Love him, hate him, or just don't give a shit, there's no denying that the Youtuber known as Sargon of Akkad has been involved in some controversy. However, the latest debacle to involve him may have some serious implications for everyone using Patreon and PayPal's services. Following his ban from Patreon for activity that - by Patreon's own admission - was not covered under their Terms of Service, many people have been pulling out of Patreon, causing an impact on the income of even some of the most subscribed Patreon users. It's not just isolated to the political sphere, either. This wave of people pulling out has had negative impact across the platform.

That would be bad in itself, but not grounds necessarily to abandon ship. However, things get more worrying from there. After being removed from Patreon, Sargon apparently went to lesser-known funding platform SubscribeStar, and that's where the story gets weird. Following shortly after Sargon's move to SubscribeStar, both internet finance giant PayPal and another payment platform, Stripe, suddenly pulled all support for the SubscribeStar platform, effectively crippling it. This move has raised some eyebrows, to be sure, with Youtuber and lawyer Lior Leser, of the channel YouTuber Law, actually going so far as to begin the legal process to bring forth an antitrust case against for unlawful collusion.

Will the companies be found guilty? It's hard to say. However, the process is likely to shake confidence in the platforms, and on top of what's already happened could very likely harm people's incomes more. If it does go through? Better to get out sooner than later, I say. I know, for people making their money through Patreon, asking you to get out is asking you to cut off your own funding, but if things are only going to get worse, there's never going to be a better time to start looking for a new platform to jump to if everything falls apart.

You can find out more from the YouTuber Law channel; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ.....aBWoSXw/videos

http://oi64.tinypic.com/zj9xr4.jpg

"Price: $275"

Yeah...I'm gonna pay you $225 for your prepose when a decent full colour commission, made to the commissioner's specifications, averages $60-80. No wonder comments are disabled! Look, I get you've got bills to pay. I get you've gotta eat. You know who else does? Everybody. I'm not heartless, but maybe, just maybe, the reason that you're struggling to make ends meet is because you're charging more for a single picture than a lot of people (like me) spend in a month on groceries. Seriously, I'm not going to name names, but when your commission info is listing $250 for colours, $700 with a background (and this person already has a Patreon, btb), don't wonder why you're not making much money. You might get more steady work if you were willing to learn some basic economics and price your work competitively. It takes you a full week to make a piece, and you deserve a full week's pay for it? No offense, but maybe this isn't a skill you can support yourself on, then. Just because some people will pay the higher price doesn't mean that most people are willing, nor even able to. If the choice was between having some nice porn, and eating for a month, or between having some nicer porn, or paying rent, which would you prioritize?

Furry porn isn't just a luxury item. It's a niche luxury item that you can't even show off to most people in an over-saturated market. Not only that, but as the frequency of art theft ought to prove, if there was any doubt, many people don't need the perfect piece to be satisfied, just something close enough, and there's a lot of porn on the internet. Even if every artist decided to delete their gallery tomorrow, you're not putting that particular genie back in the bottle. From the most pragmatic of standpoints, nobody's really going to have to do without if they can't get a commission. In terms of supply and demand, supply is high, and demand is middling at best. It's just not a market where you can justify premium prices.

Oh, but you "work full time" as an artist? Well, I hate to break it to you, but you don't. You work on commission. You get contracted, work on the contract, and when you don't have a contract, you don't work. Yes, I know, I'm stating the obvious. I want it to sink in. If you don't have a contract, you don't work. Welcome to life as an independent contractor. You are not guaranteed an income, and society does not owe you one. In exchange for being able to set your own hours and choose what jobs you take (and let's be honest, not paying taxes for some of you), you take on the responsibility of pricing, marketing, and scheduling. You have to get enough work to put food on the table and pay the bills...and you can't just charge "one of these and I'm set for the month" as your price and hope for the best. You have to charge a price that people are willing to pay, or you don't get work. You have to be able to reliably get customers at regular enough intervals to pay your bills. Those first two basically mean you have to aim low. Not the lowest, but it has to be enough that there are enough potential buyers in your price range that even if some of your regulars aren't interested, you're sure to make your target number. Not just some of the time, not most of the time, but all of the time. Yes, this is going to be a balancing act. You need to figure out how much work you can get done, how fast, how much time you're willing to spend doing it each month, or week, or whatever, and price accordingly. You're also going to have to accept that you may have to work a little harder than you want. Maybe a lot. You don't get to take a vacation unless you've saved up enough to cover more than the time you're away, because there is a very real possibility that demand has gone down in the absence of a steady stream of product...and yes, you have to produce at a steady rate. Otherwise, it's not a job, it's a hobby that sometimes makes you money.

