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Oh, retail
Sep. 8th, 2008 12:13 amToday a guy peed in a garbage can and we arrested a cashier.
Not that weird of a day, where I work.
Not that weird of a day, where I work.
Sep. 8th, 2008
(no subject)
Sep. 8th, 2008 06:03 pmThose of you in comics fandom - what's on your pull list? Or reading list, if you don't maintain a pull list. Have you dropped or added anything recently?
I'm reading: She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Wonder Woman, Transhuman and Scalped
I dropped: Iron Man Director of SHIELD and Invincible Iron Man
I'm heading to my LCS tomorrow-ish, to pick up Secret Six. Any recs?
One of the things about comics fandom that I like and dislike at once, is the close relationship between fans and pro-creators. Since getting back into comics fandom I've had pleasant conversations with Gail Simone, Brian Michael Bendis, Christos Gage and lots of lesser-known artists and writers.
I've also had uncomfortable-lack-of-boundaries conversations with a number of other creators. You know the kind. Rob Thomas of Veronica Mars is infamous for them - the sort of favour-currying, too-close, give and take that results in blatant fan service. The kind of conversation that makes you wonder if your favourite artists have such delicate egos that they need to make absolutely sure that no one on the internet is dissing them. And should they discover a hater, somewhere in the dark nether regions of the world wide web, they post and post, and freaking post about how said hater is simply, fundamentally wrong to hate. They'reinterrogating hating from the wrong perspective!
Maybe it's just me, but I hate, loathe, despise! people begging me to like them. Whether we have a personal, professional or commercial relationship, I can't seem to respect these people-pleasers gone over the deep-end. These neurotic, black holes of emotional need that demand to be filled with love! devotion! or even, on a bad day, acceptance!
Comics professionals: please stop seeking emotional validation from your fans! Or if you must, do it from afar (like really, really afar), so I don't ever get asked (back-handedly) to plump your ego ever again. Seriously.
***
I did some fannish things! OMG, really? Yes really.
I updated my Essential Ms. Marvel link dump, with some reviews, interviews, cosplay photos, fanart, fic, merch links and more scans. People of fandom! If you have a Ms. Marvel link saved, please share. Right now I'm particularly looking for:
- commentary
- fic
- vids
- fanart
- icons
I also wrote two whole stories. Both of them are for the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
cap_ironman Alphabet Challenge. Which was over a month ago. *facepalm*
Vade Mecum
Fandom: Avengers
Summary: Tony keeps an eye on the national consciousness (and his own) after Steve's death.
Characters: Tony Stark, Maria Hill (briefly)
Word count: 1000
This one is basically a drabble x ten, with an obvious alphabet theme imposed on it. More of a writing exercise than anything else, with a small side order of character study.
Orbiter Dictum
Fandom: Avengers
Summary: Steve is at the sink, washing the few dishes that pizza for two generates, when he realizes that Tony is in love with him.
Characters: Steve/Tony
Word count: 7420
A full-on romance. I haven't tried to write romance since my first couple of fics, back in Harry Potter fandom, but I think this turned out alright.
I'm reading: She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Wonder Woman, Transhuman and Scalped
I dropped: Iron Man Director of SHIELD and Invincible Iron Man
I'm heading to my LCS tomorrow-ish, to pick up Secret Six. Any recs?
One of the things about comics fandom that I like and dislike at once, is the close relationship between fans and pro-creators. Since getting back into comics fandom I've had pleasant conversations with Gail Simone, Brian Michael Bendis, Christos Gage and lots of lesser-known artists and writers.
I've also had uncomfortable-lack-of-boundaries conversations with a number of other creators. You know the kind. Rob Thomas of Veronica Mars is infamous for them - the sort of favour-currying, too-close, give and take that results in blatant fan service. The kind of conversation that makes you wonder if your favourite artists have such delicate egos that they need to make absolutely sure that no one on the internet is dissing them. And should they discover a hater, somewhere in the dark nether regions of the world wide web, they post and post, and freaking post about how said hater is simply, fundamentally wrong to hate. They're
Maybe it's just me, but I hate, loathe, despise! people begging me to like them. Whether we have a personal, professional or commercial relationship, I can't seem to respect these people-pleasers gone over the deep-end. These neurotic, black holes of emotional need that demand to be filled with love! devotion! or even, on a bad day, acceptance!
Comics professionals: please stop seeking emotional validation from your fans! Or if you must, do it from afar (like really, really afar), so I don't ever get asked (back-handedly) to plump your ego ever again. Seriously.
***
I did some fannish things! OMG, really? Yes really.
I updated my Essential Ms. Marvel link dump, with some reviews, interviews, cosplay photos, fanart, fic, merch links and more scans. People of fandom! If you have a Ms. Marvel link saved, please share. Right now I'm particularly looking for:
- commentary
- fic
- vids
- fanart
- icons
I also wrote two whole stories. Both of them are for the
cap_ironman Alphabet Challenge. Which was over a month ago. *facepalm* Vade Mecum
Fandom: Avengers
Summary: Tony keeps an eye on the national consciousness (and his own) after Steve's death.
