sales ("I don't need to buy her book; I'll just read the online, unpublished parodies"), but I don't see how it hurts someone else's.

Long story short, I'm going to be posting something on Monday. It'll either be something I already have on hand--fiction, nonfiction, poetry, something like that--but if the Comedy Mines are fruitful this week, it might be something new.

Linkspam: "Too dependent," I said. It's a weakness, what can I say.

At least 33 dead in rampage on Virginia campus; 26 others at Virginia Tech wounded in worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

Pulitzers: The Birmingham News got one, because Alabama is, in fact, the center of the universe. Meanwhile, Cormac McCarthy's The Road wins for fiction.

Women make up majority of internet users in the U.S. Which I find amusing, in light of how many guys on more masculine forums seem to think that women aren't online at all.

Winners of the Marshmallow Peep Diorama Contest.

"Best photo of Knut EVAR!!!1!"

From screenwriter John August (Go, Big Fish, Corpse Bride): How to introduce a character.

Edward Norton to be the next Incredible Hulk? It's such a bizarre piece of casting that it may actually circle back around into brilliance, I don't know.

Raimi Open to Helming Hobbit. I still can't wrap my mind around this one.

John Rhys-Davies (aka Sallah) Written Out of 'Indy 4,' Source Says. Meanwhile, Will Shia LaBeouf help or hurt 'Indiana Jones'?

Clive Owen is The International.

Michael Gambon and Emma Thompson to play Marchmains in Brideshead Revisited remake.

CLASH OF THE TITANS REMAKE YAY! I was just thinking the other day that they should totally remake this one, because 1) it's not like they could make it any worse and 2) cheese like that should be shared with many, many generations of actors.

'Harry Potter' Movie Shortened to Avoid 'Grindhouse' Failure? Because I'm sure both movies would face exactly the same problems.

Universal Studios Florida Building 'Harry Potter Theme Park,' Source Says. Okay, speaking of things thought the other day, Sister Girl and I were discussing this precise concept on Sunday. SOMEONE IS CLEARLY INVADING MY THOUGHTS.

New Harry Potter 5 Photo; New High Res OotP Photos.

Anthony Hopkins to costar in The Wolfman? Well, I guess if he can play Zorro, he can play Benicio Del Toro's father...

Weisz Ditches Mummy 3?

Lena Headey as Sarah Connor. Dammit, now I'll have to watch this! I've pretty much been following her around since Brothers Grimm, and 300 didn't do anything to change that.

Orlando Bloom to [Co] Star in Superman Sequel?

Roman Polanski Seeking 'A-List Hollywood Star' For 'Pompeii.'

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay Star in Disturbing Short Film, 'The Landlord.'

trailer_spot: Atonement; hour-long Children of Men interview with Alfonso Cuarón.

Hanks, Howard Back for Angels & Demons. Which makes it official: The Da Vinci Code is going in the Series & Sequels M15M book.

Comments

[sarafinapekkala.livejournal.com]

but I actually feel like the movie is far more about Ashima, the mother, than "the namesake," the boy carrying the name, or the father who gave it to him; it begins and ends with her

Yup, that's exactly what I said coming out of it. (And then my friend was like, "Duh!") I liked how laid-back it was too; a lot of the indie/"indie" films I've seen have a Message, but this is really the kind of story I prefer.

[oasis-zephyr.livejournal.com]

Yeah, VA college life right now is a bit hectic. If anyone reads this and knows anyone at VA Tech, please don't hesitate to send your support in whatever means possible. It's going to be a rough few days.

[enid-keaner.livejournal.com]

I know bunches of people at Tech, so you guys are totally in my thoughts.

[jasminelily.livejournal.com]

CLASH OF THE TITANS REMAKE YAY! I was just thinking the other day that they should totally remake this one, because 1) it's not like they could make it any worse and 2) cheese like that should be shared with many, many generations of actors.

I AM SO EXCITED. I have watched this movie so many times (since it used to be on all the time when I was little), and bought it on DVD as soon as it was available. Man, this rules.

[adoresixtyfour.livejournal.com]

I just got the DVD last week (what can I say, it was on sale at Virgin Megastore), and now there's gonna be a remake? Which means there will probably be a "special edition" DVD of the original. Which means buying it again, maybe. Crap.

[bakednudel.livejournal.com]

I can't help it, but I do get irritated when someone like SFWA poobah consistently uses "he" throughout his screed.

Makes me want to ignore whatever he's saying. I have to assume it's a 'he' writing, since that's the only pronoun he cares to use.

Good on ya, papersky I'm actually reading Farthing right now and it's excellent. Got it from my library, which means I didn't buy it either.

Isn't April 23rd Shakespeare's birthday?

[angevin2.livejournal.com]

You have a Wilton Diptych icon!

I do not know you at all, but I think that is entirely awesome.

/random

And yes, April 23 is generally celebrated as Shakespeare's birthday. We're not certain of it; there is an extant record of his baptism on 26 April 1564, so it's a conjectural date, and may have something to do with the fact that it's also St. George's Day, though it could be his actual date of birth. It is, at any rate, certainly the anniversary of his death.

