I don’t think we talk enough about it being 100% ok to abandon your goals.
There is so much about keeping on trying and working hard and You Can Achieve Anything When You Put Your Mind To It which is a great sentiment. And for the large part its true and I don’t intend to contradict that when I say that look: sometimes you have to quit and that’s ok.
There is no virtue in pursuing a goal to the detriment of your health and happiness. Not every goal is attainable for you no matter how much you want it and it isn’t shameful to walk away from an aspiration that isnt working for you or is sapping your energy and it doesn’t feel worth it anymore.
You’re no less for changing your mind about something halfway through, or losing interest, or deciding other things are more of a priority than getting fit, running that marathon, getting into med school or whatever else you hoped to do. Forgive yourself, move on.
In a similar vein, and something I’ve been struggling with: You can come back.
Wrote a lot of poems and stories as a middle schooler? Lost that somewhere along the way? You can come back.
Made a lot of art as a kid? Gave up because it wasn’t “good enough” or “practical”? You can come back.
Life is hard, college is ridiculously difficult. It’s okay to give up and focus on trying to take care of yourself. You can go back.
You never have to pick dreams back up, and sometimes it’s ridiculously hard to do so, but you can if you want. It’s up to you.
YES YES YES.
I feel like a lot of people know this story already, but I’m gonna tell it again.
I have always written. I started when I was five and asked for a typewriter for Christmas because I wanted to “make books” and I knew books weren’t handwritten. (I got it, and my mom spent years teaching me how to touch type so I’d have a marketable skill.)
Starting around 2000, I started submitting stories. My first pro gig was writing for a now-defunct roleplaying game, Tribe 8. I wrote terrible, TERRIBLE short sci fi and fantasy. I wrote a terrible novel. Then I had my first short story sale, to Strange Horizons. I kept writing terrible stories and wrote another terrible novel.
Then in 2003, my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer. We lived together at the time, and I became her primary caregiver. I stopped submitting stories. I stopped writing. After she died in 2006, it never occurred to me to go back. Everything I’d written was awful, after all.
Then in 2012, I stumbled into the Sherlock fandom. After years spent looking down my nose at fanfic (yeah, I was one of those writers), I started reading it. Then I started writing it. After 9 years, I started writing again. I. loved. it. I wrote fanfic like a fiend (and really haven’t stopped).
Later that year, I was in a chat room with other Sherlock fans, and one of them, @adiprose, mentioned that she really loved my writing and I was as gleeful to hear that as you might imagine. So I hopped over to her blog. And HOLY SHIT, it turned out she’s a literary agent. With an agency I’d stalked back in my sci-fi days. I messaged her, flipping out. “OMG YOU’RE AN AGENT AND YOU LIKE MY WRITING.”
Jen told me if I ever had anything original written, she’d love to see it. I started looking for ideas for a new novel pretty much that day. I ended up revamping one of my long Sherlock fics. It took me the better part of a year, but sent it to her. And then waited.
When she offered to represent me, I ran around my living room screaming before saying yes. 🙂 Within six months, she’d sold that book, The Farther I Fall, and its follow up, As Lost as I Get, to Berkley Intermix. I’m working on a new book as we speak.
I stopped writing for 9 years. I thought I was never going to write again. And within three years of starting again, I published my first novel, at the age of 42.
It is never, ever too late to pick up a dream again.
I’m not professional, but, if I can add onto this amazing story:
I too have always written, probably since I was 5 as well. Somewhere in my mid-late 20s though, I more or less gave up. I told myself it was never going to happen, nobody would ever want to buy my stuff.
Then I did nanowrimo. I had people show interest. I figured if no publisher would pick me up, maybe I could look at self publishing, and finally did in my early 30s. I haven’t sold a lot, but it’s out there.
And I discovered fanfiction, at the age of 34, and fell into that, and yeah it’s fic but i know it’s a helluva lot of practice and people like it and even if I’m never A Professional Author that my stories are out there and people read and enjoy them. I’ve even done some ghostwriting, not really enough to pay the bills, but enough to keep me afloat in hard times.
Let me tell you, the first year I got a tax thing for royalties felt amazing, even if it was only, like $20.
So you can come back to your dreams. And you might find a way to your dreams you didn’t expect. 5 year old me barely knew what a computer was and the Internet wasn’t a Thing, but now it is and here I am.
Also? I should be graduating college in December. At 37. I don’t know how much my degree will help me, but I’ve learned a lot about screenwriting and that’s another avenue I can explore in my writing.
