tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post7594718861891714394..comments2024-02-14T01:50:56.112-06:00Comments on The OF Blog: So, a funny thing happened the other day...Larry Nolenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-15072669018988529662008-12-16T23:07:00.000-06:002008-12-16T23:07:00.000-06:00Seems to me that every reviewer who makes a consci...Seems to me that every reviewer who makes a conscious effort to aspire for "more" in any field that is normally seen as synonymous with entertainment, is at some point called out as arrogant/haughty/elitist/snobby/whatthefuckever. It happenes to Walter Chaw from Film Freak Central, it happens to Spinoza Ray Prozak from anus.com, and now it happens to Larry.<BR/><BR/>I say embrace it like it was a badge of honour.MatsVShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06291870425506943810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-24712339677460836442008-12-15T23:39:00.000-06:002008-12-15T23:39:00.000-06:00True, but would it arise out of functionalist or i...True, but would it arise out of functionalist or intentionalist models to explain the discourse that would arise from exploring those three areas? ;)Larry Nolenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-5440294984591516432008-12-15T23:25:00.000-06:002008-12-15T23:25:00.000-06:00Perhaps the two could be combined into an internat...Perhaps the two could be combined into an international relations thesis topic: The normative implications of the decay of American hegemony.<BR/><BR/>100k words in that?<BR/><BR/>Or is that arrogant/pretentious/haughty? (I'm going for all 3 :P)Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15446040693497057719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-28247405097599715282008-12-15T20:41:00.000-06:002008-12-15T20:41:00.000-06:00Normative, huh? At least you didn't spend years e...Normative, huh? At least you didn't spend years excising "hegemony" out of everyday speech!Larry Nolenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-7096968777903448652008-12-15T20:00:00.000-06:002008-12-15T20:00:00.000-06:00Well, not really. I just finished a Masters of La...Well, not really. I just finished a Masters of Laws - I'm already a lawyer, so hypercritical argumentatitiveness was already part of my makeup. Grad school just gave me a fun venue to practice :P. And use the word "normative" a lot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-29681984813869075742008-12-15T18:41:00.000-06:002008-12-15T18:41:00.000-06:00Eddie,Thanks for the kind remarks. Yeah, some of ...Eddie,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the kind remarks. Yeah, some of that tone is off-putting at times to me (being in my 30s and not seeking to relive my teen years), but I mostly just shrug it off as being different strokes for different folks.<BR/><BR/>So, did grad school leave its claw marks on you as well? :PLarry Nolenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-30427294555659031112008-12-15T00:58:00.000-06:002008-12-15T00:58:00.000-06:00Larry, long time listener, first time commenter :P...Larry, long time listener, first time commenter :P. I think you're actually fair enough in both this post and the previous one. In particular, without commenting on Pat's taste in books (I overlap a little, but not much with his taste), I think you were quite restrained on the misogyny. If the tone of your reviews/posts is pretentious, and deserves to be called out for that (maybe it does, lol, matter of taste after all), the general lad-mag tone of the reviews and Pat's comments deserve to be called out, too.<BR/><BR/>As a gay guy, I feel a bit uncomfortable with a lot of the tone over there. This isn't to say that Pat's a bigot, I don't think he is, but the reviews do sometimes read a bit teenage-boy-with-a-skin-mag. Hot polish chicks! Grit! World-building! Scores between 6.75 and 10! This does not make a review.<BR/><BR/>So by all means, Larry, be pretentious, be haughty, actually *gasp* address the text of the book. If its a book I've read, I might even argue with you about it...<BR/><BR/>Finally, having just got out of grad school, I know exactly what you mean about brutal peer workshopping. Good fun!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15446040693497057719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-40252170916219221832008-12-12T17:18:00.000-06:002008-12-12T17:18:00.000-06:00Nothing to say, but you're right, Charles.Nothing to say, but you're right, Charles.Larry Nolenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-62526089439362115812008-12-12T15:14:00.000-06:002008-12-12T15:14:00.000-06:00Larry: I understand you as I'm that kind of guy (f...Larry: I understand you as I'm that kind of guy (feel free to criticize me) but you have to understand that other people don't see it that way (i.e. that's what got me into some trouble before). Usually unless people are inviting you to criticize them (obviously it has to be said that films, books, etc. are meant to be criticized since they're things people review), other people perceive it as simply being antagonistic. And I think that's how the Pat supporters feel, that Pat's reviews shouldn't be reviewed because he didn't ask for it. Doing so makes you come off as a jerk to them even though I know you're not (at least based on your criticisms) and that the feedback you give is in the interest of improving and honing one's craft.<BR/><BR/>As for reviewing your reviews, see my comment in the blog entry before this. (It's best to judge you based on your latest work after all, not your earliest.) =)Charleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02773038335190893557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-22590193351213225352008-12-12T10:13:00.000-06:002008-12-12T10:13:00.000-06:00Shaun, Charles:Good points, except it's not like t...Shaun, Charles:<BR/><BR/>Good points, except it's not like there's anything to fear in having anyone ripping through one's reviews! I'm wanting <I>more</I> of that done to my own, as sometimes, I can't help but to feel that my review was lackluster, but I'd like for another to call me out on it in a fashion similar to what I did the other day.