The Return of the Celebrity Hate Extravaganza!

I have this irritation thing going on with people at varying levels of celebrity, in different fields. Two of them were quite similar, and happened around the same time. I did think about writing something then, but I was in the middle of writing other things. Also, there were goodhearted people who were getting kind of down due to these artists whose work they had admired being so ridiculous, and the sniping that was going on, and I didn't want to contribute to that.

Still, more irritation has come on, and also, I looked back. I thought the last time I did this was maybe two or three years ago, but it was in 2006. So, if I only need to vent my spleen every eight years, I think that can be okay. I'm going to allow it.

First blows go to Arthur Chu. They are actually the gentlest blows, but also, he is the least famous.

Arthur Chu is a player who is currently on Jeopardy! and doing pretty well. He is not the most prepossessing person, I suppose, but that's not the problem. His style of play is irritating, and people are paying it disproportionate attention. He jumps around the board hunting for daily doubles. He is not the first person to do that, but it is getting press as a new way of playing, against which those old-fashioned players are helpless.

I don't know how much of that is Arthur's fault, because obviously some people have to think there is a story there to cover the story. As I said, he's not the first person to do it. There may be some advantage to moving around where the other players can't make the mental switch quite as quickly as you, but it doesn't take that long for them to catch up. Also, you are losing the benefit from clues that build on each other in a category. Finding the daily doubles early keeps someone else from having them, but may not benefit you, depending on when you get it and if you'll know it. Really, I think he is doing well because he is fast on the buzzer, which is invaluable.

My beef with him is that it is annoying to watch, and some low wagers on the daily double felt really disrespectful to the game. Reading one of those interviews, it turns out that he is not a fan of the show; he doesn't even have a television. So, that's nice that he can still do well and win some money, and good for him, but this is a great show and he does not appreciate it enough. I am thrilled that they are interspersing his games with weeks of tournament play here and there, and I will be really happy when he is gone.

Moving on! Every now and then I would read something about a certain artist, and find myself perplexed by how clueless she is, and how badly she reads situations, until eventually I started recognizing the name, Amanda Palmer.

No, just because crowdsourcing worked for you does not mean that everyone should do it that way. In fact, you can make some fairly good arguments that those who have other sources of backing available should stick with those, thus leaving crowdsourcing resources available for those without other options.

No, the Boston bombing did not happen because society is too loud and they didn't know how else to react. That's you!

You are doing this thing called projection. You seem to think everything is about you. It is not.

For the most recent thing, it was a tweet: "12 Years a Slave drove the point home. the privileged (whites/straights/menfolk) MUST be allowed to fight for change. not just the oppressed"

Apparently, she was very upset that some people (possibly including Macklemore) thought Kendrick Lamar should have gotten the Grammy.

I will not argue that the privileged should be fighting prejudice too, and I have written about some of the conflicts that have come up. What she is missing is that when, for example, feminists of color criticize white feminists whom I could just as easily call corporate feminists, it is for missing important issues, and having too narrow a viewpoint, and sometimes even for promoting courses of action that will actively make lives worse for women of color. (Also for appropriation.) This criticism is generally then called bullying, or sometimes they will just say "Teach me" when in fact there is a lot of already existing material out there you can use to educate yourself, as opposed to placing a burden on people who are actually doing things.

I believe the reason that these rather obvious thoughts don't make it into her head is because then things are not about her, and it does not compute. And I really don't think that she's evil or has any bad intentions at all, but she needs to get over herself. Please. But I don't think she will, because I think she may actually be a manic pixie dream girl, and there's not a lot you can do with those.

(But if you want to read more about it, try here: http://flavorwire.com/436025/amanda-palmer-compares-macklemore-backlash-to-12-years-a-slave-is-wrong-as-usual/)

Alan Moore, Grant Morrison is not obsessed with you; you are obsessed with him. How do I know this? Because of the inordinate amount of time you spend on his obsession with you. I know he has spoken about you. You were a major force as comics were changing, and so anyone who was paying attention at all during that time frame, or who has looked back later, has to look back and see Moore's influence. But that doesn't mean everyone else is derivative, and that everyone who criticizes is an enemy.

(And I totally agree with the use of the word "sterile" as a criticism. I thought it was something Morrison said about Moore, but trying to find it, a lot of people say it about Moore, and they are right. I suspect it's a result of Moore's view of humanity.)