I’ve found that if you truly have a dream, it never quite goes away. Sometimes you need a break, you need to recharge, or go do something else for a while, but it’s always there, waiting, and you don’t need to make yourself crazy pursuing it.
if you threw a pad or tampon into a crowd of boys they would probably all scream and it would be like that scene from monsters inc where george gets contaminated by a sock
story time
ok so in high school on away game days, the football players and cheerleaders would have to share busses because our school was broke as fuck so our cheer bus would always have a group of varsity footballerers in the back of it. one day my genius friend and I were discussing our feminist rage when she said “bridget you should totally throw a tampon back there and see what they do” and me being myself, stood up and hurled a one (1) tampon at the Manly Men. IT LOOKED LIKE A WAR MOVIE. THE BROS FACES WERE FILLED WITH HORROR AS THEIR BUDDY GOT SHOT. HE WENT DOWN SO DRAMATICALLY AS SCREAMS FILLED THE BUS. BOYS WERE SLINKING AS FAR AWAY FROM THE DEADLY TAMPON AS PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE. ONE BRO WAS EYEING THE EMERGENCY WINDOW WITH ALL SERIOUSNESS, READY TO FREE HIMSELF FROM THE THREAT. BEING IN CHICAGO, THE BUS DRIVER PULLED OVER ASSUMING A KID ACTUALLY GOT SHOT. A GIRL HAD TO GO GET THE TAMPON SO THE GUYS WOULD STOP SHITTING THEIR PANTS AND SIT THEIR ASSES THE FUCK BACK DOWN.
I have deduced 2 things from this whole experience: 1. men are ridiculous 2. I wish I had thrown more than one tampon
TRUE STORY
When my brother was in high school, as a prank, someone stuck a pad to the front bumper of his truck. A CLEAN, UNUSED PAD.
My brother came home from high school, 17 years old, CRYING and my dad made ME go get it off his truck.
I had honestly forgotten about that until just now.
I sincerely regret never having done this during my school days.
story time (again!)
one time, in the middle of my freshman year, I was sitting in the band hall talking to a bunch of friends before school. let me preface this story by saying they were all guys (one of the hazards of being in the saxophone section–guys outnumbered the girls 6:1). Anyway, I dug around in my backpack for a tampon and slipped it into the sleeve of my sweater and was about to excuse myself to the restroom (which, if anybody has been paying attention, they would’ve known what was going on, because I’ve never been exactly subtle about things like this) but one of the guys kind of guffaws and goes “what’s in your sleeve? a tampon?” and I guess the way he rolled the word off his tongue like it was some kind of insult really bothered me, so I just pulled the brand new, still wrapped tampon out of my sleeve and went “you guessed it” and popped him across the cheek with it. I walked away to the restroom, vaguely aware of the strangled noises and sounds of disbelief and horror coming from the group of guys. They were all paying attention enough to know that I was digging in my bag for a tampon or pad, but apparently, the sight of the thing was too much for them. That group of guys couldn’t look me in the eyes for a few weeks, all because of a wrapped tampon
Yep. I’m an electrician, and we carry voltage meters with us (slang: “Wiggy”, from an old brand name of meter that just about no one uses any more). They take up too much space to put in a tool pouch, so if you don’t want to leave it in the tool box/bag, you’ll have a separate pouch on your tool belt for it. A long, narrow pouch that is convenient as hell for putting spare tampons in where they’ll stay clean and undamaged until needed.
A lot of the guys just leave their meters back in their tool boxes, which are in the gang box, which is usually some hike away from the actual work. So, “can I borrow your meter?” is something I hear a lot. And the response is always, “sure.” They always emit a high-pitched scream (somewhat similar to the tone emitted by the meter when voltage is present) when the tampons fall out when they take out the meter. “WHAT ARE *THOSE* DOING IN THERE?!!” I’ll pick one up and do my best Groucho Marx imitation (with the tampon as cigar): “Whaddya think they’re doing in there, sweetheart?” (wiggling eyebrows, “cigar” tapping). Their reaction is adorable. In almost thirty years of doing this work, I’ve yet to get a blase–“oops, didn’t mean to drop your tampons” response.
So what I’m getting from this is tampon shotguns/grenades as a weapon against overaggressive dudes in public spaces, y/y?
oh my god, what a genius idea. some dude won’t shut the fuck up, you don’t even look up from your phone as you pull a tampon out of the bag and just wave it at the motherfucker like a wizard’s wand. AWAAAAAAY.
