http://www.edrants.com/the-save-gary-coleman-petition/ a cultural website in ever-shifting standing Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:01:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.edrants.com/the-save-gary-coleman-petition/comment-page-1/#comment-250417 Donald P. Knowlton Thu, 22 Jan 2009 06:29:08 +0000 http://www.edrants.com/?p=10094#comment-250417 You said it JR. Let's put aside the amazing one-man cult of personality which drives this site, or the perpetual self-promotion, the pity parades, the constant bragging, the continual name-dropping proof that Mr. Champion has read Shakespeare (or Edmund Wilson or George Orwell, not to mention anyone else in the literary world who has had the misfortune of dying while this blog has been running), the slimy soto voce asides from his girlfriend, the bullying, whining and whinging, what's so unfunny about this post is how it hangs its puffed-up integrity on the illogical assumption that a fact isn't a fact until it is reported directly to Mr. Champion, and in this case, the facts at hand here revolve around a cultural institution which has been providing serious and sharp and enlightening book coverage to millions of people, and the alteration (or outright butchering of) which could make the lives of readers a little poorer. It also could put good journalists, who are indeed committed to facts, out of work. That Mr. Champion would rather needle -- or simply throw shit -- than organize and join in advocacy with his peers -- who he seems hellbent on denigrating at every turn -- suggests to me that the motive of this site and this post is not some inane kind of commentary, but attention. But that's no news flash, is it? So go ahead, talk about your silly beard, drivel your thoughts on the election, mooch on publishers so desperate for attention for their authors they'll set up author interviews with an outright moron, talk about poor old Gary Coleman, while the people who have more at stake than their bizarre egos when it comes to reading and writing about books actually face what's happening to this country's literary discourse. It is a continual astonishment that someone pays you to write, Mr. Champion. Come to think of it: I'd love to hear some testimonials from a few of the editors who will fess up to paying this monkey to scratch his ass in public. You said it JR. Let’s put aside the amazing one-man cult of personality which drives this site, or the perpetual self-promotion, the pity parades, the constant bragging, the continual name-dropping proof that Mr. Champion has read Shakespeare (or Edmund Wilson or George Orwell, not to mention anyone else in the literary world who has had the misfortune of dying while this blog has been running), the slimy soto voce asides from his girlfriend, the bullying, whining and whinging, what’s so unfunny about this post is how it hangs its puffed-up integrity on the illogical assumption that a fact isn’t a fact until it is reported directly to Mr. Champion, and in this case, the facts at hand here revolve around a cultural institution which has been providing serious and sharp and enlightening book coverage to millions of people, and the alteration (or outright butchering of) which could make the lives of readers a little poorer. It also could put good journalists, who are indeed committed to facts, out of work. That Mr. Champion would rather needle — or simply throw shit — than organize and join in advocacy with his peers — who he seems hellbent on denigrating at every turn — suggests to me that the motive of this site and this post is not some inane kind of commentary, but attention. But that’s no news flash, is it? So go ahead, talk about your silly beard, drivel your thoughts on the election, mooch on publishers so desperate for attention for their authors they’ll set up author interviews with an outright moron, talk about poor old Gary Coleman, while the people who have more at stake than their bizarre egos when it comes to reading and writing about books actually face what’s happening to this country’s literary discourse. It is a continual astonishment that someone pays you to write, Mr. Champion. Come to think of it: I’d love to hear some testimonials from a few of the editors who will fess up to paying this monkey to scratch his ass in public.

]]> http://www.edrants.com/the-save-gary-coleman-petition/comment-page-1/#comment-250412 JR Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:06:05 +0000 http://www.edrants.com/?p=10094#comment-250412 Jesus H. Christ says you're not funny. Jesus H. Christ says you’re not funny.

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