[lauthe.livejournal.com]

I saw the Howard Hendrix thing on Fandom Wank, and just, yeah. I loved the part about we dastardly internet types besmirching the "noble calling of Writer." Methinks somebody's over-estimating his own importance. I might have to post something on Monday, too.

Raimi Open to Helming Hobbit.

I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS.

[kismeteve.livejournal.com]

OH man, the Brideshead casting just gets better and better.

[alpheratz.livejournal.com]

Really. I have no clue what it's supposed to be about, but "Michael Gambon and Emma Thompson" pretty much guarantees that I'll see it.

[theatre-angel.livejournal.com]

The thought of a Brideshead Revisited remake makes me want to shout my love for Jeremy Irons from any various rooftops, but the Potter theme park is pretty kick-ass, so I guess it all evens out.

[lyricalnights.livejournal.com]

Maybe this is just Mira Nair's feminist sensibility shining through, but I actually feel like the movie is far more about Ashima, the mother, than "the namesake," the boy carrying the name, or the father who gave it to him; it begins and ends with her.

That's actually the strength and scope of the novel shining through. Nair was maybe the ideal person to channel it, but it's great marriage of source and adaptation. I guess the trailers (I didn't see many) were focusing on the whole personal identity issue, but the whole novel is about identity on every level- personal, familial, cultural- and how often the struggle to comprehend it is circular rather than linear. He's The Namesake because he's both Gogol and Nikhil, his father's embrace of America and his mother's longing for India, a sum of their parts and a division of them. It's an excellent book (highly recommended) and the movie made me all sniffly. Okay, I'll stop babbling now.

[lyricalnights.livejournal.com]

PS- I find the webscab thing just mind-boggling. Have these people never heard of Advance Reading Copies? Giving people a taste of your work for free in order to drum up enthusiam in all the right places is a time-tested strategy. Craziness.

[lifeinsomniac.livejournal.com]

I'm totally going to be one of those cliche book snobs and say you should read the Namesake if you haven't already. But I say this b/c as intriguing as the movie is, the book takes that nugget of intrigue and multiplies it by 20.

I was also glad that the movie took its time concentrating on Ashima, however. If anything b/c the movie version of Gogol didn't come across nearly as complex or sympathetic as the Gogol of the book.

[laughing-cities.livejournal.com]

i kind of just ran around my room in joy at the thought of a clash of the titans remake. like you it has always come to my mind that they should. the cheese in that is amazing. =]

[lilgoala.livejournal.com]

'Harry Potter' Movie Shortened...

Nooo! Stop it, you dummies, that's what wrecked GOF! :(

[jazzchang.livejournal.com]

Man, I thought I was the only one who thought that. It was like watching the scenery on a really fast moving train.

[rorqual.livejournal.com]

There is further Hendrix explanation here (http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/web_tech/exclusive_hendrix_clarifies_scabrous_remarks_on_web_publishing_57032.asp). I see what he's trying to say - poorly - about the potential development of a 'give it away' mentality, and how it might affect writers by changing the way the market works. I don't know that it is correct, mind you, but I get the viewpoint. Certainly, the initial screed sounded a lot more like "I'll be out chopping wood and doing Real Things and not wasting time on your crazy IntarWeb, thank you!" Which, you know...when you have it posted on the Internet, sort of undermines your moral superiority.

There was something else I was going to comment on, but my computer hs frozen, leaving me only this screen, and despair. So you are spared.

[ladyvyola.livejournal.com]

It also doesn't help your standing as a "real" writer (as opposed to those "just add water!" writers, one assumes) when you have to keep explaining what you really meant.

[agentsculder.livejournal.com]

I've had a tough couple of days, and that adorable picture of Knut just made my day. That bear never fails to bring a smile to my face. Thanks for posting it.

[leila82.livejournal.com]

I definitely felt that The Namesake focused much more on Ashima than Gogol (which made me happy because I love the actress who plays her so much, and I am not the biggest Kal Penn fan). And I think that taking that view is what really helped make the movie different from your normal "immigrant family raising kids in America" movie, the kind that come with crazy hijinks and cultural clashes. (Kal Penn has been in a few of those, too.)

The one thing I didn't like was that Maxine and Mausimi were not as well developed as they were in the book; there were reasons why their relationship with Gogol turned out the way they did, and that didn't really come across so well in the movie, I thought.

[alpheratz.livejournal.com]

Are there short films that aren't disturbing? I once accidentally wandered into an open-air short film festival in Grenoble with a group of friends, and the two films we watched before fleeing further trauma were complete mindfucks.

A little linkspam related to that awful VA Tech tragedy...