….what the hell is wrong with guys.
oh man oh man
I now want to keep a new pad in my pocket at all times
for the occasion of being harrassed, calmly opening the pad, and stickying it to the jerkface’s face
“To catch the bloody stupid ideas that keep dripping out of your mouth”
using an applicator tampon to fire the tampon at someone (you’d have to hit it hard & fast but practice makes perfect)
Meanwhile my brother had a pile of tampons in the console of his car all through high school in case his girlfriend ever needed them.
This is a giant, hairy, meat-headed guy, but when he had to buy tampons/pads for me he had the foresight to grab the old, empty box from the bathroom so he was SURE he got the right brand.
Neither of my brothers have time to be squeamish about period stuff.
If you’re unsure how to pet a cat (i.e., maybe you didn’t have cats around growing up), it can be helpful to bear in mind that petting is a grooming activity. Grooming each other is how cats bond. Of course, each cat will have individual preferences, but the fact that it’s a grooming thing gives you two basic places to start:
Scratch areas that the cat has difficulty reaching, like the chin and upper throat, behind the ears, or the the very top of the head. (Watch the body language here – you’ll know if you pick the wrong spot right away.)
Work your fingers deeply into areas of thick fur where tangles are likely to form, like around the shoulderblades or the ruff of the neck. (You may come away with a handful of loose fur; this means you’re doing it right.)
Also, if you’re unsure of how to approach, try extending your hand with the palm up and the fingers relaxed for the cat to sniff. It’s the cat equivalent of a handshake – cats sniff each other to see where they’ve been, and for humans, it’s the hands that carry our scent history, since we touch everything constantly.
It’s kind of amazing watching all the folks who didn’t know that petting is a grooming behaviour come to the realisation that cats lick you because they want to pet you back.
Another thing you can do with skittish cats is offer your *closed fist*.
A cat that is shy of an open hand that can grab may approach a closed hand that they don’t perceive as trying to grab them. (Needless to say, don’t actually grab them, please.)
They bonk against your hands (and your head, if they are at head level) the same way they bonk against one another’s heads. It’s a friendly greeting that often ends in friendly cats turning and licking each others shoulders, necks, and ears a few times.
They scent mark by rubbing their faces on things. Their cheek glands produce a pleasant-smelling (to them, we can’t smell it) pheromone that projects friendship and reassurance. When they scent mark you like this, it is a friendly gesture.
So with this in mind, try letting the cat bump your fist, then gently rub the fist past the side of their face as they rub their face against your fist. Think of your fist like a cat’s head, and you are scent marking them back. You are sharing a friendly gesture.
A worried cat may warm up after a few passes of this, and you may be able to pet the neck and back of the head. The under-chin/throat area can be a little dicey. They don’t casually kiss each other there.very often and it can make them feel vulnerable.
Rolling over to show the tummy does not always mean the same thing it means for dogs. Unless you know the cat, be very careful touching the tummy. It might not be an invitation. It might be a readiness posture.
Digression: cats don’t show submission by rolling. Rolling is a defensive maneuver that prepares them for possible combat with other cats by putting their most powerful weapons – their teeth and back claws – into play simultaneously. They fight other cats by hugging with the front legs, biting anything they can reach, and kicking with the incredibly strong hind legs. It is an advantageous position for fighting/play fighting, lets them see all around them AND above, where humans usually approach them from, and it keeps them from getting pinned on their bellies, unable to retaliate. If they need to, they can flip and run away easily because cats are FAST.
So yeah, some cats love tummy stuff. Some hate it and just want you to admire from afar. A gentle hand placed on their tummy should tell you whether they want actual pets there or not. If they stretch or open up their body language, that’s good. If they tense or “sit up” to look at your hand, that’s not good. Stop petting and go back to the head.
Obviously if they grab your hand and rabbit-kick and bite, then you should not pet them there.
Some cats have a hair trigger. Sorry about that.
You can also pet them without moving your hand, just hold it out and let them rub against it. This will give you a good idea of where they like to be touched and how hard and for how long.
Very shy cats, once they realize you are willing to pet them without grabbing, may really come to enjoy approaching you.
We have a cat like this. If you let him see you respect him by not over-petting, he will rub against your hands and legs for a long time.
The moral is that cats are not inconsistent jerks, it’s just that we misinterpret their body language.
It’s also that we do not respect their boundaries when they present them, because we, as humans, want to be allowed to pet all soft things, and, somewhat spoiled by dogs, who love it nearly unconditionally, we unreasonably expect it of cats, a very very different animal.
If you want a cat to come back for more, don’t push yourself on them. They will remember you are a Cool Human and will come back for more.
