I suppose earlier generations had to sit through all this huffing and puffing with the invention of television, the phone, cinema, radio, the car, the bicycle, printing, the wheel and so on, but you would think we would learn the way these things work, which is this:
1) everything that’s already in the world when you’re born is just normal;
2) anything that gets invented between then and before you turn thirty is incredibly exciting and creative and with any luck you can make a career out of it;
3) anything that gets invented after you’re thirty is against the natural order of things and the beginning of the end of civilisation as we know it until it’s been around for about ten years when it gradually turns out to be alright really.
Apply this list to movies, rock music, word processors and mobile phones to work out how old you are.
-- Douglas Adams, "How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Internet"
He gave some controversial statements, that's true, but "diehard worshiper" is simply false.
> "The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation was illegal. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms," he said via video link.
> "Also, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was not unprovoked, so I also condemn the provocateurs in the strongest possible terms."
> He continued: "So what do the voiceless millions have to say? They say thank you for hearing us today. We are many who do not share in the profits of the war industry.
> "We do not willingly raise our sons and daughters to provide fodder for your cannons.
> "In our opinion, the only sensible course of action today is to call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. Not one more Ukrainian or Russian life is to be spent, not one, they are all precious in our eyes."
The gold standard of Icelanders Sagas is: https://sagas.is/vara.php (love for the little old website). It's complete, as it contains all the sagas and tales.
There are more sagas, though. Just not of the Icelanders.
For example the saga of the Volsungs.
If you are interested in general norse mythology then yes, Gaiman's book is really nice. The Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda are primary sources and not a difficult read.
Everything I mentioned (except Gaiman's) is published by Penguin and is a good translation.
Every time I read some Alan Moore interview, I find myself agreeing with him.
Also his masterclass on writing was great to listen to, and I'm not interested in writing. His ideas about writing/creation = magic have stuck with me.
He's always lucid, and clear, and has a stark sense of observation.
What was the impact of popular heroes comic books in our culture? Why are people fascinated by alternative realities?
I think the impact of superheroes on popular culture is both tremendously embarrassing and not a little worrying. While these characters were originally perfectly suited to stimulating the imaginations of their twelve or thirteen year-old audience, today’s franchised übermenschen, aimed at a supposedly adult audience, seem to be serving some kind of different function, and fulfilling different needs. Primarily, mass-market superhero movies seem to be abetting an audience who do not wish to relinquish their grip on (a) their relatively reassuring childhoods, or (b) the relatively reassuring 20th century. The continuing popularity of these movies to me suggests some kind of deliberate, self-imposed state of emotional arrest, combined with an numbing condition of cultural stasis that can be witnessed in comics, movies, popular music and, indeed, right across the cultural spectrum. The superheroes themselves – largely written and drawn by creators who have never stood up for their own rights against the companies that employ them, much less the rights of a Jack Kirby or Jerry Siegel or Joe Schuster – would seem to be largely employed as cowardice compensators, perhaps a bit like the handgun on the nightstand. I would also remark that save for a smattering of non-white characters (and non-white creators) these books and these iconic characters are still very much white supremacist dreams of the master race. In fact, I think that a good argument can be made for D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation as the first American superhero movie, and the point of origin for all those capes and masks.
When I read quotes like that, I realize how much Moore must have idolized Michael Moorcock when he was young (and maybe still does). It's reminiscent of Epic Pooh, Moorcock's essay about Tolkien and epic fantasy more broadly.
Though, if we're being honest, I like the critique of the immaturity of genre fiction more when Moore makes it. That might just be because I think Moore is the better writer, but I haven't read nearly as much Moorcock so it isn't exactly fair.
Do you have any comments on how to best absorb Ficciones? I read it recently and struggled through the whole book, needless to say, I don't comprehend why many hold that book on such a high pedestal.
Borges is not really an amazing writer, literary-wise. His works are popular because they are essentially mental puzzles in short story form. In this way, he's very similar to most sci-fi writers, which is why both Borges and sci-fi tend to be liked by mathematically-inclined people. These works are praised for their ideas, not their forms.
