Interview meme
Jan. 1st, 2005 07:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kerravonsen![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
lizbee asks here:1. You've reviewed almost 1000 fics in various fandoms for NetFic Reviews. Do you have any favourites?
Has it really been almost 1000? (goes and looks) No, it isn't even 900 yet. Modesty forbids me claiming "almost 1000" until I've done more than 950. 8-P
Well, the easy answer to the question is to tell you to look at the best-of page, but I haven't revised it since 2003. Hmmm, maybe I should pick one favourite per fandom, though some fandoms would be much easier than others. And I shall decide whether or not to count crossovers as separate fandoms (or even to include a particular fandom) on my complete whim. And I reserve the right to change my mind later.
Angel
Angel/Doctor Who
"City Of" by Nostalgia
Babylon 5
Babylon 5/Sentinel
"A Conversation With Mr .Garibaldi" by Axianna
Blake's 7
"Vila's Emails" by Nicola Mody aka
vilakinsBuffy
"Phoenix Burning" by Yahtzee
Buffy/Dark Angel
"Witness" by hth
Harry Potter/Buffy
"The End of the Beginning" by Mariner
Buffy/Hercules
"When Hellmouths Collide" by Kimberley Rector & Martha Wilson
Buffy/Highlander
"Never Throw Your Life Away" by HGH
Buffy/Sandman
"Hot chocolate, discussion and Death at 2:00 am" by Elena Zovatto
Buffy/Star Wars
"Jedi Harris" by TheDarkScribbler
Buffy/Stargate
"The Scarab" by
bktheirregularSentinel/Buffy
"Of Shadows and Demons" by Mackie
Doctor Who
The Synaesthesia trilogy by R.J. Anderson aka
synaesthete7Doctor Who/Sandman
"Brief Encounters, Brief Lives" by A.C. Chapin
Farscape
Farscape/Star Trek: The Next Generation
"Res-Q" by
astrogirl2Forever Knight
Forever Knight/Touched By An Angel
"Angels of Light" by Azar
Harry Potter
The Darkness And Light series by R.J. Anderson aka
synaesthete7Harry Potter/Sandman
"The Language That God Speaks" by Liz Barr aka
lizbeeHighlander
"Yom Kippur" series by Teresa Coffman
Highlander/Buffy/Sentinel
"Letters Home" by Melina Clark
Highlander/Narnia
"Up in the Valley, Down on the Mountain" by Amand-r
Highlander/Touched By An Angel
"A Gathering of Angels" by Maygra de Rhema
Lois & Clark
"The Penfriend" by Wendy Richards
Sentinel
Too hard to pick just one.
"Color and Light" by Anonymeek"
"Imperfections" by Dasha
"Coming Up For Air" by Delilah
"Smoke and Mirrors" by K. Ryn
"The Heart Hath Its Reasons" by Meredith Lynne
Sentinel/Champions
"The Path of Strangers" by Olywn Mitchell
Sentinel/Highlander
"Princes of the Universe" by D.L. Witherspoon
Sentinel/Nash Bridges/Millennium
"No Center Line" by L.R.H. Balzer
Sentinel/Poltergeist the Legacy
"Our Unconquerable Soul" by Sealie
Sentinel/Professionals
"You Watch The Hippy, I'll Take Goldilocks" by Gil Hale
Sentinel/Stargate
"The Limits of Trust" by Sheila Paulson
Sentinel/Stargate/Invisible Man
"Actualize This" by Helena Handbasket
Sentinel/X-Files
"The Inquisitor" by Sorka
Shadow
"Anything Is Possible... And Nothing Is Impossible" by Kimberley Murphy-Smith
(Kathryn contemplates giving up, sighs, and continues)
Stargate
"The Body Electric" by Meredith Lynne
"Irreplaceable" by XmagicalX
Stargate/Highlander
"Changing of the Guard" by Ecolea
Stargate/Quantum Leap
"Interference Patterns" by BT
Tolkien
Spirits of the House by
altariel1Tomorrow People
"Consolation" by Megan Freeman
X-Files
"Possessions" by R.J. Anderson aka
synaesthete7X-Files/Sandman
"Glass Hearts" by David Hearne
X-Files/Touched By An Angel/Piercing the Darkness
"Divine Intervention" by Laura Picken
2. Do you find that being an Australian in fandom gives you a different perspective on things?(Or is this just a Liz!idiosyncracy?) Access to a different range of TV shows, books and zines?
