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"For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad") "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005) Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
"Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me
For some reason, I thought he'd been gone for years...
“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
The other, of course, involves orcs." -- John Rogers
For some reason, I thought he'd been gone for years...
Only his reputation -- he was already known as a walking trainwreck, but when he grabbed Connie Willis's breasts on the Hugo stage (2006, apparently -- I'd thought it was more recent), a lot of people just said "the hell with this dude". That was when the SF/F community was just starting to confront sexual harassment/misogyny... and AIUI, Connie was (and is) a lot more popular personally than Harlan.
He was a phenomenal writer, but yes, his attitude towards women was absolutely fucking gawdawful. I always wondered if he'd smartened up in that area as he got older. From Mental_Mouse's comment, though, it sounds as though not.
Like Nunavut Pants and morgana, I'd also thought for some time that he was long gone and I'd just missed the obit. I think it was at least partly because I'd not heard of him writing anything for many years.
I used to have a massive collection of his works, with cover artwork on all the books by (IIRC) Leo and Diane Dillon. I had to downsize a couple of decades ago, when I lost my fulltime job, and most of those books, unfortunately, were collateral damage. I did keep two, and they're buried somewhere in my storage units: The Glass Teat and The Other Glass Teat. They were collections of his columns from the L.A. Free Press, and they are my favourites of all his work.
I did sorta meet him on two occasions. The first time I was at a s/f convention and he was signing autographs. I took a photo with my mother's Brownie, and anybody old enough to remember those things knows the flash will blind you at a quarter of a mile. Of course, he looked up and directly at me just as I tripped the shutter ... He blinked, obviously stunned. I don't remember whether I managed to blurt out an apology. I do remember I braced myself to get verbally flayed. He just mumbled something like "Holy shit" and went back to signing autographs.
The second time, he was coming to Toronto and I was in my journalism program and wanted to interview him. So I called him ... at his home in California. I took the time difference into account and during the short chat he did say thanks for that ... apparently a lot of people who called him from all around the globe didn't, resulting in phone calls in the wee hours and, no doubt, a lot of swearing on his part. The interview could not be worked into his schedule, alas.
Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss ~ Mr Hero
I was somewhat aware of his (deserved) rep regarding the fairer sex, but I didn't bring it up because a) "RIP" thread and b) the potential for a discussion of it to veer too close to Fratching.
Hint hint
"For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad") "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005) Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
"Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me
I was somewhat aware of his (deserved) rep regarding the fairer sex, but I didn't bring it up because a) "RIP" thread and b) the potential for a discussion of it to veer too close to Fratching.
Hint hint
It's likely somewhere in my storage units. If/when I find it, I will scan it and post it, LOL. IIRC, he's just staring into the camera, looking pretty stunned, waiting for his vision to return.
Re: your second paragraph, I wasn't even thinking of that. Sorry. My own two very brief interactions with him were very pleasant and with nothing but courtesy on his part.
It's cool. That was addressed to everybody, anyway
"For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad") "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005) Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
"Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me
I was somewhat aware of his (deserved) rep regarding the fairer sex, but I didn't bring it up because a) "RIP" thread and b) the potential for a discussion of it to veer too close to Fratching.
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