Comments on: Work is Good http://adistantsoil.com/2009/08/09/work-is-good-9/ The Official Website of A Distant Soil, the legendary graphic novel series from Image Comics. Wed, 23 May 2012 04:33:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Colleen http://adistantsoil.com/2009/08/09/work-is-good-9/#comment-1842 Colleen Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:25:02 +0000 http://adistantsoil.com/?p=3692#comment-1842 Hey Bardchild! Sorry it took me so long to approve your comment. Bad weather and my spam filter tried to eat you. And I can't agree with this more. Hey Bardchild!

Sorry it took me so long to approve your comment. Bad weather and my spam filter tried to eat you.

And I can’t agree with this more.

]]> By: BardChild http://adistantsoil.com/2009/08/09/work-is-good-9/#comment-1833 BardChild Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:37:51 +0000 http://adistantsoil.com/?p=3692#comment-1833 =D I'm baaaack <3 Fandom is tricky and some times aggrivating social network. There are so many facets of fandom that can be explored and rationalized. Yes the fan-now-pro thing, it happens a lot. I've seen a lot of memembers of my own fandom (ATLA) go pro and the backlash is incredible. The biggest culprit is jelaously, but sometimes it goes beyond 'fandom butthurt', the anime fandom has indivuals with a history of being real douchebags to their fans and fandom and when they go pro, the fandom tends to be really grudgy about it. The power of the collective is quite overwhelming in fandom. I can see why pro tend not to be buddy-buddy with their fans, it saves aggrivation and butthurt if they end up screwing you over. There are some members of the anime fandom that do go pro however and their fans are elated. http://www.tjandamal.com/ Fandom is really a double edge sword. =D I’m baaaack <3

Fandom is tricky and some times aggrivating social network. There are so many facets of fandom that can be explored and rationalized. Yes the fan-now-pro thing, it happens a lot. I've seen a lot of memembers of my own fandom (ATLA) go pro and the backlash is incredible. The biggest culprit is jelaously, but sometimes it goes beyond 'fandom butthurt', the anime fandom has indivuals with a history of being real douchebags to their fans and fandom and when they go pro, the fandom tends to be really grudgy about it. The power of the collective is quite overwhelming in fandom.

I can see why pro tend not to be buddy-buddy with their fans, it saves aggrivation and butthurt if they end up screwing you over. There are some members of the anime fandom that do go pro however and their fans are elated. http://www.tjandamal.com/

Fandom is really a double edge sword.

]]> By: Colleen http://adistantsoil.com/2009/08/09/work-is-good-9/#comment-1820 Colleen Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:45:01 +0000 http://adistantsoil.com/?p=3692#comment-1820 I remember an old Japanese saying: "The nail that stick out gets hammered down." I used to take this sort of thing very personally. It's hard not to when someone is screaming at you that you are a no-talent and that you have no business trying to improve yourself or your work. But then, no one who has any self-respect does that in the first place. That behavior is not about me, it's about them. People who have done this seethe with resentment when you dump their acquaintance. Seriously, if I'm such an awful person, what are you doing trying to get me to hang around? They don't want you to leave even though they have told everyone in sight you are a jerk (most people want their lives to be jerk-free), and they don't want you to leave because you are moving on in your life to achieve something. They just want you under their thumb where they can punish you for a series of imagined and conflated slights until the end of time. Fair weather friends used to break my heart, but I figure if they are leaving me for a brighter, shinier object, I am better off without them. And there are never any fights about it all. They just stop returning phone calls, stop inviting you to the party. I can deal with that. And besides, I know I will hear from them again after I have a new book out. But I know they were never friends in the first place. Whatever. Got a lot of those in comics. Very nice to talk to at parties, don't expect them to be there for anything else. Fine. No one needs a lot of friends. Just need good ones. I remember an old Japanese saying: “The nail that stick out gets hammered down.”

I used to take this sort of thing very personally. It’s hard not to when someone is screaming at you that you are a no-talent and that you have no business trying to improve yourself or your work.

But then, no one who has any self-respect does that in the first place. That behavior is not about me, it’s about them.

People who have done this seethe with resentment when you dump their acquaintance. Seriously, if I’m such an awful person, what are you doing trying to get me to hang around?

They don’t want you to leave even though they have told everyone in sight you are a jerk (most people want their lives to be jerk-free), and they don’t want you to leave because you are moving on in your life to achieve something.

They just want you under their thumb where they can punish you for a series of imagined and conflated slights until the end of time.

Fair weather friends used to break my heart, but I figure if they are leaving me for a brighter, shinier object, I am better off without them. And there are never any fights about it all. They just stop returning phone calls, stop inviting you to the party.

I can deal with that. And besides, I know I will hear from them again after I have a new book out.

But I know they were never friends in the first place. Whatever.

Got a lot of those in comics. Very nice to talk to at parties, don’t expect them to be there for anything else. Fine.

No one needs a lot of friends. Just need good ones.

]]> By: scribblerworks http://adistantsoil.com/2009/08/09/work-is-good-9/#comment-1819 scribblerworks Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:39:36 +0000 http://adistantsoil.com/?p=3692#comment-1819 I also see this sort of dynamic a lot in Hollywood, especially the "fair weather friend" behavior. And a lot of that has to do with the whole "networking" aspect: if you're hot, you may have contacts I can latch onto if I just hang around you! People can get paranoid about new acquaintences after a bit of success, because so often the new "friend" really just does want to use you as a rung on a step-ladder. And part of that self-protectiveness is also a fear that if I help you, you might take a job that *I* want! It takes a lot of work to choose not to care about such things, and instead be open and supportive of everyone that comes your way. And it's a rare thing in any circumstances. When you find someone who can be that open and supportive, they are a rare gem. And I say that after having just lost such a friend this week -- writer Blake Snyder died on Tuesday, and he would actually go out of his way to help screenwriters who contacted him because of his book "Save the Cat!" He was remarkable for running counter to what you're talking about here, Colleen. Anyway... yes, if things get toxic, leave. No one should be obliged to put up with crap. I also see this sort of dynamic a lot in Hollywood, especially the “fair weather friend” behavior. And a lot of that has to do with the whole “networking” aspect: if you’re hot, you may have contacts I can latch onto if I just hang around you! People can get paranoid about new acquaintences after a bit of success, because so often the new “friend” really just does want to use you as a rung on a step-ladder. And part of that self-protectiveness is also a fear that if I help you, you might take a job that *I* want!

It takes a lot of work to choose not to care about such things, and instead be open and supportive of everyone that comes your way. And it’s a rare thing in any circumstances. When you find someone who can be that open and supportive, they are a rare gem. And I say that after having just lost such a friend this week — writer Blake Snyder died on Tuesday, and he would actually go out of his way to help screenwriters who contacted him because of his book “Save the Cat!” He was remarkable for running counter to what you’re talking about here, Colleen.

Anyway… yes, if things get toxic, leave. No one should be obliged to put up with crap.

]]> By: VT http://adistantsoil.com/2009/08/09/work-is-good-9/#comment-1818 VT Sun, 09 Aug 2009 06:08:10 +0000 http://adistantsoil.com/?p=3692#comment-1818 My, that's oddly apropos today. 'Tall poppy' syndrome, my ex-husband called it. And yes, the longer you stay, the more toxic it gets. My, that’s oddly apropos today. ‘Tall poppy’ syndrome, my ex-husband called it. And yes, the longer you stay, the more toxic it gets.

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