(Also, speak softly. Cats usually really hate loud people.)
Two other things to consider with all of this: blinking and body position. If you offer your finger or hand, the cat will look up into your face as they sniff. Blink, slowly, and do not stare. This communicates a lack of aggressive intent. It also helps if you break your body plane backward; that is, lean back a little. If you are leaning backwards and not staring, you’re not about to pounce. I spend the first five minutes of an exam leaning against the wall and looking bored. It helps.
People who are excited to see a cat tend to lean forward, make eye contact and (as noted above) raise their voices, and then the cat thinks they’re in trouble. This is why cats are attracted to the people in the room who “don’t like cats;” they’re the ones communicating the least possibility of conflict.
I’ve said this to my non-techie friends countless times. It’s no secret that being able to code makes you a better job applicant, and a better entrepreneur. Hell, one techie taught a homeless man to code and now that man is making his first mobile application.
(note: yes I realize that 3/5 of those links were Google projects)
But most folks are intimidated by coding. And it does seem intimidating at first. But peel away the obscurity and the difficulty, and you start to learn that coding, at least at its basic level, is a very manageable, learnable skill.
There are a lot of resources out there to teach you. I’ve found a couple to be particularly successful. Here’s my list of resources for learning to code, sorted by difficulty:
Novice
Never written a line of code before? No worries. Just visit one of these fine resources and follow their high-level tutorials. You won’t get into the nitty-gritty, but don’t worry about it for now:
w3 Tutorials (start at HTML on the left sidebar and work your way down)
Intermediate
Now that you’ve gone through a handful of basic tutorials, it’s time to learn the fundamentals of actual, real-life coding problems. I’ve found these resources to be solid:
If you’re here, you’re capable of building things. You know the primitives. You know the logic control statements. You’re ready to start making real stuff take shape. Here are some different types of resources to turn you from someone who knows how to code, into a full-fledged programmer.
Programming problems
Sometimes, the challenges in programming aren’t how to make a language do a task, but just how to do the task in general. Like how to find an item in a very large, sorted list, without checking each element. Here are some resources for those types of problems
If you learned Python, Django is an amazing platform for creating quick-and-easy web applications. I’d highly suggest the tutorial – it’s one of the best I’ve ever used, and you have a web app up and running in less than an hour.
I’ve never used Rails, but it’s a very popular and powerful framework for creating web applications using Ruby. I’d suggest going through their guide to start getting down-and-dirty with Rails development.
If you know PHP, there’s an ocean of good stuff out there for you to learn how to make a full-fledged web application. Frameworks do a lot of work for you, and provide quick and easy guides to get up and running. I’d suggest the following:
If there’s one point I wanted to get across, it’s that it is easier than ever to learn to code. There are resources on every corner of the internet for potential programmers, and the benefits of learning even just the basics are monumental.
If you know of any additional, great resources that aren’t listed here, please feel free to tweet them to me @boomeyer.
Best of luck!
I’d also like to add some more specialized resources!
SpriteKit (2D) and SceneKit (3D) which are built into the official compiler to create iOS apps (see iOS apps for more resources)
also all of the above game engines (cross-platform)
Game console development:
Game Maker Studio (with a paid subscription)
Unity
Unreal
CryEngine
Note that games can also be created on more general platforms like iOS and Android apps, but the resources listed above are specialized for game development.
iOS apps:
In order to develop iOS apps, you’ll need to purchase an iOS developer program membership for $99 a year, which requires an Apple account. Here are some general resources:
Xcode (the official IDE for iOS apps; can be installed on OS X)
Xcode also has SpriteKit, SceneKit, and Metal built in, all of which are incredibly useful for creating apps that require elaborate graphics, particularly games.
Also, in order to publish iOS apps, you’ll have to juggle certificates, app ids, and provisioning profiles. This process can be convoluted at times so here are some resources:
Blender (can also be used to create games; Python script; free and open-source; can be installed on Windows, OS X, and Linux)
Maya (specialized script; free trial, free 3-year student subscription, and paid subscription versions; can be installed on Windows, OS X, and Linux to an extent)
3ds Max (Python script; free trial, free 3-year student subscription, and paid subscription versions; can be installed on Windows and OS X)
RenderMan (specialized script; free for non-commercial/educational use and pay-per-license for commercial use; can be installed on Windows, OS X, and Linux)
Misc. resources:
Stack Overflow is an ask-and-answer community for programmers. It’s amazing and will save your life. Sign up and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Github offers a student pack (here) if you create an account and prove you’re a student. This gives you free access to a bunch of great programming resources for free for a certain period of time, such as Unreal Engine. Also, Github in general is a site that you can host your code on. Other users can see it, and “fork” it to make a copy of your code and modify it.
