michaelchabon

posts about #michaelchabon more →
Geeking Out About Genres With Michael Chabon
Our Geeky Hearts Are Bigger On The Inside Than On The Outside
Michael Chabon: Star Wars Legos Prove Kids Are Still Remixing The Force
When Science Fiction Finally Dies, Science-Fictional Storytelling Will Be Healthier Than Ever
Escapism Is The Highest Form Of Art
An "Alternate History For Newbies" Primer Makes A Stab At Creating An Allohistory Canon
Science Fiction's Unsung Old Master Getting A New Appreciation?
Andrew Stanton's John Carter Of Mars Ready To Start Filming... In Utah's Alien Landscape
Michael Chabon Signs On To Write John Carter Of Mars
Michael Chabon, Matt Fraction, and the Nerd Cultural Insurgency (NCI)

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geesejuggler
11/16/09

In reply to Geeking Out About Genres With Michael Chabon
I love the principle of "I am my own sequel." I'm borrowing that from him. Honestly speaking, no one is the same person they were 5 or 10 years ago and if they are, they're idiots. #michaelchabon
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Chip Overclock
11/16/09

@geesejuggler: It's not even physically true, given the rate of cell replacement. #michaelchabon
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halloweenjack, King of the Wild Frontier
11/04/09

In reply to Our Geeky Hearts Are Bigger On The Inside Than On The Outside
He narrates some bizarrely awesome-sounding games he and other kids played, based on the 1973 Planet Of The Apes TV series (not the movies, weirdly enough).

The live-action series wasn't much of a much, but the cartoon was surprisingly awesome, in part because it deviated from the movie and series by showing apes using more advanced technology; the bit that showed a good ol' ape driving a truck while listening to a country & western song called "I'm Going Humanoid Over You" remains burned in my brain. #michaelchabon
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jaynesworth
11/03/09

In reply to Our Geeky Hearts Are Bigger On The Inside Than On The Outside
Charlie Jane, you're a blogger and you wrote the words "his opinion-spouting gets a little overwhelming". That's funny. #michaelchabon
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Charlie Jane Anders
11/10/09

@jaynesworth: That's how I know. I have my own built in opinion-spouting meter. #michaelchabon
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Anekanta - former space marine
11/03/09

In reply to Our Geeky Hearts Are Bigger On The Inside Than On The Outside

I'm adding this to my wish-list.

Also this: "...one of the constants in Chabon's essays is the primacy of play..."

reminds me of this:

[go-play.org]
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Edited by Anekanta - former space marine at 11/03/09 6:45 PM

Anekanta - former space marine
11/03/09

@Anekanta: hmmm, need to work on my html image formatting...
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Edited by Anekanta - former space marine at 11/03/09 6:55 PM

Elorin
11/04/09

@Anekanta - Go Play!: Adding to my wishlist also. I enjoy books of essays, and while I might not see the depth that Charlie Jane sees in it, I think I'd enjoy this. #michaelchabon
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Rasselas
11/03/09

In reply to Our Geeky Hearts Are Bigger On The Inside Than On The Outside
From time to time I feel guilty for being so cold to the products of Chabon Inc., when its certified Geekcredgineers are so patently well-adjusted, warm-hearted and generous with their tales of liking the things that I like and disliking the things that I dislike and the products in its premium fiction line -- The One About the Comic-Book Creators and The One About the Jewish People in Alaska, particularly -- are so finely-finished, like Lexuses of hysterical Brooklyn fictioneering, and its mission statement so helpfully accessible and open-source. Chabon Inc. would never ask me to put away my childish things. It's like the cool father/older brother/professor/boss/mentor/secret sharer I never had but always wanted. #michaelchabon
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robfagen
11/03/09

@Rasselas: I don't know exactly what you are saying there. It's clear that you have some kind of issues, or at least have issues with the fact that you don't have issues. I suspected for just a moment that we had some of the same issues, but then I realized that you were saying you didn't like MC's work. That's opposite. Totally opposite. Now I'm really confused. #michaelchabon
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Rasselas
11/03/09

@robfagen: I won't pretend to be able to speak for anybody else, but, less obliquely put, sometimes I get tired of people selling me things, and sometimes the things that I get tired of them selling me are themselves. #michaelchabon
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SJ_Edwards
11/03/09

@Rasselas:
Lloyd Dobler, in 'Say Anything...' [en.wikipedia.org] :

"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career.

I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed.

You know, as a career.

I don't want to do that." #michaelchabon
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The_Sporean_Bob
11/03/09

@Rasselas: but your money is the only way we know you like us! #michaelchabon
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Rasselas
11/03/09

@SJ_Edwards: Yeah, it is pretty childish. Sometimes things that other people like with all the justice in the world just don't move me. #michaelchabon
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Mighty Bomb Jack
11/04/09

@Rasselas: I've always been a fan of Chabon. I remember reading Kavalier and Clay in college and thinking, "I wish I could write like this." And I read Yiddish Policeman's Union on a sunny Caribbean beach, but his creation of a rainy, dark, seedy Alaskan town was so showing that I felt like I needed an umbrella and a lamp (maybe not the best choice for a beach book, then.)

Also, I love Chabon's genre-busting mentality when it comes to publishing and marketing.

I was never so suspicious as to think, "Oh, this is too well-laid-out," or, "this is too Geekcredgineered," especially while I was busy enjoying the books. #michaelchabon
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SJ_Edwards
11/04/09

@Rasselas: The quote wasn't a snipe.
I never thought Lloyd's aspirations were childish. They seemed born of undiminished expectation.

So often, the loftier the ambition and the more elegant the execution, in that we see around us, the more precarious is the equilibrium between our satisfaction and disappointment.

