“Dear DC Comics Editors, I see that you have hired a writer for Superman who has written strongly of his opposition to equal rights for LGBT people. And I see that there is an online petition protesting that move. Perhaps you could balance that decision by hiring an openly gay writer to draft a Superman story for a future issue. I hereby volunteer. I have been a fan of Superman since Bud Collyer played him on the radio. (Before TV was invented.) I can remember Brainiac’s first appearance, and Bizarro too. And I cried when George Reeves died. I do have some small credential as a writer of science fiction and fantasy. I have published a few books and written a few teleplays. (You can look me up on the internet.) I have also written some mangas, and I wrote two issues of the Babylon 5 comic you published ten years ago. I have some very good ideas that I think would work well for the series. I’d like the opportunity to write for you the very best Superman story ever. Sincerely yours, David Gerrold “The Trouble With Tribbles” Land Of The Lost Twilight Zone The Martian Child (and a whole bunch of other stuff)”
—David Gerrold, in response to DC’s decision to hire Orson Scott Card
“I have memories - but only a fool stores his past in the future.”
—David Gerrold“Star Trek is a cultural landmark and only a few of us were lucky enough or privileged enough to be part of creating it. You can’t help but love the enthusiasm people have brought to it. When I see that enthusiasm I don't see a Star Trek fan, but rather somebody who’s excited by the whole idea of space exploration, getting out there and exploring the universe, and believing that we as human beings can do better. That’s what I see when I see somebody who gets excited about Star Trek. There’s an enthusiasm that goes beyond the show.”
—Star Trek Trek Writer David Gerrold Looks Back - Part 1“There are a couple of other points worth considering here. Ebooks represent a shift from a culture of scarcity to a culture of abundance. In the past, publishing required a great deal of time and energy and resources for production. Books and magazines and newspapers needed a whole industry of typesetters, editors, designers, and ultimately publishers who would decide if a book was worthy of that effort. But ebooks can be published by anyone who can figure out how to use a computer. The result is that the librarian is being removed from the library. In the past, a great library was the result of librarians functioning as guardians of culture, tending and caring, selecting and recommending works that maintained and nurtured a cultural heritage. Today, with the growing phenomenon of self-publishing, especially in ebook form, anyone can walk into that same library and shove his book onto the shelf between Sartre and Shakespeare, between Dickens and Disch, between Heinlein and Hugo, and claim the credibility of publication. ”
—Legendary science fiction author David Gerrold.“Aaron Sorkin's new show on HBO, The Newsroom, is a brilliant--as well as scathing--analysis of the failure of American journalism. It's no wonder that the mainstream critics have leapt all over it with blistering abuse. Sorkin has said what they're too afraid to say. The opening sequence--"Why is America the greatest nation in the world?"--is something that needs to be said. We aren't. But we can be. This nation was born in blood, committed to the most revolutionary and subversive idea in history--that a well-informed populace can be responsible for their own government, that the divine right of kings makes no more sense than a watery tart lying about in a lake, handing out swords. The gift that the founding fathers gave us was the opportunity, the mandate, to be responsible for our own destiny. We get to hold our government accountable. We have accomplished terrible things and extraordinary things. We committed the crimes of genocide and slavery and environmental extinction--because we didn't know better. But we also built dams and bridges and railroads and cities and farms big enough to feed half the world. We cured polio and smallpox and sent men to the moon. We built schools and universities and libraries and museums and gleaming towers. We took a stand against tyranny, whether it was fascism or communism. We helped Europe rebuild after the nazis left it in ruins. As a people, we opened our doors to immigrants from all over the world and built a nation based not on homogeneity, but diversity. We expanded the concept of human rights and continued to expand those ideals. But along the way, we forgot who we are and what we are committed to. We forgot our humanity, we forgot our generosity, we forgot our compassion. We became fat and selfish and lazy. We are no longer number one in education or literacy or science or health care. We are no longer number one in technology. We are number one in people in prison per capita. Our infant mortality rate is nowhere near the top. Our educational systems are in disrepair, along with most of our infra-structure. We consume one-third of the planet's resources. We do not pay that debt forward. We forgot what America stands for--it's this simple: "We can do better." Like leeches on a healthy body, the greedy one percent have looted three trillion dollars from our economy, making it impossible for the poor to aspire to the middle class, making it impossible for the middle class to share the economic growth of the nation, making it impossible for students to pay for their education, let alone find jobs, making it impossible for homeowners to stay in their own homes, making it impossible for America to be the great nation we set out to build. That Sorkin said it bluntly is worthy of praise, not condemnation. We can't fix a problem until we first admit it exists. Those who missed the point and who attacked Sorkin for speaking so bluntly aren't just part of the problem -- they ARE the problem. ”
— David GerroldSci-Fi Writer David Gerrold Offers Compromise In The Card/Superman Controversy
Ever since the news hit that DC Comics hired Ender’s Game author and staunch opponent of same-sex marriage, Orson Scott Card, to pen the first chapter of Adventures of Superman, readers and fans began a virtual riot, voicing their disapproval via social media, calling for boycotts and even going so far as to generate an online petition to have Card dropped from the series (At the time this article was written, the petition had just over 13,000 signatures).
“I have memories - but only a fool stores his past in the future. ”
—David Gerrold
Something I need to keep in mind in the upcoming weeks with transition into homestay and a new routine. Need to keep in mind that its a different culture in a separate country. Looking forward to sharing with all of you about my upcoming adventures!
