Pixel Scroll 8/18 The Ballot of the Sad Sharpei

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I have to pack and get to their airport, so I will scroll and skate.

(1) Vox posted a story that celebrates the Chronicles of Prydain as “the best fantasy series ever.” (The site Vox, not the person Vox.)

Let me tell you about the best fantasy/adventure series ever written for young people.

Nope, it’s not about Harry Potter. Don’t get me wrong, I like Harry Potter just fine. I read all seven of those books aloud to my kids, which, believe me, takes some dedication. And I’ve read and loved dozens and dozens of other sci-fi and fantasy books for youngsters over the years, including the ones with the Hobbits and the ones with the dragons (no, the other one with the dragons).

But one fantasy series will always come first in my heart: The Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander. Published in the late ’60s, it was one of the first true high fantasy series written by an American, and the first to rival the British greats like Tolkien.

Loosely based on Welsh myths, the books tell a fairly conventional story: A young boy bored with his ordinary life sets off on a series of adventures, learns some lessons, confronts a great evil, becomes a man, and assumes a place of leadership. It’s all squarely in Joseph Campbell territory.

(2) John C. Wright contests statements about Puppy leaders in Yes! Magazine. (An article linked by Pixel Scroll the other day: here).

As for the sentence quoted in the hit piece, let me say a word or three:

I have no views on People of Color and have never written a single word on the topic. Baptism is not a racial characteristic but a spiritual one. Sainthood is not an inherited characteristic.

My views on woman are those of a dyed-in-the-wool romantic of the chivalrous Christian school, who adores both Saint Mary and Saint Mary Magdalen as saints. I also have a healthy fascination with the character of Nausicaa from Miyazaki’s VALLEY OF THE WIND (see below) and an unhealthy fascination for the character of the Catwoman. And this is being condemned, why, again exactly? Because I respect both saints and sinners of the fair sex, both princesses and cat-burglars? Why is having contempt for woman a sign of Political Correctness, again, exactly, please?

My views, to the best of my knowledge, and have no point of overlap with the dour cynicism of my publisher and friend Theodore Beale, so the sentence as it stands is meaningless. It is like saying, “The views of the Easter Bunny and Count Dracula on avoiding the drinking human blood during Lent go beyond the pale.” But there is no view the Bunny and the Count share on this point.

My views on homosexuals are the views of the Roman Catholic Church, which is to say, the views of Western Civilization since the time of Constantine onward. Those views are ones of love and respect, more respect indeed by far than felt by those who would encourage the sexual desecration of the human person. Why is pitiless contempt for those suffering sexual aberration a sign of Political Correctness, again, exactly, please?

(3) Who do the lurkers really support? “Almost No One Sided with #GamerGate: A Research Paper on the Internet’s Reaction to Last Year’s Mob”.

Lately I’ve been troubled by the fact that GamerGate’s supporters and I seem to have completely opposite perceptions about what most people think of their movement. I’ve had GamerGaters tell me that most people don’t equate GamerGate with online harassment and that most people (or at least, most gamers) are actually on GamerGate’s side. How is it that our perceptions of “what most people think” are so different? Could it be that we all live inside some social-media echo chamber that makes us oblivious to other points of view?

[Thanks to Rob for one of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Will R.]

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882 thoughts on “Pixel Scroll 8/18 The Ballot of the Sad Sharpei”

  1. Jenora Feuer on August 20, 2015 at 9:30 am said:

    I think I mentioned before having this discussion with an old roommate about Casablanca, where his comment was, “I kept thinking to myself, ‘that’s such a cliche’, and I had to keep reminding myself that this is the movie that made it a cliche.”

    I’ve had that exact discussion.

  2. Lexica, that is an amazing thought. Please, please do. Love it.

    And thank you, everyone. As most of us know, grief tends to be an isolating thing, and all the stuff that helps me still feel connected is, genuinely, useful practical good deeds.

  3. Wes Anderson’s Hellraiser starring Bill Murray, Angelica Huston and Owen Wilson?

    I might actually watch that.

    edit: Crap, SNL beat me to it:

  4. Bruce, this one’s for you.

    Dirge Without Music — Edna St. Vincent Millay

    I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
    So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:
    Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
    With lilies and with laurel they go; but I am not resigned.

    Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you.
    Be one with the dull, the indiscriminate dust.
    A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew,
    A formula, a phrase remains,—but the best is lost.

    The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love,—
    They are gone. They are gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled
    Is the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve.
    More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the world.

    Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
    Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
    Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
    I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.

  5. Bruce, my sympathies. Cats are predisposed to kidney disease, and the only “good” thing about it is that it’s not a painful disease. Clearly, he had a great life with you, and I hope your memories of him can be a comfort to you.

    And for your entertainment, may I suggest “The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert” as done by Guillermo del Toro OR Stephan Elliott’s “Superman”?

    (Priscilla as done by Roland Emmerich? Oh god.)

  6. Lori, thank you. It’s been years since I read that poem, and had forgotten about it.

    There’s a Pacific Northwest musician named Jeff Johnson. His career has included art rock, New Age, Celtic-style folk, and work in various liturgical traditions, over the decades. This is a very early song of his, and has been one of my go-to songs to grieve to ever since I first heard it: “Soliloquy”, by Jeff Johnson.