[thatlizgirl.livejournal.com]

Here is but one of many outlets to express sympathy/condolences for those affected: PetitionSite.com's Tribute to Virginia Tech. (http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/402405741?ltl=1176760812)

And for those with a Facebook: A tribute to those who passed at the Virginia Tech Shooting. (http://facebook.com/group.php?gid=2305046635&ref=mf)

~~~

It may also be worth mentioning that many schools are intending to sport orange & maroon ribbons as a sign of memorium for the students who lost their lives at Virginia Tech today.


♥

Re: A little linkspam related to that awful VA Tech tragedy...

[oasis-zephyr.livejournal.com]

I heard about the orange and maroon thing too. It's so nice to see that other people are reaching out when it really matters.

[theendofallthat.livejournal.com]

thanks for the link to the 4/23 stuff; it took my mind off the VT shooting. murph.


I've been trying to find it in your archives but I am having no luck; do you happen to have the link to that thing you posted maybe a month or so ago that would be your reminder on your computer? like, it would bug you to get off the internet or whatever you needed to do? I should've bookmarked it.

[meandstuff.livejournal.com]

The Hasslebot? (http://www.hassleme.co.uk/)

[kosher-jenny.livejournal.com]

Replacing Rhys-Davies with the kid from Even Stevens? Boo! That's not a fair trade! I like how the reason given is that the film needs a "younger cast". Uh, it's a little late for that, I think.

I'm kind of annoyed by the speculation that Bloom would play Zod. You know, Superman has been a character for decades and has had villains other than the ones that appeared in the Donner flicks and I hope the movie producers know this. Maybe they want to shave Orlando's head, paint him green, take away his pants and have him play Brainiac?

(of course, I'm rooting for Darkseid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkseid) to be the next big bad. It could make for some epic fight scenes)

I saw the SFWA thing on fandom_wank and boggled at it quite a bit, not only for the reasons that you stated, but also because I really don't think published writers are in danger of being pushed aside by technopeasants and having people turn away from books in favor of the glowing screen o noes. There is still the fact that the physical experience of reading a book for hours on end is still much more comfortable than doing so with a computer (the only thing that might change that is maybe if portable electronic readers advanced to the point that the screens looked like actual paper and the devices themselves allowed you to upload any text into it without some sort of weird DRM system).

There is also the fact that there is still a bias against people who publish online for free, though for the most part it's less of a "dey took-er jerbs! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goobacks)" mentality and more of an automatic assumption that anything and everything creative available online is just crap. I suppose the reasoning for that is "if it's so good, why isn't published?" which makes the assumption that the sole decided in what gets published is quality. I find this reasoning to be ridiculous myself, since I've seen writing and artwork online that far surpassed some of the crap that gets printed these days.

[lotusbiosm.livejournal.com]

My boyfriend's a big fanboy, and one of the things we talk about sometimes is how incredibly hard it is to write good Superman villains. The guy has way more power than any other human being, so trying to find someone who can actually put up a fight is tricky. Darkseid though, could do some damage (though I admit that what I know of Darkseid I think I learned from Justice League cartoons, so what the hell do I know?)

And I agree that quality isn't always what determines what gets published. It's also about marketability. Publishing is a business, you don't print books you don't think anyone will buy.

[soleta-nf.livejournal.com]

eMarketer estimates that there will be an estimated 97.2 million female Internet users ages 3 and older in 2007

There are 3-year-olds on the internet?? That would bring a whole new level of l33t-speak: keyboard smash! a;lskd;alsdfjk;as

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

A friend I watched it with also decided the movie was about Ashima, which I think makes sense given that the final shot is of HER, not Gogol.

Basically, Nair steps back and lets a number of vignettes unfold without pushing an obvious plotline or moral, which is probably the best aspect of the movie--it gives the film an expansive, universal quality where Gogol's family feels like your family, not characters in a movie.
I totally agree.

I sort of wish I didn't know this

[kudzita.livejournal.com]

Re: Marching Flute Guy, you may be interested to know that that particular type of flute is a) only played at drinking parties, and b) on vase paintings, only played by hookers, young boys, and people getting penetrated in general.

So, uh...more irony in the "Athenians? Pah! Boy-lovers!" quote, I guess?

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of emailing you the Technopeasant wank, but I figured you had to have seen it already, given it's been on Making Light, Fandom_Wank, Scalzi's blog, etc. I hadn't seen the Technopeasant Day suggestion, however. I've known for some time that papersky was good people, so I'm not surprised she suggested this. I'm looking forward to your contribution.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Also, Rachel Weisz is juggling her infant son?

Weisz is said to be juggling four competing projects, as well as her infant son, so the Rob Cohen-directed sequel to the series that made her a box office star took a backseat to those other considerations.

And they say Britney is a bad mum.

[punzerel.livejournal.com]

The Namesake in book form was similarly not as extremely focused on Gogol, but about the parents and little bits here and there too. I found the movie hit me harder, but, I think that's a personal reaction and not necessarily indicative of which was better, really. (Read it last week, watched tonight.) Both were excellent.

[elirrina.livejournal.com]

How can you make a Mummy movie without Rachel Weisz??

I love love love the 300 m15m and its icons!

[enid-keaner.livejournal.com]

I'm from VA and a good chunk of my graduating class went to Tech, so I know like a million people there. I've heard from some of them and I know they're okay, but I'm still waiting to hear from others.

This effing sucks.