On Jul 15, 2007, at 4:13 PM, fiawol_at_aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated 7/15/2007 5:55:43 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> thog_at_thogscave.net writes:
>> I've never really understood the obsessive-types meself.
>>
> There are some who would argue that being in a discussion group
> devoted to a single artist is being obsessive about that artist.
>
I dunno, sometimes it looks like it's James and Des both, but be that
as it may, I don't see it as obsessive. James participated, we're
not here to worship at his feet but to enjoy his work and chat about
it. Kinda like a bunch of folks in a coffeehouse.
I was still in school (at an engineering college) when "Star Trek the
Next Generation" started to air, and I got really tired really fast
of people arguing nit-picky merits of a bloody television show. And,
I won't even go into the "Dr. Who" fans.
> I prefer not to "throw stones" at other fandoms, mostly because our
> own has has more than it's share of stones thrown at it. If
> someone wants to talk about Star Trek, or Dr. Who, or even furry
> skunk characters, let 'em. If we don't like it, we can always walk
> away.
I think we're missing by degrees here. Hanging out with someone and
discussing their work (pros and cons) is fun and healthy. I have a
close friend who is a rather well-known chef, yet his friends don't
fawn over him (he does have fans for that), he's just "one of the
gang" and hist work gets discussed in a similar manner. Sometimes,
we discuss what I do, and everybody goes to sleep. :-)
Case in point: About a year or so ago, I was asked by the friend of a
friend if I could run down to Albuquerque and tape a visit from
$FAMOUS_AUTHOR. (Hereby referred to as $FA.) Said $FA is quite well-
known, but I find his books to be a bit of a pain to read. Boring,
perhaps.
Well, I almost puked at the way the "fans" were fawning over him.
There was the usual "your writing saved my life" person, as well as
lots of discussion of esoteric details for what are STORIES that
somebody wrote. Some people were treating him like a minor god, when
all the guy did was write some books.
I just can't understand that attitude. I like James's work, but
should we ever meet in person, I'd offer him a cup of coffee and sit
down to BS for a while. He's a man, just like me, and I can
appreciate his talents (and sense of humor) without having to elevate
his status or be in awe of him.
Treating someone as an equal and appreciating the work that they do
is the highest compliment I can think of, whether they are a famous
celebrity or the guy who just did an awesome job fixing the leaks in
my roof. (In Santa Fe, it's much harder to find the latter than the
former. We're lousy with celebs, but a good contractor is to be
coveted!)
-Pete
Received on Mon Jul 16 2007 - 17:08:58 CDT