the geekiest thing i've ever posted on my blog
Newsflash: I'm proud to be a geek. I can't imagine life without comics, hobby games, dice, science fiction, movie soundtracks, and the people who love them. Well, I can imagine it, but it's just about the most boring goddamn thing I can imagine.
When we were younger, it was cruel and hurtful to call someone a geek. These days, though, it's a badge of honor, and I'd like to think that I've been able to play a very small part in the geek pride movement.
So with that in mind, I now post the geekiest link I've ever posted on my blog, everything you ever wanted to know about Retconning, but were afraid to ask.
Retconning comes from "retroactive continuity," meaning "taking the continuity of your storyline and retroactively changing part of it so things didn't happen the way they happened," and there are many ways to do it. Let's talk about them together, shall we?
I've posted some geeky stuff in the past, but I honestly think this is the geekiest of them all.
(5d12 GP to DJE for the link)
Funny, I'm trying to figure out why it is geeky, let alone "the geekiest" - isn't this just regular life?
Posted by: kristinalead | January 23, 2008 at 02:52 PM
Wa-hey geeks! I like that I have no idea what your geeky link was about. That's PROPER geek. Of course, that's the best thing about geeks: there are so many different varieties...At work, we have a group of us geeks, all geeky in different ways: one guy has his wife's name tattooed in Klingon on his arm, another guy totally gets off on Excel programming, and me, well, I once had a mahousive crush on Wesley Crusher. Alternately, the guy with the Klingon tattoo is also really into seeing live bands, the other guy's a big five-a-side footie fanatic, and I used to be a cheerleader. So there you go.
PS. When are you coming to the UK, Wil?
Posted by: londonali1010 | January 23, 2008 at 03:22 PM
Retconning? Like *claiming* that dilithium channels antimatter and not the actual energy flow of the warp field?
Posted by: The Bad Astronomer | January 23, 2008 at 03:24 PM
Wow. I know exactly what that entire post was about... and the empathy flowed. :: re-evaluates self-realized geek cred ::
Posted by: burkbum | January 23, 2008 at 03:32 PM
Spidey and MJ never married!? I had to stop reading ; that is just wrong.
Posted by: Starr01 | January 23, 2008 at 03:47 PM
If anyone has paid attention to Torchwood, they'll notice that the amnesia drug they use on the show is called "ret-con" as well, specifically after this piece of geeky behavior.
Posted by: Able-X | January 23, 2008 at 03:50 PM
Someone seriously need to do this for the 3rd Matrix flick.
Posted by: deldred | January 23, 2008 at 04:01 PM
My favorite part about retconning is that Torchwood named an amnesia drug after that. I laughed a little too much when I first heard that.
Posted by: Sarah | January 23, 2008 at 04:07 PM
What third Matrix flick?
(I've already retconned it out of my own personal storyline.)
Posted by: Darth Paradox | January 23, 2008 at 04:12 PM
I'm mad that I don't post here more often.
But other than that, and in other news (I've had two fingers of vodka in case you're wondering), it's so fucking awesome to be a geek. It's like, heaven, not afraid to do what you like and it's dorky, sure, but who gives a fuck? You control. You decide. Enjoy life however you like, even if it's not "cool", per se.
Rawk.
Posted by: love2all | January 23, 2008 at 04:14 PM
I realize now that the retcon of the JLA in the 80s is what made me stop reading comics. I was in college and very busy, but when they made everything I knew about these characters, no longer so, I was completely deinvested and never went back.
What is funny about the article that I actually understood 80% just from seeing the occational cover and putting the comic back on the rack.
The retcon that happened on ST: Enterprise with the borg was the reason I stopped watching Enterprise in season 3, dispite my undying love of Brent Spiner.
I wish these kids who are writing would have some value for the fans who love the shows and not make us walk away, shaking our heads.
Posted by: Lolita | January 23, 2008 at 05:08 PM
So Wil, speaking as the most Peter Parker-ish nebbish I know of, what do you think of this Spider-Man thing?
Posted by: idiosynchronic | January 23, 2008 at 06:05 PM
Retconning? Is this like saying that Greedo shot first?
Posted by: Dan | January 23, 2008 at 06:28 PM
John August blogged about retconning a while back. http://johnaugust.com/archives/2006/retcon
I'd say you're in good company.
Posted by: CarolP | January 23, 2008 at 06:28 PM
So wait... did they pre-emptively retcon the intelligence data for Iraq? Somehow that makes sense, and yet doesn't at the same time.
:)
Posted by: Clay | January 23, 2008 at 06:47 PM
They never made any sequels to The Matrix. I live my life based on this fact.
Posted by: Violet O'Hara | January 23, 2008 at 06:58 PM
yeah, i guess that's pretty geeky. but, to be honest, i'm sure you have a mighty arsenal of geeky posts yet to be written. and why stop yourself. geeks are totally sexy now. which is a great relief since i am nearly bankrupt from having my lunch money stolen from me by the "cool kids".
hi-5!
Posted by: Mostly Lisa | January 23, 2008 at 07:36 PM
I love retconning! Enjoy a small except from my retconned biography:
"After serving two terms of duty as a special forces operative in Vietnam, I had successfully achieved genocide against the entire Dalek race. Returning home I earned my third PhD (this time in genetic engineering) and puttered around Europe genetically engineering the perfect spider. Later that summer, I broke up with my girlfriend who turned out to be my long lost twin sister. Too bad too because she was a totally hot nympho who ended up doing a movie with John Belushi and some midgets. Nuff said!"
To be continued...
Posted by: Bender4Pharoah | January 23, 2008 at 08:36 PM
Ah! Retconning... Something I first became quite familiar with having read the Magic: The Gathering novels back in the day (and the past few recent ones).
Also:
"I can't imagine life without comics, hobby games, dice, science fiction, movie soundtracks, and the people who love them."
That sentence could be truer. Though you could just add a nice video game controller and that'd be perfect for me... A product of being younger I suppose. :P
Posted by: CrimsonSanX | January 23, 2008 at 09:03 PM
I saw the word 'retconning' and threw up a little in my mouth.
Yes I am one of those gamers who prefer to be on a RP server. Yes, I could do without the use of the word 'retcon'.
Hence, I don't play ORPGs anymore.
Posted by: Joe Louthan | January 23, 2008 at 09:20 PM
For example, instead of Wesley being abducted by an intergalactic pedophile he instead went adventuring with a slightly lost time lord who had an unfortunate regeneration.
Posted by: Alan | January 23, 2008 at 09:25 PM
I have frightened myself periodically by busting out "retcon" in conversation, which somehow seems even geekier than sending it through the intertubes. heh.
Posted by: R | January 23, 2008 at 10:27 PM
Like, in the evening soap opera Dallas, Pam wakes up from a dream and many events are wisked away? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077000/faq#.2.1.2
Posted by: Mike Schwab | January 23, 2008 at 11:36 PM
Great post. Retconning was mostly the reason I had a hard time with the Ultimates line-up. I didn't like hitting restart on the characters I grew up with.
Posted by: eleventeen | January 23, 2008 at 11:45 PM
@Dan yep, Greedo shooting first is pretty much a classic example of a terrible retcon.
As for the Spider-man One More Day/Brand New Day retcon, it seems to be a cack-handed attempt by Quesada to force the story back to his idea of 'classic' Spider-man because younger readers couldn't relate to a married Peter Parker.
I don't know what comic book stores he's stepped into lately but I've found they're mostly populated by 20/30-something geeks many of whom have significant others in tow with them.
Posted by: MikeN | January 24, 2008 at 02:33 AM