1.0The Escapisthttps://www.escapistmagazine.comSusan Arendthttps://www.escapistmagazine.com/author/susan-arendt/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="QI1Ewtakou"><a href="https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-fanatic-issue/">The Fanatic Issue</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-fanatic-issue/embed/#?secret=QI1Ewtakou" width="600" height="338" title="“The Fanatic Issue” — The Escapist" data-secret="QI1Ewtakou" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(c,d){"use strict";var e=!1,o=!1;if(d.querySelector)if(c.addEventListener)e=!0;if(c.wp=c.wp||{},c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage);else if(c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(!t);else if(!(t.secret||t.message||t.value));else if(/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret));else{for(var r,s,a,i=d.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),n=d.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),l=0;l<n.length;l++)n[l].style.display="none";for(l=0;l<i.length;l++)if(r=i[l],e.source!==r.contentWindow);else{if(r.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message){if(1e3<(s=parseInt(t.value,10)))s=1e3;else if(~~s<200)s=200;r.height=s}if("link"===t.message)if(s=d.createElement("a"),a=d.createElement("a"),s.href=r.getAttribute("src"),a.href=t.value,!o.test(a.protocol));else if(a.host===s.host)if(d.activeElement===r)c.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)c.addEventListener("message",c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),d.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",t,!1),c.addEventListener("load",t,!1);function t(){if(o);else{o=!0;for(var e,t,r,s=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 10"),a=!!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident.*rv:11\./),i=d.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),n=0;n<i.length;n++){if(!(r=(t=i[n]).getAttribute("data-secret")))r=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),t.src+="#?secret="+r,t.setAttribute("data-secret",r);if(s||a)(e=t.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),t.parentNode.replaceChild(e,t);t.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:r},"*")}}}}(window,document); </script> The first time I encountered the term “fanatic” was while watching an episode of The Facts of Life. Yes, that Facts of Life, the one with Mrs. Garrett and Tootie and Blair of the fabulous hair. Tootie was such a devoted fan of Jermaine Jackson (I think it was Jermaine – I get the lesser Jacksons confused) that she flew into hysterics at the thought the she wouldn’t be allowed to attend his concert. Cue Mrs. Garrett’s concerned murmurings that “fan” was short for “fanatic.” I didn’t quite understand how someone could get so worked up over their fondness for […]