No Strings Attached

Come over here. That’s right. * Twap * What is wrong with you? Seriously!?!?

The past month or so I can’t swing a sehlat without hitting some group of fans upset about something and swearing to “do something about it” including “never watching again”. And the perpetual “they are ruining our show” is echoing a lot right now too. I think part of it is that the new fall season is about to start and people are antsy about things that they have discussed/fantasized about all summer.

Most recently were the promo photos that ABC pulled from the third season of Once Upon a Time. Yes, they were a little rough but I was enjoying them. The group shot looked like the group shot they did last year and the year before for the show but it is being compared to LOST. Guess what kids, the guys who are running this show are the same guys who did LOST but the comparisons really stop there other than some really solid character arcs and storytelling. And frankly I was revamping Mr. Gold’s costume to reflect what I was seeing in the photo which I can’t do now because the photos got pulled because of a vocal minority.

Then there are the pitch and pitchforks that are going after “Star Trek: Into Darkness”. To the point where the actors are coming in to defend the film that they enjoyed working on. It is not the worst Star Trek film of all time. I am not saying it is the best but woe betide you if you admit that you liked it because apparently then you are wrong about everything in the world. And then there are the Star Wars fans that are in a sheer panic because JJ Abrams has been handed the keys to that kingdom as well. Original Star Trek isn’t vanishing off the planet because of the new franchise nor will original Star Wars.

There is the kerfuffle about Mr. Affleck and Batman. Which I heard back in 1988 when it was announced that Michael Keaton was tapped to play the cape crusader. That film and his performance changed the superhero movie forever. Like your dark superhero films? Thank Tim Burton and Michael Keaton. Interestingly Mr. Nicholson’s performance as the Joker was never questioned at the time. But Heath Ledger was bashed right out of the gate and for many his became the definitive Joker. Yes, these changes aren’t all gems but I would plea for people to give it a chance.

Supernatural has been a fan whining magnet. They always seem to complain that the creators don’t understand the characters. They don’t give them what they want and if they do, then the complaints about “that’s not what I meant” or “no I didn’t want this” fall from the lips of the same people who were clamoring for the thing that they got. I have to say that the writers have been very clever in the way they have responded to the fans with some rather tongue in cheek. I think Chuck is one of my favorite characters in the city with Charlie a close second.

I am not going to even get into X-men Days of Future Past.

I am not saying that I have never rolled my eye or said ‘oh come on’ from an announcement/spoiler from a show. However I have never started a petition to get someone fired from their job or get a show to do what I want. I have never boycotted or asked other to boycott a show because I don’t like what they did.

Give the creators a chance to tell their stories. If fans want to tell theirs, they have options to do so. Just don’t get upset when something that you wrote gets used in a show or movie and try to sue the creators of the show for using your idea. They aren’t reading your fanfic, you just happen to be thinking along the same lines that they are and they are the ones that laid the pipework that brought you to your conclusion.

The noise of a minority is causing a majority to go silent because they don’t want that sort of vitriol directed at them. And I find that a sad state of fandom.

I am grateful for fans that are willing to give things a chance and allow other fans to have different opinions.

Two beautiful things at the same time.

I cleared out the way to the run off drain both in the backyard and on the street to allow for the melted snow or, as we call it, water to drain properly. Our driveway and sidewalk are clear and dry. Overall the impact of the storm was Friday morning and it was a big impact at the time, now it is just kind of pretty. I know that things are worse west of the city and that we were lucky that we just caught the edge of the storm.

Today we are off to Ariel’s college concert. We have a few things to do before that but that will be the bulk of the day.

Today’s New York Times magazine has a fascinating article on depression and some possible reasons that it is so prevalent in society today. I highly recommend it with the usual warnings that it might be trigger something so if this topic is not something you care to read about, I would avoid it. However it does bring some interesting ideas to the table. Here is the link to Depression’s Upside. Do feel free to discuss it in comments.

I am sure that most of you has heard about either Andrew Koenig or Alexander McQueen or Michael Blosil (Maria Osmond’s son). All three were treated off and on for depression and all three committed the ultimate act and killed themselves leaving their family and friends with a lot of questions. My sympathies are with all the family and friends of these men.

I understand that pit of despair that people can find themselves in. I have said before that I have suffered from depression in the past and even tried to kill myself. I was fortunate that I didn’t succeed as much as I wanted to at the time. Because I didn’t, I can sit here and watch my little girl play with her dragons and have an adventure unfold in front of me. Because I didn’t, I have been able to do things and make friends with people that I admired for years. Because I didn’t, I was able to help other people with problems so they didn’t try to do what I tried. Because I didn’t, I can be here for my husband.

Depression is more that not being able to cheer up. We all have sad times in our lives because that is part of life. But there are times that it does become too much and one can find themselves in a very deep pit with, what seems, no way out. And that is dangerous over time. It does affect those around you. It does affect your “quality of life” (I do sooo hate that phrase but it is one of the current buzz phrases so I use it). Sometimes it works itself out and sometimes one needs help to see the upside to things before the downside is all that they see.

Considering all that has happened recently, including some stuff that is rather personal, I have decided to be more open about my depression and my suicide attempts in hopes that my speaking out that in the long term it does get better and you never know what around the next corner will help others to get to that corner and not take themselves off the gameboard.

So read the article and let’s have some discussion here about it. The usual rules of politeness and civility will be in place.

I am grateful that I didn’t succeed in my plans to end my life.