Slog - Comments on How NOT to Land a Punch

Comment by Non

Non — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:49:00 -0800

Pwned

Comment by margie duff

margie duff — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:56:52 -0800

yeah - you know what I'd say.

Sue me Judy. We'll see how well that goes fur ya.

Comment by elenchos

elenchos — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:58:35 -0800

God. Stranger covers all look alike, don't they? Anyway, what she posted was obviously self-deprecatingly ironic.

Comment by Aaron Huffman

Aaron Huffman — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:07:09 -0800

Actually, I have no idea who Judy McGuire is. (I'm the one who designed the cover.) More than anything, it was meant as little nod to the covers of queer issues past.

Comment by Mahtli69

Mahtli69 — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:12:57 -0800

I'm surprised the Stranger's Spam-blocker didn't catch Judy's email before it found your Inbox.

Comment by kc

kc — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:22:57 -0800

wow. you people are really unpleasant. count yourself down one reader, dan. but hey, you're too important for that to matter, right?

Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:23:51 -0800

Aw, Judy's not that bad. Her Date Girl column blows chunks, but it's nowhere near as bad as her predecessor in the Weekly, Cherry Pop. But then, few things are. I can't imagine wanting to read a whole book of them, though; I usually pass out from boredom a paragraph or two in.

Comment by homage to me

homage to me — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:29:48 -0800

I think it's understandable that she would take note of the cover. And I think her email is reasonably good humored.

BTW, I find her column entertaining. She's smart and funny and sometimes acerbic. A staight women's perspective on dating is appreciated.

Comment by Jerod

Jerod — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:37:04 -0800

"not perusing the dollar bin at Half Price Books"

This is why I love you.

Comment by Non

Non — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:38:18 -0800

That was the moment I stopped reading to post #1

Comment by oneway

oneway — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:51:04 -0800

Oh, this is choice!

Does McGuire even know that her book's own cover is a direct ripoff?

http://www.amazon.com/Date-Post-Dating-World-Diane-Mapes/dp/1570614709

Granted, her own publishing house cannibalized a prior work -- but the cover is clearly not her own work.

Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:01:40 -0800

I believe McGuire's cover is a commentary on the Mapes book, not a ripoff of it.

Comment by Dawgson

Dawgson — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:48:19 -0800

They do look similar. It's not like she threatened you with a lawsuit.

Graphic Design is an infinite loop of inspiration and reference. The images we see during the day stick in our brains -- Past Stranger covers might have inspired "How Not to Date" and "How Not to Date" might have re-inspired Aaron. It's hard to say for sure and it;s nothing to get upset about.

Being slightly douchey (i.e. Gawker) is charming. Being a complete and total asshole is not.

Comment by shitbrain

shitbrain — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:45:43 -0800

I've read How Not To Write A Screenplay. It was pretty informative, I thought.

Comment by point x point synopsis

point x point synopsis — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:45:49 -0800

she(and Starbucks corp) should read "How Not To Be A Whiny Ass Over Design Details That No One Owns Anyhow", published by bite me press (2008)

Comment by Mike in MO

Mike in MO — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:04:13 -0800

@ 9: totally agree. Dan fuckin SAVAGE!

Comment by Wurm

Wurm — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:36:57 -0800

Dan, dude, you do realize that you just gave her more publicity than she's probably ever had?. Judy who?

Comment by Frank Sinclair

Frank Sinclair — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:28:13 -0800

I think Judy's hot, and I bet she puts out.

Comment by Frank Sinclair

Frank Sinclair — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:31:55 -0800

By the way, what the hell do you know, Savage? You SUPPORTED Bush's war in Iraq and WENT ON JOHN CARLSON'S show to talk about it!

What a dork!

Comment by daniel

daniel — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:05:15 -0800

I think the original email, Dan's post and all of the comments, including this one, are tongue-in-cheek.

Comment by Barry

Barry — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 23:08:07 -0800

Black, black, black for Gay Pride .... now isn't that so hip.

Yuk.

Or maybe just a lot of self loathing?

Comment by But I hate Dan Savage and the Stranger, too

But I hate Dan Savage and the Stranger, too — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 23:16:15 -0800

Either way, I wouldn't read either one. Her column is wince-worthy bad. She can't answer a question or give advice without making it ALL about her. Sorry Judy, you are not interesting. You constantly lead the poor advice-seeking letter writer down a blind alley with some rambling, long winded, likely big-ass fucking lie about YOURSELF. I went from being disgusted with you to feeling nothing but pity. I haven't read "Date Girl" since 2003. I'm sure it's still awful. And you're boring.

Comment by John

John — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:07:21 -0800

You forgot how you ripped of the "how not..." part too. That's strike three.