You just want people to recognize how awesome you are and throw money at you to cover your needs? Open a gofundme.

You know what I like about Patreon teasers? Literally nothing.

Seeing an artist posting censored or cropped images to promote their Patreon does nothing to get me to want to subscribe. If anything, it does the opposite. I don't like ads at the best of times. Patreon teasing is worse than regular ads. Not only is someone pressuring me to give them money, they're abusing my trust and support. I have taken the time to denote this person as someone I have a particular interest in. I have indicated that I specifically want to see more of their work. How do they repay me? They beg for money, and waste my time with images that I'm not going to be interested in seeing. What's the logic here?

Let's just assume for a moment that, if I already watch your page and like your work, that means I know the quality of your work already, and that I would also already be supporting your Patreon if I had the means and inclination. So these teasers must be meant to increase my inclination, since it's not going to increase my money. Do they suppose that, because I enjoy their work, I will be so desperate to see it that they can hold it for ransom? Am I supposed to act like an addict who will throw money at them and sell my kidneys for another hit if given a taste?

The fact is, knowing that there's a character making a certain face, or with their nipples uncovered, or whatever else an artist decided to withhold from their submission for patrons eyes only just isn't going to motivate me. To put it bluntly, there's plenty of free porn out there. Trying to tease me isn't going to work, and annoying people with ads is just going to have the same result as any other advertiser pestering people on the internet. When ads get annoying, those ads get blocked.

Artists need to show some respect for their watchers. Don't waste their time with cocktease notifications. Put a little blurb in your artist profile. Put a link with maybe a line of text about the rewards of being a patron at the end of descriptions on your submissions. Make a monthly journal. Hell, include additional slots for patrons on top of normal slots when you hold a raffle. The point is, you should show that your Patreon has value, not try to browbeat people into subscribing.

I just saw an artist I follow post that, because they hadn't gotten enough art of one of their OCs, they were opening up a $90 slot for someone to commission art of banging said OC. This really opened my eyes. I mean, really, what an amazing idea! Why get your own art, when other people will gladly pay full price (or even more!) to get art of their character with yours! Absolutely brilliant! I can get all the art I want, as long as it's of my character's fucking someone else's characters. If I make it an auction, I can even get paid on top of whatever the actual picture costs.

...

In all seriousness, though, can you imagine a non-artist trying to pull with their OCs what artists do with theirs? If I were to ask people to give me full price plus the cost of a single-character commission to share a piece of art with me, I would fully expect to get lambasted or just ignored completely. I certainly wouldn't have any hope of auctioning off a "slot" with my character for $100+, and yet artists offer pretty much exactly that all the time, and they always have takers. How is it any different?

Or...am I just naive? Would people foot the bill to be able to "party" with my OCs? Could I actually be auctioning off Patty's anal virginity? Or some kinky fun with Owen? Would people actually bid against one-another for the chance to get their characters drawn getting it on with mine? I'm asking a serious question, here. Would anyone be interested in that? Because I'm flat broke and not above whoring my OCs out. If there actually is an interest in this, and I've just been letting a negative attitude limit my opportunities then, please, let me know!

It's true. I'm a writer, one with at least some measure of skill and literacy. You know, just in case the stories I've written in my gallery didn't tip you off. And hey, if you haven't read them yet, maybe you should read them. Or at least skim. Because I also take commissions. Sort of. I'm still working out where I can accept cash, because I don't really trust Pay-pal, but I am open to work for compensation...like a cheap Steam game or something? Trade for a background slot in your next YCH? I believe in the lost art of haggling. I'm open to negotiation. So, if you like my writing, and you'd like me to write for you, drop me a line, and we'll see what we can work out.

Alternate Title: Who The FUCK Buys A $100 YCH?

I'd love to start this off by saying that I don't understand artists, but that's not true. I understand exactly. "Charge what the market will bear" that's one of the fundamental rules of economics, if you want to make a good profit.

No, what I don't get is commissioners. Did you all lose your spines? Are you just ignorant? Why does the market "bear" such things as YCH pictures that cost more than many artists will charge for commissions?