Yes. Or maybe it just gets me into culture clashes. Or just clashes (sigh). (Sorry, thinking about a recent discussion elsewhere that degenerated into an argument partly because I was making different assumptions than the American I was discussing with). I tend to find I often have more in common with the Brits than the Americans -- of course this is an overly general generalization.
Even though we moan about not getting overseas TV shows until six months later, we're still in a good position because we get both US and UK shows and our own as well (well, not that Australia produces any SF except children's SF -- though we do produce good children's SF...)
But there really isn't all that much home-grown SF in any medium...
Books are about the same, I think -- and I tend to buy half of mine from Amazon anyway, so it's tres expensive.
And I haven't been buying many zines lately, except for stuff by known authors.
3. Zines verus the internet: Pontificate, please.
(puts on pontification hat and sticks tongue into cheek)
I don't know what the world is coming to. Why, back in my day, when you got a zine, it would be full of illos; now you get a zine and you're lucky to get any interior illustrations at all. Zines were zines in those days. And as for the internet, bah, there's nothing like holding a real zine in your hands, taking it with you to read, drooling over the illos, flicking over to your favourite story and reading it again.
These young whippersnappers, they don't think anything exists unless it's on the World-Wide-Web, and the ones who hang around fanfiction.net wouldn't know quality if it hit them with a two-by-four. In fact, I bet they don't even know what a two-by-four is. And if they by any chance have heard of zines, they think they're entitled to get a copy for free, because they insist zines ought to be available on the internet too (well, I'm rather rankled about this, because I've had some bad encounters with people who had that kind of attitude, as well as others who were properly grateful when I did eventually put some of my zines up).
(seriously now)
Swings and roundabouts. From a reader's point of view, I like holding zines in my hands, and the illos, and the editing. I like the internet for its convenience and cheapness (no, the internet is not free).
As an author I like getting tribber's copies of zines, I like working with good editors. I like the internet as an author because one gets a lot more feedback, and a lot quicker.
If you want to ask me anything, do so in the comments. If you want me to interview you, likewise. Go forth and interview.
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no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 09:05 am (UTC)1. What fandom have you never written for that you think might be fun to try, and why might it be fun, and why haven't you tried it?
2. What form of artistic expression (including anything, crafts or whatever) haven't you tried that you would like to?
3. What is your personal philosophy of the purpose of Art in the Christian's life?
Now, ask me something. :)
no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 11:00 am (UTC)Seven Days: would be fun, if one could think of a decently twisted plot. There'd good potential in the premise, considering the changing of history, the butterfly effect, the potential for angst when Our Hero has seen and survived a disaster that nobody else around him has experienced. Pity Our Hero is such a selfish asshole half the time, though.
Sapphire & Steel: I love this show. But it's very very hard to think of a plot that fits the premise in a new and original way, while being very atmospheric and hopefully putting in some character development as well. The closest I came was having a wierd Sapphire & Steel dream once. Well, I've also written poems, but I'm not counting poetry in this question.
Pretender: I've written some poetry, I like Jarod, and so long as one ignores the last season or so, it was good stuff. No ideas for it, but I can't help thinking that if Jarod and the 8th Doctor got together it would be wonderfully insane.
