Google “Harlan Ellison” and near the top is this often linked rant about paying creatives. It is a wonderful meltdown.
“City on the Edge of Tomorrow” stolen above, is considered one of the best Star Trek’s, although the version you see is changed considerably from what Ellison wrote. I actually like what aired because it hews closely to the kitsch of what Star Trek became, less sci-fi and more American exceptionalism on display. It features a radiant Joan Collins, Spock looking like a ‘Billburg hipster, and a curious parallelism that I am sure no one has noticed: The world of the Enterprise is uncannily close to the depicted 1930’s depression era New York. One, there is no money changing hands in either world and two, men line up to get their food from a window in a wall…seems like the future is offering little that we don’t already have.Third tidbit of Ellisonia I will link to is this wikipedia entry and quote from Ellison on the subject of the holidays. I read it and snorted a good deal of my cereal milk out my nose.
“Christmas is an awfulness that compares favorably with the great London plague and fire of 1665-66. No one escapes the feelings of mortal dejection, inadequacy, frustration, loneliness, guilt and pity. No one escapes feeling used by society, by religion, by friends and relatives, by the utterly artifical responsiblities of extending false greetings, sending banal cards, reciprocating unsolicited gifts, going to dull parties, putting up with acquaintances and family one avoids all the rest of the year…in short, of being brutalized by a ‘holiday’ that has lost virtually all of its original meanings and has become a merchandising ploy for color tv set manufacturers and ravagers of the woodlands.”"No Offense Intended, But Fuck Xmas!” (1972) The Harlan Ellison Hornbook
Here’s to you Harlan.
Finally somebody I can relate to on Christmas. I even wrote a quick blog about it on my own site, but Harlan worded it much better than I.
some bitter sons of bitches at christmas.
I get a warm feeling from all the bitterness. It is reassuring. People can be normal if you just let them express themselves honestly. Don’t get me wrong, Christmas can be great, but just get off the “it has to be perfect” crap and get on with actually seeing the people you want to see. I think everyone should throw the “Christmas Script” out. Unless you have kids, then it is for them a special time, and completely new, so revel in that.
I just saw two commercials in a row where the suggested gifts were a pair of Audis or a pair of BMW’s.
I thought my little handmade gifts were cool, but…
Wow, now this is a christmas gift that will keep on giving for as long as I draw breath! Thank you Robert for this, I will reproduce it with attribution in all of my future holiday correspondence.
And the creative fee rant is perfect, perhaps I will forward this to all of the cheap bastard clients who have the nerve to say, “we’ll give you credit!” in lieu of money.
Merry, Happy and all that yick-yack!