The Mumpsimus

I haven't hated a movie as much as I hated Prometheus in a long time. It is a movie that screams for mockery. Some of my favorite writings on it so far... Nick Mamatas: In the grim meathook future of this film, corporations rule the planet, CEOs rule their corporations on whims, and women wear naught but Ace bandages as undergarments, the poor sexy sexy things. Kameron Hurley: In the world of Prometheus, we all came from white dudes, who went around seeding the universe with their magical, life-giving sperm. Genevieve Valentine: One of the saving graces of the psychosexual terrorization in the Alien franchise is the leveling of the gender playing field – the rape threat they represent is omnipresent and sexually indiscriminate. But not in Prometheus ! Thanks, Prometheus . Richard Brody: Which is to say that, despite the lack of intentional humor, lots of things in the movie are laughable, from the giant tiki-head of primordial power or the flying crull...

With every passing year, I get more interested in creative people who have done their most significant work late in life. I like late bloomers . They give me hope for humanity in some ways, because their stories are stories where the climax doesn't come in the first chapter. Thus, I was interested in Rick Gekoski's post at The Guardian titled, "When novelists reach the end of their stories", which I hoped would explode the myth that novels are best left to the young. Alas, it is youth-worshipping claptrap, built on a vastly incomplete set of examples used to prove an imaginary rule. Luckily, though, the Guardian readers are not buying into the premise, and the comments section is full of great examples that disprove Gekoski's supposed rule, that question his basic premise, and that highlight the narrowness of his example set. Commenters have listed writers who have done great work throughout their careers, writers who have had long apprentice periods before...

" Opponents said the consummation of gay unions can't be spoken of in polite society." How true!   And now an assignment: Find some "polite society" and talk about the details of the, uh, consummation of your hetero union.  Let me know how that works out...

K. Silem Mohammed: One thing you don't see much of in the magic business, I'm guessing, is magicians who fall for their own tricks. That wouldn't just be stupidity; it would be insanity. In poetry, however, it's fairly common. Draw your own conclusions. ( via Ron Silliman )