Matrix (the TV series): this was a very intriguing series, which unfortunately I haven't seen enough of to be able to write anything with confidence. Like Sapphire & Steel, it would be quite difficult to think of a plot that did justice to the material, since the setup would require a plot which contained (a) surreal dreamlike elements (b) gave Our Hero a task which was only hinted at in bits and pieces and (c) has a very challenging moral dimension, in which the obvious answer is not always the best answer (d) still has a happy ending, though not necessarily a conventional one (e) our hero learns something.
Too hard to get all that right, so I've never tried.
2. What form of artistic expression (including anything, crafts or whatever) haven't you tried that you would like to?
Knitting. My sister was going to teach me this Christmas, but I strained my shoulder and couldn't do anything. I shunned it earlier in my life because I thought it was too girly.
Lapidary would be cool -- I've always loved pretty stones. But I don't have the means.
I don't have the patience to learn a musical instrument. I learned the violin and piano for a little while when I was a kid, but I didn't stick with either of them. Unlike every single one of my siblings, who can all play either the guitar or the piano (or both), and two of them compose songs... (sigh)
(I know, I know, I want to be Mary-Sue)
Glassblowing would be cool. Actually it would be very hot, but... (smirk)
Silk painting. You know, those lovely hand-painted silk scarves that one sees in stores.
3. What is your personal philosophy of the purpose of Art in the Christian's life?
We are made in the image of God. God is the Creator; part of our expression of God's likeness is to be sub-creators. God didn't just make the world to be utilitarian, he made it to be beautiful. Making beautiful things is in one sense an act of worship, because God likes beautiful things -- even though, compared to God's artistry, our works are like crayon drawings of a three-year-old, that, in one sense, is almost irrelevant, because all our works are poor in comparison to His. The worth of a gift is the love with which it is given.
Another way of looking at it is this: God wants us to be more and more ourselves, the best version of our own unique selves we can be, and part of the expression of ourselfness is in our art.
Yet another thing: certain Arts (such as music, song, art) can be direct expressions of worship to God, and not only help us worship, but can bring us to a greater understanding of God that bypasses cold, rational understanding and goes straight to the heart. I feel that some music transends the mundane and gets into the spiritual in a way that nothing else can.
And Jesus told parables to get his point across -- fiction can often tell deeper truths than rationalistic discourses.
Art is very powerful -- and such power can be used for good or ill.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 01:48 pm (UTC)Alas, earwax!
I've always wanted to try glass-blowing. When I was a kid and we went on vacation trips, we'd always stop at the little souvenir shops along our route, and sometimes there'd be a glassblower making those delicate little sculptures and I'd watch until we had to leave. Now I like to watch all the docos on PBS of our local glass artist, Dale Chihuly - his work is amazing. Someday I'd like to be well enough to take the tour of his workshop; what a treat that would be.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 11:07 am (UTC)Well, I've got to turn around one of your questions back at you:
1. What is your personal philosophy of the purpose of Art in the Christian's life?
2. Why do you think Libertatianism is the best form of government? From where I stand, it looks like a form of government that is very likely to lead to the oppression of the poor, something which is clearly hated in the Bible. Is my understanding wrong? How do you reconcile this?
3. What is a fun and silly thing you would like to do, or have done?
no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 01:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 09:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 11:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 07:48 pm (UTC)[huge grin] I arrived so late, I'm glad I've made a bit of an impression.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 05:41 pm (UTC)1. What is the best book you read in 2004?
2. I know you're a gen-only sort of person, and I often find myself wondering this about people who only read gen, so you seem like a good person to ask. Where, in your opinion, is the line that divides gen from non-gen? At what point will you stop reading a story beacuse of sexual or slashy content?
3. What is it about the Avon/Cally relationship that appeals to you?
OK, now you can do me. :)
Oh, and Happy New Year!
no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 11:15 pm (UTC)Probably a toss-up between "Merlin's Wood" by Anne Hamilton and "Speed of Dark" by Elizabeth Moon, for different reasons.
"Merlin's Wood" is a YA fantasy which is hard to classify, as it has the trappings of both fantasy and SF. It packs an awful lot of plot into the space it has, and manages to be full of allusions and atmosphere and balanced characters.
