Getting that older journal out, and ruminating a little on where my life is now that I'm only a year away from 40.

I'm nowhere near where I'd like to be financially or in terms of living arrangements... but I'm thankful for what I have, and for all of the friends I've made in this community through out the years.

Y'all make me smile. :heart:

So, there's iron artist/author challenges and spooky October challenges, but the other day I had a thought about a new art/writing challenge to bounce off all of the current discussion about AI, to let artists go head to head with AI the same way the American folk hero John Henry went up against a machine.

I give you The John Henry Challenge: Artists and authors take prompts that commissioners have given to AIs, and then they get to show their superiority by better full filling the prompt.

After fully forming this idea in my head, I had just enough time to congratulate myself on being so smart before realizing this is, in fact, a HORRIBLE idea and is literally one of the most insidious ways possible to use an artist's work to refine an AI.









I'm still proud of the name, though.

"I don't like bullies. Doesn't matter where they're from."
-Steve Rogers

So, if you follow me, you know how much art I've gotten from a wonderful artist named   Tydrian over the years. He's been a treasure to work with, and his work always brings a smile to my face.

Well, apparently he's been suffering from some rather intense cyber bullying for a long while now. I can't go into the specifics of what's being said, because frankly, I don't know. What I do know, is that the emotional weight has been exponentially dragging him down, and I don't like seeing that in a friend.

If you can, hop over to https://www.furaffinity.net/view/46412599/ and leave him a kind word or two... he deserves them.

Sooo... don't mind the flooding; just going through, organizing my hard drive, realizing just how big my backlog of things I STILL need to post here is... trying to whittle it down a little. ^_^;

Due to my own enjoyment of medieval torture devices, I get very annoyed when I search for the 'rack' tag and wind up with a list full of over-sized breasts. >:(

Time for me once again to realize how long it's been since I've uploaded, and how much of a backlog I've developed. ^_^ Artwork dump incoming!

Sometimes I'll look up, and realize it's been months, or sometimes even years since I've spoken or interacted with some of the friends I've made here, and elsewhere online. It's not that we stopped being friends, mostly it's because I... drifted off, wasn't around in the same spots they frequented anymore.

Whenever I notice this, I always feel like I should say something, let them know I still like them, and still enjoyed all of the times we had together. But then my social anxiety kicks in, and I dread being 'too late'. That I've waited too long, and my absence has been read as a slight against them. And then I huddle myself back into a corner, afraid to try to reach back out.

So, to all of you whom I've met, and talked with, and laughed with, and played and cried and lived with... You're amazing. I know it may have been years since I've said that (or anything) to you, but... it's true. I still think of all of you as friends. Even if I've been a bad one, you were good ones.

*checks dates* it's been over a year since I put a hold on posting? I only meant to take a break for a few days to break up the flood! Bad lazy fox! >.<

So, has anyone else gotten themselves banned from someplace online for a post they made... but you still feel kinda good about it?

I wrote a bit of a scathing comment on a fallout4 mod author's mod, and they deleted the post and banned me from all their files in response... and I'm not really sorry.

The funny part is, I'm actually using the mod. :x

[edit]
To be clear, this mod author is not without talent. Far from it, in fact. They just made a very irritating distribution choice.

They had previously made several polished and highly praised mods that added some nice building things for settlements, like solar panel, working bridges, and repairing the walls of a fort you can take over. Lots of nice stuff. BUT, they then blocked access to the individual mods, and released it all as one jumbled mess, locked behind a quest and character that are blatant and shameful borderlands knock-offs, as well as creating giant, colorful floating damage numbers in combat, and dead enemies explode in a pop of confetti and gore, leaving behind glowing loots polygons from Destiny. While the combat changes can be toggled off after a time, the fact that they all come pre-enabled is redicculously irritating.

They also had a permanent sticky note above the comments section that indicated that comments critical of the mod's content, author, or asking for pieces separated out would result in a lifetime ban from all of the author's mods because, as they put it, "I'm not your b****, but I'll make you mine!"

so, my comment, as close as I can remember (because it was deleted and I no longer have access to that page anyway), went like this:
—————————
Ummm... Your stated goal was to 'create a mod better than any official DLC', but what you've actually done is taken good things that every one wants (solar panels, building supports, Castle repair, etc) and locked them behind a wall of obnoxious nonsense that no one would want on its' own. So... you've basically made something that's exactly [i]like[i] the official DLC.

Is GLaDOS around? I could use her slow-clap function.
—————————
And then I was banned. The End.

New journal to bump the old one down, since I change icons again. ^_^;

My new icon is by  kalika , have a look:

Ain't I a handsome devil~?

Folders are a thing now, at long last. Flood of neatly sorted commissioned/gifted artwork shall commence anon.

EDIT:
Question: if I'm sorting everything into "drawn by x artist" folders, do I still need/should I still have a by line in the description of every piece?

So, I HAD wanted to wait until folders officially came out to post the commissions I've gotten over the years to my own account... but as those are taking longer than Duke Nukem' Forever did, I've decided (with the help of  tydrian beating me over the head with a rolled up newspaper) to begin posting them. And since Ty's the one who got me going on this, his stuff's up first. ^_^

If you're looking to get some good art and are on a bit of a budget,  tydrian has very reasonable rates, even on comics occationally: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/15028847/

He's got a clean, simple style, so go on and give him a look if your in the market!

Are you a girl/lady/woman in real life? Do you like (or not have a problem with) pictures of girls getting tied up? go let  tydrian know~: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6716456/

Merry Christmas!
Happy Hanukah!
Merry Solstice!
Festive Festivus!

...Literate Quanza? X3


Whatever you're celebrating, do it well, and do it with style~

Happy Holidays, you wonderful people.

I turned 29 on the 8th. So yeah. That is all~ :3

well... might as well try my luck at this...

 shikoba is running raffle/contest, and this journal is my entry for it. ^_^

Details here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5101472/

Wish me luck~

Whelp, it's after Midnight, so... Happy Birthday to me. ^_^

Have a merry one, everybody~!

Yesterday, May 8th, was my birthday.
Not a bad year or a bad day, all things considered...

Go here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2096948/ and do what it says. She wants reference to practice her art on. :3

Authur Hoffman
June 16, 1918 - February 7, 2010

One of the greatest storytellers in the world died today. He will be greatly missed by all of us who enjoyed his stories.