Subjunctive posted:

It's not really YA (though it's not far off), but Ready Player One was thick with that sort of thing.

iospace posted:

Ready Player One is a love letter to video gaming so I can't blame it.

SUPERMAN'S GAL PAL posted:

50 Shades, which is adult fanfic of a YA series, LOVES brand-name dropping. Then again, so did Twilight when it came to cars. I think it's far less a YA thing and more a consumer porn thing. I think it's extremely telling when an author focuses on what their characters own as a way to communicate how "sophisticated" they're meant to be, because if it's expensive it MUST be better, right?

iospace posted:

Ready Player One is a love letter to video gaming so I can't blame it.

SerialKilldeer posted:

I kind of hope Lani ends up doing the film as a zero-budget production with some friends and family, as did Gloria Tesch:
http://conjugalfelicity.com/maradonia-the-shadow-empire/
It'd be hilarious.

iospace posted:

Ready Player One is a love letter to video gaming so I can't blame it.

Besesoth posted:

Well, if the love letter were written by this guy: https://twitter.com/conversationrag (tragically, his website is down)

chitoryu12 posted:

I was very fortunate to have forgotten about Gloria Tesch...

Subjunctive posted:

It's not really YA (though it's not far off), but Ready Player One was thick with that sort of thing.

quote:

“It looked like you met everyone that works here today. The line to say hello to you after your performance resembled an autograph signing by a boy band. I don’t really know what the latest one is, but Backstreet, Five Directions, One Second of Winter, 98 Celsius, O-city, NSYNC Boys or Old Kids on a Curb or something like that.”

I laughed hard at his combo of wrong boy band names and his clear indication that he knew all the boy bands; he purposely had made the small wrong switches in their names. What perhaps made it funnier was the fact that he was pretty enough to be in any of those bands.

anilEhilated posted:

They actually made that movie, what the hell?

anilEhilated posted:

They actually made that movie, what the hell?

quote:

Considering how much I wanted to keep my secrets, well, secret, a few days later I probably brought a little too much attention to myself. I didn’t really know what to do and felt like I had no choice. I had seen something. I knew someone was going to get hurt. Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut, but I couldn’t really just stand by and not say anything, could I? I knew by saying something I was opening myself up for people to start asking too many questions. What sort of reaction had I expected? I sounded crazy to any normal person.

I didn’t have long to decide what I was going to do. When I get premonitions and “see things” as you might say, they come in flashes. I don’t ask for them. Sometimes I’m shown things way ahead of time and other times—like this one—only a few minutes before something happens. I think it has to do with when someone actually makes the decision that affects the situation. You know, like Destiny is saying to me “ten minutes ago this tragedy wasn’t set to happen and then something changed to set the events in motion.” At least, that is my theory. I have no proof, but I’ve learned enough information after the fact, when this has happened before, that I’m fairly certain that my thoughts on the subject are correct.

I always took it at face value that, if I was getting one of these visions or premonitions; it meant I was supposed to help change the situation. After all, my choices always seemed to be able to make a positive change to something that could have been tragic, which is why I thought that they were for the good, whatever that meant really.

quote:

Usually my hints of the future come in random flashes. So, when I try to focus, it gets tricky—like focusing a nice camera for a picture. As you make adjustments, the image gets clearer, but if you try too hard then it gets even fuzzier. I couldn’t see how exactly it was going to occur . . . at least not well enough to stop it. I just saw enough to know that some part of the equipment was going to malfunction and someone was going to fall. But what was going to malfunction? I could hear something about “hitting the E stop” but could only tell it was a male voice yelling it. I had the feeling that if I could only see who fell, I could do something.

What I did know for certain was that it was going to happen soon, and I was starting to panic.

quote:

A visibly upset Riley had finally reached the ground. Tad and Mac, among others, ran to him and immediately started asking questions. Mac spoke first; I knew he needed to find out the details of what just occurred while they were still fresh in Riley’s mind. “Riley, what happened?” Mac asked, doing his best to remain calm.

Riley was panicked, trembling and shaking. His eyes kept darting over to Sofia. “She . . . she wasn’t wearing her harness.”

Mac grabbed Riley and pulled him closer, shielding Riley’s view of Sofia. When I glanced up, I could see Riley was wide-eyed and scared. “Riley, why wasn’t she wearing her safety harness?” Mac asked, but Riley didn’t answer.

“Riley, why wasn’t she wearing her safety harness?” Mac asked again, but Riley was still distracted and not paying attention to Mac. Mac finally grabbed Riley by the arms and shook him, “Why the hell was she not wearing it?” Mac asked, looking him directly in the eyes.