"Speed of Dark" is intriguing, because it's a fastinating point-of-view; it's told from the perspective of someone who is autistic.
2. I know you're a gen-only sort of person, and I often find myself wondering this about people who only read gen, so you seem like a good person to ask. Where, in your opinion, is the line that divides gen from non-gen? At what point will you stop reading a story beacuse of sexual or slashy content?
Well, the line is probably going to be different for different people, and I know that slash bugs me much more than het...
The following list would be things which would annoy me as being too slashy, but I'd probably finish the story anyway, since I don't tend to like stopping in the middle.
Any hint whatsoever that a character has lustful thoughts about another character of the same gender. A male character thinking of another male character as "beautiful" (as distinct from handsome). A character dwelling on the physical attributes of the other character of the same gender. Two characters of the same gender kissing each other (except perhaps in a paternal way, like on the forehead, but that needs to be given appropriate context).
Mention (or broad hints) that characters of the same gender are lovers, even if nothing else of the kind is mentioned in the story annoys me, because it could have been a perfectly decent gen story if they hadn't needlessly put that slashiness into it.
Things that would make me stop reading a story are rarer, because I basically wouldn't even start reading a story which was properly labelled as slash, and people are generally pretty good at that.
Regarding het/adult, again I would avoid the stuff which is labelled as adult, though sometimes I've read stories which were more explicit than I was led to believe by their rating. It doesn't make me stop reading the story, but I try to hurry through that bit.
I'm perfectly happy with couples kissing on-screen, but if they're going to engage in sex, I'd rather they faded to black after a kiss or seven.
3. What is it about the Avon/Cally relationship that appeals to you?
One could argue that it's a kind of opposites-attract thing; intuition versus logic, cynicism versus idealism. But it isn't that simple, because Avon wouldn't be so cynical as he is if he didn't have some buried idealism in there, and Cally isn't just a dreamy idealist. And they do actually have a number of important things in common.
Avon respects Cally enough that he can't just dismiss her as a fool, and because he can't dismiss her, he is intrigued. He isn't at all bothered by the fact that she's an alien, wheras the others (notably Jenna) are more uncomfortable about it. Cally appreciates that respect -- he treats her as an equal. They are both very competent people, and I think that bridge of mutual respect is the key. They're also both the kind of people who blame themselves rather than other people; very responsible and loyal to those close to them. (Just because Avon's circle of "those whom I would die for rather than betray" consists of about three people, doesn't mean that he doesn't have that category)
One could also argue that Cally likes Avon's sense of humour, because she's smiled at his quips while ignoring Vila's.
Cally is the kind of person who would ignore Avon's self-loathing and just go for what she wants once she'd made up her mind, I think.
And we already know that Avon isn't one to let Cally brood.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 02:26 am (UTC)I read The Speed of Dark last year, btw, and I agree, it's a very good book.
I'll answer yours soon...
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 06:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-01 11:24 pm (UTC)1. What is the best book that you read in 2004?
2. When did you first realize that Stark was your favourite Farscape character?
3. If you had to move somewhere completely new, and it could be anywhere in the world, where would you go, and why?
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 12:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 08:29 am (UTC)Simply as fantasy. It is so obviously unrealistic and meant to be unrealistic, I don't have a problem with it. The "demons" in Buffy aren't anything like Biblical demons, and get less and less so as the series goes on. Wheras something like The Omega Factor did bother me, because they were linking psi powers with real magick, using Ouiji boards and suchlike, so I was rather torn about it.
Though as for the "demons owned the earth" thing, that's just one version of the story -- the Watcher tradition doesn't have to be correct. I read a fascinating crossover vigniette once (probably on LJ somewhere) where it implied that the Buffyverse "demon reign" was actually an alternative LoTR-verse where Sauron won.
