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Mini rants both Off Topic-ish
Apr. 26th, 2006 08:49 pmI don't know if you've heard about it on the news but it sort of ties in with the Another Hope hullabaloo. There's a 19 year old Harvard student who has a chick lit book out (God, I hate that genre) and it has passages eerily similar or even downright the same as another previously published chick lit author's books. The Hahvahd student claims she did not intentionally plagiarize the books, that they must have nested in her memory from a time she read them a few years ago, but she must have one hell of a memory if that's true.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193192,00.html
Here's what gets me. There are people slogging away at their craft who aren't trying to pimp their unlicensed wares under the radar of Lucasfilm or copping other novels. They have rejection letters piled up on their desks, still hoping against hope they'll make a sale someday before they die. Then there are the dishonest people like Ms. Jareo and this other author who cheat their way in the door. In the Harvard student's case, she's actually made a lot of money. She even sold the movie rights to the book! But you want to know why she got her chick lit crap published and a six figure contract at 17? Because she's Miss Privileged Ivy Leaguer, that's why. I don't think an 18-year-old freshman at Oklahoma University is going to get that kind of access to New York's publishing houses, with a relatively fat contract to boot.
Disgusting.
SW fans, particularly those affiliated with Seattle area fandom, were shocked and saddened to hear about the death of former Star Wars Society of Seattle president and famous line camper John Guth. If you recall, he and fellow fan Jeff Tweiten attracted international attention when they began their AOTC campout in January 2002. The man was only 36 years old but when people were unusually hush-hush at first about why he died, I figured it had to be something unpleasant. And the thing that irritated me was how it was reported that he "passed away." People with illnesses "pass away." People who live to be 98 years old "pass away." Unless you were sick, you don't just "pass away" when you are young. Eventually it was reported Mr. Guth ended his life which confirmed what I suspected. I don't want to pass any judgment on this poor soul and since I didn't know him, I can't even begin to speculate on what was going on his life and in his head. If his friends and loved ones were surprised, all I can say is that sometimes people who are tortured on the inside get very good at putting on a happy face to the outside world.
In any case, I can understand people don't want to define this man's life by the way he left it and want to focus on the positive things instead. But on the other hand, I don't think we help anyone struggling with depression by treating suicide as a horrible secret. I hope Mr. Guth is in a happier place now but I also hope folks who are fighting the same sort of demons now find the healing they need before it's too late.
Here's his obituary from The Seattle Times:
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=guthobit20&date=20060420&query=John+Guth
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193192,00.html
Here's what gets me. There are people slogging away at their craft who aren't trying to pimp their unlicensed wares under the radar of Lucasfilm or copping other novels. They have rejection letters piled up on their desks, still hoping against hope they'll make a sale someday before they die. Then there are the dishonest people like Ms. Jareo and this other author who cheat their way in the door. In the Harvard student's case, she's actually made a lot of money. She even sold the movie rights to the book! But you want to know why she got her chick lit crap published and a six figure contract at 17? Because she's Miss Privileged Ivy Leaguer, that's why. I don't think an 18-year-old freshman at Oklahoma University is going to get that kind of access to New York's publishing houses, with a relatively fat contract to boot.
Disgusting.
SW fans, particularly those affiliated with Seattle area fandom, were shocked and saddened to hear about the death of former Star Wars Society of Seattle president and famous line camper John Guth. If you recall, he and fellow fan Jeff Tweiten attracted international attention when they began their AOTC campout in January 2002. The man was only 36 years old but when people were unusually hush-hush at first about why he died, I figured it had to be something unpleasant. And the thing that irritated me was how it was reported that he "passed away." People with illnesses "pass away." People who live to be 98 years old "pass away." Unless you were sick, you don't just "pass away" when you are young. Eventually it was reported Mr. Guth ended his life which confirmed what I suspected. I don't want to pass any judgment on this poor soul and since I didn't know him, I can't even begin to speculate on what was going on his life and in his head. If his friends and loved ones were surprised, all I can say is that sometimes people who are tortured on the inside get very good at putting on a happy face to the outside world.
In any case, I can understand people don't want to define this man's life by the way he left it and want to focus on the positive things instead. But on the other hand, I don't think we help anyone struggling with depression by treating suicide as a horrible secret. I hope Mr. Guth is in a happier place now but I also hope folks who are fighting the same sort of demons now find the healing they need before it's too late.
Here's his obituary from The Seattle Times:
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=guthobit20&date=20060420&query=John+Guth
