Random Thoughts

[Axm]

I use Yahoo for my email, and it seems like every time I go to check it, I'm assaulted by idiotic news stories on the front page. Usually it's all just dumb celebrity gossip shit, but today I was hit by not one, but two news stories that encapsulated so perfectly just how stupidly, ridiculously sensitive people have become these days. And I usually hate it every time someone says that dumb, played-out "I don't want to live on this planet anymore" internet thing (it reeks of depressive teenagers), but I'm of a similar mind right now. I'm disappointed in how pathetic the human race has become, that people get so upset over completely inconsequential things. And you could say "it's not everyone, it's just a couple news stories trying to generate views." In theory that should be true, but I've seen and heard this kind of stupid shit elsewhere too, in different situations, and it seems like nowadays it really is normal for people to be this pathetic.

First, it was yet another story about Jonah Hill, how he referred to a paparazzi as a faggot on the Howard Stern show, and how people are all up in arms about him using that word. Note that this has been going for several days, seeing more stories on the exact same subject which doesn't fucking matter because dude, that paparazzi was probably being a total faggot.
But this newest story was special, because the title didn't just say that he said an off word; it referred to his one-time use of it as an "anti-gay outburst," blowing it up as if they have no understanding of the actual situation.
This has prompted me to start using the word "faggot" much more liberally in my daily life. So stop being a bunch of faggy faggots, you faggoty fags, or I'll totally call you out on it. Faggots. I'm also going to say "gay" to reflect my distaste toward things. As in "this whole thing is so gay." Also retarded. People are sensitive about that too, right? That's so retarded.

The second totally gay, retarded, faggoty article I saw was lambasting Louie, a really great, off-kilter, borderline artistic comedy series created by and starring Louis CK, for having featured a "rape scene." I don't know if anyone else watches this show, but it's fantastic. One of the most creatively-hilarious shows ever made. The scene in question features Louie fumbling around with a woman he's known for most of the series, who he's always wanted a relationship with. But she's a very abrasive, standoffish type, so nothing ever materialized. So a couple episodes back, she says she might be willing to pursue a boy-girl thing with him, even though she thinks he's gross. So back to the scene, he's stumbling around his apartment with her, trying to get a kiss, and she keeps pulling away trying to avoid it. There's no animosity on his end, he's not angry or hitting her or causing any damage, he just wants a kiss. It's cartoonish. It's like Pepe Le Pew. But she's the type that's completely opposed to opening herself up to anyone, so she's resisting. At one point she actually says "This would be rape if you weren't so stupid," and it's easily one of the biggest laugh-out-loud moments in the episode. Eventually she concedes, and purses her lips together really tight while he gives her a single peck. She leaves, after which he fist bumps and say "Yesssss," like he's just had some kind of big-pimpin' victory (another of the funniest moments of the episode). The whole thing is a continuation of a conversation they were having earlier on.
So instead of paying attention to the history and relationship between these characters, instead of understanding the show and its quirkiness, people have jumped on it for having the main character apparently commit "sexual assault" on someone. It's like, so now we have something called "rape culture" (a term I still don't understand at all), but to counter that we have "'people who are overly sensitive to rape, even when it isn't present' culture." This shit is absolutely silly. And retarded.

[Kenny]

The word Nigger is coming back in the spotlight too thanks to the racist stripper mom and Justin Bieber to similar protest.

I'm sort of reminded of a pet peeve of mine that (even pro-gay) people don't mind using the word "faggot" but refuse to say the word "nigger".

[Sonikku]

Anyone want a ride?

http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-w ... 014-6?op=1

[mue 26]

I'm sort of reminded of a pet peeve of mine that (even pro-gay) people don't mind using the word "faggot" but refuse to say the word "nigger".

Yeah, I agree, though I do have to wonder just how how "pro-gay" any non-gay who uses faggot or even "gay" in a negative sense really is you know? It shows such an obvious lack of sensitivity and consideration. Although I guess those words don't have the same depth of history and trauma (not that they aren't still very traumatic for many) that that other word has. I'd certainly use none of them though.

[Raithos]

Yeah OL, that was the funniest part of the episode. After she left and he leaned on the door going "YEESSSS" after getting possibly the worst kiss I've ever seen on television, from a girl hes ALREADY slept with before lol. He's one of my favorite stand up comedians. "Louie" has a natural, real life vibe to it that most TV shows only dream of.


"You know what's happier than a three legged dog? A dog with four legs."

[OL]

Oh yeah, Louis CK is easily one of the best standups out there right now, and his show keeps surprising me with just how inventive it can be on such an obviously low budget. There are times where it's slightly artistic, and it's certainly thought-provoking more often than not. You don't expect this stuff out of a lifelong standup comedian who makes jokes about bags of dicks.
Even more impressive, the writing, directing, and editing credits often just say "Louis CK" next to them. This really is his show. For a guy who usually seems so down on himself in his standup acts, he's really doing some amazing tv work right now. Even his acting is really good (something most comedians can't boast in the least).

[Kenny]

I'm sort of reminded of a pet peeve of mine that (even pro-gay) people don't mind using the word "faggot" but refuse to say the word "nigger".