There are some great artists out there that will give you multiple pictures, with backgrounds and a pose of your choosing, for what some people want to charge for a no-background prepose piece. Even some of the pricey artists don't charge as much for a single commission. Either way, it's hard to argue that getting exactly what you want isn't better than getting just what's offered to you. Yet I have almost never seen a YCH, even the most laughably priced, without takers.

Why?

Did you not realize that digital art has more sunk costs than traditional?

Do you just feel sorry for poor, starving artists?

Are you simply paying for a particular name...on images that are largely pornographic and you won't show most of your IRL friends?


I don't get you, commissioners, but I think that your business sense is pretty poor. You're content to take what you're given, even when there's better offers available. You complain about the small artists you know not getting enough attention, but then wait in line to fork over a fee you could have commissioned them several times on for one picture from a Big Name. Some of you line your galleries with tons of pictures from Big Names. Then you get bored of them, and expect that because you overpaid, someone else should pay full price for a collection of images they had even less creative input on.

I am very disappointed in this community.

So, I saw some people doing 8-fact memes about their characters, and I wanted to join in. I do things a little different, though. So it's going to be nine facts, split into three categories. The character in question? My bitchy Welsh dragoness, Disgleirio Yates.


What's in a name?

1) Disgleirio means "shining". It's not really a very common name for Welsh humans to use, but signifies how she's her daddy's treasure.

2) The short form she uses, Dis, is pronounced "diz", but she hates it when people call her "dizzy", and used to beat her classmates up over it.

3) Dis' middle name, which she almost never uses, is Olwen. After the sister-in-law of King Arthur. DOY.


A creature of habits.

1) When her fire breath first developed, Dis mostly produced smoke, and developed the habit of snacking on incense out of self-consciousness. Now that she's older and has more control, but still does it, enjoying people's expressions when she blows a cloyingly perfumed cloud in their face.

2) Dis actually enjoys cooking, but hates dishes. She'll make huge elaborate meals, then live off the leftovers as long as she can.

3) Since she makes money betting on games, Dis spends a lot of time in front of a computer or console, usually playing some twitch shooter or MOBA. Much as she likes them, though, she's usually got some farming sim or "clicker" idle game going on in the background too.


It's a secret to everyone...

1) Dis says she wrecked her wings doing illegal street fighting. The truth is, they got hit by falling debris rescuing a friend's cat from a fire.

2) She has a dedicated alt on her favourite MMO just for helping show new players the ropes. She wouldn't dare go on mic with it, or else her "bad bitch" reputation would be ruined forever.

3) It actually takes a lot of work to look so good. Dis is proud of her body, and sets aside time to exercise every day, but hair, makeup, and picking outfits takes up almost as much time as her daily work-out.

Patricia, born Patrick Weatherwax, was an American farm cow who volunteered for experimental hormone treatments in an attempt to increase her farm's milk production. While physically a success, the process left her with an increased libido and occasional aggressive mood swings. Eventually, she decided that she didn't fit in on the farm and left. Moving to the city, she sought work that could accommodate her special needs, eventually landing a job as an adult actress, with the screen name "All-Beef" Patty. Trading in her stock tag for diamond earrings and hormone therapy for spa treatments and dyes, Patty discovered her true joy in life was being under the spotlight, and in front of a camera.

https://www.f-list.net/c/all-beef%20patty

Yes, this is my character.

There are some artists I really like and trust. They're the ones that I'll go back to. They're fair, they're friendly, and they earn their money. These artists...go ahead and click away. This journal doesn't pertain to you. You're good people, and the rant I'm about to go on may get a little vitriolic.



See, there's another kind of artist on this site, and in my estimation they're far more prevalent. These are the lazy artists. The greedy ones. The ones that try to make a whole month's worth of wages off of two or three pictures. Only, somehow, they do it. They do it, and I just don't understand how. What motivates someone to spend as much, if not more, on a single adoptable or YCH - a picture where you don't even have creative input - than the average person will earn in a day of honest work? What entices people to spend a week's wages on one?

I saw an auction today, starting bid $80 with a $300 auto-buy. That's already into the range where I'd say it's pretty steep. Here's the kicker, though... Not only was this for a pre-pose, but the artist put their own character front-and-centre, with only about 20% or less of the character someone would be paying to have in the picture actually visible. That's not just paying top dollar for a picture, that's paying top dollar for a picture to barely even be in it. When I looked, it was already over $200, though. That's insane! People are really giving up a week of working-people money for a picture where their character practically isn't visible? WHY?! At that point, you're basically just paying for the privilege of making the artist's OC (and by extension, the artist) more famous!