2. I see you also like Harry Potter (as do I). Do you have to hide this from people you know? I wondered as I have a friend who has to put her Potter books away in case her very fundamentalist friends literally scream at her about the evil. Personally I find them rather like the Narnia books--good ultimately (I sincerely hope anyway) triumphing over evil.
I wouldn't compare Harry Potter to Narnia, it's nowhere near as good, though I do like it.
I don't actually have any very fundamentalist friends -- at least, not any who would "scream at me about the evil". There have been a few folk who have been rather patronizing, saying they'll pray for me, not about Harry Potter (this was before those books were out) but about my interest in SF&F in general. Most of those I could ignore as fools. One of my biblestudy leaders (actually he was the chief elder) at a previous church, whom I respected a great deal, had some reasonable-sounding concerns about SF, because he felt that it was portraying counterfeits of real things (for example, if you have a story about people teleporting, that was something that the risen Christ appeared to be able to do...), but I never could really understand his argument all that well, and he didn't push it, being sensible enough to leave it to my own conscience.
I've actually gotten more flak from Christians about my liking Buffy than my liking Harry Potter.
I do believe that one needs to be discerning when one reads/watches SF&F, and for some people it isn't wise to read it, any more than it is wise for an alchoholic to drink wine -- some people may just guzzle it all down indiscriminately.
3. Do you have a favourite fandom?![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
b7friday) I've drifted back to B7 more. I was going to say "drifted back to my first love", but B7 wasn't always my favourite SF show. For one thing, it was only created in 1978... (grin)
Blake's 7, what else? (grin)
Though until recently, that would probably have tied with The Sentinel, but with all the B7 fic activity on LJ (yes,
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 09:28 am (UTC)Simply as fantasy - Oh, yes, me too, and the same with Harry Potter. I haven't heard of The Omega Factor, but I do avoid anything occult. Basically if it bothers me or really frightens me, I don't watch (or read).
I do like the idea that Buffy is in an AU where Sauron won--as an explanation, anyway. Perhaps the Watchers and Slayers were created in the safe haven of the West.
Harry Potter
No, it's not as inventive as Narnia but it does have some good strong female characters; I love Narnia but the 50s sexism does annoy me in places.
SF in general
I disagree with your bible study leader's concerns about SF and fantasy (I'd never associate teleporting with anything but, well, teleporting) but at least he left it up to you. Of course there are many Christians who don't condemn. In the next street is St John's Theological College and a friend invited me there three years ago to their SF Fridays. Every Friday they showed a film for the students and their guests because one of the lecturers (Stephen May, now back in the UK) is a major SF fan and wrote a book about it and Christianity. [googles] Found it! Stardust and Ashes: Science Fiction in Christian Perspective, 1998. Hmm. I also found an article by him on LOTR which may interest you. He was a fascinating guy, though I got off on the wrong foot with him. He was doing a Star Trek alternate universe marathon one week and I happened to say in his hearing that I didn't like the ST AUs as I objected to the characters still existing (though as distorted versions) and knowing each other in a universe that had diverged from ours centuries ago--how would their parents not only meet but also conceive the exact same children (and their parents of course)? I think he thought I was far too literal, but we ended up having some great Friday night conversations even though I was an outsider.
Blake's 7
Yay! For some reason it touched me too in ways other favourites haven't, though I only became a fan in 2001. I love other shows but B7 is the only one I'm driven to write for. And I'm so glad that
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 02:02 am (UTC)*preens*
Lovely answers, thank you.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 04:05 am (UTC)2: You make no secret of your attitude to smut (het or otherwise) in fanfic. Is there any other content (as opposed to technically bad writing) that evokes a similar reaction in you?
3: Given an unlimited budget and a free pick of the world's actors, directors, designers, etc, are there any particular film projects you would like to commission?
4: If an evil tyrannical world government were to ban all fannish activities, what would you be doing instead?
And I'm sure you can think of some interesting questions to ask me in return:)
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 09:03 am (UTC)Fiction. I read to relax, fiction is entertaining. I think also that since I am applying my logical thinking in my work every day, I need to be able to feed my imagination and intuitive creative part, which fiction does.
