10 P.M (EST)/In Defense of Harlan Ellison (5/6/24)

Hello. To be more exact with my time: as of writing this exact sentence here, it is 10:19 P.M. But that will change by the end of this blog post. I'll let you know the time when I finish it. 

I'll try to update this blog every day. I know it is unlikely that anybody will read it, but it is still fun to keep track of my thoughts like this.

Outside of watching the clock tick and worrying about how I'm wasting my time, I've revisited one of my favorite short stories of all time: "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison. Who, for your information, was a short Jew from Cleveland Ohio, just like me.

I remember a lot of people saying that Ellison was a prick, to put it lightly. Calling him rude, insensitive, other similar things. But from all I've seen, he just didn't take any bullshit. He was a realist, and although it is not my personal philosophy, we agree on many things. 

I can't even say that I 'relate' to him, because we are very different in our personal lives. I'm not considered the face of the science fiction scene, people don't idolize me... And I am glad of that, because Ellison shines a very needed, eye-opening light on how annoying those people can be. No, being a fan is not a bad thing. It becomes bad when you treat those people you look up to as superior to others. Some people forget that famous people are humans as well, and they deserve respect. I imagine it must be strange to be seen as some sort of God. I imagine it must be unpleasant.

I don't really have anywhere else to go with this. My favorite Ellison moment is when he left Neil Gaiman (another one of my fav authors!) a voice message on his answering machine threatening to blow up his house and harvest his organs.

It is 10:27 P.M, EST. 

Go to sleep.