Things We Saw Today: The Doctor & River, Peanuts Style

Man, who pissed in that dude’s cornflakes? To me it’s equally ridiculous that the greater portion of this country regularly worships people who can “throw a ball real good.” To each their own entertainment. 

In Bane’s defense, spandex really is the only option when your body mass is constantly in flux.

I admit I don’t get the ponies thing, and I am tired of seeing them everywhere, but I’m not about to hate on the fanbase just because I don’t get the appeal of the fandom. Except for the creepy pony fanartists on DeviantArt. The things they draw deserve to be judged, and harshly. It’s just wrong.

A lot of bronies, myself included, cite the total lack of cynicism about the show as one of the reasons we enjoy it so much. Everybody really has their own reason, but for myself, a big part of it is that it’s just a sweet show that I can turn off my brain for 20 minutes and just sit back and feel good watching. It certainly helps that the music and the actors are all very good. There’s nothing wrong with fluff, and this is especially good, fun-spirited fluff. And some of us need that in our lives. 

Banning fan fiction is a violation of at very least the spirit, if not the letter, of fair-use.  And that’s all I’m going to say on the matter; after all, the Institute for Transformative Works has said everything else in a far more eloquent and civil manner already.

That’s Bane, not Venom.

As for Schlitcher?  He sounds kind of sexist, and is railing more against a strawman (straw-brony?) and some perceived injury to his sense of machismo than against anything real.  To top that off, he has no idea what he’s talking about.

The joke is that Venom is the name of the drug Bane uses.

 What, you think they actually knew that?

It’s a joke…

Apropos of nothing, a Ponies/Matrix mashup: http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2012/01/16/0342-the-maretrix/

I don’t understand what those authors are complaining about with respect to fan fiction. Who the hell profits from fanfiction? Are they afraid that some fan named Sparkles324 would write a better version than their work and that people will no longer buy their books?  And no, GRR Martin, no matter how much you love your work, they are not comparable to children. I know it may feel that way, but it’s not, unless you bring your book to the DMV so it can get a driver’s license, or you pray every day that they don’t discover drugs or get bullied in school, then no, your published works will never be comparable to children.  Nope.

 Here’s an example of something authors are afraid of:

While Babylon 5 was on the air, a fan wrote a story that was very similar to a script developed by the showrunner J. Michael Straczycinski. The episode had to be delayed for a year so JMS could contact the fan and get him to relinquish the any legal rights to the story. If he had not done so, the fan could easily have sued him for “stealing” the idea simply because of the coincidence. Even if the fan hadn’t won the suit, JMS would have had to suffer through lengthy and potentially expensive legal procedings.

 Also, murdering thousands of people because they didn’t believe in the exact same imaginary sky wizard’s rules … and believing people with a big pile of imaginary numbers on a computer are ‘generating wealth’, etc etc, could do this all day.

Huh? How did we slip into a critique of religion? I’m just saying it’s weird that this guy seems shockingly angry and political over something that is 1) subjective and 2) none of his damn business. 

But most of these authors are complaining about character’s and worlds in completed series or stories. I can understand the concern, but if a fan isn’t profiting from it, I don’t really see the harm. It’s a type of fan art and, as pointed out, stories have been pulled from other stories forever. It just feels like a lot of them are saying. “If you write a fan fic, you’re a horrible person and I hate you.” Or saying someone isn’t creative. Anne Rice didn’t create vampires. Rowling didn’t create wizards and witches. I’m sure each of these authors were inspired by something else they saw or read somewhere else. Maybe they should be called ‘Renditions’ instead of fan fics.

This. As long as the show is good, I will watch it. I don’t care at all for the fandom, even though I do check Equestria Daily every so often. 

I gave two further examples where ‘being grown up’ is ridiculous for a very large proportion of the population.

It fell flat.

Indeed. 

And aside from the fair use issue?  I’ve never seen an argument against fan fiction that hasn’t been based on either a poor understanding of copyright law, an overly possessive attitude towards one’s work, or some combination of both. 

No, you didn’t get it.  There’s a difference.

This.

And this.

I like that – “Renditions.”  Or maybe “Variations on.”

Perhaps not children, but something that you have poured sweat and worry and frustration, time and creativity, your beliefs, your history, your breath of life.  I can fully understand authors being protective of their worlds.  They may not be their children, but the characters and the worlds they inhabit were, for the time of writing them, the author’s co-workers and the author’s world that he or she lived in.  There’s a tremendous emotional input involved with writing, and to have another person messing with these people you alone know so intimately – it’s practically adultery.

I completely understand the emotional involvement of writing. I haven’t gotten paid for any fiction I’ve written and published, but I understand being consumed by one’s work, no matter how bad or good it is. However lovingly I string my words together and take pride in typing “THE END” or creating a character I consider great, thinking it your “child” is not the same as a real child, and I knew this before I had kids. I put my work out there, and if someone decides to “fanfic” it (believe it or not, I’ve gotten the request), I honestly don’t think, “it’s like I’m letting someone have its way with my child.” No. It’s just not. It’s absolutely not, because with a real child, that is an absolutely REAL non-issue. The mere suggestion of someone having his way with my child and I will call the Hounds of Hell and every Avenging Angel I can summon–or maybe just the cops, and that would be a perfectly normal response.  Words and characters, however you customized them, are not children. They are words and characters. On paper. Sometimes on TV or in movies. I even feel the same way about pets. They are maybe similar to kids in that I will care for them and treat them very well–maybe even better than myself when it isn’t a life or death situation, but they’re not kids. They’re not. They’re my pets. I will have them euthanized if I cannot afford their medical bills. I won’t euthanize my kid of I can’t afford his medical bills. I’d sell the shirt off my back and take money for sex if that’s what it takes to pay his bills.  There’s a huge difference between kids and something else you create/take care of. Don’t even get me started on real adultery versus the literary kind.

This is a reply to Abel Undercity’s oh-so-delightfully condescending “you didn’t get it” comment:

The joke was supposed to read as a PSA. It came off less as a “joke” than as a clueless PSA from someone who thinks “Venom” is a real drug.

Now, would you like to point out the part that I “didn’t get,” except possibly how it was funny, or are you just going to keep being unwarrantedly smug?