Dear New York Times...

[evilhippo]

Dear New York Times,

You are scaring me lately. First it was the article on xkcd publishing a book through an obscure company (which, I mean, every webcomic artist does that. Really.) Then it was the ridiculously fawning travel article about Portland a few days ago (goshdarnit I need to go visit people over there.) And today... there's this. It even involves a picture of Obama photoshopped as a Vulcan.

As someone newly empowered with a nifty wireless device that lets me read you before I even get out of bed in the morning, you can see why this sort of thing is a real concern. See, you're kind of important, and it unnerves me when you cross the line into what looks like fandom. (Very little looks more like fandom than that editorial. Eesh.) Your job is to provide me news. I have other places to find unnerving photoshopped images, and I'm afraid if you continue on like this, you are going to do worse things to me than make me want to move to Brooklyn (which you are seriously responsible for, by the way, by being all "Artisans! Handmade foods! And all your bands live here, you know! There are entire buildings encouraging nothing but jazz musicians to live in them. I bet you'd like it here.") Don't make me feel like my geekishness is validated! I don't know what to do when that happens.

I still love you, though, you ailing bastion of the liberal media elite. I'm sorry I don't pay to read you.

- evilhippo

P.S. Yes, I know if I actually read the news, and not the opinion columns and travel and food sections, I probably wouldn't have this problem. But the economy is so boring.

Comments

[solitaryjane.livejournal.com]

Dude, times are changing. Fandom is going to take over because we have a generation who grew up on video games and anime. I wouldn't be surprised if a newspaper in 2050 has an entire section named "Fan Gossip" in Lifestyle.

It's kind of encouraging for us fangirls, no? Well, not "us" because I'm not sure how much you fangirl things nowadays, but definitely for "me". XD

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

See, that's the part that unnerves me. I'm supposed to exist on the outskirts. Once the NYT turns fannish, I'm not interesting anymore. Though it's true, I'm not as much of a fangirl as I once was. Perhaps it's all been repressed.

I'm pretty sure, to a certain extent, things like the Red Eye are basically already "Fan Gossip" sections. Though for pop culture, not... obscure, fannish fandom.

[windresistant.livejournal.com]

Yes! Nerds are becoming........ NORMAL. Its terrifying for those of us who are nerds, because how will we be special now? Ahhhh!

We'll have to start larping in the streets to stand out!

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

Shhhh, don't say that too loudly.

I'm off to join the 501st Legion.

[zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes you do need to visit Portland~.

...Anyway, apparently it's the travel destination of choice, dont'cha know. One of the calls I answered at my call center job was this dude who, when finding out I was in Portland (he was in Chicago or New York or something), proceeded to tell me about how he was giving his daughter a free trip for her birthday or something, and of all the cities in the country she wanted to go to Portland. So then he was asking me about Portland, and what there was to do here.

Now, I agree that Portland is a fantastic place, but I thought it was kind of funny for his daughter to recognize that from such a long distance. ...I guess we're just that awesome.

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

I guess it depends on how old his daughter is. It is kind of a Hipster Mecca these days. And you guys have basically one of the only functioning music scenes in the country. Someday, I'll find Chicago's actual, home-based music scene. You'd think the Pitchfork office here would have found it if it existed, though. Not that they're useful for much. (I am eternally bitter that Pitchfork is located here, because they are ALWAYS snarking at my concerts, and I take it personally. Also, they're guilty of not hiring me.)

[zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I mentioned the hipster/music scene among my reasons for why a young person might especially want to visit here. Also the infinite number of microbreweries. He mentioned the rose festival.

[look-alive.livejournal.com]

And the moral of the story is:

YES. YOU NEED TO COME VISIT US! July Decemberists concert?

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

Ahhh... I have... kind of overcommitted myself in July. I'm actually going to be at Pitchfork that weekend. I wish I could go because apparently it's been ordained that the only way I'll get to see the Decemberists on this tour is if I go to Lollapalooza and we all know that isn't happening.

I DO need to come, though. I think maybe I'll ration some of my vacation days around an already-long weekend sometime and head over (though, I think that'd throw me all the way out to Labor day, because we don't get anything off between Memorial Day and Labor Day, I don't think. Not even the 4th of July). I will figure this out someday!

[look-alive.livejournal.com]

Okay, just keep me posted. We should really have an over-the-phone planning session where we both can sit and look at calendars, because Diana has snagged me for some crazy bike thing in September somewhere near where we went camping last year, idek, but yes. Let's do some real planning soon, k?