...come to think of it, if I didn't know that the artist in question always overcharges, I'd accuse them of trying to make it so expensive to keep out nobodies, and ensure that the pic went to someone "popufur" enough to make them more famous.

I genuinely want to know why people put up with this! I just, literally-really, cannot understand how people are willing to accept such predatory pricing. Do all the people bidding just hate themselves? Are they that desperate for spank material, and too lazy to shop around? Do they not know better? It just boggles my mind that anyone would ever pay hundreds of dollars for art when there are so many talented artists out there that set reasonable prices, are great people, and truly deserve to get the work!

Yes, some people are upset about FA being sold to IMVU. Deal with it.

You're not cool for making fun of them. The people that leave have their reasons for leaving, just like the rest of us have our reasons for staying. You think it's dumb that they're leaving because they don't like the company that runs the site? Newsflash: It's called fucking capitalism, genius!

People are allowed to support or not support whichever companies they like. For any reasons they like. Cut the superior-acting bullshit just because you don't share their opinions. Yeah, some of them may be back. Are you going to tell me that every time you've ever swore never to buy/shop at X again, you've stuck with it? Most of you probably can't even stick to "I'll never do something that stupid again."

Anyway...long story short, welcome to reality, where people have different opinions, and sometimes feel more strongly about shit than you do. Grow the fuck up.

This is an update on http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6547106/


Due to the actions of certain people, who due to FA policy I am not allowed to name, I've had to add a few names to my block list. Suffice to say, really creepy stalking and harassment from the scammer and their friends. Among the comments I received, taunting me about how I have too few followers to do anything, so I would appreciate it if anyone who can shared the original warning. You don't have to call it a "scam" warning if you don't feel comfortable, just, please, remind your followers to be careful about who they buy art from.

If someone charges a lot for premade art, and can't deliver right away, that should be a red flag.

If someone cannot/will not provide a digital print of the purchaced work, that should be a red flag.

If someone has high "shipping" costs for just a couple of prints, that should be a red flag.

If someone is offering premade art for double the price of commissioned work, that should really be a red flag.

Just, generally speaking, people should look at what people are offering carefully. If anything at all seems fishy about what a seller is offering, consider looking somewhere else. Especially if someone isn't offering original work, people should remember to shop around. There's a lot of good sellers out there (and I know any friends of mine are among them), so it's best not to take a chance on anyone that seems a little fishy.

Just a fair warning to everyone out there, if you see an art auction posted with really high prices, DO NOT BID, DO NOT BUY. Since FA won't let me give specific examples, I'll just say that there's someone out there right now that you should be very wary of. This user is putting up "recycled" art work, and trying to charge well above the average rate of most honest artists for commissions on new work. If called out on it, they systematically hide the criticisms, and re-post their submission to trawl for new marks to fleece.

Remember, overpriced resellers like this take money away from honest artists who work for their money. Support artists that offer quality commissions at fair prices. Beware of anyone asking hundreds of dollars to send you physical prints in the mail. Be smart with your money. Gods bless.

== Results from http://bdsmtest.org/ ==
89% Switch
80% Bondage Receiver
71% Bondage Giver
66% Non-monogamist
58% Daddy/Mommy
54% Masochist
51% Brat
51% Submissive
50% Experimentalist
49% Girl/Boy
46% Primal (Predator)
45% Vanilla
42% Primal (Prey)
39% Brat Tamer
39% Exhibitionist
38% Master/Mistress
34% Dominant
33% Sadist
29% Slave
26% Pervert
26% Voyeur
19% All-Rounder
13% Degradation Receiver
8% Degradation Giver
See my results online at http://bdsmtest.org/result.php?id=49106

[ X ] you meow/bark to get attention
[ ] you find pets toys amusing
[ ] you get hyper by the smell of catnip
[ ] you growl/hiss when someone gets too close to your food
[ X ] you growl/hiss when someone you dislike is too close to you
[ ] you purr/shake your leg when someone shows you affection
[ ] if someone tosses a ball, you chase it and bring it back
Total: 2