Parse is a backend service that allows you to store data in databases it hosts on its own servers. It lets you use push notifications, create users, store and retrieve data, etc. It’s compatible with iOS apps, Android apps, Windows apps, Xamarin, React, Unity, OS X, Windows, JavaScript, PHP, .net, Arduino, and Embedded C. It’s free up to a certain limit that depends on the services you use.
Cloud9, Codebox, and Squad are online IDEs that allow for real-time collaboration and support a variety of languages, so they’re useful for team projects.
And some general advice:
Your program will not work right away, 99% of the time. That’s okay. Do your best to figure out where the error is. Here is some advice on debugging (written for PHP but the methods can be generalized).
If you’re stuck, Google. Google like there’s no tomorrow.
Ask questions on a community like Stack Overflow.
For that matter, browse relevant Stack Overflow questions. You can probably find some solutions there.
Don’t be afraid to copy and paste.
Take breaks sometimes if you’re getting burned out. But don’t stay away from your projects for too long or you’ll lose track of its status.
Backup your code. On the cloud, on a USB drive, wherever. If your IDE has a backing up feature like snapshots, use it whenever you hit a milestone.
If your project is big, split it up into milestones and set goals. Don’t tackle everything at once.
Like the OP said, coding isn’t just for professionals and “geeks” anymore. Anyone can learn it if you really try, and with the rapidly expanding tech industry, learning coding can really broaden your opportunities.
If any of the links are broken, or you have a question or some information/resources to add, you can contact me through the askbox or the OP through his Twitter (as mentioned in his post).
If you’re interested, try some of these out and best of luck!
Great work expanding on my humble list to include a much fuller collection of resources for learning how to code! Cheers!
@veronicasantangelos You might want this at some stage when you finally start Uni!
Just to add to this;
1, Set yourself up an account on jsfiddle.net and you get yourself an awesome, easy to use sandpit for trying out JS/JQuery/JS framework stuff. YOU DON’T NEED TO INSTALL ANYTHING (woo!). It’s free.
Just remember if starting a fiddle from scratch, you’re usually gonna be coding with JQuery, so you gotta set JQuery as your framework:
2, Got a light/medium understanding of JS? Next step: learn AngularJS. Seriously, it’ll blow your mind. Just remember to select it as a framework in JSFiddle:
for the record, codeacademy is good with basic syntax but doesnt teach you much of the why/how of what’s going on. But if you want to learn python for instance, there are several free classes (all you have to do is get an account, but it doesnt cost anything) at udacity.com. also, automatetheboringstuff.com gives you access to a how-to ebook on programming in python, aimed at people who have never coded before. those two resources have helped me out a lot more than codeacademy and whatnot
for modeling and animation: there is also Maya LT, which is $30 USD a month compared to standard $185+ Maya and 3DS Max subscriptions since it is geared toward indie game development
Few things worth pointing out/adding this post:
Xcode no longer requires an iOS developer’s license to push your app to a mobile device. However, it’s still needed for submission.
If you do develop for mobile and plan on submitting your app I would recommend looking at Apple’s human interface guidelines, or at the very least the do’s and don’ts of UI design. Your app doesn’t have to look and work flawlessly but if it’s clearly a mess Apple will reject it.
TalentBuddy was bought by Udemy and I don’t believe the actual coding problems are available anymore? HackerRank effectively does the same thing.
Speaking of Udemy, they just changed their terms of service and courses aren’t astronomically expensive anymore. It’s paid, but if you learn better through videos here’s my favorite iOS course.
DON’T ignore GitHub. There are a LOT of open source projects available that are specifically created to make the production of your app easier. Few examples:
Chart.js makes adding graphs to web pages much easier [x]
Spring makes it easier to implement UI animations into your app [x]
New XKit’s source is on here [x] (not really something you’d “add” to anything but I thought I’d point it out)
Realm is super easy to use and is great for databases on mobile devices.
Udacity was mentioned but I want to stress how great it is at explaining concepts without taking up too much time. It’s faster paced but it puts a lot of emphasis on creating projects on your own without telling you explicitly how to do it, which imo is the best way of learning because it makes you have to actively think about the material you’re looking at instead of just copying everything the video does.
Yes, it’s true. All the versions you can purchase or stream are the original BBC version.
