Marc Tyler Nobleman's Blog, page 64
June 17, 2015
Chupacabra vs. chupacabras: to S or not to S?
In 2017, my picture book The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra will come out. The book has already crept into my bio and therefore people who introduce me before my talks sometimes mention it.
Because the chupacabra is a creature (some say myth) first and now most commonly reported in Central and South America, the farther south in the Americas you go, the more familiar people are with the term. (It’s funny to see a New Jerseyan struggle with the pronunciation.)
From Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature (1999) by Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark:
Like many figures that become legends, the chupacabra has gone through changes over the years while remaining, at its core, the same. One is the spelling. As you can see above, it was referred to as the chupacabras, Spanish for “goatsucker.”
Along the way, particularly among English-speakers, the “s” has gone MIA.
As Coleman explained on the creature’s 10-year anniversary in 2005, he is not kosher with that:
Because the chupacabra is a creature (some say myth) first and now most commonly reported in Central and South America, the farther south in the Americas you go, the more familiar people are with the term. (It’s funny to see a New Jerseyan struggle with the pronunciation.)
From Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature (1999) by Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark:
The single most notable cryptozoological phenomenon of the past decade is undoubtedly the Chupacabras (“Goatsucker”) of Hispanic America. The legend of this livestock-slaughtering monster was born in small villages in Puerto Rico in 1995 and quickly spread to Mexico and Hispanic communities in the United States, on its way to becoming a worldwide sensation like no unexplained creature since the Bigfoot of the late 1950s and 1960s. …the Chupacabras is the first monster…that the Internet can call its own.
Like many figures that become legends, the chupacabra has gone through changes over the years while remaining, at its core, the same. One is the spelling. As you can see above, it was referred to as the chupacabras, Spanish for “goatsucker.”
Along the way, particularly among English-speakers, the “s” has gone MIA.
As Coleman explained on the creature’s 10-year anniversary in 2005, he is not kosher with that:
I am unhappy with this evolution of a good and decent word, and it current misuse. My own use of “Chupacabras” was warped into “Chupacabra!” I would never say “Chupacabra.” …“Chupacabras” evolving into the incorrectly spelled “Chupacabra” seems to be pure laziness on the part of the media. I noticed after the “Adventures Beyond” people incorrectly entitled their movie Chupacabra, then things began to change for the worse.
…
I interviewed my Hispanic cryptozoologist friend Scott Corrales, and here’s what he says about this whole issue:
The “chupacabra” usage really gets my goat—pun much intended! To say “chupacabra” is to imply that the entity is “the sucker of a single goat.” Chupacabras is “the sucker of goats,” which was meant by the original nomenclature. Perhaps English speakers feel that a false plural is being formed and they resort to “s” removal. Fortunately the singular/plural issue is resolved—in Spanish—by a definite article placed in front of the noun (el, la, los, las, lo): [a] single chupacabras: “El Chupacabras,” a troupe of the things: “Los Chupacabras.” If female: “La Chupacabras.” A cluster of females: “Las Chupacabras.”
…
[Also,] I recently discovered that the word “chupacabras” was used in 1960, in an episode of the TV western Bonanza. The word “chupacabras” was said by a Mexican…about a creature that sucked the milk from goats, hence it being one of the “goatsuckers” and…related to [the birds] whippoorwills.
Zoologically, night jars and whippoorwills are members of the Caprimulgiformes (goatsuckers) and thus are called “Chupacabras” in Spanish. It seems a natural extension of this usage that a cryptozoological creature, a new cryptid sucking the blood from goats, would also be called a Chupacabras.
…I think this business about Chupacabras “exploding” onto the Hispanic-Anglo scene in 1995, from the bipedal blood-sucker incidents of that year in Puerto Rico, needs to be revisited and further researched. Scott Corrales is well aware of Chupacabras reports back into the 1970s...
But one thing that does NOT need to be revisited is the use of the word “Chupacabras,” for it is correct with the “s.”
June 16, 2015
Illustrators for “Oregon” and “Chupacabra”...with a twist
I am thrilled (and long overdue) in announcing the illustrators for two of my upcoming picture books: Amiko Hirao for Thirty Minutes Over Oregon (nonfiction) and Ana Aranda (who also goes by Anaranda) for The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra (fiction, obviously).
