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lindentreeisle ([info]lindentreeisle) wrote in [info]otf_wank,
@ 2005-09-29 16:36:00


Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Current mood:Sparkly

Writerwank!
I can't believe no one's posted this yet.

It starts on Monday, as the Penny Arcade creators return from the Foolscap convention and post a fairly amusing recap of a confrontation that allegedly occurred between the guests of honor. That is, between Gabe/Tycho and Harlan Ellison, preeminent writer and (let's face it) evidently in a very different category of creative enterprise than the Penny Arcade guys.

That in itself is not wank. The wank occurs some 24 hours or so later, when the enterprising among PA's readers locate Harlan Ellison's webpage and decide to troll for fun and profit. The whole mess starts out with a guy called Andrew who claims he was actually there. (About 10 entries down the page. You have to read from bottom to top, yes, I know that's weird. I wish I could provide links to each post, but I can't.) (After those 10, continue the reading here, using the "previous" link to navigate to the next chronological page and still reading bottom to top.)

I'm not going to give you a play by play, but it's pretty funny- mostly PA fans making rude comments and Harlan fans saying either "can we talk about something else now?" or pointing out that the trolls are ignoramuses. That is, until a user called Penelope busts out with Is that your wife on the front page Harlan, or did you marry your dog? Oh no he didn't. Harlan's response (a quarter of the way down, look for the really long entry) is probably the funniest thing in the whole wankisode, featuring his weird recap of events as well as a long, threatening diatribe against Penelope. Gabe's response, after that, comes across as fairly low key (again, about a quarter of the way down).

Personally I think you could make remarks about the conduct of both sides, which is why it's so wanktastic.



(Post a new comment)


[info]kadath
2005-09-29 08:58 pm UTC (link)
I wanted to report this, but I didn't know where to start. It's everywhere.

(Reply to this)


[info]singe
2005-09-29 09:13 pm UTC (link)
Re: Harlan He's a ridiculous man, a little goblin who pokes his head out of dark holes and scowls at all the Earth. There is no room in my life for that kind of person.

That's pretty much how he strikes me, too.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]carlanime
2005-09-30 12:24 am UTC (link)
He strikes me as being like the short, asshat writer who guests at the con in Bimbos of the Whaddayacallit.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]singe, 2005-09-30 12:51 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]telophase, 2005-09-30 01:02 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]singe, 2005-09-30 01:07 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]telophase, 2005-09-30 01:08 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]singe, 2005-09-30 01:21 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]cpip, 2005-09-30 02:08 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]telophase, 2005-09-30 02:12 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]carlanime, 2005-09-30 02:07 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]singe, 2005-09-30 01:21 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]issendai, 2005-09-30 03:03 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]singe, 2005-09-30 03:25 pm UTC
just a driveby - (Anonymous), 2005-10-06 04:06 am UTC
Re: just a driveby - [info]carlanime, 2005-10-06 11:49 am UTC

[info]cleolinda
2005-09-29 09:13 pm UTC (link)
Omg. I don't know that I would recognize Harlan Ellison on the street, but I know enough about the man to know not to play that.

(The Star Wars cut was nice. Not cricket, but nice.)

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]phosfate
2005-09-29 09:35 pm UTC (link)
A friend and I passed him in a corridor at a Worldcon, and had to duck out of the traffic and against a wall for a moment's recovery. I couldn't say way, except some atavistic dread that he might lure us into his gingerbread house and shove us in an oven.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]telophase, 2005-09-30 01:06 am UTC

(Anonymous)
2005-09-30 02:32 am UTC (link)
I tried to quietly leave the audience of a panel he was on, because I was due at a different panel, and he made totally uncalled-for, nasty remark about me and the platonic friend I was leaving with, who was male and black-- something like, "Going to make half an Oreo together in a closet?" or some similarly icky sexual-race-related comment. He and I just got the hell out of there as fast as we could, which was difficult because it was crowded. I think Harlan was yelling more stuff at us as we left, but I was too intent on my escape to listen.

I bumped into him several years later (he didn't recognize me) and briefly considered punching him (but he's an old man, so that wouldn't be fair) or insulting the hideous orange jumpsuit he was wearing, but either of those would have eventually required me to repeat the Oreo comment, and the thought of that made me ignore him instead.