2: You make no secret of your attitude to smut (het or otherwise) in fanfic. Is there any other content (as opposed to technically bad writing) that evokes a similar reaction in you?
You have me intrigued as to what you think a my reaction is to smut, so I could figure out what there would be that would evoke a "similar reaction". I shall just have to guess.
I suppose something else which is likely to push my buttons (possibly even more) would be something which attacks Christianity or God, either directly or subtly. That was a factor in why I parted ways with Babylon 5 -- there were a couple of episodes where the subtext appeared to be that God is Evil, and Evil is Good. (Of course, many people would say I was imagining it, but considering that I heard jms say with his own mouth (at a con) that he considers God to be "a malign thug", I'd say it was pretty much deliberate).
There's a difference between the atheism which ignores God, and the atheism which is full of vitriol against Him.
But I haven't actually read any fanfic which would fall into that category.
3: Given an unlimited budget and a free pick of the world's actors, directors, designers, etc, are there any particular film projects you would like to commission?
Hmmm. Actually, I think that the "Agent of Change" sequence of the Liaden universe novels by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller would make a very good mini-series or series of movies, considering that they've been described as "a cross between Star Wars, James Bond, and Georgette Heyer".
And I'd probably leave it up to Peter Jackson to pull all the best people together, since he's proven he can do fantasy, he probably wouldn't have a problem with fantasy-flavoured SF. I wouldn't really know who to pick. And I'm all in favour of casting relative unknowns if they can act, so I'm certainly not going to try to second-guess the casting.
4: If an evil tyrannical world government were to ban all fannish activities, what would you be doing instead?
That would depend on what they considered to be fannish activities...
Instead of writing fanfic, I'd write original SF&F. If they banned SF&F, I'd write angsty poetry about injustice.
Instead of reading fanfic, I'd read SF&F. If they banned SF&F, I'd read historical novels.
Instead of going to cons, I'd... visit people? I mean, that's half the fun of cons anyway.
Instead of making costumes, I'd make colourful clothes.
I wouldn't miss publishing zines, I'm thinking of giving it up anyway.
I'd go back to some of my other creative outlets, like crafts.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 09:39 am (UTC)Oh? I never picked up on that. I know JMS is an ex-Catholic, but I saw the whole Londo and G'Kar arc as one of sin and repentance and redemption (Londo) and forgiveness (G'Kar). I think different races had different ideas and beliefs; the Minbari talked of the 'universe' in an almost religious way.
I did find the whole Vorlon and Shadows thing confused. The Vorlons were meant to value order and the Shadows chaos, yet the Vorlons merely gave cryptic advice and seemed to promote free will, and the Shadows owned their minions and demanded absolute obedience. I found the quick resolution, and the revelation of those races as basically squabbling game-players very disappointing and empty. I'm glad they left a few mysteries like the Old Ones.
And you publish zines? B7 ones?
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 11:29 am (UTC)There was one particular episode (I forget the title) where there was this sequence where you had two different scenes intercut with each other; one scene was a Gospel Revival service where they were singing, very joyfully, a song whose chorus went "And the rock cried out, No hiding place" (i.e no hiding place from God), and the other scene was of a bunch of Narns brutally murdering a Centauri for revenge.
The subtext all lies in the juxtaposition, and as I said, a lot of people don't notice it, but when I saw it, it struck me as giving the message that God's justice is just the same as brutal revenge.
I did find the whole Vorlon and Shadows thing confused.
Yes, that was another part of it which put me off.
And you publish zines? B7 ones?