Yeah, I agree, though I do have to wonder just how how "pro-gay" any non-gay who uses faggot or even "gay" in a negative sense really is you know? It shows such an obvious lack of sensitivity and consideration. Although I guess those words don't have the same depth of history and trauma (not that they aren't still very traumatic for many) that that other word has. I'd certainly use none of them though.

That and a fear of possibly getting their asses kicked on the street.

[AnimeGamer183]

Some people just have no considering for the life styles of others.

[Axm]

AKB48 question on Jeopardy! tonight. Nailed it.

[AnimeGamer183]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/heirs-co- ... 33275.html

Apparently Stan Lee stole alot of the spotlight from Jack Kirby, and Jack Kirby's children want paid. Interesting read, I dont really think there is any bad blood, as Jack Kirby is credited alot from marvel for his creations. I guess he just never got paid and now that his characters are worth billions, its time more hands are in the cookie jar. I would say they probably have a decent shot and winning that battle, what do you guys think?

[OL]

Ive thought for years that Stan Lee gets far too much credit for Marvel as a whole. Stan Lee would be nothing right now if not for Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, both of whom are considered legends in the industry, but as is the case with most great artists, never exactly hit the economic jackpot the way Lee did. Their families absolutely should be getting royalties for these franchises, no doubt about it.
And it isn't even just that they created the look for these various characters (though that is important, as someone like Spider-Man really hasn't changed visually since his creation). Stan Lee began writing in what eventually became known as the "Marvel Method" back in the 60s, as a way to juggle the writing chores for so many comics at once. Basically, Lee would write loose outlines for an issue, and it would then be up to the artists to fill out the entire issue with pictures, to which Lee would later return and fill in the dialogue. In essence, it was the artists who determined the flow of the story and inserted all the classic little visual cues, and Lee would quickly finish things with admittedly terrible dialogue, practically as an afterthought.
As a side note, certain characters were actually even conceptualized first by the artists as well, while Lee still gets the credit to this day. Jack Kirby created a group called the Challengers of the Unknown for DC way back then, which pretty much served as the genesis for the Fantastic Four once he moved over to Marvel. The idea was Kirby's. It's just plain wrong that you can say "Stan Lee" to the average mainstream audience member, and they'll likely have an idea of who you're talking about, but Jack Kirby's name will still elicit nothing but a "who?"

[AnimeGamer183]

Maybe jack didnt want the spot light, and was concerned mainly with his craft and didnt much care about the other mumbo jumbo

[OL]

When the early sixties rolled around, Stan Lee was already practically in charge of Marvel as a whole. It's natural that he would be able to sway the credit and benefits for all this stuff primarily his way. The artists were basically employees at the time, and employees didn't exactly have the grandest of benefits back then.
Creative industries have gone through a lot of changes since then either way. If these characters were being created today, no doubt the artists would have gotten their due, but things just weren't so equal in the sixties. These guys were working stiffs. And I'm sure if he knew that his comics would eventually be turned into multi-billion dollar properties, Kirby would certainly have wanted more of the benefits. This stuff could set up his family quite nicely.

Oh, and I just thought of another comics veteran who's been fucked over by all this movie business and all the credit going to Stan Lee: Chris Claremont.
Claremont was the guy who really put the X-Men on the map. The X-Men had some level of popularity in the 60s, but they absolutely blew up in the late-70s and 80s when Claremont worked on them. The guy wrote Uncanny X-Men for 16 years. He wrote some of the most iconic stories in the X-Men's history, including God Loves, Man Kills (the basis for X-Men 2), the Dark Phoenix Saga (the basis for X3, even though they fucked that opportunity up), and Days of Future Past. He may not have created Wolverine, but he was certainly the one who developed him into the character everyone knows and loves (Lee had nothing to do with the character). And that's not even mentioning the multitude of iconic characters he introduced over the years, like Gambit, Mystique, Rogue, and Sabretooth.
The X-Men franchise as a whole owes more to this one guy than to anyone else. Lee and Kirby may have started them off, but Claremont turned it into the powerhouse superhero team they are now. But apparently he hasn't seen a single dime from the success of the X-Men movies.

[MiTT3NZ]

Although it hasn't done his family any financial favours since his death, but there's no doubt that Jack Kirby has a higher level of respect than Stan Lee throughout the comic book industry, and amongst fans. Everyone who actually reads comic know that the Stan Lees and Bob Kanes of the world are just very business-savvy creators that had more help than they care to admit.

That said though, it shouldn't be a case of less respect being shown to them, just more to their peers and collaborators. The way I see it with the Lee-Kirby thing is that Jack made Marvel great, and Stan made Marvel successful.

[Kenny]

A few months ago, I wanted to make a short film based on one particular videogame. Long story short, it ultimately fell through because we didn't have the funds to do it proper justice.

With this year's E3, I'm hoping to run into the guys who own the IP and pitch the idea of making a pilot that forms the basis for a webseries to coincide with the game's release. My boss is willing to get some serious people involved to help make the pilot based off my script (it's going to be very short and to the point, like the Mortal Kombat Rebirth short), so if the IP holders say yes...we're on this thing immediately.