Watch Out! I'm on a rant.

[puppetmaker]

This is a rant blog about some stupidity that I have recently seen or heard about.

Tom Cruise may have 100 million for his company to make a movie but he is missing one critical element for that film. He has no distributor for the film. Right now with digital technology just about anyone can make a film. Some films that are being done by rank amateurs are apparently quite good. The editing software available to the public is as good if not better than what they have in Hollywood. Yea Film! But none of these films (or very few) have a distributor that will put them into theaters so that they can make money in the theaters. Yeah, I know that there are DVDs that never see the movie screen but that is not the point. Tom has screwed up big time and he was cut lose by Paramount Studio and given a set amount of time to get his people off the lot. Now here is the twist, Spielberg, who is Dreamworks and directed two films with Tom, was not told of what was about to go down and is apparently "not happy" by how the situation was handled. Remember that the talent agency that reps Tom is CCA which is owned in part by Spielberg. So this is a big mess with more fallout in the near future because Tom acted like an idiot in public and got called on it. I think he and Mel Gibson need to go sit in the corner in a serious time-out until they realize what they did.

I use wonder why no one signals anymore for lane changes but no more. I can't tell you the number of times I have signaled to change lanes and have all my space judged only to have some asshat speed up to fill the gap just enough that I can't get over. This has been especially heart stopping when trying to merge into traffic from a highway entrance ramp. Thank goodness that I follow the look rules to check my blind spot one more time before moving over or I think I would be a grease spot on the highway right now.

Apparently JK Rowling's lawyers are sniffing around the internet and warning those who do Potter Porn to either knock it off or hide it. The defense that really burned my goat was the one that said that all their slash Potter Porn happened after the characters were of the age of adulthood according to Rowling's Wizard world which is 16 I believe. The owner of the characters has asked you not to do something or at least not in public forums and you come back with why it shouldn't matter? Here's a clue by four upside the head which might knock a clue lose. When I was reading fanfic I can tell you all the Doctor Who stuff that was even suggestive was put in a private area of the internet with a couple of passwords on it to keep the Beeb from shutting it down. To the list owners who allow Potter Porn, lock it down and get it out of sight or you might find yourself on the wrong end of a cease and desist order. Remember she is published in just about every country on Earth and therefore has access to lawyers just about anywhere. Fanfic is only alive because of the good graces of the owners. Don't make them regret it.

I am grateful that I got all the eyes done on the puppets yesterday.

Comments

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Internet? Hah! When *I* was a boy, we had to go buy smutty fanzines from that guy in the corner of the dealers room, and hide them inside issues of STARLOG so no one knew what we were reading.

And we were lucky! :)

[paigemom.livejournal.com]

I still don't understand why Potter Porn isn't illegal under child pornography laws.

If "virtual" photos (no child was actually used to create the image) are illegal, why isn't rabid, detailed description of "virtual" acts between minors (and between minors and adults) that don't really exist.

Seriously, can you explain this?

[ghilledhu.livejournal.com]

Partly because fanfiction isn't something that's bought and sold (hence "fan" fiction). It exists sort of to the side of the law, in that technically the author and copyright holder of those characters could say, "No you can't do this" -- and some have. If we were talking about stories that were actually being published and sold for money, it probably would be illegal, but you can't legislate what really amounts to fantasy put into words.

Also, there is that pesky first amendment. If this is made illegal, what's next? Should crime books get outlawed? Maybe just the ones where the criminal is idealized, or gets away with their crimes? Should The Sopranos get taken off the air? We may find the underage porn fanfics distasteful, but unless it's actually proven that someone is not only reading/writing the stuff but molesting actual, non-fictional children, it's still pure fantasy.

(This is not to say, by the way, that I approve of this stuff. I actually find it quite icky. But again, as long as no actual children are being hurt, I can't really say it should be made illegal.)

[readinggeek451]

When I signal to change lanes, I find it's about 50/50 whether someone drops back to let me in or moves up to cut me off. If it ever shifts heavily to the latter, I think I'll stop signalling.

[creepyfnord.livejournal.com]

New Yorker+Pro puppeteer+Dragon Con goer, can I ad you to my friends list. I'm eventually going to move to new york and think it would be nice to know a few people before i make the trip.