This time Riley responded as if he just had been woken up from a dream, but couldn’t look Mac in the eyes. “I was telling her to put her drat harness on when the platform started to move!” The panic had begun to subside into some kind of shock, and Riley sounded like he was angry.

Mac glanced up, perplexed, into the grid above the stage. “The platform shouldn’t have been moving at all,” he said, more to himself than to Riley. “The system must have glitched out with just the worse timing.”

Tad had been standing nearby listening and realized that he needed to step in. Mac sometimes could be too matter-of-fact. Even from my distance, I could tell that Riley needed compassion at that exact moment. “Riley. It’s okay. Calm down. It wasn’t your fault. She knows she’s not supposed to be up there without being tied off, and the platform moving wasn’t your fault either.”

Tad smiled and nodded as he put his hand on Riley’s shoulder. Mac looked up. “Yeah, Tad’s right. Go take a smoke break; stop freaking out. I’ll be out there in a bit. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

quote:

“That was quick thinking, Zade,” Tad said. “Is there anything you don’t do?” I smiled a little. There’s a calming and relaxing energy that surrounds Tad like a bubble. Just like how some people have sporadic energy that makes them hard to be around. Tad is the exact opposite and whenever I am around him or talking to him I instantly feel it effect me in a good way. It’s a rare but delightful quality few people possess. I decided to try to keep things light.

“Windows,” I said, laughing a little

quote:

“Wonder what that meant?” Tad asked Mac.

“She came up to me a few minutes before all this happened telling me she had a ‘premonition’ that something was wrong and asking if everything tested out okay,” Mac said, trying to sound dismissive. T

here was a momentary pause before Tad replied, “Hmm. Well, next time she says that, maybe you should listen.”

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that,” Mac said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. I wondered if he was angry at me—or just angry that I had been right.

quote:

“Sounded like that song was about me,” Mac said, sitting down next to me on the edge of the dock and nudging me slightly with his shoulder.

“Well if it is, then someone else must think that about you, ’cause I didn’t write that song.” I laughed a little.

“Yeah, I know.” Mac nodded and pursed his lips together. “Aimee Mann did.”

quote:

“I have two. One’s back home in Tennessee. It’s just a classic cafe racer. It’s also a Triumph, a 1969 Triumph Trophy 250. It’s really fun to ride but not super fast. When I got the job out here I bought myself a present. The Triumph Dakota is too heavy for me so I got myself a Ducati Streetfighter. It’s not too shabby but it only has a top speed of 143. So far I’ve probably only topped out at around a hundred.” I shrugged and hoped I didn’t sound too nerdy.

quote:

“Zade is short for my full name—Scheherazade Holder. It comes from a story my mom used to read to me as a kid. It’s about a princess who marries this king who executes his bride each night so he can get a new one the next day. Well, Scheherazade ends up his bride. To stay alive, she tells him a story every night, always stopping at dawn with a cliffhanger, so he will leave her alive for another day. After 1,001 nights he was madly in love with her and decided to keep her. And they lived happily ever after.” I looked over at him. He was still listening intently. “Do you know it?”

“It’s from Arabian Nights. That’s a great story. But isn’t that kind of harsh for a kid’s story though? My mom read me Green Eggs and Ham.”

quote:

“You’re pretty amazing, you know that?” I chuckled nervously and blushed. I started biting my lower lip and shifted my feet.

Jackson grinned before adding, “You really are.”

quote:

Oh it gets so much worse than even that. I got an ARC copy from netgalley before they got all yanked. Anyway, if you read all the way through, she uses the word "g*ypsy" to describe herself and ethnic heritage more than once. It also has a preview at the end that's the first chapter of book 2 (dream on) that's transphobic. Basically, a Mary Sue dumpster fire. The creepiest part, however, is this whole thing is related to Twilight. It was a wattpad fanfiction back in 2013 and pulled to publish and it's Twilight connection is that Sarem was a groupie for Jackson Rathbone (Jasper from Twilight films) band, 100 Monkeys. The story is about a woman (she's 25 in the story so not YA even) who is caught in a love triangle where one of the love interests is a guy with dark hair, plays in a band she becomes backstage friends with/a groupie too, and his name is literally "Jackson," no last name given. Basically, Sarem created a real person fanfic with herself getting accolades from the actor she was obsessed with and then published it in a scheme to create YA buzz, money, and get a movie made somehow. I am baffled as to how because even if this crazy thing had worked (I'm so glad it was got and revealed for the S**tshow and scam it was) but even if it had. She's clearly 40. So how would she be the star of a YA movie or even, let's be honest Hollywood, a movie with a 25 year old woman in it. Seriously, the delusion and entitlement is gross and unfathomable.

chitoryu12 posted:

Also her middle name is Esther. Scheherazade Esther Holder. My tongue feels like it's made of taffy trying to say it.