    Ginger, we had a lot of questions for the vet, and they did well to help us understand that no, we hadn’t missed warning signs because there aren’t any, and no, he wasn’t suffering for a long time with pains he couldn’t tell us about, because he didn’t have anything to be uncomfortable until very shortly before the symptoms we did notice. I love it when people who know things understand the questions ignorant people like me have, and are willing to take the time to answer in good faith.

  7. This is my favourite little sweet sad comfort video I watch when someone passes away.

  13. Merchant and Ivory’s [Jason Shiga’s] Demon

    The Wachowskis’ American Splendor

    Sam Peckinpah’s Castle Waiting

    Guillermo Del Toro’s Apartment 3G

    David Cronenberg’s American Elf

    The Farrelly Brothers’ Our Cancer Year

    Judd Apatow’s From Hell

    …and, finally (nor now):

    Seth MacFarlane’s Maus

  14. @Bruce: I am so sorry. Sudden demises are the worst (as opposed to gradual declines, which are also the worst). All our cats are definitely getting extra cuddles today.

  16. I have been posting a bunch of Montano pics on my G+ stream and Facebook; anyone who isn’t trying to burn down fandom or make it a Puppies plantation is welcome to check them out. Normal topics include a lot about roleplaying games, random science news, and like that.

  19. Thank you, Bruce. I have just ordered one of the DoughRollers you linked to. Impossible to resist. And Montano looks so sweet. Hugs to you!

  25. Simon Bucher-Jones : Gareth Edward’s “The Muppets Take Manhatten”.

    Heh. Sam Peckinpah’s “The Muppets Take Manhatten”.

    Come to think of it, Terry Gilliam’s “Lord of The Rings”

    “We were somewhere around Mordor on the edge of the swamp when the drugs began to take hold. ”

    ANNNNND that reminds me – THIS classic piece

    The Assassination of Yogi Bear by the Coward Booboo

    (On edit : so sorry about the cat, Bruce)

  29. @Bruce I’m very sorry for your loss. From your posts here I think it’s safe to say you gave your kitty a great life, which may not be much in the way of condolence, but at least it’s something.

    And now I’ve annoyed my ancient, hyperthyroid cat with too many hugs and kisses.

  30. Sorry to hear about your cat.

    I hope things go as well as they can for you for the next while and that you have good support at hand.

  36. Bruce, I’m sorry about your kitty.

    My pointing out that Benedict Cumberbatch has obviously spent a lot of time in the gymn is by way of a subtle clue that ‘Hamlet’ actually does have a lot of non-stop action;

    I take it as a subtle clue that he takes his shirt off. You saw Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet and he takes his shift off.

    Shhhh… don’t correct me if I’m wrong.

    (Also, regarding movies — I’ve never seen the perfect Hamlet movie, because usually it gets one thing right, something else wrong. But Seattle did have a pretty perfect stage production a couple of years back. But it did not have shirtless Benedict Cumberbatch.)

  37. Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Tick

    Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Diabolik

    Michael Bay’s The Desert Peach

  38. I have been posting a bunch of Montano

    He looks very much like my Inkwell, who is beginning to get suspicious about all the hugs and crying. I’m trying to not make him more concerned.

  39. You saw Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet and he takes his shift off.

    A shift would be an unusual, if authentic, costuming choice for the nighttime scenes. I suppose British theater does have a long and proud (ahem) tradition of full-frontal…

  40. “I suppose British theater does have a long and proud (ahem) tradition of full-frontal…”

    The first thing I saw in the first live production I went to in London when I moved there in 1990, was a full frontal nude Paul Freeman.

    Quite the eye opener for a Catholic raised, all girl school attending kid from Queensland!

  41. Bruce–

    So sorry to hear about Montano. As someone once should have said, it is better to have been owned by a really cool cat and lost him than to never have been owned at all. Or something like that. For small creatures, they leave a big hole in one’s heart.

    In sympathy I have changed my Gravatar image to Java the Slut peering over the bathtub edge.

  42. @Bruce:

    My condolences as well. If it’s any consolation, it sounds to me as though both you and Montano hit the lottery the day you came together and you mutually enriched each other’s lives.

  45. Montano passed away today. We had a really good final time, in which he was altogether himself. It was downright entertaining watching him come up from sedation: he went from loving being petted, to hanging his head over the side of the gurney he was on for looking around, to leaping over to the chair I’d been sitting in and claiming it as his own. His body language was entirely characteristic. We had time for petting, and for him to wash one of my hands, and for his favorite head butting, and for him to curl up on my chest. And then he passed entirely peacefully.

    Given the rotten unwelcome unfairness of the situation, it ended as well as it could, I think. He got to go surrounded by his people, in one of his most favorite positions, feeling our love.

  47. Jim, me too. I didn’t have any idea what to expect and was braced for much nastier. Glad I didn’t get it.

  49. Thank you, Laura! Hines’s excellent article is exactly what I was looking for in a comprehensive link roundup.

  50. Lori: I teared up when I saw the Edna St. Vincent Millay poem you posted for Bruce–and then remembered how fantastic this biography of Millay is (can highly recommend it as one of the most amazing biographies I’ve ever read.

    And I was reminded of my immense love for Elizabeth Bishop’s poem “One Art”:

    One Art
    BY ELIZABETH BISHOP

    The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
    so many things seem filled with the intent
    to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

    Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
    of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
    The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

    Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
    places, and names, and where it was you meant
    to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

    I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
    next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
    The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

    I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
    some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
    I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

    —Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
    I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
    the art of losing’s not too hard to master
    though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

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