Characters: Tony Stark, Maria Hill (briefly)
Word count: 1000
This one is basically a drabble x ten, with an obvious alphabet theme imposed on it. More of a writing exercise than anything else, with a small side order of character study.
Orbiter Dictum
Fandom: Avengers
Summary: Steve is at the sink, washing the few dishes that pizza for two generates, when he realizes that Tony is in love with him.
Characters: Steve/Tony
Word count: 7420
A full-on romance. I haven't tried to write romance since my first couple of fics, back in Harry Potter fandom, but I think this turned out alright.
Stehpen Harper has requested that Michaelle Jean, our Governor General dissolve the Parliament. According to Harper, it's become dysfunctional and ineffective. On October 14, Canadians will elect our 40th Parliament.
I, like many people, disagree with Harper - in a minority situation things are always going to come a little harder, and Harper's done an admirable job of pretending he has a majority. If this wasn't a bold-faced political maneuver, I don't know what is.
The real reason he's calling an election now, well ahead of the new fixed date, (and in contravention of his own law), is that he wants to cement his mandate before things get any worse. It's a smart move, because what's coming down the pike has very little to do with him, and he's got next to no chance of fixing things. Kind of hard to stand in the way of the developing American recession, and hope that the economic woes of our biggest trading partner don't hurt us. Hard too, for one man to solve the problems of: rising fuel prices, the developing world food crisis, global warming, and the geopolitical instability of the Middle East and Asia (exacerbated by the Americans' bungling of their democracy-exportation).
Harper, being the very smart fellow that he is, wants to sew up a new mandate and this time possibly, maybe, hopefully, a majority, before things go to hell. Canada still has decent growth rates, decent interest rates, decent unemployment rates and one hell of a budgetary surplus, but if all the economic wonks are right, that's going to change soon. When that does, Harper's chances of winning a majority will tank, because at that point, he becomes the Prime Minister who presided over the declining economic fortunes of the Great Not-So-White North, and not the warrior elected to battle such fearsome foes.
The thing is, Canadians don't want an election. All the polls agree: we don't see the point. Not enough has changed since the last election. There's been no scandal big enough to shake up the status quo, no change in the generally disappointing leadership. Unless Stephane Dion screws up royally - definitely possible! - or Stephan Harper knocks it out of the park - also possible - we're all too likely to end up with a Parliament much like this one. Just as 'dysfunctional' and 'ineffective'. The Conservatives might win a majority, but they won't have an easy time trying to make a right turn in the national consensus.* And unlike our neighbors to the south, we don't have a sense of urgency about this election; there's no feeling that when all the votes are counted, things in this country will change forever, for good or ill.
* (I use that term knowing that there kind of isn't one. *g*)
Despite all that, this is an important election. I've decided to do a bunch of posts on the why. Probably no one will read them, but they'll be fun to write. ;) ( why this election matters to the Liberals and the Conservatives )
Next post: NDP, Greens and the Bloc.
I, like many people, disagree with Harper - in a minority situation things are always going to come a little harder, and Harper's done an admirable job of pretending he has a majority. If this wasn't a bold-faced political maneuver, I don't know what is.
The real reason he's calling an election now, well ahead of the new fixed date, (and in contravention of his own law), is that he wants to cement his mandate before things get any worse. It's a smart move, because what's coming down the pike has very little to do with him, and he's got next to no chance of fixing things. Kind of hard to stand in the way of the developing American recession, and hope that the economic woes of our biggest trading partner don't hurt us. Hard too, for one man to solve the problems of: rising fuel prices, the developing world food crisis, global warming, and the geopolitical instability of the Middle East and Asia (exacerbated by the Americans' bungling of their democracy-exportation).
Harper, being the very smart fellow that he is, wants to sew up a new mandate and this time possibly, maybe, hopefully, a majority, before things go to hell. Canada still has decent growth rates, decent interest rates, decent unemployment rates and one hell of a budgetary surplus, but if all the economic wonks are right, that's going to change soon. When that does, Harper's chances of winning a majority will tank, because at that point, he becomes the Prime Minister who presided over the declining economic fortunes of the Great Not-So-White North, and not the warrior elected to battle such fearsome foes.
The thing is, Canadians don't want an election. All the polls agree: we don't see the point. Not enough has changed since the last election. There's been no scandal big enough to shake up the status quo, no change in the generally disappointing leadership. Unless Stephane Dion screws up royally - definitely possible! - or Stephan Harper knocks it out of the park - also possible - we're all too likely to end up with a Parliament much like this one. Just as 'dysfunctional' and 'ineffective'. The Conservatives might win a majority, but they won't have an easy time trying to make a right turn in the national consensus.* And unlike our neighbors to the south, we don't have a sense of urgency about this election; there's no feeling that when all the votes are counted, things in this country will change forever, for good or ill.
* (I use that term knowing that there kind of isn't one. *g*)
Despite all that, this is an important election. I've decided to do a bunch of posts on the why. Probably no one will read them, but they'll be fun to write. ;) ( why this election matters to the Liberals and the Conservatives )
Next post: NDP, Greens and the Bloc.