The RANT! Thread

[ER]

!!!!!!!!efn3gio3ngwknrgklfjqkl!!!!!!!!


Well, I am annoyed!

I do not like Poppy Z. Brite, never have, and I like her even less now as Billy Martin, though I admire her courage in making this gender transformation. But that's neither here nor there. What is germane to my rant is exactly where homage ends and an act of literary theft begins.

The only thing Brite ever wrote that I did like out of all the grag of hers someone made me read back in high school was a short story variously entitled Swamp Foetus, and (a better re-titling) His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood. It is about these sensuous gay men in the Deep South of the 1980s whose life of dissipation leads to ennui until they start raiding graveyards and undertaking archaeology-cum-necrophilia under the influence of absinthe.

Y'with me?

I was captivated by this opium-like little story and loved certain lines from it, like her description of the "luminous" scent of magnolia blossoms in the humid Louisiana night. It was just so frickin' cool, these futureless souls bored with life seeking one dangerous thrill too many amid the decaying cenotaphs and tombs of Antebellum burial grounds. It was Spanish moss draped Southern Gothic at its finest and I bet I read HMWTOW ten times.

And then years in the future I came to find this tale of Brite's was an almost straight-up lifting of H.P. Lovecraft's The Hound. Not quite word for word but the plots are probably 95% identical.

If Brite had prefaced the story by saying, "This is in tribute to Lovecraft" then fine, but nowhere have I ever seen her do that. I've never seen an interview in which she discusses the story that includes her saying, "Yes, The Hound inspired me."

She just.....apparently wrote this story that reads like a slightly more R-rated re-telling of one of Lovecraft's lesser-known but completely brilliant stories, and that deeply rankles me.

[Pacman000]

! No longer available

[LilCerberus]

I really miss the days when you could find an old UJM or riceburner in clean condition, running right for just a few hundred bucks... Nowadays, you're lucky to find some 2nd hand disposable Chinese bike that doesn't require a bank loan...

[Chainsawmidget]

I do not like Poppy Z. Brite, never have, and I like her even less now as Billy Martin, though I admire her courage in making this gender transformation. But that's neither here nor there. What is germane to my rant is exactly where homage ends and an act of literary theft begins.

The only thing Brite ever wrote that I did like out of all the grag of hers someone made me read back in high school was a short story variously entitled Swamp Foetus, and (a better re-titling) His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood. It is about these sensuous gay men in the Deep South of the 1980s whose life of dissipation leads to ennui until they start raiding graveyards and undertaking archaeology-cum-necrophilia under the influence of absinthe.

I've read that story. 

I actually bought a book that was titled something like Modern Horror Short Stories or whatever.  The whole book turned out to be various weird fetishy sex things with a slight horror tone to them. 

[FatFreddysCat]

To the jag-off in the white van who was practically stapled to my rear bumper all the way down Route 23 South this morning: if you wanna ride my ass, at least buy me dinner first. 

[ER]

If you're gonna come creeping in during the middle of the night after being out with your school friends, how about you don't trip over a sleeping little girl and set off a War of the Worlds style panic, T-Man??!!!!

[LilCerberus]

I really hate it when I go to a party or meeting or something, an there's noplace to sit down, because even though there are plenty of coffee tables & coat racks & such, people just indiscriminately toss their stuff on every chair & sofa they see, until the whole damn place looks like somebody with a hording problem lives there.

[Leah]

My elder sister saga could write a book about how her kindness and flirty personality screwed her over both mentally and physically.

[ER]

I shouldn't have to tell the new interns not to call me ma'am.  I need a drink.

[Pacman000]

You know what I hate? When people get ticked off for being called "Ma'me" or "Sir."

It's a sign of respect! It's in the Little Golden Book of Manners! Little Kids & Old People alike get that! Call them "ma'me" or "sir" & they smile! If they're older they'll say you're unusually respectful! The only people who don't are 15-60 year olds who just wanna feel young! They're acting too young; like a rebellious teenager! Stop it! STOP IT I SAY! 

[ER]

You know what I hate? When people get ticked off for being called "Ma'me" or "Sir."

It's a sign of respect! It's in the Little Golden Book of Manners! Little Kids & Old People alike get that! Call them "ma'me" or "sir" & they smile! If they're older they'll say you're unusually respectful! The only people who don't are 15-60 year olds who just wanna feel young! They're acting too young; like a rebellious teenager! Stop it! STOP IT I SAY! 

Ha!

S'all right, I got back at them with my sipping blue-raspberry Kool-Aid from a Windex bottle stunt. Thought one girl was gonna scream. Ah, the gullibility of the young......

[Trevor]

I shouldn't have to tell the new interns not to call me ma'am.  I need a drink.

We have 9 interns here: all of them call me Uncle T. 

[Trevor]

To the jag-off in the white van who was practically stapled to my rear bumper all the way down Route 23 South this morning: if you wanna ride my ass, at least buy me dinner first. 

Not laughing at what happened to you but how you described it. 

[claws]

I must be Facebook's most relucant user 

~ I never have and never will use the "memories" feature, no matter how many times Facebook wants me to. It's annoying enough that people in my feed use "memories" more than actually posting new stuff. I honestly don't care what you did two summers ago because I already read the very same thing two summers ago.
~ Nope, I won't contribute to "my story" and I won't watch anybody else's "my story" because I've read "your story" before. There's really no need and no point in doing this. Jeez.
~ I won't adjust my ads to "my likings" because I don't like ads. It's unavoidable so post whatever f**king ads you like. I DON'T CARE.
~ I'm not 13 so I don't need to add any of those silly backgrounds when posting something.
~ Thanks for giving me an option to disable glitter and rainbows when wishing somebody happy birthday. That is really appreciated, and I mean it.

[Trevor]

~ Nope, I won't contribute to "my story" and I won't watch anybody else's "my story" because I've read "your story" before. There's really no need and no point in doing this. Jeez.
~ I won't adjust my ads to "my likings" because I don't like ads. It's unavoidable so post whatever f**king ads you like. I DON'T CARE.
~ Thanks for giving me an option to disable glitter and rainbows when wishing somebody happy birthday. That is really appreciated, and I mean it.