Mixed. My tastes are too eclectic to be limited to just B7, though they usually have some B7 in them. But the last one came out in 2000, which would have been before you were around. But I still have copies hanging around of the last three or so. Zines don't sell, partly because I'm not very enthusiastic about selling them, I'd rather just make them. Some of the earlier ones are available for download here.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 09:21 pm (UTC)I remember that B5 episode. I didn't see it that way at all. I saw it as a contrast between people singing a beautiful song and brute mob violence. I didn't know the song and its meaning, but I did take it that you can't escape justice, although it was in this case Narn retribution. I do remember JMS pointing out on the B5 Lurkers' Guide that it was a black slave song of hope and the Narns were slaves.
OTOH there's overtly anti-religion and anti-God stuff around, like one of Arthur C Clarke's later books which I stopped reading; mind you, it was also badly written. Either the guy's losing it like Larry Niven, or he's got an inferior ghost-writer. I also object to later Heinlein because he tries to push his own ideas on religion multiple-partner sex.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-03 07:26 am (UTC)That wouldn't be "The Songs of Distant Earth", would it? Where he propounded his idea of a utopia: somewhere where they've censored all references to any kind of religion out of the databases of the colony ship, in order to be done with the ills of religion once and for all. I gave up on Clarke after that, though I have enjoyed his earlier stuff, especially "A Fall of Moondust".
And yeah, later Heinlein is totally screwy.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-03 07:58 am (UTC)Sounds rather like it. I gave up on it quite early on.
Early Heinlein is good too, but the later stuff makes me very angry. I don't mind people coming up with different ideas for societies, but when they're proselytising and pushing their own weird agenda at me, I see red.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 11:08 am (UTC)1. What do they actually produce at your workplace?
2. Describe a book/story/film which has (profoundly) influenced you. How? Why?
3. If you could commission any kind of visual art (with an unlimited budget), what would you like to see? What would you consider beautiful?
Oh, cool ....
Date: 2005-01-05 09:29 pm (UTC)1. I'm aware that some fans draw a distiction between media fandoms (TV, films) and lit. fandom, some going so far as to say that fic should not be written in book fandoms at all. What is your opinion, and why?
2. Is there any one common thread that links your favorite fandoms?
3. What is, for you, the most quotable book you've ever read?
Do me now, so I can spread this meme around my friendslist. :)
Re: Oh, cool ....
Date: 2005-01-06 12:59 am (UTC)I used to be of the school of thought that fic in book fandoms was just Not The Thing To Do, and I'm still inclined that way, though now I'm likely to make an exception for books which have also been made into films (such as LotR and Harry Potter).
Why?
I am uncomfortable with book fic because:
Books are the creation of a single person, while tv/movies are a collaboration. Therefore I feel less restraint at imposing my own vision (fanfic) on a movie, because it's already the result of multiple people's input, it isn't the creation of just one person, so my work is emotionally less intrusive; wheras fanfic for a book is more like stomping with jack-boots all over their creation.
Fanfic is in the same medium as books (prose). This means that it is more competition with the poor author, who needs the money. (There are very few rich authors. And I'm not a fan of Steven King anyway)
With books where the author is still alive, they could write more in the series at any time, wheras with movies/tv, you know very well when the series is ended -- I feel much more at home writing fanfic in a "fixed" universe.
Books are better-crafted and more complete than most tv/movies -- so why would anyone want to add anything to them in the first place? That was how I felt particularly about LotR, until I actually read a sort of "missing scene" story, and realized that, yes, there is room for more, even when the story is complete.
So, a lot of my objections go away in the case where (a) the book is a movie too or (b) the author is dead.
2. Is there any one common thread that links your favorite fandoms?
That's hard to say. My two most favourite fandoms, Blake's 7 and The Sentinel are so different that it would be hard to believe that any one person could like them both. Blake's 7 is dystopian and cynical; The Sentinel is idealistic and mystical. And then you've got Stargate and Doctor Who and the Tomorrow People and so on. So the first answer to the question is, no, I like them for different reasons.
