Harlan Ellison on Atheism

[Bella Fortuna]

Hey drl2, are you "The Threadkiller" if I remember correctly?

Yep, that would be me.

Glad you're here. You'll have competition here for that title, though...

[tattuchu]

I loves him. Of all the times I've met him I never had the nerve to ask for a picture with him... boy do I regret that now.

Why, has he passed away?

When is he gonna come out with Dangerous Visions 3? What the fuck is he waiting for? All the stories he bought for it won't even be cutting edge anymore

Anyway, not sure what to make of Ellison. I used to think he was brilliant when I was a kid. And a hero, you know? Always "fighting the good fight." But eventually I began to think he liked to start fights for the sake of starting fights, that he was a just a little too eager to put people in their place. Eventually I began to think he was just an asshole. And as far as his writing...well, I'd always thought some of it was quite good, and some of it was utter rubbish, but always thought well of him. About ten years ago, I remember him writing an illustrated stories for some comicbook. It was supposed to be a big thing; Ellison brought together with the best artists around. I was very excited. And I read it. And it was fucking awful. It was as if it were written by a ten year old. More recently, I was rereading Dangerous Visions. I remember that, as a kid, his introductions to the stories were my favorite part of the book. This time around, I found them absolutely insufferable. He came across as a an annoying pretentious twat, not half as clever as he thought he was.

Um...sorry I still have an affection for Ellison. But I'm not sure quite what to make of him now. At this point I think he's kind of a douchebag, and not quite as clever as he thinks he is. But I could very well be entirely wrong, and would happily change my mind if I found such were the case.

[Bella Fortuna]

NO! He's not dead... I just don't live near him anymore, and he doesn't do signings/writings like he used to...

[tattuchu]

NO! He's not dead... I just don't live near him anymore, and he doesn't do signings/writings like he used to...

Oh, well that's cool that you used to live near him. He seems like someone you'd enjoy having a few beers with. Except that you might be kind of afraid to say the wrong thing. If you had the misfortune of offending or upsetting him, you'd have an enemy for life

[drl2]

Oh, well that's cool that you used to live near him. He seems like someone you'd enjoy having a few beers with.

Harlan doesn't drink. Ever. So you could drink his beer for him.

[tattuchu]

Oh, well that's cool that you used to live near him. He seems like someone you'd enjoy having a few beers with.

Harlan doesn't drink. Ever. So you could drink his beer for him.

Oh. That explains the stick up his ass, then

[Bella Fortuna]

This is just OH WOW.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/harlan-e ... pur,42796/

http://harlanellison.com/heboard/visitors/brochure.pdf

[Feck]

This is just OH WOW.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/harlan-e ... pur,42796/

http://harlanellison.com/heboard/visitors/brochure.pdf

Bella will be on the phone to Mrs Ellison everyday

[Bella Fortuna]

She's a very nice lady!

[drl2]

She's a very nice lady!

She'd have to be to put up with Harlan!


(Oh, and according to Robin Williams, she also "has a great ass" (direct quote from the Ellison film bio I watched a while back).

[Bella Fortuna]

Great film, that.

[hiyymer]

As I've waxed rhapsodic about before, H.E. is one of my favourite writers and all-around curmudgeons, who has some great things to say on his atheism. He recounts that he became an atheist at age ten after reading Mark Twain's letters.
"... I have very little sympathy for those who do bad things. I don't care if your mommy locked you in the basement: stop doing it. We know people by their acts, we know people by their deeds. And no matter how well-coiffed their hair is, if they're spouting evil, and if they're turning brother against sister and man against man and woman against man, I think that they deserve to be... Well, I'm a mild person actually, I think we should probably just hang them up by the top half of a Dutch door and beat them across the belly with an aluminum ball bat until their piss runs red."

That's the thing about being a rationalist. It makes you very unhappy with your fellow man; an angry agitated peace-less kind of existence.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I will always respect H.E. for selecting "With the Bentfin Boomer Boys in Little Old New Alabama". The creepiest story I read that year. (And, if you're familiar with that time, you know what an accolade that is.)

[drl2]

Many of you have probably seen this by now as it's been up on Pharyngula for a few days:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1IxOS4V ... r_embedded[/youtube]

(And Ray's reaction:)



It occurred to me that she didn't need to sing "Fuck me, Harlan Ellison" because he probably already has!

[Bella Fortuna]