[ ] you love to be scratched behind the ear
[ X ] you love fish/meat.
[ ] you like to stick your head out through the window of a moving car.
[ ] you like when people pet your head
[ ] people can make you stop doing stuff by hitting you on the nose with a newspaper
[ ] you think feathers are fun to play with
Total: 1

[ X ] you sleep a lot during daytime
[ X ] you enjoy scaring birds
[ ] you lick peoples faces to show you like them
[ ] you bite people if they annoy you
[ X ] you tend to steal food from your friends/family's plate when you have eaten all of yours
[ X ] milk or water is your favorite drink
Total: 4

[ ] you own a collar and you enjoy wearing it
[ ] you own a leash and enjoy wearing it
[ ] you own animal ears/tail/paws or a fursuit
[ ] you enjoy long walks in the park
[ ] you meow/bark when you see something you want
Total: 0

[ ] you call your hands and feet "paws"
[ X ] you tilt your head when you do not understand what someone is talking about
[ ] you run to the door when someone mentions a walk
[ X ] you really enjoy cuddling
[ ] you stretch your body and whimper a bit every morning when you wake up
[ ] you can wake up and go back to sleep right away after looking around

Total: 2

[ ] you have your favorite spot besides your bed where you like to sleep
[ X ] you meow or bark very often
[ ] you hide when you get scared
[ ] you run to the door to see who it is every time someone comes in to the house
[ ] you like to chase flying insects and try to catch them with your bare hand
[ ] you tend to chew on stuff a lot
[ ] you like to do tricks to get a treat
Total: 1

[ X ] you own a wearable item/tag with your name on it
[ ] you refer to yourself as an animal
[ X ] your username has something to do with animals
[ X ] your e-mail has something to do with animals
[ X ] if you get a bleeding wound, you lick it to make it feel better
[ X ] you look for edible stuff often
Total: 5

[ ] you often find yourself looking through the window for a long time
[ ] you like to say hi to strangers
[ ] you like to be petted when you have done something good
[ ] people think you act like a pet
[ ] you growl/hiss at stuff you do not like
[ ] you like to eat grass
[ ] if you get wet, you shake to get rid of the water
Total: 0

SCORE: 15

Now, multiply your score per 2
And put on the title: "I'm #% Furry"

So, yeah, fembois. I like 'em. My Ezra might even be considered to be one. Do you like fembois too?
Check out  femboi. In case you couldn't tell, it's kind of all about fembois.

FEMBOIS!

So, I guess that FA doesn't automatically increment your age each year? I mean, I know it doesn't require your birthday. Still, you'd think that it could at least do it annually on the date you set it? Anyway, long story short, because I've never been on a site that didn't track that automatically before...like, I can't think of any other site that does it this way...I've been displaying the wrong age on my profile for something like two years now.

Anyway, fixed.

So, this just happened...

Now, as I understand FA's draconian policies regarding, "OMG, guiz! Never-ever say anything bad about anyone in a journal!" I'm not violating any rules, because I'm concealing this lowlife piece of trash's identity. If I am for any reason wrong about that, I don't care. Ban me or something. They deserve all of the vast, vast amounts of negativity that they will accrue over the course of their miserable life.

Why am I making this journal? Good question. Let's just say that people blocking anyone that disagrees with them so they can get the last ignorant word in personally offends me, and leave it at that.

So, now I'm going to set the record straight, and hopefully better underline why this user, who (out of marginal respect for FA's rules which will go right out the window and result in full disclosure on who the party in question is if some overzealous mod decides to throw their weight around in matters that don't concern them) will remain nameless, is a loathsome little creep.

First of all, I'm leaving the journals that lead to this slander up. Their interpretation of them was a complete distortion for one. I have nothing to hide, for two. For three, the fact that I criticized them and they went combing through my old journals for mud to sling reflects more poorly on them than it does me.

Now, what led to such vitriol in the first place, you might wonder? Surely, I must have been horribly offensive to them to get such a petty and hateful response? Well, not as such. From what I can tell, that level of bile is their standard reaction to anyone that criticizes them...or praises them...or doesn't want to give them money for doing basically no work. The first I found out about them, they were trying to sell $10 story commissions. It doesn't sound that back, except that it's a YCH story. They are selling the same story to multiple people, and asking ten bucks each to change names and a few adjectives around. I'd let that sink in for effect, but it's worth pointing out that they also have severe restrictions on what kind of characters they will accept, and want to charge up to triple that (Triple!) for anything that they might have to write actual new content for. They berated and abused a potential customer the same way as me for saying the price was too steep, and me for calling them out on being lazy, and a dick to their followers.