With each book, I wanted to work with an artist whose cultural background aligns with the subject, and my editors (Jennifer Greene at Clarion, Nancy Paulsen at Penguin Random House) kindly indulged me: Oregon is about a Japanese WWII pilot, Amiko was born and raised in Japan; Chupacabra is about a myth that arose in Latino communities, Ana was born and raised in Mexico.
Thank you, Amiko and Ana, for signing on.
Sayonaradios!
With each book, I wanted to work with an artist whose cultural background aligns with the subject, and my editors (Jennifer Greene at Clarion, Nancy Paulsen at Penguin Random House) kindly indulged me: Oregon is about a Japanese WWII pilot, Amiko was born and raised in Japan; Chupacabra is about a myth that arose in Latino communities, Ana was born and raised in Mexico.
Thank you, Amiko and Ana, for signing on.
Sayonaradios!
June 15, 2015
The CRACKED take on Bill Finger’s lack of credit
The onetime Mad Magazine competitor Cracked is now an online-only publication, but the snark hasn’t changed. However, the format has, considerably. The site consists largely of pop-culture and/or news-junkie lists served up with (often foulmouthed) humor. But these lists are not presented solely for laughs. For example, the one I’m in: “5 Ways Batman's TRUE Creator Got Screwed Out of His Legacy.”
Posted on 6/12/15, this piece (the latest high-profile brand to join the crusade to promote the cultural contribution of Bill Finger) notched nearly half a million views in two days.
The author of the piece is Cezary Jan Strusiewicz, who was wonderful to work with. He graciously agreed to tone down the blue language of his first draft because a primary audience for my book Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman is young people. And he asked my opinion on every subsequent draft, willing to honor just about all of my requests.
My Cracked experience was all it was cracked up to be.
Posted on 6/12/15, this piece (the latest high-profile brand to join the crusade to promote the cultural contribution of Bill Finger) notched nearly half a million views in two days.
The author of the piece is Cezary Jan Strusiewicz, who was wonderful to work with. He graciously agreed to tone down the blue language of his first draft because a primary audience for my book Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman is young people. And he asked my opinion on every subsequent draft, willing to honor just about all of my requests.
My Cracked experience was all it was cracked up to be.
June 5, 2015
Speaking at Miller Library, Ellicott City, MD
On 6/2/15, I had the pleasure of speaking at the handsome Miller Library in Ellicott City, MD. They kindly allowed me to share some of my favorite photos from the evening:
revealing the number of times Billwas credited as co-creator in his lifetime
© Howard County Library System; photography by Geoffrey S. Baker
revealing the number of times Billwas credited as co-creator in his lifetime
© Howard County Library System; photography by Geoffrey S. Baker
June 4, 2015
“Boys of Steel”...and Batman...on cover of library catalog
In a nod to the nationwide summer reading library theme “Every Hero Has a Story,” the cover of the 2015 summer programming catalog for the Howard County (MD) Library System features Batman reading…about the competition.
June 3, 2015
Final school visit of 2014-15 academic year
On 6/1/15, I had the pleasure of closing out a busy, fulfilling school year of author visits with the enthusiastic, empathetic students of Lunsford Middle School in Chantilly, VA.
I spoke to three groups, each a grade comprising 500 kids. These kids were more liberal with their applause than at any other school I can recall, particularly after bittersweet revelations such as when I told the sad but true story of a family forced to move out of their home when they could no longer afford it. But that is not the part they clapped for, of course. This was: as that family was packing up, they discovered that their basement unknowingly hid a copy of Action Comics #1, the world’s most valuable comic book…and it saved their house.
Middle schoolers are in that sweet spot—old enough to have a more sophisticated sense of compassion for others, young enough not to be self-conscious about displaying that.
My kind host was Angela Couse; here we are with Angela’s fellow and also kind librarian, Katharina Reed (right):
After my first of three talks, I noticed that Katharina had modified her shirt as shown:
Speaking of zooming in, let’s also get closer to that very cool (and perhaps unprecedented) initials logo the school made for my visit. It appeared both as a screensaver before my presentation and as the centerpiece of a heartfelt thank you note Angela and the students prepared for me:
They meant business:
I particularly appreciated this comment:
“I never knew anything about the history of [superhero] creators, thanks! Now I’m going to annoyingly correct people who got it wrong.”