You're covers have lacked anyway since Corianton left.

Yep, I said it.

Comment by stinkbug

stinkbug — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:17:19 -0800

geeze, all the slog hate yet again.

I used to read Date Girl all the time. It was entertaining. Yes, it was about her experiences in many cases, but that seemed to be a big point of the column. (Nowdays I can never seem to find it - is it online only?)

And one local advice columnist bashing a local advice column (not columnist, she's in nyc I think) just seems lame. I know the stranger is anti-SW, but c'mon.

The Half Price books comment was dumb too. I've seen I think all of your books at HPB (although not in the Clearance section, which has the $1-$3 books). I doubt you'd find her book in the HPB Clearance section.

In fact, here are some stats from amazon.com:

How Not to Date - 54 used & new available from $4.99

some savage books:

The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family (paperback) - 77 Used & new from $1.50
Skipping Towards Gomorrah - 70 Used & new from $1.95
The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family (hardcover) - 55 Used & new from $1.08

Comment by Goobercomtegomezfeitbarnettsavagefartf

Goobercomtegomezfeitbarnettsavagefartf — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:38:07 -0800

Say "YES" to War on Iraq by Dan Savage Oct. 2002

"War may be bad for children and other living things, but there are times when peace is worse for children and other living things, and this is one of those times."

"The War on Iraq will make it clear to our friends and enemies in the Middle East (and elsewhere) that we mean business: Free your people, reform your societies, liberalize, and democratize... or we're going to come over there, remove you from power, free your people, and reform your societies for ourselves."

Washington Post June 27, 2008

"Bomb Kills Marines, Iraqi Tribal Leaders
At Least 40 Die in Two Separate Attacks"

Comment by danfansarewarmongersupporters

danfansarewarmongersupporters — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:55:46 -0800

Say "YES" to War on Iraq by Dan Savage Oct. 2002

"War may be bad for children and other living things, but there are times when peace is worse for children and other living things, and this is one of those times."

Washington Post June 27, 2008

"Bomb Kills Marines, Iraqi Tribal Leaders
At Least 40 Die in Two Separate Attacks"

Comment by brett in nyc

brett in nyc — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:25:06 -0800

for what it's worth, i remember seeing mcguire's book prominently-displayed in barnes and noble locations in NYC around valentine's day. maybe now i'll actually buy it.

Comment by Zach

Zach — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:05:36 -0800

whoa! This is, um, needlessly douchey over what seemed like an un-hostile email. I read both your column and hers, but hey... don't be a dick.

Comment by Mr. Poe

Mr. Poe — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:38:34 -0800

Uh, I didn't make those comments.

Comment by oscar

oscar — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 06:53:09 -0800

I guess she was trying to be "funny." Doesn't look like it worked so well for her.

Comment by Algo Lagnia

Algo Lagnia — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:51:30 -0800

A tad bit sensitive?

The similarity of covers is obvious; your art director's claim that it's just another use of text on a black background is disingenuous at best (I guess I missed how the others used red type to indicate negation, centered over an iconic image representing the subject matter (oh wait, the other examples are all text)).

The art director also doesn't address the interesting similarity of title; the 10 examples you give of the "How not to..." trope Mcguire is clearly playing off of don't include one single one referring to relationships or sexuality; your headline thus looks pretty second-hand.

Also, your heavy-handed "Who is this peasant to question me?" tone just makes you look like an asshole.

Comment by Cat Brother

Cat Brother — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 09:16:34 -0800

That did sound like a bad Poe imitator...
Yeah, Dan, she was kidding. And I liked her old column in the NY Press, which paper has since gone to hell in a Honda.

Comment by Yog

Yog — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:16:41 -0800

People defending her: she sent an email to a guy who's a "competitor" (her words) containing the comment "So pretty ... and so familiar." If it was intended as a joke, it wasn't very well done, and why in the world would she send it to Dan *in an email*?

And to the fellow posting about Dan's Iraq war views - have you never been wrong? Never? Wow. I'm impressed.

Comment by mert

mert — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:29:33 -0800

Of all the "How not to" books, the only synonymous titles are the hooking up-ness of dating and getting married.
So Mc Douchie, you blew it on that point.

Comment by Rachel

Rachel — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:36:00 -0800

But neither cover is pretty. Graphic, bold, witty, but not "pretty". And she wanted attention from a better-known columnist, and now, she got it.

Her column is lame--Amy Alkon is the best relationship columnist (aside from Dan, of course).

Comment by devilina

devilina — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:34:58 -0800

Dan, you humor-impaired slag! A girl sends you ONE blessed sentence and it's off to the races? Christ, give it a rest, you bitter old bitch!