The actual event that really brought it up was a very long screed from Moore as he says goodbye, ultimately I guess because the industry doesn't deserve him, but it was disjointed. Some of that was his wandering thoughts, but also, I kept throwing my hands up in frustration, then coming back to it. Was it worth coming back to? Perhaps for a sense of completeness, but he is just so wrong, and it is so sad.

So there are plenty of reasons to be irritated with him, but one key one is the unnecessary verbosity. Paranoia and persecutions complexes are really narcissism when you get down to it, and while there are some ways in which being a narcissist might be enjoyable, these forms aren't fun for anyone. If we have to go there, can't we at least be brief? Direct and to the point?

http://sequart.org/magazine/39006/alan-moore-might-be-insane-now/

That of course makes him sound very similar to Alec Baldwin, who spends way too much time convincing us that he is a good person, and that people always tell him how good he is, and the lengths to which he goes to make sure that he is a good person. I'm not saying he's wrong, but the excessive verbiage indicates a sense of grandiosity that undermines the spirited defense.

http://www.vulture.com/2014/02/alec-baldwin-good-bye-public-life.html

Realistically, I don't think a lot of people thought Alec Baldwin was a homophobe. Even if you believe he did call the reporter that word, it would be easy to think that the problem is that word is still used as an insult, even by people who may not literally think of it that way, and that is a separate issue. I think what people really think is that Alec Baldwin is an egomaniac and kind of volatile, and that goes beyond the one incident. Think "Words With Friends" and "little pig".

And that is not to say that paparazzi are good, and that the lack of privacy that comes with celebrity is not a frustration. However, there are a lot of people who have issues with the press who manage to not get in these scuffles. Just off the top of my head, people who handle the press better than you (without necessarily liking them) include George Clooney, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and kind of Kanye West, who does not handle them well at all.

So, I think your behavior is worth considering there, but also, you know how you make money doing something you love? And people listen to you and will let you put rambling big-headed rants on their sites? Yeah, every life has some problems in it, but yours could be worse.

One thing that was interesting about Alec's rant is that he mentioned Shia Labeouf in it, and said that he seems to have a mindset like he is always in jail. If so, that is very sad. Child actors can have it rough. At the same time, you have money and options and perhaps you should be grateful for that and quit being a douche.

(Shia is the other one, along with Alan Moore, who was making people sad. Basically, by not writing it then, I have added three other people whose names begin with A. That is one reason I did not go with one thought of making the whole thing gentler by only using initials.)

In his case, it is baffling how unnecessary it is. He has been in films with different people did writing and directing and producing. He has been in movies that were adaptations of books, comics, and cartoon shows. Daniel Clowes has had work adapted to film before.

I guess at that point, it is so bizarre to not ask for permission or accredit that it only makes sense to plagiarize an apology, sky write, put a bag over the head, and retire. I mean, what else can you possibly do? Give a writing credit? Pay for the work?

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/shia-labeouf-taunts-daniel-clowes-669150

This one is actually the saddest, because it seems like either a nervous breakdown is on the way, or that he just doesn't know how to be a person. Moore may be crabby, but he does seem to have a satisfying family life, and Baldwin, Palmer, and Chu all really seem to be enjoying themselves.

I do wish them all well. That might not sound very hateful, but I do have a certain amount of sympathy for emotional deficiencies, those lacking in self-awareness, and even those who do not realize how amusing television can be. And hey, this is a long rambling rant too, so perhaps I am one of you, as horrifying as that thought is. So, I care, I'm sorry, but you are also all really annoying and should get over yourselves.

Now my spleen should be good until 2022.

http://sporkful.blogspot.com/2006/08/celebrity-hate-extravaganza.html

Edited to add: One other Arthur thing that bothered me was he talked about his audition being full of a lot of socially awkward, non-telegenic people, which was not experience. I have noticed that some of the contestants don't seem to know as much lately, which may be a sign of harder questions, or that now that after decades of the show, the best people have been burned through already (in which case, I wish I had waited a bit), or that he is more likely to be contemptuous of others. Anyway, it reminded me that I have several posts from my time on the show. They start at http://sporkful.blogspot.com/2011/11/i-lost-on-jeopardy-baby.html.