<BR/><BR/>Yes, the audience I guess ought to be considered; perhaps it's time to realize that paying attention to that one particular audience would be only an exercise in irritation to me ;)Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03828047627539361142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-67744845363361690072008-12-12T05:58:00.000-06:002008-12-12T05:58:00.000-06:00Hi Larry.I don't think your previous post was "sou...Hi Larry.<BR/><BR/>I don't think your previous post was "sourgraping" or haughty or whining. You were critical and explained your reasons why you thought it was a bad review.<BR/><BR/>Although what Myshkin said about your forum username makes more sense--the same way that people usually refer to me as "The Bibliophile Stalker".<BR/><BR/>Personally though, I do think Pat's reviews do serve a purpose and an audience. Again, it might not be the critical audience like you, but his technique/style does appeal to a certain demographic. (I'd like to think of it as him using informal terminologies that a select people know; granted it's not for a general audience but it's in the same tool when some reviewers call a book Borgesian or Kafkaesque although clearly Borges and Kafka are probably more well-read or more recognized than -insert mainstream fantasy author here-)<BR/><BR/>In that vein, I also think you'll dislike my own reviews, but that's by design (trying to limit the review to a few hundred words, avoiding spoilers, etc.).Charleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02773038335190893557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-40728998015676875512008-12-12T05:16:00.000-06:002008-12-12T05:16:00.000-06:00I took Beth to be responding to gav (nextread).It ...I took Beth to be responding to gav (nextread).<BR/><BR/>It also looks like the comment by aegon6 was deleted.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-55883498382174413902008-12-12T00:18:00.000-06:002008-12-12T00:18:00.000-06:00Remind me never to tell you where to find any of t...Remind me never to tell you where to find any of the reviews I've done... :P.<BR/><BR/>But seriously...don't read my reviews. You'd probably stab me! I unfortunately am not at your level of reviewing...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13571452656553970472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-59182723823249350422008-12-11T22:31:00.000-06:002008-12-11T22:31:00.000-06:00Ha! Thanks for those links, Elena! Loved them! :...Ha! Thanks for those links, Elena! Loved them! :DLarry Nolenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-48861820432372657762008-12-11T22:06:00.000-06:002008-12-11T22:06:00.000-06:00something to bring you lolz from one person who re...something to bring you lolz from one person who regularly gets accused of pretention to another. I told you you would have made a great Plan II major. :)<BR/><BR/>http://despair.com/elitism.html<BR/><BR/>http://despair.com/pretension.html<BR/><BR/>PS i hope these don't make anyone else accuse *you* of pretention. this one's all me, ok yall?Elenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09285405662294874917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-21862210100720098102008-12-11T21:55:00.000-06:002008-12-11T21:55:00.000-06:00Casey,Point taken. I think I started to realize i...Casey,<BR/><BR/>Point taken. I think I started to realize it at the end, but just couldn't be bothered at the time to edit it out. Well, I'll certainly keep this in mind for the future. Thanks for giving an alternate explanation for some of the comments, as I do know (even if sometimes need to be reminded) that my farts don't smell like roses!Larry Nolenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-6167455670306887922008-12-11T21:45:00.000-06:002008-12-11T21:45:00.000-06:00Larry,Listen man, while I agree with much of what ...Larry,<BR/><BR/>Listen man, while I agree with much of what you said about Pat's review (and general review style), it's hard to miss the haughtiness of your last post, or the defensive aloofness of this post. You know it's never a very good idea to respond to, let alone attack, your detractors. In your post about Pat's review, while your criticisms were valid, you came off as harsher than necessary, and strongly implied that you could do better. While that might be true, it is a bit haughty to broadcast it in the way you did. You, and I, both tend to be a little aloof, and both even tend towards pretentiousness. You know this about yourself, so you shouldn't attack those who call you out on it. As a highly intelligent man your response to attack is to pick apart your attacker, but that doesn't make you right.<BR/><BR/>As to your response to some of your detractors, well I think you may have stretched a little to come up with your responses. The "haughty attitude" was not an ad hominem as it went directly to the reason for his dislike of your post. You call out "Annabelle" for trying to retain distance by using your "Dylanfanatic" handle rather than your given name. The thing is, Annabelle probably knows you better as Dylanfanatic, and so her use of that handle was not an attempt to distance herself, but simply a more familiar handle for her to use. I refer to you as DF for the simple reason that most of our interaction is on the westeros board, where you are known as DF. It actually seems more personal for me to call you DF, because that's how I know you. You also call someone out for using a pseudonym. agon6 is a member at westeros, and so probably thought that using his westeros handle would allow you to know who he is. After all, if I posted this comment under my given name you'd have no idea who I was. This post has gone far longer than I intended it to. I'll just finish of by saying that while your post about Pat's review may have been a little haughty, it was still a fine and informative post. This post, however, is a little over the line.<BR/><BR/>I'll sign with my given name,<BR/>Casey BuellAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com