Nagging unease, at the edge of insight, that something, somehow, doesn't quite 'sing'. #michaelchabon
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Rasselas
11/04/09

@SJ_Edwards: Well said. #michaelchabon
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MonkeyT
11/03/09

In reply to Our Geeky Hearts Are Bigger On The Inside Than On The Outside
I'm always happy to see someone else trumpeting the concepts and purposes behind the Long Now (with or without the Foundation), something I consider one of the most important ideas people have come up with since the Enlightenment. #michaelchabon
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Bill-Lee
10/16/09

In reply to Michael Chabon: Star Wars Legos Prove Kids Are Still Remixing The Force
Is this the part where I admit that I still play with Legos in spite of being older than the recommended age for most sets? I find they are a great stress reliever and promote my own creativity. Also "customizing" Lego mini-figs by rearranging their little arms, legs, and heads is great fun. And to reiterate a common theme on this thread, everyone who plays with Legos builds the pictured model first and then takes it apart after a week to build something else. Building the pictured model first is actually a learning activity: its a great way to learn how different parts can be put together or how to put together parts that you normally wouldn't consider using together to make something cool. It's how I figured out how to make war hammers for my Lego knights. #starwars
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Anekanta - former space marine
10/15/09

In reply to Michael Chabon: Star Wars Legos Prove Kids Are Still Remixing The Force

Go Play!

[go-play.org] #starwars
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aubreyf
10/15/09

In reply to Michael Chabon: Star Wars Legos Prove Kids Are Still Remixing The Force
He lost me when he called Lego sets "incredibly restrictive."

But the bit about his kids sticking it to the corporations is a nice touch. #starwars
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Dresan
10/15/09

@aubreyf: I think he was talking about the new generation of Legos, where they have a very specific theme like Indiana Jones. Contrary to Olden times (when I was a kid) where Legos were either SPACE or CASTLES, and in its own universe were very versatile and could create a wider range of stuff. I had the Alliance Explorer and the bad guys which I can't remember their name. I made a Gundam suit for one of my guys (yes, with elbows and knees, and everything).

It was awesome.
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Edited by Dresan at 10/15/09 11:41 PM Dresan was starred Dresan was unstarred

HyMinded
10/15/09

In reply to Michael Chabon: Star Wars Legos Prove Kids Are Still Remixing The Force
And really that's the point behind all of this jibber jabber by Chabon (whose work I generally like). As a kid, you have to make do with what Legos you have and scrounge the rest from your toybox to fill in the rest. Play is the thing. The Legos just support it. Only adults and perhaps teens entertain notions of making Legos for a specific purpose. These themed Legos go back to marketing what is essentially blocks that connect to each other. It's original DIY by kids for kids. #starwars
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iliad2099
10/15/09

In reply to Michael Chabon: Star Wars Legos Prove Kids Are Still Remixing The Force
The one gripe I have with Lego Star Wars is that there are no suggested images for OTHER things you can build with the pieces in a set. When I was a kid, you would buy a Lego set to build one thing, then the images on the back of the box suggested other possible constructions. Lego Star Wars sets don't have that. #starwars
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Purple Dave
10/16/09

@iliad2099:
They did for the first few years of the theme. I remember specifically that one of the first wave of sets had a picture on the back of a lifesize lightsaber hilt built from the bricks in the set. #starwars
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Anekanta - former space marine
10/15/09

In reply to Michael Chabon: Star Wars Legos Prove Kids Are Still Remixing The Force
Yeah, he's got a point. I remember back when I was a kid, hearing some statistic that the average person is 90% less creative when they are 40 than when they are 10; and this difference was attributed to cultural rather than biological factors.

It sure rang true, as I remember going through an educational system worked very hard to beat the creativity out of people.

I know others who feel this way as well, but did anyone have a different experience growing up? #starwars
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Lampbane
10/15/09

In reply to Michael Chabon: Star Wars Legos Prove Kids Are Still Remixing The Force
That's the thing about LEGO sets--you always want to build the thing on the box at least once and admire it for a little while, then you get down to the proper business of play.

(Says the person who mostly bought LEGO sets for the minifigs so they could be used to make custom characters for tabletop gaming. SO MUCH EASIER than painting lead figurines.) #starwars
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Chip Overclock
10/15/09

@Lampbane: 100% true that. I was a Legophile forty years ago. The stuff I made was far more interesting (to me anyway) than any predetermined design. #starwars
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Peppermint_m
10/15/09

In reply to Michael Chabon: Star Wars Legos Prove Kids Are Still Remixing The Force
Anyone who says any set is restrictive is a fool and uncreative to boot.

It is a challenge to do certain things with certain sets but you aren't too limited by even a very small set.

The thing is, Lego does sell creator boxes with no instructions, just a themed figure (Pirate, Knight or Fireman) and lots of bricks. You don't have to buy Star Wars you know... #starwars
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karpar
10/15/09

In reply to Michael Chabon: Star Wars Legos Prove Kids Are Still Remixing The Force
That was always how it worked for me as a kid (and Lego devotee): the thing on the box was always the first thing built, and it might even be treated extra-carefully for a long time, but the reality of pitched Lego battles was such that damage was inevitable, and eventually the gorgeous, color-coordinated spacecraft dreamed up by the Lego designers would be recycled into multi-hued beasts of my own imagining. It does seem like the Lego licensing boom has lead to a proliferation of single-use (or, perhaps more fairly, "purpose-made") pieces, but that's where Chabon's statement about the inherent subversiveness of childhood comes into play. Even when I was a kid, it seemed at first glance that a minifig's legs were irrevoacably a minifig's legs, but danged if they didn't become a new race of aliens when I couldn't find a torso for them, and they even became vehicle parts when necessary. #starwars
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