That Did Not Happen in My Future

[spectralbovine]

I'm calling it: I am never going to write a series of epic posts about Comic-Con. I am simply far too busy. The abridged version covers most of what happened, but for more Comic-Con goodness, including all the crazy costumes, you will have to check out my Facebook albums.

And, you know, while you're there, you should really check out my Dinosaur

Comments

[zetetyc]

if From Hell was too intellectual and esoteric for you, I wonder who the target audience is...

[spectralbovine]

Ha! I'm not really into things that are intellectual and esoteric, though. I like things that make sense. Most of the time. For a "smart" dude, I have pretty mainstream tastes. I don't want your pretentious, full-of-itself art!

[rachelmanija]

I love playwriting. I would go back to it in a second if I had a company to put on my works.

You should read plays to see how the best playwrights write to give both direction and room for inspiration. Ideally, you will then see a production, or at least a movie of it. I recommend the following:

August Wilson: Joe Turner's Come and Gone; The Piano Lesson.

David Mamet: The Duck Variations; A Life in the Theatre; American Buffalo.

Caryl Churchill (my vote for the best living playwright, sadly underappreciated in America): Mad Forest; Fen; Cloud Nine.

Craig Lucas: Reckless; Prelude to a Kiss. (When I was a playwright, people used to say my work reminded them of his. Reckless especially.)

Robert Schenkkan: The Kentucky Cycle. (If you ever get a chance to see a production of this, seriously, go. It's amazing onstage, and hard to screw up, even by an amateur or college company.)

Tony Kushner: Angels in America.

[spectralbovine]

Oh, I've read and seen many plays! Thanks for the recs. Right now the process is just to spew out dialogue from the characters in my head, but I hope to figure out how to, you know, make a play out of that.

[rachelmanija]

white people respect their elders

Ha ha ha! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

It sounds, though, as if you're no longer letting their expectations get under your skin to the extent where you feel obliged to do things you don't want to do, and be someone you aren't. Is that right?

[spectralbovine]

Well, they definitely get under my skin, and I did get a haircut, which pissed me off because I had been planning to get a little trim/clean-up before that fucking conversation, so it made me feel like I was caving a little, even though it didn't actually factor in at all.

I don't know. That phone call ruined my entire fucking goddamn day, and I thought I was better than that.

[rachelmanija]

But you're not still planning to let them strong-arm you into an arranged marriage, right?

I don't think anyone ever gets so utterly mature and together that a phone call from their controlling, dysfunctional parents can never ruin their day.

[spectralbovine]

I've never really planned on that. I don't even know what to do anymore. I just hope some woman will come sweep me off my feet.

[daynr]

This white girl respects her parents a lot; she respects that they live their life over there, she respects that they don't question her romantic, or career, life, she respects that they don't call regularly, and she respects that they are grateful for any time and attention they receive.

total respect for my elders.

[spectralbovine]

That's the kind of respect they're not earning.

[enshanam]

I usually dig intellectual and esoteric, so I'm going to request From Hell from my library. Thanks for the rec!

[spectralbovine]

Ha ha ha, I hope you like it more than I did! I suggest reading the appendix citations in real-time to help make sense of what's going on. I thought there would be spoilers, but he's actually pretty good about not doing that.