There’s a misconception among a lot of casuals that Sherlock is aired in the US on BBC America. That’s not the case. PBS, the US station which airs Sherlock as part of its Masterpiece Mystery series, is partially publicly funded, and “family friendly.” It produces/broadcasts wholesome and/or brainy shows like Sesame Street, Antiques Roadshow (US), Ken Burns documentaries, classical and country music concerts, horrors like Celtic Women, and LOTS of nature programs. They also air LOTS of UK dramas like Downtown Abbey, Endeavor and the like. To their credit they did cut exponentially less of Series Three, but yes– there are substantial differences between Series One and Two as PBS/Masterpiece broadcast them versus the BBC originals.
Now. Not only did PBS/Masterpiece heavily cut Sherlock S1 and S2– they aired the episodes MONTHS after the BBC. And in the case of TEH– a few days later.
MasterpieceMystery and Sherlock Co-Producer Rebecca Eaton
The US cuts weren’t done primarily for commercials. PBS shows have very few sponsored ads (mainly from charitable foundations and Viking Riverboat Cruises!) Those spots appear at the close of episodes. The main reasons for the cuts were that:
Masterpiece Mystery traditionally has a shorter runtime than BBC dramas.
Masterpiece has charming, but long opening credits animated by Edward Gorey. (see below)
They have VERY annoying looooong insipid introductions for all theirepisodes by a host that old timey viewers love to love AND hate. (see below)
This ^ is ultimately the primary reason Masterpiece/PBS stopped hacking up Sherlock. They were losing massive money (despite what she claims above) in the US due to the fact that the Sherlock audience is decades younger than traditional Masterpiece viewers, and we know a thing or two about VPNs, BBC iPlayer, and Mediafire. (Jesus lady, get with the times already!)
Also Sue, Moffat, Benedict, etc. all put much public pressure on Eaton (especially when asked about the cuts and the delay by fans at cons and public appearances) to stop the madness and air the original simultaneously with the BBC.
Yes, but what about the @#$% cuts?!
The cuts were made willingly by Hartswood so they weren’t *total* hack jobs, but I can tell you that they made a huge difference story wise. I didn’t know there were cuts when I first watched Series Two in the US. (And this is why I watched TEH on the friggin iPlayer buffering 30 seconds at a time!) In TRF, for example, they cut, among other things, a key bit of Sherlock’s and Molly’s scene before the Fall. In fact TEH (and “you were the one person who mattered the most”) wouldn’t make much sense if you had only seen the PBS cut.
Here’s a link to a blog that compares all the PBS/Masterpiece cuts from Series One and Two to the BBC originals:
It would be quite the meta for somebody to talk about how the cuts changed the stories and headcanons– especially since they were “officially” (though reluctantly) done by the late Charlie Phillips (I’m not sure if Tim Porter, who edited TRF did the PBS/Masterpiece edits for that ep, or if Phillips did them all.) Here is Charlie talking about the edits
from “Reimagining a Classic with Editor Charlie Phillips” in Cinema Editor By Adrian Pennington
Now that’s kind of true– there were, however a few words/phrases of S3 that were altered. For the youth, you know…
And there you have it. This is why we all tuned into the BBC iPlayer for S3 early (to get access to the stream so we wouldn’t be blocked out from overwhelmed servers which we were anyway) and why we watched the BBC’s DEADLY BORING version of Antiques Roadshow which aired just before TEH in the UK.
The cuts and the delay are a HUGE HUGE part of Sherlock fandom history that you wouldn’t know about if you came in after Three.
I think one of the reasons the Harry Potter Epilogue was so poorly received was because the audience was primarily made up of the Millennial generation.
We’ve walked with Harry, Ron and Hermione, through a world that we thought was great but slowly revealed itself to be the opposite. We unpeeled the layers of corruption within the government, we saw cruelty against minorities grow in the past decades, and had media attack us and had teachers tell us that we ‘must not tell lies’. We got angry and frustrated and, like Harry, Ron and Hermione, had to think of a way to fight back. And them winning? That would have been enough to give us hope and leave us satisfied.
But instead. There was skip scene. And suddenly they were all over 30 and happy with their 2.5 children.
And the Millennials were left flailing in the dust.
Because while we recognised and empathised with everything up to that point. But seeing the Golden Trio financially stable and content and married? That was not something our generation could recognise. Because we have no idea if we’re ever going to be able to reach that stage. Not with the world we’re living in right now.
Having Harry, Ron and Hermione stare off into the distance after the battle and wonder about what the future might be would have stuck with us. Hell, have them move into a shitty flat together and try and sort out their lives would have. Have them with screaming nightmares and failed relationships and trying to get jobs in a society that’s falling apart would have. Have them still trying to fix things in that society would have. Because we known Voldemort was just a symptom of the disease of prejudice the Wizarding World.
