Random Stuff VIII: The Admin Special

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

That's why I wonder how intentional it is. Britain and America are different, in very many ways; but it doesn't necessarily sound as if Magic!America...feels right?

Not sure how to put it. There's a difference between a different "universe" in terms of tone, people, myths and legends and cultural reactions, and a straight up different universe, and it kinda sounds like this is the latter?

Like, if it weren't Rowling writing it, it would necessarily be Harry Potter so much as another urban fantasy story.

...incident my, wizard cowboys. Was that mentioned at all? Because that could be interesting, if the American wizards are more paranoid because they have a longer history of vigilante-ism than the British ones do.

(Though, the Brits seem to take potential Wizard Vigilantes like Dumbledore and Harry and bring them into the establishment...not to mention making "wizard superheroes" a government sanctioned thing in the firm of aurors).

 

Exactly. It doesn't feel American, and it doesn't feel British. It's kind of an uncanny valley of parallel universes. 

 

No, wizard cowboys weren't mentioned at all. Nor was there any sort of mention of other uniquely American things—frontiersmen, regional culture across states, etc. She did make an effort at vigilantism with the Scourers, but their existence didn't make a lot of sense, in or out of context. I don't even know if I can adequately explain them, because the explanation I felt was kind of halfhearted. 

 

Though as a whole, Americans have a different attitude toward vigilantism. Someone who does evil independently from a government is a criminal; someone who does good independently from a government is a hero at best and a lovable rogue at worst. Just look at our love of superheroes, which we've only recently begun to deconstruct and critique. 

 

Though….I'm kind of glad she didn't mention wizard cowboys. With all the other stuff she got wrong, I wouldn't be surprised if she bungled that too.  

[Zathoth]

Wizard cowboys would be awesome. There needs to be more Western fantasy. Of course not written by Rowling... I think Jim Butcher mentioned something about maybe writing a fantasy western...

 

Which segues into me telling you to read Dresden Files. He seems to actually do some research. You would think Kaymyth would have done that already, but apparently not.

[Quiver]

Exactly my point really. There are heroes who operate outside the government in British culture -Robin Hood, for instance, the Doctor as another- but by aand large, European heroes are based within their cultures and governments.

Heck, the signature British hero is Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table; very explicitly "Inside" the establishment, or being part of the government.

America has that, too, but there's much more willingness to have people operate outside those structures, as you outlined: sure, sherrifs and frontiersmen are (nominally) authorised by local authorities...but a big part of the American identity is the Independance of it. It's fundamentally different from England.

(Scotland and Ireland are different stories, but...for simplicity, let's stick with England as synonymous with Britain).

Honestly, I've wanted to do a story about American and British superheroes for a while. The Secret Identity is a very American trope whereas British heroes (like Sherlock Holmes) tend to be more public figures...but that's a whole other topic of discussion I think.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

Exactly my point really. There are heroes who operate outside the government in British culture -Robin Hood, for instance, the Doctor as another- but by aand large, European heroes are based within their cultures and governments.

Heck, the signature British hero is Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table; very explicitly "Inside" the establishment, or being part of the government.

America has that, too, but there's much more willingness to have people operate outside those structures, as you outlined: sure, sherrifs and frontiersmen are (nominally) authorised by local authorities...but a big part of the American identity is the Independance of it. It's fundamentally different from England.

(Scotland and Ireland are different stories, but...for simplicity, let's stick with England as synonymous with Britain).

Honestly, I've wanted to do a story about American and British superheroes for a while. The Secret Identity is a very American trope whereas British heroes (like Sherlock Holmes) tend to be more public figures...but that's a whole other topic of discussion I think.

 

Pretty much, yeah. I think it's due to a widespread and longstanding American distrust of government in general—we're a separate country today because we rebelled against what was, at the time, the law of the land; so I think we're more likely to romanticize and mythologize rebellion against the establishment in general. Going against the rule of law is not, on its own, the mark of a villain; it's the actions of the person who goes against the rule of law that make them villainous. A fascinating difference in thought. 

 

And while frontier law was definitely rougher than law back in "civilized" areas, it wasn't the lawless free-for-all it's so often pictured as. Things in frontier towns were actually very orderly. They had to be. These people were on their own, thousands of miles from the center of government. They had to set up order, and cooperate with it, and make sure most people were happy with that order, or else their settlement would fail. 

 

I'd definitely read that story. Seeing the two different takes, side by side, would be fascinating. 

[Kaymyth]

Kinda feel like this right now:

 

 

I'm right there with ya, buddy.