However, one thing that could possibly be common would be friendship, though different shows have a different degree of it. In Doctor Who, the real focus is on the Doctor, but it would be a poor show if the Doctor wasn't friends with his companions. In Blake's 7, while my focus is on the character of Avon, you also have these unlikely friendships born in the face of adversity. In Stargate, my favourite aspect of it is the team -- mainly Jack and Daniel, but I don't want to focus on just them. And even shows where there's mainly romance and UST between the main characters, such as in the X-Files and Scarecrow & Mrs King, the actual friendship preceeds the romance, and that's the way I like it. (And likewise, I'm fine with Sam/Jack in Stargate, because it is a friendshippy respect thing before it's a romance)
And of course in The Sentinel "It's all about friendship."
3. What is, for you, the most quotable book you've ever read?
"Orthodoxy" by G. K. Chesterton; probably followed by "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. I'd class Chesterton and Adams the two most quotable authors I know of, though they're quotable for completely different reasons. Douglas Adams, is, of course, cynical and absurd. Chesterton is the opposite of cynical, though he also is interested in the absurd. Both know how to make words sit up and take notice.
For example, Adams:
Three stages in the history of warfare:
RETRIBUTION
I'm going to kill you because you killed my brother.
ANTICIPATION
I'm going to kill you because I killed your brother.
DIPLOMACY
I'm going to kill my brother and then kill you, on the pretext that your brother did it.
(The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
And Chesterton:
If you draw a giraffe, you must draw him with a long neck. If, in your bold creative way, you hold yourself free to draw a giraffe with a short neck, you will really find that you are not free to draw a giraffe.
-- G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
Re: Oh, cool ....
Date: 2005-01-07 09:34 pm (UTC)[snip]
Fanfic is in the same medium as books (prose). This means that it is more competition with the poor author, who needs the money. (There are very few rich authors. And I'm not a fan of Steven King anyway)
Ah. That's more where the line gets drawn for you, then. I used to not even get why people would bother writing fics for books...TV series left much more room for additional stories, imo. Then I encountered the Harry Potter fandom--where the best writers seem to work from the books rather than the films, even though the series has been adapted. And I am more open to stories in book fandoms if they cross over with a TV series (ie, that Barrayar/Buffy fic you recced a while back).
LotR I still have real trouble with. "Fan art," in the sense of visual work inspired by the books, or poetry, I don't have issues with (including the movies in that catagory); but as for fics...eugh. That's the original medium, and I don't see where there's room for one of us to go messing around. Not to mention that there are few fic writers who have Tolkien's skill with language (I almost said none, but that's not necessarily true). Though I did read one, The Ringbearer and the Rose by
However, one thing that could possibly be common would be friendship, though different shows have a different degree of it.
I wondered if that was it. Having not yet watched any B7, I couldn't be sure, but anyone who's as into TS as you...well, it's a good guess.
And even shows where there's mainly romance and UST between the main characters, such as in the X-Files and Scarecrow & Mrs King, the actual friendship preceeds the romance, and that's the way I like it.
Oh, yes, indeed! I came to XF late (6th season), but fell in love with it because of the earlier seasons, before any of the UST had gotten beyond subtext. It's Mulder and Scully as partners I really liked, not M/S (though I was a shipper, after a while).
3. What is, for you, the most quotable book you've ever read?
"Orthodoxy" by G. K. Chesterton; probably followed by "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams.
Ah. Having just finished "The Everlasting Man," I am starting to see exactly how quotable Chesterton is. I have several passages marked to share with people, because he just puts things so well.
And Adams. Yes. Very quotable, kind of the way Monty Python is, but more philosophical or smart-mouthed.
Both know how to make words sit up and take notice.
What a great way to put it.
Re: Oh, cool ....
Date: 2005-01-06 01:07 am (UTC)1. You've written a successful screenplay or novel. How would you feel if you came across fanfic for it which was pornographic or slashified or in some other way offensive and a complete distortion of your vision?
2. You are now Queen of the World. What would you do?
3. What is a fun and silly thing you would like to do, or have done?
Re: Oh, cool ....
Date: 2005-01-07 07:33 am (UTC)