Now, as to the actual accusations...

It's horse shit. What am I supposed to say? They're completely and totally wrong about everything they said. Evicted? Nope. Still living in the same place. See, we did get the house clean, with some help from others (to whom I am eternally grateful) and Jackie was even convinced to allow a regular maid to come in, and make sure things never got that bad again. Oh, and as to why we didn't own a mop...Jackie breaks shit. She's a slob. I know it's not her fault she has brain damage, but she makes messes and doesn't take proper care of things. I don't work because I look after her (though if someone can suggest a site less squeamish about porn money than Paypal, I'll open commissions), so my hands are pretty well tied.

(Incidentally, I went looking for Mr. Big-shot Writer's le epic story commission he bragged about doing. No sign of it. Anywhere. No evidence he has ever done any story writing, let alone paid writing, anywhere I could find. Meanwhile, the art sample on his profile, which is his excuse for why he doesn't draw - and which I cannot link to because that would identify him - says a lot about the "five pictures a day" art practice schedule that I did find, while searching for proof of his supposed literary prowess. What I did find was that the FA Writers Directory only has one of us listed as a writer, while the other is a "watcher"...and I think you can guess which is which by the fact that I'm bringing it up. The only thing I can find that he's ever "written" is a typo-ridden list of kinks copied down from F-list. Gatsby it ain't.)

Natural Hair Color:
[ ] Brown - $10.00
[ ] Blonde - $7.50
[X] Black - $1.50
[ ] Bald - $0.50
[ ] Other - $5.00

$ 1.50

Eye Color:
[ ] Brown - $5.00
[ ] Green - $10.00
[ ] Blue - $15.00
[X] Hazel - $7.50
[ ] Other - $1.50

$ 8.50

Height:
[ ] Over 7′ - $20.00
[ ] 6′8″ to 7′ - $17.50
[ ] 6′0″ to 6′7″ - $15.00
[X] 5′5″ to 5′11″ - $7.50
[ ] 5′4″ to 5′10″ - $8.50
[ ] Under 5′4 - $9.50

$ 16.00

Age:
[ ] 50 to 56 - $17.50
[ ] 46 to 50 - $15.00
[ ] 41 to 45 - $12.50
[ ] 31 to 40 - $10.00
[X] 26 to 30 - $7.50
[ ] 21 to 25 - $5.00
[ ] 19 to 20 - $2.50
[ ] 0 to 18 - $10.00

$ 23.50

Birth Order:
[ ] Twins or more than twins - $75.00
[X] First Born - $32.00
[ ] Only Child - $25.00
[ ] Second born - $15.00
[ ] Middle child - $10.00
[ ] Last Born - $10.00
[ ] third born - $55.00
[ ] fourth born - $30.00
[ ] fifth born - $40.00
[ ] sixth born -$21.50

$ 55.50

Drink?
[ ] I did like once - $40.00
[X] Only Holidays or Occasions - $25.00
[ ] Sometimes - $21.50
[ ] YES - $20.00
[ ] only weekends - $30.00
[ ] Every other day - $5.00
[ ] Once a day - $1.50
[ ] I live from the bottle - $Bankrupt$ [[back to $ZERO]]
[ ] No - $60.00

$ 80.50

Vision?
[ ] perfect vision $40.00
[ ] need/have glasses/contacts but don't wear them $20.00
[X] No correction $10.00
[ ] Glasses $5.00
[ ] contacts $2.50
[ ] Surgical correction -$10.00

$ 90.50

Shoe Size:
[ ] 13+ - $30.00
[ ] 12 and a half to 13 - $25.00
[X] 11 to 12 - $40.00
[ ] 7 to 10 - $50.00
[ ] Under 7- $45.00

$ 130.50

Favorite Colors (two):

[ ] Green-$75.00
[ ] Red - $60.00
[ ] Black - $10.00
[ ] Yellow -$47.50
[ ] Brown - $30.00
[ ] Purple - $22.50
[ ] White - $40.00
[X] Aqua - $35.00
[ ] Orange - $30.00
[ ] Blue - $30.00
[ ] Pink - $10.00
[X] Other (Grey) - $50.00

$ 220.50

Letter your middle name(s) start with:

[X] a-f - $5.00
[ ] g-k - $17.50
[ ] l-p - $30.00
[ ] q-u - $35.00
[ ] v-z -$25.0

$ 225.50

Bedroom walls- select all that apply!
[X] white - $11.00
[ ] green - $33.00
[ ] black - $11.00
[ ] purple - $22.00
[ ] orange/red/yellow - $33.00
[ ] blue - $22.00
[ ] other - $35.00

(I am not counting posters, wall hangings, etc...or this would be MUCH higher.)