This is Rachel Brown-- LJ is refusing to let me post under my LJ ID. Harlan's revenge?

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]cleolinda, 2005-09-30 02:47 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]pepperlandgirl4, 2005-09-30 04:27 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]annabelle_lee, 2005-09-30 05:20 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]loki, 2005-09-30 04:58 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]miss_padfoot, 2005-09-30 06:57 am UTC
gah! - (Anonymous), 2005-09-30 01:51 pm UTC

(Anonymous)
2005-09-29 09:52 pm UTC (link)
I think my favorite part is the assertion from the Ellison camp that "foolscap" is actually a common, often used word and that if you don't know it you're an ignorant dumbass.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]iscoffy, 2005-09-29 10:41 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]singe, 2005-09-30 01:01 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]iscoffy, 2005-09-30 01:02 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]singe, 2005-09-30 01:09 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]mindset, 2005-09-30 06:51 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]singe, 2005-09-30 01:20 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]frau_eva, 2005-09-29 10:54 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]singe, 2005-09-30 01:03 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]hellespont, 2005-09-30 01:26 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]sarracenia, 2005-09-30 02:59 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]sepiamagpie, 2005-09-30 03:33 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]chaimonkey, 2005-09-30 06:22 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]spleen, 2005-09-30 06:22 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]renata_hpjc, 2005-09-30 12:41 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]frau_eva, 2005-09-30 01:09 pm UTC
(no subject) - (Anonymous), 2005-10-01 04:25 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]absurdwords, 2005-09-30 12:54 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]hurricane, 2005-09-30 10:45 pm UTC
(no subject) - (Anonymous), 2005-09-30 03:19 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]notjo, 2005-09-30 04:51 pm UTC

[info]azhidahaki
2005-09-29 10:23 pm UTC (link)
So, from what I gather reading this, 'wit' is being able to pretty up phrases like, "STFU" with thirty or more words? Anybody have a purple pen?

(Reply to this)


[info]arymabeth
2005-09-29 10:29 pm UTC (link)
... Gabe's totally not a teenager. That's the part that cracks me up.

I was prepared to consider it a misunderstanding on both parts till Mr. Ellison decided to make such sweeping generalizations about my age group. Then I decided that he's an arrogant ass, and it was a misunderstanding on both parts.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]frau_eva, 2005-09-29 10:56 pm UTC

[info]funkyhelix
2005-09-29 11:31 pm UTC (link)
Being upset that Harlen Ellison is an asshole is sort of like being upset that the sky is blue. IIRC, this is the same guy that was let go from Disney for leading a discussion during a staff meeting on Goofy, Micky, Donald, and Pluto gangbanging Minnie.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]xero_sky, 2005-09-29 11:48 pm UTC
IN RUSSIAN DISNEY... - (Anonymous), 2005-09-30 01:54 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]eljuno, 2005-09-30 05:55 pm UTC

[info]xero_sky
2005-09-29 11:50 pm UTC (link)
When I first saw Harlan speaking at the con I thought to myself, “I bet that’s what I’ll be like in another 150 years.”

Gabe wins!

(Reply to this)


[info]zaliesiren
2005-09-29 11:53 pm UTC (link)
Who is this guy again?

I familiarized myself with their site, their work, their contributions in the community, and the wide audience they had...

...Which would pretty much mean he'd know Gabe wasn't a teenager. Of course, he thinks he's being insulting. Ooooh, I get it! He's witty! Gotcha!

(Reply to this)


[info]nekoneko
2005-09-30 12:03 am UTC (link)
If I had my old Doctor Who novels with the intros by Harlan Ellison on me, I could quote the first place I've ever read that made me decide that he's an ass. Alas, I do not. But yeah, he's an ass.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]mireille, 2005-09-30 12:53 am UTC

[info]theladyfeylene
2005-09-30 12:15 am UTC (link)
Ah, Harlan Ellison. I adore his work, and can easily say 'yes, he is a complete pretentious asshat'. But I still love him. And I still love the Penny Arcade boys. I met them a few years back at a con, and while their shock at finding out women followed their game reviews was a bit offsetting, they weren't asshats.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]kijikun, 2005-09-30 01:15 am UTC

[info]narcissam
2005-09-30 12:16 am UTC (link)
Ellison's explanation started off making sense, but then wandered further and further. I cracked up when he explained that the reason he asked Gabe if he'd finished high school was because he was sincerely interested in Gabe's educational background.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]tangentialone, 2005-09-30 02:18 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]bubosquared, 2005-09-30 01:43 pm UTC

[info]kijikun
2005-09-30 01:19 am UTC (link)
I'd forgotten how much I love PA.

