# SFF people in the news



## Harpo (Apr 15, 2013)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/us-news-blog/2013/apr/12/neil-gaiman-guerrilla-artwork-new-york


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## Curt Chiarelli (Apr 15, 2013)

Thanks for posting this Harpo.

To me, this story is much ado about nothing. Really, a non-story and a rather silly publicity stunt. Besides, isn't Gaiman encouraging the stalker portion of his fan base to malinger around outside his home looking for buried treasure? In this day and age, it seems like an unwise strategy, especially for someone living in New York City.

What's your take on this?


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## Harpo (Apr 15, 2013)

I agree, it's one thing to invite the public to meet an author at a book-signing (I've met Neil Gaiman at one myself) but something very different here, regarding lack of control of the situation.  
On the other hand, no celebrity should have to let John Lennon's example turn them into Howard Hughes, if you see what I mean.


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## Curt Chiarelli (Apr 15, 2013)

Yes, I agree. Being a prisoner of your own home is no way to live. Yet still, why did he receive an inch of valuable column space, let alone clutter up cyberspace with this "story"? The press must be _really_ desperate, that's my conclusion!


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## Harpo (Apr 15, 2013)

And now I've cluttered up several inches of Chronspace with it!


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## Curt Chiarelli (Apr 15, 2013)

Harpo said:


> And now I've cluttered up several inches of Chronspace with it!



YEAH! What's the matter with you! _Jeeeez _. . . .


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## Harpo (Apr 15, 2013)

Oh by the way Curt - we've recently dropped the "Vatican City" protest in favour of a new one - or have you really moved there?


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## Curt Chiarelli (Apr 15, 2013)

Harpo said:


> Oh by the way Curt - we've recently dropped the "Vatican City" protest in favour of a new one - or have you really moved there?



Oh no! Not me! I only posted that location because Innsmouth or Arkham, Massachusetts or the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica wasn't offered. You know me, I'm a big Lovecraft fan so I wanted something redolent of his work. Instead of being referential, I missed the mark and ended up being merely ironic! Whoops!


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## nightdreamer (Apr 15, 2013)

<snort>  If you think THAT'S a waste of column space, you should try American "news".  CNN's idea of "Breaking News": "Justin Bieber hopes Anne Frank 'would have been a belieber.'"


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## Curt Chiarelli (Apr 15, 2013)

nightdreamer said:


> <snort>  If you think THAT'S a waste of column space, you should try American "news".  CNN's idea of "Breaking News": "Justin Bieber hopes Anne Frank 'would have been a belieber.'"



Excuse me, but I don't like to gnash my fangs and foam at the mouth in front of company,_ but oh, you've hit the nail on the proverbial head with that observation_. . . . . 

CNN! What rubbish! _And don't get me started on Fox_. And the major network's idea of a "hot leading story" is a fireman saving a kitten from a tree limb and an intense focus on the "natural criminality" of African-Americans and illegal immigrants (code for Hispanics). A queasy, nauseating blend of treacle and terror. It's just another way to keep people ignorant about the forces that are really shaping their world. 

Justin Bieber is just another avatar of our non-culture. The entertainment cartels embrace him because he's not dangerous. He's not dangerous because he doesn't stand for anything. Even as his insensitive, narcissistic comment about Anne Frank has no resonance, neither does his so-called "music". Like the news and what passes for witty conversation in this country, it is just a form of white noise to distract us from the emptiness of the American cultural landscape.


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## Stephen Palmer (Apr 15, 2013)

Curt Chiarelli said:


> Justin Bieber is just another avatar of our non-culture. The entertainment cartels embrace him because he's not dangerous. He's not dangerous because he doesn't stand for anything. Even as his insensitive, narcissistic comment about Anne Frank has no resonance, neither does his so-called "music". Like the news and what passes for witty conversation in this country, it is just a form of white noise to distract us from the emptiness of the American cultural landscape.


 
You've gotta respect a man who says this.


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## Curt Chiarelli (Apr 15, 2013)

Stephen Palmer said:


> You've gotta respect a man who says this.



A very gracious tip of my hat to you Stephen!


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## jastius (Apr 17, 2013)

according to anne franks diary, she was a follower of many movie stars. It is justin's habit to give special aid to his fans. he has donated items for auction, paid for some of his fans to attend his concerts when they could not afford to. he visits the children hospitals regularly, and assists with their telethons. 
Everyone wants to be a hero at times. perhaps justin wished to help anne. perhaps he wanted to believe that his music could have helped her cope with her incarceration as she stated her movie magazines did. perhaps he was trying to put him back into that time and place and thought that if he was there then maybe he could have saved her.
and while i don't doubt that justin has no clear estimation of the difficulties and impossibilities involved, i really don't think it any worse then some of our other pop people's remarks...ie, the beatles are more popular then jesus? , comes to mind.

and yes i do basically find his music annoying. but he is young and i believe young people can be forgiven for most of their silliness because they are still learning. 
maybe he's not the brightest bulb at times but this kid went and pulled his whole family out of poverty and made a success of himself in a cutthroat business to do so.

by the way, my favorite bit of non-news  is about the glow in the dark korean cats...
www.dailytech.com/South+*Korean*...*Glowing*+*Cat*/article10042.htm


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## Curt Chiarelli (Apr 17, 2013)

Your points are taken, Jastius, but I still think this non-story was given undue prominence when much more interesting and important ones about far more interesting (but far less well known) people and events are occurring. 

However flip they may have been, the Beatles were probably right. The supporting evidence shows that their concert attendance was better than any average church of any given denomination on any given Sunday. They were a secular religion all their own.


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