But don’t push us off with an ‘all was well’. In a world about magic, JK Rowling finally broke our suspension of disbelief by having them all hit middle-class and middle-age contentment and expecting a fanbase of teenagers to accept it.
Also. Since when was ‘don’t worry kids, you’re going to turn out just like your parents’ ever a happy ending? Does our generation even recognise marriage and money and jobs as the fulfillment of life anymore? Does our generation even recognise the Epilogue’s Golden Trio anymore?
Harry and crew at Hogwarts in what is technically their eighth year, studying for their NEWTs and trying to fit back into a life they’ve half outgrown, the teachers never bothering to treat them like students under their authority anymore and half the other students going to them for Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons.
Harry shoving money at people, hey, you were a muggleborn who lost your wand to the Muggleborn Registration Committee? here have enough to buy your wand back and some more besides, you need to get your house back, how much do you need? starting a business, here have some start-up cash. injured in the final battle? take this money and get trained for a new line of work that doesn’t require legs. bitten by a werewolf? here’s money to buy potion. and he just keeps handing it out without paying any attention to it and there keeps being money there, and how the fuck is it okay that he has so much while others have to buy secondhand books and use secondhand wands?
Harry wanting to burn Grimmauld Place to the ground, and Harry wanting to donate Grimmauld Place as a home for people with bad family situations and people whose family have died and don’t want to be alone, and Harry never wanting to see Grimmauld Place again.
Harry wanting to snap at Molly’s mothering, at Molly’s being after him to cut his hair, at Molly’s invitations to him to come stay at the Burrow. Harry knowing she’s probably going to be his mother-in-law and knowing she’s lost a son and settling for pointing out that Aunt Petunia always hated his hair too, which shuts her up.
Harry and Draco walking on eggshells around each other. Harry making a few overtures of reconciliation and being rebuffed. Harry finally saying, well, be a prat then, and Draco snapping and slamming him into the wall, Muggle-style, and ranting for five minutes straight on how much it sucks to have believed in someone and been betrayed, to have lost, to have been saved by the person who defeated his side of the war, to have his dad in Azkaban and to have been handed Dumbledore’s life on a silver platter and been unable to take it, to have trusted Severus Snape and find out he was working for the other side and the war is over and Harry’s so covered in glory while Draco will never escape the stigma of having been a Death Eater when he wasn’t even a good Death Eater.
Harry looking at him and saying, yeah, that sucks, that’s fucked up. Saying, he watched Dumbledore die, watched his godfather die, lost Fred lost Mad-Eye lost Remus and Tonks, watched Cedric die because he was being too noble to take the Triwizard Cup for himself even though Cedric tried to insist. Saying war is fucked up, war fucks you up, shatters everything and you’re left with fragments that cut you open when you try to pick them up.
Draco telling Harry he’s dating Astoria, who doesn’t believe in blood supremacy. Harry telling Draco that if he likes Astoria, he should date Astoria, and he can give his kids magic and love and he doesn’t need to give them a position at the top of the social hierarchy to be a good father to them. Harry telling Draco that when he was faking being dead, Draco’s mother lied to Voldemort for him because he told her Draco was alive.
Harry taking part and giving evidence in the trials of captured Death Eaters and snatchers and others. Harry offering Lucius a plea bargain that will let him go home. Harry telling Lucius he understands people don’t like being in debt to their enemies, and if Lucius wants to hate him, that’s fine, but Harry thinks Lucius ought to go home and be with his family. Lucius saying nothing, but going home, and when Christmas break ends Draco comes back to school looking human for the first time in two and a half years.
School ending, and the whole double class of students sort of milling, cast adrift into an adulthood they’re not quite prepared for and at the same time are too familiar with. Half the flats above Diagon Alley being rented out by students in small groups and pairings who have no idea how to keep house; Diagon Alley getting an unofficial expansion as the Muggle flats nearby get rented to more of the same, with back doors leading to alleyways that lead to back ways into Diagon.
Some of the abandoned businesses in Diagon Alley getting opened by former Hogwarts students who don’t quite know what they want to do; a few of them importing Muggle concepts with a touch of magic: a store that’s a different Muggle fast-food restaurant every day of the month, a store that brings in Muggle items, Muggle music, Muggle technology. An internet cafe that serves butterbeer and Mountain Dew, cauldron cakes and Cheetos, side by side.