I am alright with that.
Schools, see you in September.
I spoke to three groups, each a grade comprising 500 kids. These kids were more liberal with their applause than at any other school I can recall, particularly after bittersweet revelations such as when I told the sad but true story of a family forced to move out of their home when they could no longer afford it. But that is not the part they clapped for, of course. This was: as that family was packing up, they discovered that their basement unknowingly hid a copy of Action Comics #1, the world’s most valuable comic book…and it saved their house.
Middle schoolers are in that sweet spot—old enough to have a more sophisticated sense of compassion for others, young enough not to be self-conscious about displaying that.
My kind host was Angela Couse; here we are with Angela’s fellow and also kind librarian, Katharina Reed (right):
After my first of three talks, I noticed that Katharina had modified her shirt as shown:
Speaking of zooming in, let’s also get closer to that very cool (and perhaps unprecedented) initials logo the school made for my visit. It appeared both as a screensaver before my presentation and as the centerpiece of a heartfelt thank you note Angela and the students prepared for me:
They meant business:
I particularly appreciated this comment:
“I never knew anything about the history of [superhero] creators, thanks! Now I’m going to annoyingly correct people who got it wrong.”
I am alright with that.
Schools, see you in September.
May 28, 2015
Howard County library talks, summer 2015
The summer 2015 reading theme for libraries around the country is “Every Hero Has a Story.” Naturally, that’s an idea I can get behind.
I’ll be speaking at numerous libraries throughout the summer, including two in Howard County, Maryland. I absolutely love this cheeky image accompanying the listings on Facebook:
I’ll be speaking at numerous libraries throughout the summer, including two in Howard County, Maryland. I absolutely love this cheeky image accompanying the listings on Facebook:
May 27, 2015
Thank you letters from Portland, TX 6th graders
On 5/7/15, I had the pleasure of speaking for the third year in a row at Gregory-Portland Intermediate School in Portland, TX. My kind host Cati Partridge made sure the visit was as lovely as the previous two years, and the kids again showed the kind of manners that never go out of style by writing me thank you notes.
Favorite passages:
“You’ll be famous, but not in the way Bob Kane was.”“If you write back to me, I’ll tell my grandma she doesn’t have to get me a PS3 for my birthday this year! I’ll just frame up the letter and hang it on my wall!”“I wasn’t expecting that Bob Kane would take all the credit for Batman. I so totally would have gone all Joker on him.”“You shine like Batman in front of the moon.”“I think about Bill Finger and how he never got the fame or recognition that he so deserved so I think that the fact that you’re informing people all over the U.S. is a big thing.”“You looked like an ordinary guy, but when you talked about all your discoveries, I was wondering how you have not sold a trillion copies of Boys of Steel!”“I’m now and forever in your army!”“May your army unite!”“You changed how I think about writing.”“I went home and told my parents all about it. They loved the story.”“I saw a connection between the creators and Batman and Superman. Joe and Jerry were like they were from a far-off planet, like Superman. Bill was living in secret, like Batman.”“If Superman is the ‘Man of Steel,’ and human bones are five times stronger than steel, does that mean I’m five times stronger than Superman?”“I told my family, Batman fans, about what I learned and they were amazed that I knew this. I credited you, of course.”“Soon you can come to my house and my dad will smoke up some deer sausage.”
Note: Some students referenced an army because near the conclusion of my presentation, I say some variation on this: “You’re in my army now because you now know the truth about Bill Finger. The ability to tell the truth is the closest we mere mortals come to having a superpower. The truth can change history.”