Mel Mudkiper posted:

Besesoth posted:

Wait, I've been thinking of her name as rhyming with "jade". Does this mean it's pronounced "Zod"?

(Or does Salem not know how to pronounce "Scheherazade"? )

Besesoth posted:

Wait, I've been thinking of her name as rhyming with "jade". Does this mean it's pronounced "Zod"?

(Or does Salem not know how to pronounce "Scheherazade"? )

chitoryu12 posted:

Oh no, I left the paragraph out but she tells everyone in Vegas that it's pronounced like "Aid" with a Z. You've got it right.

HungryMedusa posted:

I'm thinking of the character as "Zod" from now on.


So any guesses what "Lani" is short for?

chitoryu12 posted:

There's another, slower going sporking on a blog I found (it's covering practically every line instead of just pertinent chunks like mine) that's calling the protagonist "Zani" because of how transparent of a self-insert it is.

Ride The Gravitron posted:

Link?

quote:

“My personal opinion: I’m a first time author; I did some great numbers. They put me on the list. The list is curated. They didn’t have to put me on the list despite how many books I sold. When these people made a big issue, they were like, ‘This is too much effort.’ ”

Mel Mudkiper posted:

Its weird that upon reflection arguably the most delusion part of this whole enterprise was the belief she would get to play the lead role

Nakar posted:

The greatest irony would be if the story of the book's sordid attempt to make it ends up creating a Disaster Artist-style making-of that's a hit but she doesn't get to play herself.

chitoryu12 posted:

Also, apparently Lani got her idea for gaming the system from Cowboys & Aliens. When their attempts at getting the movie off the ground didn't work due to lack of interest from studios, Platinum Studios priced the comic at only $5 and used various business arrangements and bulk purchase deals to turn the comic into a best seller and convince Universal and Dreamworks to move forward with a film adaptation.

quote:

Some people are magic...While others are just the illusion of it. – Beau Taplin

It’s still magic even if you know how it’s done. – Terry Pratchett

I like the night. Without the dark we would never see the stars. – Stephanie Meyer

Some journeys take us far from home. Some adventures lead us to our destiny. – CS Lewis

chitoryu12 posted:

Also, apparently Lani got her idea for gaming the system from Cowboys & Aliens. When their attempts at getting the movie off the ground didn't work due to lack of interest from studios, Platinum Studios priced the comic at only $5 and used various business arrangements and bulk purchase deals to turn the comic into a best seller and convince Universal and Dreamworks to move forward with a film adaptation.

quote:

Several of the cast and crew gathered at McMullan’s bar for a birthday celebration for Drew, one of the audio guys. It was the spot frequented by everyone if there was any kind of hint of going out after work. This usually happened if there was a birthday or any other celebratory event—as well as on the show’s “Friday” (which for the show has always actually been Tuesday night, since the show is “dark” on Wednesday and Thursday). I had learned that most shows don’t take their days off on the weekend because that’s when they sell the most tickets to shows and when Las Vegas, itself, is the busiest. So each shows “dark days” are not usually Saturday and Sunday, and each show in town takes a different “weekend,” so no tourist will ever come to Vegas and find no one is doing a show.

McMullan’s is really where most of the cast and crew for all the major shows on the Strip go after work, because although it’s not on the Strip it’s easy to get to. They give drink specials after midnight just for those of us awesome enough to work in this so- called “entertainment business.

quote:

“Sofie, what are you doing?” he asked in a harsh tone. Sofia looked surprised that he had pulled away from her. She sat back up, so she was no longer leaning in either.

“I’m not doing anything.” She huffed, trying to act insulted.

“Sofie, don’t hit on me. I don’t know if you are just flirting, or if you’re being serious—or a little bit of both—but it makes me uncomfortable,” he scolded.

Sofia pouted. “I was just trying to be friends.”

Mac licked his lips and retorted, “I’ve been friends with Tad since junior high, and he’s never tried to sit next to me like that.” He sighed, trying to remain calm with her, despite quickly losing his patience. “Look, Sofia. You’re beautiful and all, but we work together, and you’re my boss’s girlfriend . . . . We’re also at a company function. I know that nothing is going to happen, but people talk around here and rumors get started. I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. I don’t think you do either.” His words were flat and toneless.

