What you need to know about your fandom

by benmweilertNo Comments
I don’t have a fandom like J.K. Rowling or J.R.R. Tolkien (maybe I don’t have enough initials in my pen name). In fact, I don’t really have a fandom at all. However, I am certainly a fan of certain franchises. Sometimes I find myself cringing when these franchises are either rebooted or remade. Sure, there is always some hope that the new material can successfully capture the elements that made the original the hit that it was. However, this is rarely the case. Before we give our fans what they want, we need to understand what it is. For example’s sake, let’s look at two famous sci-fi franchises that have some very die-hard followers: Star Wars and Star Trek. Everyone agrees that these two franchises are similar in that they are both in the science fiction genre, but that’s essentially where the similarities end. In fact, these fandoms are almost so vehemently adamant on the superiority of their source material that you...
Read More

What you should REALLY ask when meeting someone new

by benmweilertNo Comments
Has this ever happened to you? You’ve just been introduced to someone you’ve never met before and, after almost instantaneously forgetting their name, you ask, “So, what do you do for a living?” This question, along with a few other antiquated ones like “Are you married?” or “Have any kids?” don’t really provide any insight into the life of the person you’ve just met. They only touch on the surface of their life, and sometimes that surface may be uncomfortable for them to answer. They may have just been fired from their job, are going on their 6th month of unemployment, are frustrated with being single, have just gotten divorced, or are having fertility issues with their spouse. As you can see, these questions will often receive lies for answers because they can probe a little too deep for a new acquaintance. I’d almost equate them with the three “no-no’s” of small talk: money, religion, and politics. Even if everything is going...
Read More