$ 236.50

First letter of the person you last talked to

[X] a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i - $10.00
[ ] j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r - $5.00
[ ] s,t,u,v,w,x,y, - $20.00
[ ] z - $25.00

$ 246.50

Did you use a calculator to add it all up?
[ ] Yes $0
[X]Nope- $100.00
[ ] some- $75.00

Total: $ 346.50

Re-Post as "I Cost $_________ a Night"

An argument in defence of so-called "White Knights"...

When did being a "white knight" suddenly become a bad thing? Seriously, I think that this is a question that needs to be addressed. Somewhere along the line, the collective culture of the internet seems to have adopted this idea that arguing a position that you feel morally aligned with is wrong. Personally, I find the notion ridiculous. The ability to stand for what one believes in is arguably the most laudable trait that a person can possess, next to the empathy, compassion, and open-mindedness required for choosing worthy causes to support in the first place.

Let's be honest. This antipathy towards the defence of a position doesn't come from any desire for healthy or meaningful discourse. It is the first cry of someone that wishes only to silence opposition. Annoyance at so-called white knights comes about because there are individuals who don't want to be argued against. While I would hesitate to brand everyone who protests "white knighting" a troll, the fact is that such protest is used far too often to silence legitimate criticism. Those who can argue a point through reason seldom have cause to decry someone as a "white knight".

Only very rarely is it used appropriately (or as appropriately as it could be, more so) for someone who defends a position that they do not understand, or are defending for the wrong reasons. Rather, it is a term used by those who wish not to argue with reason, whether out of a lack of patience, ability, or simply from a "herd" mentality wherein the different-thinking outcasts must be branded as such. It is used against people who have valid reasons and arguments behind their position, simply to shut them up. Certainly, there may be times where someone "earns" the label, such as through the stubborn efforts to defend an untenable position, but there are generally more accurate terms to describe these people, such as "stubborn", "confrontational", or "foolish". Shouldn't we be using the proper terms for what's really wrong with people's arguments, and when there's actually something wrong with them, instead of calling people what amounts to "a morally conscious and motivated individual with strong convictions", as though these have somehow ceased to be positive traits?

Well, it's happened...

This morning, Jackie found a notice on our door. It says that we have ten days to get the house clean, or quit the premises. Of course, Jackie took it as a straight-up eviction notice. Then again, isn't it? There's no way I'm getting this place clean, even with ten days to do it. Not with her here. She's still blaming the neighbors, like they had something to do with it. We're missing proper cleaning supplies like an actual mop, too. Even if I somehow could get everything, though, how am I supposed to get the place spotless when Jackie herself is the biggest obstacle to cleaning there is? She goes to bed in the early afternoon, complains about any cleaners used, makes huge messes, won't take responsibility, wastes all her money on fucking shoes...aaaaaaarg! She's not even trying to do any cleaning, just waiting until Monday to ask her payee to find a new house in less than a week. She says for both of us, but even if it happens am I supposed to believe that I'll be included when everyone else thinks that rather than anchoring her sanity and taking care of things that need doing, I'm just here being a leech, the payee is really going to try to make sure I'm concluded?

Oh gods...I wanna scream. I wanna die. Someone bail me out of this hell!

Yesterday, my mother-in-law insisted on a trip into Union Gap (the neighbouring town) to go shoe shopping. She dragged me along because she was afraid to ride the bus alone. That's fine. I got Orange Julius and bought a few games. Not fine? House inspection was today. Even less fine? After we got home, I came down with a case of hyperthermia. I was nauseous, headache-y, and felt like I was burning up. So, no cleaning for the rest of the day. Also, our vacuum has been broken for weeks. Now, I did do the best I could the days leading up to Monday...but since I seem to be destined to fail at literally everything I try, that's pretty much a guarantee we're screwed. Was counting on that Jackie said she'd have her caregiver do some final cleaning up this morning. Only...that apparently meant "Barely touch a few things with a rag" and getting bathroom cleaner on my dishes (this is exactly why I hide the cleaners from them >_<). Oh, and just in case I had any false hope of borrowing a vacuum from the neighbor, doing some last-minute scrubbing, getting it a little better in here? He came pretty much as soon as Jackie and her caregiver were gone. All he really said was to introduce himself and thank me for my time...but I saw the way he was looking around. I know he noticed how much Jackie's trashed this place (the same as she trashes every place she lives in). So I just know we're going to get evicted...and there's no way I can find any place to go. Oh god...oh god...my life is fucking over...