(Reply to this)


[info]eljuno
2005-09-30 02:04 am UTC (link)
Harlan Ellison called me a waste of carbon, once. It's sad that I consider this to be one of the high points of my life.

But, yeah. Being surprised that he's an asshole is like being surprised at all that funky blue stuff above you if you go outside.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]miss_padfoot, 2005-09-30 07:01 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]eljuno, 2005-09-30 05:51 pm UTC

[info]elkins
2005-09-30 02:44 am UTC (link)
I am a courteous person, as any of you who have met me will attest.

*dies laughing*

I have met Mr. Ellison. I actually rather enjoyed his company. I've a high tolerance for acerbic curmudgeons, and the man can indeed be quite funny. But..."courteous?"

Er. No.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]cleolinda, 2005-09-30 02:50 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]elkins, 2005-09-30 03:18 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]waltraute, 2005-10-04 09:27 pm UTC
Hee!
(Anonymous)
2005-09-30 05:42 am UTC (link)
I will never again think of "surly teenager" as anything other than a hostile epithet.

(foresthouse on LJ)

(Reply to this)


[info]chaimonkey
2005-09-30 06:35 am UTC (link)
I didn’t know him very well but I felt like mistaking him for someone who writes Star Wars books was the sort of insult that would cut right to his brittle old bones. The audience seemed to agree because I could hear a lot of ooooooooh’s and oh no’s over the laughing. Some people in the front even suggested a fist fight was now in order.

G-d, how I love Geek jokes.

(Reply to this)


[info]isobelsomething
2005-09-30 07:05 am UTC (link)
Oh dear. I love PA, and I have to say that I love how awfully wanktastic they can be sometimes.

This comment, for the sheer out-of-placeness of it, wins:

Not Gabe
- Wednesday, September 28 2005 12:28:47

Cockthirsty.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]cleolinda, 2005-09-30 10:05 am UTC

[info]adora_spintriae
2005-09-30 10:44 am UTC (link)
Who the fuck is Harlan Ellison?

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]esclaramonde, 2005-09-30 12:17 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]adora_spintriae, 2005-09-30 12:21 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]esclaramonde, 2005-09-30 12:34 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]jrandomlurker, 2005-09-30 12:40 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]phosfate, 2005-09-30 02:39 pm UTC
(no subject) - (Anonymous), 2005-09-30 05:39 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]pepperlandgirl4, 2005-09-30 07:39 pm UTC

[info]alpheratz
2005-09-30 01:20 pm UTC (link)
Wow, he's an ass. I outgrew the phase of asking my younger sister if she knew what a word meant and then going "hahaha you stupid" when I was twelve.

(Reply to this)


[info]teratologist
2005-09-30 01:31 pm UTC (link)
Trolling Harlan Ellison strikes me as an activity much like setting puddles of gasoline on fire for amusement.

That said, chalk up another minor observation in support of my theory that exposure to reality over time causes sf writers to become batshit (formally known as the Dick/Card* rule) and expressed thusly:

(Axt)+r=#$%^^%^*&*<3

where A, is the author, x is talent, t is time, and r is a constant representing the pain of living in a universe with so much squandered human potential that it's 2005 and we still don't have hovercars.

*Because you KNOW that in his heart of hearts, Card is a bottom.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]mediumdave, 2005-09-30 02:49 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]inquisition, 2005-09-30 03:25 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]teratologist, 2005-09-30 03:33 pm UTC

[info]nebbieq
2005-09-30 03:24 pm UTC (link)
Wait, Harlan Ellison actually responded? When did he stop avoiding the internet like a plague?

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]notjo, 2005-09-30 04:54 pm UTC

 
   
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