“Would it make a difference if I was single?” she coaxed.

Mac stared at her for a moment—almost as if he was either considering her question or thinking of how best to word his response, or maybe a little bit of both. He took a deep breath and looked her square in the eye.

“No, it wouldn’t. It would only make a difference in how long I would allow you to flirt. And before you ask whether it would make a difference if we didn’t work together—again, you’re beautiful, and many guys would kill to be with you, but we lead very different lives. You wouldn’t be happy with a guy like me, and deep down you know that.” Mac paused, stood up, and drank the last of the beer that she had brought him before placing his glass back on the table. He smiled. “Thanks for the beer. I’ll make sure to buy you one at the next get together. Okay?”

quote:

It almost seemed like it had been planned that, at that exact moment, Mel, another girl Mel, who worked for the show, walked around the corner with a large cake lit with candles.

quote:

“You like the water?” he asked.

“Huh?” I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by that and, in the midst of getting lost in his hazel eyes, maybe I’d missed some of his words.

“You seem to like to swim and all,” Mac remarked, still smiling at me.

“Oh. Yeah, I love it,” I agreed as I continued to dry my hair with the towel I kept on the side of the pool.

“Ever been scuba diving?” I could tell that he had tried to ask nonchalantly, but the question seemed to have a motive behind it.

“Yeah. I like anything that puts me in the water—and the longer I can stay the better.” I wasn’t really sure why he was asking me about scuba diving in Las Vegas, but he still seemed pensive, like he had a purpose.

Tad walked up and took the clipboard from Mac’s hands. He began to look over it, not paying much attention to our conversation—or us. Whatever was on the clipboard must have been important and Tad was examining it pretty carefully. Mac glanced at me and back at Tad as if he were trying to work up the nerve to ask me something. I stared back at him with the best “Go ahead, I’m nice. Ask me.” look I had. Finally he worked up the nerve and blurted out, “Sometimes the crew goes camping, and we take our scuba gear and go diving out in Lake Mead on dark days. It’s fun. You’ll have to come out with us sometime . . . eh . . . if you want.” Mac smiled again and ran his left hand through his thick hair. Every time I heard the term “dark days” it made me slightly excited. I loved the term loved the term dark days as the way to talk about days off for shows. It just made me think about how I was now a part of the show world and terms like that were now in my everyday vocabulary. I had to wonder, though: had Mac just asked me out or not? It seemed more like a “come out on this group outing” sort of ask, but at the same time it also seemed a little like a more personal invitation from him. I realized he was standing there waiting on me to respond—and even Tad had looked up, realizing that I hadn’t responded.

quote:

Tad started shaking his head. “I’m surprised you didn’t ask her if she likes being wet!”

“Dude, I wasn’t even thinking like that. I should not be allowed to talk to women, apparently,” Mac said, embarrassed.

“I thought you didn’t like her?” Tad teased.

“I don’t. Just tryin’ to keep the peace.”

quote:

Tad looked at Mac and scoffed, “I’ll bet you $100 you end up making out with her before the end of the year.” Tad put his hand out to shake Mac’s.

Mac made a face. “Oh, really?” he retorted. He reached for Tad’s hand, but before Mac could shake it, Tad rethought what he just said and pulled his hand away.

“Actually, no. I take that back. If we bet, you would not do it just to win and spite your own happiness. So no, I won’t bet you, but I still say it happens.” Tad frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. He couldn’t understand why Mac wouldn’t just admit it to himself.

Besesoth posted:

Wait, I've been thinking of her name as rhyming with "jade". Does this mean it's pronounced "Zod"?

(Or does Salem not know how to pronounce "Scheherazade"? )

chitoryu12 posted:

The CS Lewis quote is actually a tagline for the first Chronicles of Narnia film, and the Stephanie Meyer quote is actually a line of Bella's from Twilight.

A HUNGRY MOUTH posted:

It's cool the way she overexplains every joke and reference, it really makes me feel like I'm part of this magical world of popular music and TV programs.

chitoryu12 posted:

Reading this book is like listening to an old man ramble on the phone after asking a question.

Ms Boods posted:

Now I want an audio book version of this book read by Lenny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=results

A short primer on Lenny (and his ducks) for those who've never spent a rainy afternoon listening to him

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/lenny-telemarketer-bot-robot-prank-a6813081.html

Ms Boods posted:

Gah -- apologies, that link should have taken you to a list of Lenny recordings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lL870ixdsY