At least I got to see the girls one last time yesterday...

Every month, twice a month, Microsoft rewards their gold members with a free game...if you can really call it a reward. They're pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel with these titles. I mean, Fable 3, really? The game that killed the franchise deader than Molyneux's empty promises? Defense Grid? Crackdown is sometimes fun, but it's the most shallow and mindless GTA clone I've ever seen, too. Sure, AC2 wasn't too bad but the majority aren't worth the hoops you have to jump through to even find the free games.

Continuing this trend, this month introduced me to Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Plainswalkers 2013. Now, I'm a long-time Magic player from back in the day. I remember mechanics like Banding, and when they actually put a rule book in with the big packs...no a pamphlet, a book. Like, with a table of contents and everything. I built entire decks around the line where the book said that if the wording of a card appeared to contradict the rules, the card is right.

I say this to put things in perspective. It's been a while since I could play Magic, and I thought the chance to play again solo would be fun. I even did my research before downloading. People said 2013 was the best in the series. Heck, it's got an 80 on Metacritic! All I can say is, WotC must have some really good weed to give to these people! Personally, I found the game nigh-unplayable, and even at the low, low cost of free, not worth the hard disk space it takes to store it. The nagging messages are obnoxious, the turn timers didn't give me enough time to even remember what my cards were before going "Time's up, you didn't play anything!", the controls and game flow were painfully unintuitive - sometimes letting you take a move back and others forcing you to keep the results of any accidental button press, 90% of all hands I was dealt were disgustingly bad - showing just how poorly planned out the prebuilt decks are - while 100% were absolutely choked with lands, and the AI alternated between dumb as rocks and luckier than a rabbit anthro leprechaun rolling in a patch of four-leaf clover...and I was not playing on the beginner setting. Apparently, one of the biggest improvements of 2013 is the ability to choose which lands to tap, rather than having them automatically selected for you...something that should always have been the norm. However, you have to specifically select land-tapping mode with a button on your controller, or it will automatically pick which lands to tap for you. They do not tell you what that button is.

So, bottom line, Duels of the Plainswalkers is a poorly executed and unsatisfying Magic experience. Microsoft gives out crummy rewards. Still, if you absolutely have to have an electronic Magic: The Gathering experience...DOWNLOAD SKYPE!

Well, lesson learned, I guess. While I was at the store to day, I saw that their special on vintage sodas was still going on. Only, they were out of my favourite flavours. So, instead, I decided to try a few random ones. A few hours later and my stomach feeling a little excitable, I decide to try the Cock 'n Bull ginger beer. It says on the bottle, "THE EXTRA GINGER SOFT DRINK". Boy is it ever! It doesn't taste bad...at least, I don't think. Mostly it just burns. A lot. It tastes like burning. Burning and sugar.

Oh ye gods my mouth...

Get your girly boy drawn being forced into a skirt...maybe. There's only one winner and the odds of it being you or me are statistically unlikely. Woo!

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4975352/

Alright, I just got back from seeing this with my friends. I'm no "Trekkie", but I grew up on this franchise. Even if I don't obsess, I've seen most of the series' at some point in my life. So, I've got something to say.

Even with its flaws, I fucking loved it! I was worried that they would make it too much of an "action flick" or hide behind nostalgia to sell tickets and just try to cash in on the alternate timeline universe, but it really didn't feel like that was the case. This definitely felt for the most part like a Star Trek that Gene Roddenberry would have been proud of. It kept having moments where I'd think it was over, but then it kept going, and just got better. Sure, it had its plot holes, and there were a few big coincidences that the plot hinged on, but my suspension of disbelief has never been stronger in recent years. I don't want to spoil too much, just in case, but I will say this. There were some really awesome callbacks to the original films included. One line in particular, hearing Spock delivering it really gave me chills. If you're a Star Trek fan, and you've not seen this yet...just see it.