Thursday, October 15, 2009

TWO ANNOUNCEMENTS AND A QUESTION

1) I'd been planning to attend this weekend's Big Apple Convention in New York City, but I'm sorry to say that some last-minute snafus have forced a change of plans.  Given the guest-list and the venue, I suspect this new incarnation of Big Apple will be around for some time to come—so here's to next year.

2)  There's another article up about my Kaine story in the new Web of Spider-Man, this time at Newsarama.  Check it out if you're so inclined.

3)  Could somebody out there please explain to me why Levi Johnston—a kid whose greatest achievement is impregnating the unwed daughter of a politician—is considered a celebrity?

18 comments:

  1. celebrity (n): (1) A famous or well-known person. (2) fame; renown.

    Fama - In Roman mythology, the personification of fame, renown, and rumor. She "had her feet on the ground, and her head in the clouds, making the small seem great and the great seem greater." (Virgil)

    Combine with a generous helping of Their need to keep us distracted, stir, simmer, serve.

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  2. Well said, Tim. And props to Virgil, too!

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  3. For the same reasons that Paris Hilton (first useless famous name I could think of) is considered a celebrity...

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  4. It's a Strange Media World we live in, isn't it, Ken?

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  5. I'm just wondering why Sarah Palin continues to get so much press.

    Oh yeah, she's a milf. Seriously, I think that's the reason.

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  6. "Could somebody out there please explain to me why Levi Johnston—a kid whose greatest achievement is impregnating the unwed daughter of a politician—is considered a celebrity?"

    I don't know and quite frankly I don't want to.

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  7. Whatever one thinks of Sarah Palin, Nicholas, the woman was governor of Alaska and a vice- presidential candidate. She's a public figure and I can understand the media spotlight on her. But there are so many other people out there who are famous for...well, absolutely nothing (beyond having a camera pointed at them) that it can make the brain implode.

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  8. I know what you mean, Eve, but it's fascinating (and, yes, disturbing) to ponder the reasons behind the "celebrity for nothing" phenomenon. I think the major cause of much of this nonsense is the 24 hour news cycle. The cable news stations will flog anything and anyone unrelentingly and without ceasing because, really, they've got air time to fill.

    And then there's reality television, which often rewards stupidity and bad behavior with wealth and attention.

    Among other things!

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  9. "And then there's reality television, which often rewards stupidity and bad behavior with wealth and attention."

    "Reality" television is something of a misnomer, isn't it?

    Give me a sitcom any day!-- David

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  10. Well, I guess it all depends on your definition of the word reality. Mine's pretty broad since, strictly speaking, I don't think that "reality," as we tend to label it, even exists!

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  11. I think you and Greenberg are right--"Brooklyn IS Oz!"---David

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  12. I have to apologize about my earlier post. Even though I'm a Mormon, it was the equivalent of a drunk post as I was tired and up too late.

    Also, this world is a shadow. We cannot see reality, only the past shadows and obscured reflections of it.

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  13. No problem, Nicholas. Forget it. It's gone!

    For me, the world is a dream -- quite literally -- and it's up to us to make it the most magnificent dream ever dreamed. All the best -- JMD

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  14. Ah..Oscar Greenberg! I'd love to revisit those characters one day, David. But what, exactly, brought that old quote to mind? Are you in Brooklyn right now?

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  15. Sadly, I've never been to Brooklyn! Sorry for the confusion.

    I guess what brought it to mind is that it's one of my all time favorite literary quotes about the nature of reality. So whenever you speak about reality (or for that matter, whenever anyone does) that's one of the lines that inevitably comes rushing to the surface.

    Here's the entire passage I'm thinking of:

    “The reason so many writers turn to fantasy is because life is so utterly fantastic, so bewilderingly surreal, that one of the few ways to fully do justice to it is to tell surreal stories filled with witches and wizards and monsters and Martians. So Baum creates an Oz, Bradbury creates a Mars—and, by distorting reality, they’re actually able to see it more clearly; certainly more clearly than those oh-so-Serious-novelists who think that what’s in front of their faces is all there is to life…Dostoevsky’s St. Petersburg and Henry Miller’s Paris are every bit as astonishing and magical as Bradbury’s Mars. And Brooklyn is Oz…if we would only see it!”

    And I think the line "Brooklyn is Oz" sums it up so beautifully.

    I'd love to see you revisit Greenberg as well. Vampires are back in now if Marvel needs a marketing justifcation!--David

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  16. It's an interesting experience, David, looking at something I wrote more than twenty years ago and realizing that I still feel exactly the same way.
    Thanks so much for holding up that mirror for me to gaze into.

    I can't imagine Marvel wanting to resurrect Greenberg...but if the opportunity ever arose, I'd jump at it.

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  17. JMD-

    I was there on Friday, sorry you weren't there! You're right, here's to next year...

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  18. So how did it go, Rob? I've heard varying reports from people and I'd love to know what you thought.

    By the way, anyone out there with a love of Aquaman or the Justice League should check out two of Rob's blogs: http://www.aquamanshrine.com/ and
    http://www.jlasatellite.com/

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