Knockturn Alley getting cleaned out by a new Ministry crackdown on the Dark Arts, and being taken over by those who feel shattered or tainted by the war. Stores trickle in to replace the old places, and shrines to the departed line the storefronts, here a fountain placed in memory, here a quote graffiti’d on the wall, here a mural, there a pile of flowers and trinkets. It’s a quiet place, contemplative; somehow the bustle of Diagon never touches it. Wildflowers grow through the cobblestones, and generations of future witches and wizards will grow up thinking “Nocturnally” refers to the twilight of the passage between worlds.
Hermione and Ron clashing over Ron’s expectations growing up with a mother who did everything for him and expecting a wife who’ll do the same. Hermione moving in with George and Angelina above the joke shop. (Angelina loved Fred, and is halfway in love with George; they are united in their missing of Fred. Hermione is growing to love George, who under his pranks and devil-may-care attitude is quite clever and inquisitive. The three of them make a decent vee, and Angelina can go travel with her international Quidditch team without worrying about George being neglected.)
Ron rebounding with Pansy Parkinson, of all people, who’s rebounding from Draco; their relationship being first built on a temporary cure for loneliness and rejection and an indulgence of spite at their respective exes, and then surprising them by continuing to work well once all that has faded.
Ollivander taking Cho Chang as an apprentice wandmaker. Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot undertaking the work to turn Grimmauld Place into Phoenix House, a home for abused, orphaned, and neglected magical children, squibs, homeless or familyless witches and wizards, and convalescents from St. Mungo’s.
Ginny’s first child is a daughter, with Harry’s black hair and green eyes; she indulges Harry by naming her Sev, like the boy Harry’s mother once played with when the world was new and full of wonder. It’s short for Severa, which is Latin in the old wizarding tradition, and it reminds Harry of Evans and of ever, which has about the same meaning as Always.
Draco and Astoria end up having five kids, and Draco scandalizes his younger self by loving every aspect of fatherhood times five. Daphne Greengrass, Astoria’s sister, ends up marrying Percy Weasley, which means Draco’s kids have Weasley cousins. Family get-togethers are very interesting, but somehow Narcissa and Lucius survive.
(P.S. Devin Faraci tried to fight with me and subsequently blocked me on Twitter because I retweeted a bunch of things he’s said over he years about fan culture, which are handily quoted in this Tumblr post! Please enjoy! 😀 )
So as we all know, movie critic Devin Faraci caused a minor internet brouhaha Tuesday with a controversial piece about online fandom. “Fandom is broken” — which piggybacks off a milder but similar article published last week by the AV Club and argues that fan culture has entered an ugly phase — was largely met with solemn nods of agreement by everybody except, uh, anybody who’s actually in fandom and actually knows what the fuck fan culture is about.
The main target of the piece is fan entitlement, which Faraci believes is the result of fandom being “post-fanfic.” That is, he thinks the current state of fandom — which can be overwhelmingly polarized and activist — is a natural result of fans having so much personal autonomy over their own fanfiction and other fanworks (including fanart, fan film, fan meta, shipping, and fan theories). Consequently, they seek to have the same level of creator control over their canons, too.
Before we go any further, let’s be clear here. Some people should be told at all times that their diminishment of cultures they don’t understand only makes them look small, petty, and ridiculous. Faraci is one of those people. He has demonstrated again and again that he has only a cursory understanding of what fanworks-based fan culture is, and utterly no interest in examining it to a closer degree.
Faraci’s consistent response to fanworks and remixing in general is to be cavalierly dismissive. Please enjoy this litany of Faraci being cavalierly and unilaterally dismissive of virtually every fannish practice, from shipping to fan films to fanfiction:
To anyone who’s spent any amount of time immersed in fan culture, Faraci’s attitudeabout fandom is unilaterally tone-deaf, laughably inaccurate, and full of hubris. He is jawdroppingly secure in his opinions, and when you attempt to suggest that fanworks are far more complex than he’s acknowledging — as I once did in a brief exchange after one of his derisive tweets about fan theories — he typically dismisses you out of hand or ignores you altogether:
And then there’s this gem:
When I retweeted all of these tweets just now, Faraci responded by a) calling me out to his 40,000 followers, most of whom are apparently male and who naturally began brigading and harassing me on Twitter; b) blocking me, and c) tweeting this:
So. Now that we’ve established that Devin Faraci is a dismissive demeaning sexist shitbag and everything he says about being “concerned” about “fan entitlement” is concern trolling because he HATES fanworks and fans who create stuff and overanalyze and generally actively engage with texts, let’s move on, shall we?