 

Wizard cowboys would be awesome. There needs to be more Western fantasy. Of course not written by Rowling... I think Jim Butcher mentioned something about maybe writing a fantasy western...

 

Which segues into me telling you to read Dresden Files. He seems to actually do some research. You would think Kaymyth would have done that already, but apparently not.

 

Rowling suffers from not really having a clue about American culture and compounded the problem by Not Doing the Research.  This makes me sad.

 

And, yes....Twi, you should read Dresden Files.  It's sooo goooood.

[Quiver]

Pretty much, yeah. I think it's due to a widespread and longstanding American distrust of government in general—we're a separate country today because we rebelled against what was, at the time, the law of the land; so I think we're more likely to romanticize and mythologize rebellion against the establishment in general. Going against the rule of law is not, on its own, the mark of a villain; it's the actions of the person who goes against the rule of law that make them villainous. A fascinating difference in thought. 

 

And while frontier law was definitely rougher than law back in "civilized" areas, it wasn't the lawless free-for-all it's so often pictured as. Things in frontier towns were actually very orderly. They had to be. These people were on their own, thousands of miles from the center of government. They had to set up order, and cooperate with it, and make sure most people were happy with that order, or else their settlement would fail. 

 

I'd definitely read that story. Seeing the two different takes, side by side, would be fascinating.

I think the keypoint there is that the people had to set up settlements they were happy with. That immediately opens up the possibility of rules and laws in one settlement being different from another (like ownership laws, or minority treatment for instance), all if which ends up promoting the idea of a personal moral code and decisions as being higher in value than the laws of a government hundreds of thousands of miles away which doesnt reflect your personal reality and situation on the ground.

Or, put it another way, the entirety of Serenity.

(Note, I'm not agreeing with that philosophy... But that's always the impression I've gotten.)

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

I'm right there with ya, buddy.

 

 

Rowling suffers from not really having a clue about American culture and compounded the problem by Not Doing the Research.  This makes me sad.

 

And, yes....Twi, you should read Dresden Files.  It's sooo goooood.

 

That's about the size of it. And like I said, I wanted so badly to love it. I wanted her to have done her research and made magical America just as good as magical Britain….but it was not to be. Looks like I'll just have to do it myself.  

 

I'll see if I can snag a copy soon.  

 

I think the keypoint there is that the people had to set up settlements they were happy with. That immediately opens up the possibility of rules and laws in one settlement being different from another (like ownership laws, or minority treatment for instance), all if which ends up promoting the idea of a personal moral code and decisions as being higher in value than the laws of a government hundreds of thousands of miles away which doesnt reflect your personal reality and situation on the ground.

Or, put it another way, the entirety of Serenity.

(Note, I'm not agreeing with that philosophy... But that's always the impression I've gotten.)

 

I'd say your impression is correct. And yes, it did lead to rules and laws differing from settlement to settlement. There were common values across settlements—no cheating, no killing, no stealing, etc.—but the implementation of law and severity of crimes differed regionally. And different areas were settled by different types of people, which is partly why you have so many different state cultures. They created the culture that worked for them, so what works for someone from Wyoming won't necessarily work for someone in California.  

[Kaymyth]

That's about the size of it. And like I said, I wanted so badly to love it. I wanted her to have done her research and made magical America just as good as magical Britain….but it was not to be. Looks like I'll just have to do it myself.

 

I'll see if I can snag a copy soon.

 

 

I'd say your impression is correct. And yes, it did lead to rules and laws differing from settlement to settlement. There were common values across settlements—no cheating, no killing, no stealing, etc.—but the implementation of law and severity of crimes differed regionally. And different areas were settled by different types of people, which is partly why you have so many different state cultures. They created the culture that worked for them, so what works for someone from Wyoming won't necessarily work for someone in California.  

 

Well, Dresden Files is a series, so you'll need to start with Storm Front.  It's over a dozen books in now.  You'll have lots to read.  

[A Joe in the Bush]

Well, Dresden Files is a series, so you'll need to start with Storm Front. It's over a dozen books in now. You'll have lots to read.

Ah, Jim himself recommends starting later In the book. I reccomend book four or five. The first several books are, sub par.

But the series itself is amazing.

[Kaymyth]

Ah, Jim himself recommends starting later In the book. I reccomend book four or five. The first several books are, sub par.

But the series itself is amazing.

 

But...but...completionism!  Full story!  READ ALL THE THINGS!

 

(Yes, the first three books aren't as good as the rest, but they're not bad.)

[Quiver]

But...but...completionism!  Full story!  READ ALL THE THINGS!

