Hate Pit Continued

[argyle]

http://www.aikenspro.com/photo_blog/archives/rooney1.jpg

What, you didn't like his recent bit about how he couldn't imagine having a president with a name as weird as "Obama," and how "real" presidential names, like Washington and Jefferson just aren't around anymore?  That was really enlightening...

Or, don't forget his segment about how people carry books in their bags, which included him wondering if people are reading on the clock at work...

[JonFromMaplewood]

http://www.aikenspro.com/photo_blog/archives/rooney1.jpg

What, you didn't like his recent bit about how he couldn't imagine having a president with a name as weird as "Obama," and how "real" presidential names, like Washington and Jefferson just aren't around anymore?  That was really enlightening...

Or, don't forget his segment about how people carry books in their bags, which included him wondering if people are reading on the clock at work...

True, but the guy is roughly 800-years-old. We should cut him a little slack. When I'm 800-years-old, and 50% of my neurons have retired, I'm likely gonna say some patently offensive and uninspired stuff too. I would hope people would have the good sense to just ignore me, not throw me into a hate pit.

[John Junk]

As long as you have the good sense not to run for president.  You start acting like Fred Thompson, I'll throw you in your own Hate Pit with Carrot Top and Matthew Barney! 
McDonald's if you're good!
Arby's if you're bad!
McDonald's if you're good!
Arby's if you're bad!

[Phantom Hugger]

As long as you have the good sense not to run for president.  You start acting like Fred Thompson, I'll throw you in your own Hate Pit with Carrot Top and Matthew Barney! 
McDonald's if you're good!
Arby's if you're bad!
McDonald's if you're good!
Arby's if you're bad!

...and if you are really bad, no Horsey Sauce

[dave from knoxville]

Bad news for me

cranky codgers in general but especially this one

[JonFromMaplewood]

(1) Regarding me running for president, you have nothing to fear.  More likely, I will be sitting on the front porch of the local nursing home, yelling things about "the rotten republicans" to a fire hydrant.

(2) I am thrilled that you were actually listening to the fan fiction long enough to hear who was in my hate pit! I was sure everyone had tuned out by the end.  I would imagine that it was not everyone's cup of tea. I felt honored that Tom would give it the time.  It was like Clive Cussler getting Sir John Gielgud to do one of his audiobooks.  The medium was stronger than the message.  Thanks for staying tuned.  Any FOT is a FOM.

[<<<<<]

Jon's fan fic writing is definitely NOT in the hate pit.  Well done!  I had several chuckles. 

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

cranky codgers in general but especially this one

And ditto, Jon, your fan fic was a hit.

[iAmBaronVonTito]

(1) Regarding me running for president, you have nothing to fear.  More likely, I will be sitting on the front porch of the local nursing home, yelling things about "the rotten republicans" to a fire hydrant.

(2) I am thrilled that you were actually listening to the fan fiction long enough to hear who was in my hate pit! I was sure everyone had tuned out by the end.  I would imagine that it was not everyone's cup of tea. I felt honored that Tom would give it the time.  It was like Clive Cussler getting Sir John Gielgud to do one of his audiobooks.  The medium was stronger than the message.  Thanks for staying tuned.  Any FOT is a FOM.

when do we all get copies...?

[JonFromMaplewood]

Copies?!  Great Scot!

Let me see what I can do.

[argyle]

True, but the guy is roughly 800-years-old. We should cut him a little slack. When I'm 800-years-old, and 50% of my neurons have retired, I'm likely gonna say some patently offensive and uninspired stuff too. I would hope people would have the good sense to just ignore me, not throw me into a hate pit.

He's hard to ignore since he's on television every week.  For me, Rooney isn't the only person from that operation in the pit.  He's in there, no question, b/c he's old enough to know better -- he should know when to fade to black with some dignity!  Joining him are all the producers and executives at CBS who somehow got talked into signing a lifetime contract with the guy.  Seriously, in ten years he's going to be doing bits on hospital jello from his deathbed.

[Matt]

Can I throw actions into the Hate Pit? If so, I'm throwing in "Reading My Fellow Students' Fiction Workshop Stories".

I don't want to dissuade anyone from persuing their dreams of literary glory, but a great deal of these people have a LOT of work to do. I'm reading these short stories that don't really work on any level, and 90% of them say their story is an excerpt from the novel they're writing. What's wrong with the short story? Start small, people.

I read this one fellow's story yesterday that was such a huge rip off of Hawthorne's "Wakefield" that it wasn't even funny. Plus it had some There Will Be Blood mixed in! That was a potent combination. It'll be all I can do to keep myself from posting comparative paragraphs of this guy's story and Hawthorne's. I want to so badly.

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

Matt, I'm getting a little of that Abraham vibe from you.  I have an MFA and I teach creative writing, so believe me, I know how tedious it can be, but everybody has to start somewhere.  In my experience almost no one starts out as a genius, and the few who do rarely progress beyond that.

[Emily]

people who drink soda in the morning.

*on second thought, I moving these people into my "hate ditch" where i won't hate them as much, because they often have other redeeming qualities.

[Matt]

Matt, I'm getting a little of that Abraham vibe from you.  I have an MFA and I teach creative writing, so believe me, I know how tedious it can be, but everybody has to start somewhere.  In my experience almost no one starts out as a genius, and the few who do rarely progress beyond that.

I don't know who this Abraham character is, but if this is a veiled criticism of me, I won't hear it and I won't respond to it.

But seriously, I was hoping my post wouldn't come off as know-it-all or superior, or anything like that; I'm certainly in the same boat ability-wise as all these people, and all their stories have had at least one moment that I found to be really great writing. I think I might have just gotten a little too angry about this "Wakefield" guy and decided to make an unfair statement about my writing class in general, which was wrong of me.

But, oh, this "Wakefield" guy, he got my goat good. We had an English class together last semester and "Wakefield" was one of the texts covered, so I know he's read it. It was plagiarism, pure and simple, and I think it's right to be upset about it, since everybody else had no problem bringing something new to the table. If Hawthorne could have read this guy's story, he would have beaten him with Robin's oaken cudgel. (Hawthorne joke!) So, I guess what I'm saying is, I'm taking the story-readin' out of the Hate Pit, and putting "Wakefield" guy in there instead.

I feel much better.