Archive
Does Canon Matter? Part 7 – Terry Pratchett’s Discworld
We’ve made it to Discworld! In this episode, I talk about the canon of Terry Pratchett’s fantasy-comedy series. I also wander off into another rant about the use and meaning of the word “multiverse.” This series has a huge number of books in it – they’re all in continuity with each other, and yet you can pick up virtually any one of them to start with and not be too terribly confused by it. How does Pratchett do it?! I’m still figuring that out.
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Does Canon Matter? Part 6 – H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos
I have returned to continue rambling about canon! In this episode I talk about the Cthulhu Mythos and stumle over several nigh-unpronounceable names for entities whose merest concepts could drive an ordinary human mad. I also discuss how the nature of the Mythos makes it extremely difficult – perhaps even impossible – to nail down exactly what counts and what doesn’t.
NOTE: As it turns out, the publishing company Arkham House might not be quite as dead as I may have made it sound in this episode. The Wikipedia article on them seems to indicate they’ve had recent financial trouble, but have been working to combat that. Nevertheless, as far as I can tell it appears as though folks are currently able to publish Mythos-related materials right and left without necessarily being challenged. I would still advise authors to research the status of anything they plan to make use of as best they can before they do so.
Here are a couple of links with further writings about the confusion surrounding the copyright situation:
The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki
Chris J. Karr
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Does Canon Matter? Part 5 – The World of Darkness
I ramble for way longer than I’d planned about the various versions of White Wolf‘s World of Darkness tabletop RPG titles. For the last quarter of a century, four (soon to be five) editions of WoD games have been released, along with two editions of games set in the alternate reality of the Chronicles of Darkness. With a history like that, the games’ continuity has grown ponderous indeed. But how do you even approach the idea of canon when every story is told by an unreliable narrator? I talk about that and many other things – and I’ve been playing since the `90’s, so it turns out I have plenty to talk about.
Come see me at ConCarolinas! http://www.concarolinas.org/
As I mention near the beginning of the show, Fabled Environments is partnering with Yellow Piece Games on a new Savage Worlds setting called Buccaneer: Through Hell & High Water. Their kickstarter for the game runs through June 20th, 2017. Check it out! http://kck.st/2rlOfG3
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Does Canon Matter? Part 4 – Star Trek & DC
I misguidedly attempted to wrap up my canon series only to realize I had much more to say than I’d initially reckoned.
Ahaha.
So, here’s the next part, wherein I tackle two franchises: Star Trek and DC. I also tangent for a bit at the beginning into the recent Darkwing Duck controversy. I also make a terrible pun about an obscure DC character I happen to like, bring up my distaste for there being so much segmented metal in science fiction nowadays and get a tad defensive about the fact that I don’t hate all of the movies I’m supposed to hate.
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Does Canon Matter? Part 3 – The Marvel Cinematic Universe
Here we have the third part of my ridiculously long ramble about canon in popular media, this time focusing on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I chat at length about some of the differences between the movies and the TV shows, the comics and all manner of other things as we continue to explore the question of whether or not any of those differences matter.
I also briefly wander into a tangent about Battlestar Galactica and laugh maniacally a couple of times.
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Does Canon Matter? Part 2 – Star Wars
Behold the Destroyer of the 4th Wall, She Who Breaks Reality With Her Song of Farewell!
Here’s the second part of my epically long pseudo-rant about continuity and canon in popular media.
I love Star Wars, but in this episode I talk about why I think it’s best to err on the side of caution when chatting about its canon with fellow fans. For many folks, Star Wars is a build-your-own-canon situation, and I talk about dealing with that. I also misattribute a quote by Jebediah Orne to Old Man Whateley, but neither of those are Star Wars characters, so I’ll just try to play it cool and think of it as a social experiment.
My apologies in advance to any repressed emotional trauma the picture accompanying this entry might evoke.
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Does Canon Matter? Part 1 – Doctor Who
I set out to do a quick talk about the role of canon in various fandoms and it turned into a massive lecture that I’ll have to split into multiple parts. So, here’s the first part, wherein I talk at length about the canon of Doctor Who (and quite possibly tick off some of my fellow Whovians).
NOTE: I’ve noticed I use the word “series” a lot in this episode. For the most part, I’m using the American meaning of the word (the entirety of a single show’s run), though there is one point in the middle where I try to switch to the UK meaning (when I’m talking about people being familiar with “the current series and the previous series” – by which I mean the current season and the previous season) but despite my effort to grammatically hop the pond, I clumsily fall back into the Standard `Murican definition pretty quickly after that.
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You Can’t Make Me Laugh
Society has changed a heck of a lot over the last half-century. I suspect we’re missing some element we used to have and that we’ve become more hollow and paranoid as a result. But when I try to figure out the exact cause of this problem, I can never quite put my finger on it. So feel free to download this little bit of rambling about the hints at societal change I noticed from watching different versions of the game show “Make Me Laugh.” You’ll get to hear me flail about and spiral into near-madness as I try to figure it out.
The video I mention near the beginning with John Cleese and John Hodgman can be found HERE.
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Discussion: The Hobbit – Book vs Movies
To kick off 2015 I decided to do something a bit different: a roundtable discussion!
There’s much to be said for Peter Jackson’s Hobbit movies, but how do major Tolkien fans feel about it? I was curious to find out, so I grabbed four people steeped in Hobbit lore and held a discussion full of delicious nerd rage. We talked about the changes made for the movies, the nature of Hollywood, and the difference between dragons and wyverns, among many other topics.
This episode’s panelists were:
Richard Rohlin with Grapple Gun Publishing
Denise Lhamon of the Accessories Not Included blog
Kimi of The Golden Lasso and Happy Jack’s RPG Podcast
Jon of Crucible of Realms
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Music by Kevin MacLeod
Pining for the Aughts
I ramble for a while trying to put my finger on exactly what it is that bothers me about the way social media has changed since the late 00’s.
UPDATE: Since recording this, I’ve gone ahead and joined Ello. Here’s my page for anyone who’s currently in the Beta and wants to look me up there and say `ello: https://ello.co/otherdoc (cockney slang not required, but appreciated…) 😉
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Syndication
Jim Ryan
This is what Jim looks like uncomfortably close up.
Jim's Podcasts
http://www.crucibleofrealms.com/
http://www.rpgdebate.com/
https://cyphercast.wordpress.com/Jim's Writing for Sale!
Abduction Etiquette
Farrago on Amazon Kindle- Farrago on Smashwords
From the Dark Side on Amazon- From the Dark Side on Smashwords
- In the Bloodstream: An Anthology of Dark Fantasy and Horror
- Kaiser's Gate: Tales from the Front on Amazon Kindle
- Kaiser's Gate: Tales from the Front on DriveThruRPG
Main Street Rag – Spring 2010
Titanic Jocularity!
License
Jim - Yes, THAT Jim by Byron James Ryan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Jim - Yes, THAT Jim 