Favorite passages:
“You’ll be famous, but not in the way Bob Kane was.”“If you write back to me, I’ll tell my grandma she doesn’t have to get me a PS3 for my birthday this year! I’ll just frame up the letter and hang it on my wall!”“I wasn’t expecting that Bob Kane would take all the credit for Batman. I so totally would have gone all Joker on him.”“You shine like Batman in front of the moon.”“I think about Bill Finger and how he never got the fame or recognition that he so deserved so I think that the fact that you’re informing people all over the U.S. is a big thing.”“You looked like an ordinary guy, but when you talked about all your discoveries, I was wondering how you have not sold a trillion copies of Boys of Steel!”“I’m now and forever in your army!”“May your army unite!”“You changed how I think about writing.”“I went home and told my parents all about it. They loved the story.”“I saw a connection between the creators and Batman and Superman. Joe and Jerry were like they were from a far-off planet, like Superman. Bill was living in secret, like Batman.”“If Superman is the ‘Man of Steel,’ and human bones are five times stronger than steel, does that mean I’m five times stronger than Superman?”“I told my family, Batman fans, about what I learned and they were amazed that I knew this. I credited you, of course.”“Soon you can come to my house and my dad will smoke up some deer sausage.”
Note: Some students referenced an army because near the conclusion of my presentation, I say some variation on this: “You’re in my army now because you now know the truth about Bill Finger. The ability to tell the truth is the closest we mere mortals come to having a superpower. The truth can change history.”
May 26, 2015
Brandeis University alumni in the arts
I’m a proud alum of Brandeis and also proud to be among this distinguished crew, which they’re calling the American Studies Alumni Board:
Stan M. Brooks ‘79, Professor, American Film InstituteJenna Berger ‘09, Industry Analyst, Automotive, Google Drew Elovitz ‘09, Social Media Editor, Teen Vogue at Condé Nast Scott Feinberg ‘08, Awards Analyst, The Hollywood ReporterAudrey Gruber ‘94, Executive Producer, Fuse News Mindy Schneider ‘82, Television Writer
All of these people had the same major as I did but only one was there when I was. (Maybe you can figure out which.)
My entry:
Stan M. Brooks ‘79, Professor, American Film InstituteJenna Berger ‘09, Industry Analyst, Automotive, Google Drew Elovitz ‘09, Social Media Editor, Teen Vogue at Condé Nast Scott Feinberg ‘08, Awards Analyst, The Hollywood ReporterAudrey Gruber ‘94, Executive Producer, Fuse News Mindy Schneider ‘82, Television Writer
All of these people had the same major as I did but only one was there when I was. (Maybe you can figure out which.)
My entry:
May 18, 2015
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Children’s Literature Conference 2015
On 5/1/15, I was one of two keynote speakers at the 19th annual University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Children’s Literature Conference.
The other was Ben Sapp, a dapper chap whose path I’ve crossed before.
I was happy to discover that attendees appreciated the conference as I did, as this feedback on my presentation indicates:
“Would love to hear more from this guy!”“So good! Glad I heard his story! Can’t wait to read it!”“I thoroughly enjoyed this session and would love to see him again.”“I enjoyed his laid back approach to teaching. I can bring back several ideas to the library.”“I love this guy! He inspires me to do more research.”“I got many program ideas for our public library. He was an engaging speaker and very entertaining.”“I would take a workshop that he was teaching again.”“Outstanding presentation. Had to buy two of his books.”“Funny, engaging, and interesting. Great study of the genre.”“Great ideas to use with student writing!”“What a great and entertaining speaker. His talk was so interesting.”“Fantastic inspirational speaker.”“I’ve become a Bill Finger advocate!”“Great speaker and author. Will be back to hear more outstanding speakers like Marc Tyler Nobleman.”
The other was Ben Sapp, a dapper chap whose path I’ve crossed before.
I was happy to discover that attendees appreciated the conference as I did, as this feedback on my presentation indicates:
“Would love to hear more from this guy!”“So good! Glad I heard his story! Can’t wait to read it!”“I thoroughly enjoyed this session and would love to see him again.”“I enjoyed his laid back approach to teaching. I can bring back several ideas to the library.”“I love this guy! He inspires me to do more research.”“I got many program ideas for our public library. He was an engaging speaker and very entertaining.”“I would take a workshop that he was teaching again.”“Outstanding presentation. Had to buy two of his books.”“Funny, engaging, and interesting. Great study of the genre.”“Great ideas to use with student writing!”“What a great and entertaining speaker. His talk was so interesting.”“Fantastic inspirational speaker.”“I’ve become a Bill Finger advocate!”“Great speaker and author. Will be back to hear more outstanding speakers like Marc Tyler Nobleman.”