 

(Yes, the first three books aren't as good as the rest, but they're not bad.)

Afraid I have to disagree with you, Kaymyth.

I've only read Storm Front, and the first third of Fool Moon and... I thought they weren't good.

Not BAD, necessarily...but Storm Front didn't particularly engage me, for a whole bunch of spoilerific reasons.

I liked Fool Moon more, but again, dropped it for spoiler reasons, and because I just wasn't INTO it enough to justify continuing when I had other things I DID want to get too. Which is a shame, because I've heard it's a good series.

[Kaymyth]

Afraid I have to disagree with you, Kaymyth.

I've only read Storm Front, and the first third of Fool Moon and... I thought they weren't good.

Not BAD, necessarily...but Storm Front didn't particularly engage me, for a whole bunch of spoilerific reasons.

I liked Fool Moon more, but again, dropped it for spoiler reasons, and because I just wasn't INTO it enough to justify continuing when I had other things I DID want to get too. Which is a shame, because I've heard it's a good series.

 

Well, fine, then YOU should start with book 4.  

 

But as it's been fairly well-established that Twi and I are brain twins, she'll probably be OK starting at the beginning like I did.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

Well, fine, then YOU should start with book 4.  

 

But as it's been fairly well-established that Twi and I are brain twins, she'll probably be OK starting at the beginning like I did.

 

Aaaannnnd of course the library doesn't have the first one.  

[RippleGylf]

Reading through all of the American magic stuff, it is just very disappointing.

[Kaymyth]

Aaaannnnd of course the library doesn't have the first one.

 

Curses!  Such foil!

 

Well, you'll soon be actively working at a library.  Access to interlibrary loan will be yours.  

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

Curses!  Such foil!

 

Well, you'll soon be actively working at a library.  Access to interlibrary loan will be yours.  

 

Indeed.  

[Kaymyth]

Teenagers + anime convention = mortality?  What's that?

 

No, nobody has broken themselves yet, but not for lack of trying.  

[Quiver]

Just finished the Legends of Tomorrow pilot. Some spoilers, but only for the first two episodes of it, Smallville and the Justice League cartoon.

Hawkman is the new Aquam in terms of suck.

Aquaman had one bad show that ruined his reputation in the 60's. While people made fun of him, media since then has done a lot to adjust that image; the 90's Justice League cartoon cast him as a badass king, the comics emphasise how awesome his powers can be, and he's being played by Khal Drogo...not to mention his ensemble dark horse status on Brace and the Bold. Aquaman is awesome.

But Hawkman?

Hawkman should be awesome. Hell, I kinda do find the idea's involved with Hawkman great. He is one half of (supposedly) the greatest love story in the DC universe, a romance so powerful that it transcends time and space and life and death, a romance so powerful that when they die, they come back to find one another, again and again and again.

Hawkman should be amazing, an incredibly fascinating character and one of the greatest love stories in comics. In reality, as written? He's a creep.

The comics emphasise him as a brutal thug, flying around and executing his own brand of vigilante justice. In Smallville, Michael Shanks didn't bring much of the ancient wisdom yo him, focusing instead on a man who was too tired to live.

Justice League, the show that rehabilitated Aquaman to many? Showed Hawkman as a fascist space cop, then as an obsessive archaeologist. Then Arrow -which has basically popularised DC live action- took the obsessive part and ran with it in ways that make me very uncomfortable.

In fact, that's the problem. Hawkman should be romantic. He comes across as creepy.

Hawkman is DC Edward Cullen.

[Citadel16]

Never. Take. A. Zinc. Tablet. Before. Eating.

 

Zinc=pain

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

I think I just found the best rebuttal ever to the Magic in North America series. 

[Curious Anamaximder]

Happy Birthday to Iron Eyes and Shivertongue! 

[The Invested Beard]

Yeah the bad reviews keep on coming.

 

 

http://io9.gizmodo.com/j-k-rowlings-history-of-magic-in-north-america-was-a-t-1764311530

 

 

I think I'll learn my lesson from the Star Wars Prequels and skip this.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

Yeah the bad reviews keep on coming.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/j-k-rowlings-history-of-magic-in-north-america-was-a-t-1764311530

I think I'll learn my lesson from the Star Wars Prequels and skip this.

I'm actually beginning to rethink my plans to attend a midnight premiere of Fantastic Beasts when it comes out.

[The Invested Beard]

Seriously, I'm really worried now.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

Seriously, I'm really worried now.

 

Me too. If the movie is as bad as the promo material, then my ticket money would be better spent elsewhere. Like on one of these: