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General Question: What constitutes a "Popufur"
General | Posted 10 years agoI know some people don't like the word. I've never minded it because to me it doesn't just mean "popular". It seems more to say, someone that is popular primarily in the furry fandom. So Ursula Vernon is a popular artist and Tanidareal is a popufur. I also don't take it to mean anything particularly negative, in the same way celebrity doesn't even tough some think of celebrities in a very negative light.
I've been thinking though, how do other people see the word? So tell me netizens. How do you define it? What is a popufur? How do you know someone is one? Is it number of watchers or something easily tangible or something more?
I'm not looking to argue or fight about it, just looking to know everyone's point of view for curiosity's sake.
My personal view. Like I said I think it's someone popular with the fandom. Generally I think of popufurs as those with at least 10k watchers, though such a thing does not strictly tie to FA watches, just in general it seems to.
I've been thinking though, how do other people see the word? So tell me netizens. How do you define it? What is a popufur? How do you know someone is one? Is it number of watchers or something easily tangible or something more?
I'm not looking to argue or fight about it, just looking to know everyone's point of view for curiosity's sake.
My personal view. Like I said I think it's someone popular with the fandom. Generally I think of popufurs as those with at least 10k watchers, though such a thing does not strictly tie to FA watches, just in general it seems to.
"Arm Youself, Be Strong"
General | Posted 10 years agoOn a different note to get a break from that train wreck of a journal...I did a thing
I was doing some writing exercises and started to do a little story inspired by something that happened at anthrocon.
It still needs some planning, I might make it a story or a community "choose the outcome" type event. Either way, I wrote a little snippet for the intro.
Everyone has an origin story, a defining moment. Now for most people the story is simple and goes exactly as expected, the defining moment is so small and subtle you may not even notice it was there in the first place. I thought that was my story. I was wrong.
When I was younger I used to fantasize about going on some magical adventure. I liked to imagine I secretly had magic, or perhaps I would find the egg of a mythical creature. Over time, when too many dragon eggs turned out to be pinecones or oddly shaped rocks, I stopped thinking anything interesting would happen. There would be no wise sage to somberly pass on to me a magic sword with one final word of advice…
“Arm yourself. Be strong.”
Well turns out it wasn’t a sage it was a drunkard, and it wasn’t a sword it was a butter knife. Those were the words of advice I received though.
I was doing some writing exercises and started to do a little story inspired by something that happened at anthrocon.
It still needs some planning, I might make it a story or a community "choose the outcome" type event. Either way, I wrote a little snippet for the intro.
Everyone has an origin story, a defining moment. Now for most people the story is simple and goes exactly as expected, the defining moment is so small and subtle you may not even notice it was there in the first place. I thought that was my story. I was wrong.
When I was younger I used to fantasize about going on some magical adventure. I liked to imagine I secretly had magic, or perhaps I would find the egg of a mythical creature. Over time, when too many dragon eggs turned out to be pinecones or oddly shaped rocks, I stopped thinking anything interesting would happen. There would be no wise sage to somberly pass on to me a magic sword with one final word of advice…
“Arm yourself. Be strong.”
Well turns out it wasn’t a sage it was a drunkard, and it wasn’t a sword it was a butter knife. Those were the words of advice I received though.
Is it possible to be civil in the furry fandom?
General | Posted 10 years agoYou probably just immediately answered the titular question, probably with something like "yes duh" or maybe even "no people are dicks", it's a question I have really been asking myself lately.
A more accurate portrayal of the question is "Can one be civil in the furry fandom without also getting a lot of weird baggage from other people?" and to be honest I am getting closer and closer to the "no" lately.
Now for the past few years now I've been the staff member of something or another, and took the effort of being personable and approachable. Since my fursuit stuff became known if not popular I've continued to make an effort t be approachable to help people or chat if they want.
It wasn't until recently that I realized how fucked up some of my interactions with people have been sometimes. For instance I like to joke about my friendship with Deo, she is a big burly mechanic and I am an academic, that's basic sitcom rules. But with little jokes comes perpetually people asking me two things 1. Are Deo and I dating? or 2. Asking me to talk to her for others or basically act as her hound/messenger.
I find the latter to be far more detestable than the former, as you can probably guess from my previous journals. 1 I can let pass, people see the jokes often enough and think we are together, whatever. 2 is basically asking me to be someone's keeper and I hate it.
But as I noticed that people are kinda weird about asking me about Deo and to follow up for them, I thought about other baggage i've had to deal with. I've had a lot of people flip out on me in the past by doing staff work, making it far more personal than it is like assuming I have a problem with them because they didn't get a position, or because they had some action done, and largely it's because these people expected through a basic civil discussion that I owed them placement, or priority in staff action, or something like that. Severe nepotism aside the fact that basic civil discussion means something seems weird to me.
Recently I started using my fandom skype and facebook again. It's not hard to hold a basic conversation if someone wants to ask about fursuits or say hello, but in the course of a few days I'm already skeeved out and kinda wanting to leave the fandom for a while and just stick to cons.
I've had people using my character without asking in fanfiction stuff, something I always find rather invasive. I had someone randomly decide to denote me as a relative without asking...
All of this because I bothered to be available for basic non-personal conversation. The type of nonsense you could say around a watercooler.
I don't particularly want to shut down and not talk to people anymore. I like talking with people, helping with fursuits, etc. I don't want to be cold and stand offish...but all of this is getting so damn tiresome and I don't have the energy to constantly deal with people that take "did you have a nice day" as carte blanche of we are now best friends.
I'm not sure if this is something other people deal with or not, perhaps I'm really just growing out of the fandom, but i'm becoming more and more convinced that there's no room for civil acquaintances in the fandom, it's either we're all best friends, or you're a hermit...
A more accurate portrayal of the question is "Can one be civil in the furry fandom without also getting a lot of weird baggage from other people?" and to be honest I am getting closer and closer to the "no" lately.
Now for the past few years now I've been the staff member of something or another, and took the effort of being personable and approachable. Since my fursuit stuff became known if not popular I've continued to make an effort t be approachable to help people or chat if they want.
It wasn't until recently that I realized how fucked up some of my interactions with people have been sometimes. For instance I like to joke about my friendship with Deo, she is a big burly mechanic and I am an academic, that's basic sitcom rules. But with little jokes comes perpetually people asking me two things 1. Are Deo and I dating? or 2. Asking me to talk to her for others or basically act as her hound/messenger.
I find the latter to be far more detestable than the former, as you can probably guess from my previous journals. 1 I can let pass, people see the jokes often enough and think we are together, whatever. 2 is basically asking me to be someone's keeper and I hate it.
But as I noticed that people are kinda weird about asking me about Deo and to follow up for them, I thought about other baggage i've had to deal with. I've had a lot of people flip out on me in the past by doing staff work, making it far more personal than it is like assuming I have a problem with them because they didn't get a position, or because they had some action done, and largely it's because these people expected through a basic civil discussion that I owed them placement, or priority in staff action, or something like that. Severe nepotism aside the fact that basic civil discussion means something seems weird to me.
Recently I started using my fandom skype and facebook again. It's not hard to hold a basic conversation if someone wants to ask about fursuits or say hello, but in the course of a few days I'm already skeeved out and kinda wanting to leave the fandom for a while and just stick to cons.
I've had people using my character without asking in fanfiction stuff, something I always find rather invasive. I had someone randomly decide to denote me as a relative without asking...
All of this because I bothered to be available for basic non-personal conversation. The type of nonsense you could say around a watercooler.
I don't particularly want to shut down and not talk to people anymore. I like talking with people, helping with fursuits, etc. I don't want to be cold and stand offish...but all of this is getting so damn tiresome and I don't have the energy to constantly deal with people that take "did you have a nice day" as carte blanche of we are now best friends.
I'm not sure if this is something other people deal with or not, perhaps I'm really just growing out of the fandom, but i'm becoming more and more convinced that there's no room for civil acquaintances in the fandom, it's either we're all best friends, or you're a hermit...
Challenge Accepted Photo Suggestions
General | Posted 10 years agoI'm going to ride around town and do a "challenge accepted" photoshoot for my suit. So if you have suggestions for things you want me to attempt to do in suit tomorrow please post them.
Nothing illegal, nothing that will kill me (I.E. get hit by a car).
Thus far the list is
1. Picture in an intersection.
Nothing illegal, nothing that will kill me (I.E. get hit by a car).
Thus far the list is
1. Picture in an intersection.
Comprehensive Fursuiting Guide (Taking Questions)
General | Posted 10 years agoI am updating the fursuit guide to be more comprehensive, so there will be a one stop spot for questions about maintenance, performance, safety, how to commission, etc. I want to be sure I cover everything so if you have any questions regarding fursuits please send the question through this form http://goo.gl/forms/8ZKJ3lc7um
And please spread the word. Th more questions I get the better this guide can be.
And please spread the word. Th more questions I get the better this guide can be.
AC Con Report
General | Posted 10 years agoAfter nearly a day of sleeping and rehydrating i'm finally sitting down to write out my con report.
First and foremost I want to thank everyone that took the time to say hi and just chat a bit. I say this with as much gratitude and sincerity possible but I was deeply humbled by each and every single person that took the time to come talk to me about suiting, my art, even the silly videos i've done in the past.
I know this sounds corny or self promoting, but I do love to hear from everyone, because I honestly feel so humbled that I can have some impact, even minor on someone's life. I know I have a fairly popular character at this point but that only means anything to me because I get the chance to talk to you guys at cons and find i've helped make someone laugh or helped them with suiting.
This con in particular. Perhaps it's a good thing I don't talk in suit much because I was rendered speechless by the kind words and just people happy to see me for a short time and talk about what they enjoy. Thank you so much everyone that follows for my art, my suit work, my journals from time to time. I am truly flattered, and humbled, and while there's the passing joke that my suit is "popufur" and such I hold no illusions that I would be nothing, and this all would mean nothing without all of you involved.
There are by and far waaaay too many people to mention, so I'm sorry if I forgot you in my journal.
So Wednesday. Con started with a 5 hour drive with
and her stupid GPS Karen, fucking Karen. The trip was awesome, we talked for hours and ended up getting in. She stayed in my room at the Courtyard for the night. The others in our room were 
and her husband 
We all of course suited up and hit the lobby. Sic and Rio in their short muzzle suits, and lemme just tell you, guys, you need to see this pair. They are a fucking gorgeous pair of suits. I might be biased but goddamn there's few suits out there that got together so well as works of art and in their performance. Serious check their shit out, it was a pleasure and one of the few times I felt like the odd one out in a suiting groups. Honestly every time someone asked for a picture I was certain they just wanted those two. I'm ranting a bit, but they're pretty go look at them!
Anyway we suited Wednesday evening and had a great time. It was a little entertaining because part way through the balaclava slipped over my eyes in my head. So I'm sorry if I ignored anyone wed night or didn't really interact much. I was blind and waiting for my handler or Rio and Sic so I could get to the headless lounge. There was no ban hammer this year because it popped and the replacement didn't work out, so I need to take the time to make a big proper foam on. Comment if you know good cosplay weapons tutorials.
Thursday I woke up and got into suit in order to hit the reg line, then almost immediately had to break the magic because the reg area did not have good air flow and I was slowly dying. I made mistake, such mistakes...horrible mistakes. Got reg done, suited more. The 4th of our room Ken showed up and we hit the reg line again lol.
In the evening we met up with
, , and FFs crew who I do not know their FAs but I believe it was 
and 
and I think Taboo. We decided to play some cards against humanity but wanted a quieter place, so we went on a hunt for a room. We ended up on the third floor of the con center with a little folding table and chairs hiding away in a little alcove. It was rather funny how our group acted like it was jewel heist or something. Freezing if anyone walked by and sneaking to the corner with a look out,
We got in contact with
on Deo's ancient flip phone. Seriously it was a blast from the past using that thing. Unfortunately as Barefoot finally found us so did con security, which lead to one of the most amusing little exchanges.
"This isn't function space guys" "we're not functioning (ken)" "Well neither am I, but we do need you to pack up here" I will give it to AC staff. They are seriously wonderful people. I fully expected to get told off for being where were weren't really supposed to be but this wonderful person explained that they understood us wanting a spot to play and that the tabletop room was open for the next few hours.
AC is the best con for a reason and I can't compliment the staff enough for being kind, understanding, and jovial when they were absolutely in the right to just tell us to GTFO. I should have gotten the person's name in retrospect to give compliments to con ops.
Anyway we ran into Foof on the way to tabletop room who was with
so we went to the room where we were joined by the lovely wonderful 
it was a rousing game of horribleness filled with laughs and silly trivia about Nightcrawler's endowdness as well as opinions on fonts. Eventually the con center shut down and we all split to get to bed.
Friday was filled with more suiting, all the suiting all the time, forever. I suited around con and made my rounds. I had the absolute pleasure of talking to
at her booth about animation past and present and watch some doodling. Such a talented artist and intelligent conversationalist. Anyway the suiting was all so that I could make it to the 
photoshoot. It's always nice to see the other scribblesuits. I'm not super close with everyone, and I know people like to assume we're some elite club, but really it's just nice to talk to and commiserate with people that have a similar experience. At least that's how I feel about the matter.
Honestly I really love the onefurall shoots because I'm the shortest often (Unless Kuhori) is around. So it mostly is just me standing still for twenty minutes in the middle somewhere while all the poses are worked out. And it's funny, I dunno if you guys have ever seen a largish group of suiters try to coordinate but it's herding cats with a bunch of jokes and funny comments mixed in. After the official shoot
and I continued our eternal war with a little rooftop battle. Afterwards I hit the headless lounge and met up with Deo and Rio and her suiters. Apparently they have learned that I tend to nickname their suits as they are being worked on (cause I like to talk with Rio as she works and I dunno the official names. She keeps them secret till she shows off the suit to the public) After that it was basically dinner and then just hanging out for the evening.
Saturday basically I decided not to do the parade on saturday. I love AC and I know that the public coming out was a wonderful thing, but I just did not have the stamina to suit that day, especially the parade which has a tendency to become a death march just due to the large number of fursuiters at the con. Instead of the parade Ken and I headed to Ben and Jerry's for breakfast, which let me witness something amazing.
There's this thing called the "Vermonster" it's a bucket of ice cream 20 scoops, 4 bananas, cups of mixings, it's a true monster and the challenge is you must eat it in an hour or pay the cost of the thing.
It became a spectacle as 4 furs attempted this together. I ended up live tweeting this whole event, the furs involved I'm sorry to say I couldn't hang out with more. They were delightful, funny, and really friendly. It was like I said an event and a real pleasure to kinda be involved in. I felt bad at the end that I couldn't even finish my two scoops. Check out their twitters spooksfox parapocalypse blinkbird sablealice. Honestly they were delightful to hang out with and things like this are what makes con for me. Being able to meet these people you wouldn't have a chance to otherwise and share a moment together. So honestly I missed the parade but with these 4 I never regretted a moment of it.
The rest of Saturday was mostly just hanging out. I had dinner with Firefeathers and crew again, we played a fun art telephone game thing that turned ridiculous as things like that tend to do. We ended up that night going to the bad fanfiction reading panel. This was amazing. Words fail me. The readers for this, I dunno your names but hats off to you. So many readers that were just amazing and able to draw me into what was the worst story i've ever heard, especially Jersey guy. whoever you were, where ever you are, Jersey guy everyone in that panel is in your debt for just making that event amazing. The whole thing got a cherry on this magical cake as
was there and drew the most astounding fanart while the readings went on, I wish I had a link to it to show you guys.
Sunday At this point it's getting hard to remember stuff, basically on Sunday we got some lunch, I got to say goodbye to Ken as he headed back home, then suited up again to make rounds one last time. This was sooo much fun. I went out with Rio and Sic again, wonderful performers as they are. We did the fursuit loop and met more people. I can't say much as with fursuiting there's always so much happening in such a short amount of time, and really it's always such a wonderful experience. This was my best day out, I was just flabbergasted by the wonderful compliments and greetings. It's more than just "cute suit" and such, which are always wonderful, but more in depth compliments where people complimented my comics, art, or even the journals I write from time to time. I love compliments on my suit, I do, but goodness is it truly amazing when I hear that someone is interested in more, in my work. They've taken the time to go beyond the moment beyond just the surface at the con.
I'm being gushy but, never in my life did I think that I would be in this kind of position, that anyone, much less a multitude of people would give a damn about what I was doing. Goddamn thank you everyone, honestly.
This con was amazing. I really needed this kind of fun, relaxation, and just enjoyment. Thank you so much for everything, everyone I hung out it. Sometimes you really need a good con to just show how astounding this fandom can be and how many amazing people are in it.
As always I am looking for pics of my suit. If you see them comment, send a shout, whatever just let me know.
Later I'll post up some more specific con stories or even comics of what went on...like having Deo arm me with a butterknife so I could defend myself.
First and foremost I want to thank everyone that took the time to say hi and just chat a bit. I say this with as much gratitude and sincerity possible but I was deeply humbled by each and every single person that took the time to come talk to me about suiting, my art, even the silly videos i've done in the past.
I know this sounds corny or self promoting, but I do love to hear from everyone, because I honestly feel so humbled that I can have some impact, even minor on someone's life. I know I have a fairly popular character at this point but that only means anything to me because I get the chance to talk to you guys at cons and find i've helped make someone laugh or helped them with suiting.
This con in particular. Perhaps it's a good thing I don't talk in suit much because I was rendered speechless by the kind words and just people happy to see me for a short time and talk about what they enjoy. Thank you so much everyone that follows for my art, my suit work, my journals from time to time. I am truly flattered, and humbled, and while there's the passing joke that my suit is "popufur" and such I hold no illusions that I would be nothing, and this all would mean nothing without all of you involved.
There are by and far waaaay too many people to mention, so I'm sorry if I forgot you in my journal.
So Wednesday. Con started with a 5 hour drive with
and her stupid GPS Karen, fucking Karen. The trip was awesome, we talked for hours and ended up getting in. She stayed in my room at the Courtyard for the night. The others in our room were 
and her husband 
We all of course suited up and hit the lobby. Sic and Rio in their short muzzle suits, and lemme just tell you, guys, you need to see this pair. They are a fucking gorgeous pair of suits. I might be biased but goddamn there's few suits out there that got together so well as works of art and in their performance. Serious check their shit out, it was a pleasure and one of the few times I felt like the odd one out in a suiting groups. Honestly every time someone asked for a picture I was certain they just wanted those two. I'm ranting a bit, but they're pretty go look at them!Anyway we suited Wednesday evening and had a great time. It was a little entertaining because part way through the balaclava slipped over my eyes in my head. So I'm sorry if I ignored anyone wed night or didn't really interact much. I was blind and waiting for my handler or Rio and Sic so I could get to the headless lounge. There was no ban hammer this year because it popped and the replacement didn't work out, so I need to take the time to make a big proper foam on. Comment if you know good cosplay weapons tutorials.
Thursday I woke up and got into suit in order to hit the reg line, then almost immediately had to break the magic because the reg area did not have good air flow and I was slowly dying. I made mistake, such mistakes...horrible mistakes. Got reg done, suited more. The 4th of our room Ken showed up and we hit the reg line again lol.
In the evening we met up with
, , and FFs crew who I do not know their FAs but I believe it was 
and 
and I think Taboo. We decided to play some cards against humanity but wanted a quieter place, so we went on a hunt for a room. We ended up on the third floor of the con center with a little folding table and chairs hiding away in a little alcove. It was rather funny how our group acted like it was jewel heist or something. Freezing if anyone walked by and sneaking to the corner with a look out, We got in contact with
on Deo's ancient flip phone. Seriously it was a blast from the past using that thing. Unfortunately as Barefoot finally found us so did con security, which lead to one of the most amusing little exchanges. "This isn't function space guys" "we're not functioning (ken)" "Well neither am I, but we do need you to pack up here" I will give it to AC staff. They are seriously wonderful people. I fully expected to get told off for being where were weren't really supposed to be but this wonderful person explained that they understood us wanting a spot to play and that the tabletop room was open for the next few hours.
AC is the best con for a reason and I can't compliment the staff enough for being kind, understanding, and jovial when they were absolutely in the right to just tell us to GTFO. I should have gotten the person's name in retrospect to give compliments to con ops.
Anyway we ran into Foof on the way to tabletop room who was with
so we went to the room where we were joined by the lovely wonderful 
it was a rousing game of horribleness filled with laughs and silly trivia about Nightcrawler's endowdness as well as opinions on fonts. Eventually the con center shut down and we all split to get to bed. Friday was filled with more suiting, all the suiting all the time, forever. I suited around con and made my rounds. I had the absolute pleasure of talking to
at her booth about animation past and present and watch some doodling. Such a talented artist and intelligent conversationalist. Anyway the suiting was all so that I could make it to the 
photoshoot. It's always nice to see the other scribblesuits. I'm not super close with everyone, and I know people like to assume we're some elite club, but really it's just nice to talk to and commiserate with people that have a similar experience. At least that's how I feel about the matter. Honestly I really love the onefurall shoots because I'm the shortest often (Unless Kuhori) is around. So it mostly is just me standing still for twenty minutes in the middle somewhere while all the poses are worked out. And it's funny, I dunno if you guys have ever seen a largish group of suiters try to coordinate but it's herding cats with a bunch of jokes and funny comments mixed in. After the official shoot
and I continued our eternal war with a little rooftop battle. Afterwards I hit the headless lounge and met up with Deo and Rio and her suiters. Apparently they have learned that I tend to nickname their suits as they are being worked on (cause I like to talk with Rio as she works and I dunno the official names. She keeps them secret till she shows off the suit to the public) After that it was basically dinner and then just hanging out for the evening. Saturday basically I decided not to do the parade on saturday. I love AC and I know that the public coming out was a wonderful thing, but I just did not have the stamina to suit that day, especially the parade which has a tendency to become a death march just due to the large number of fursuiters at the con. Instead of the parade Ken and I headed to Ben and Jerry's for breakfast, which let me witness something amazing.
There's this thing called the "Vermonster" it's a bucket of ice cream 20 scoops, 4 bananas, cups of mixings, it's a true monster and the challenge is you must eat it in an hour or pay the cost of the thing.
It became a spectacle as 4 furs attempted this together. I ended up live tweeting this whole event, the furs involved I'm sorry to say I couldn't hang out with more. They were delightful, funny, and really friendly. It was like I said an event and a real pleasure to kinda be involved in. I felt bad at the end that I couldn't even finish my two scoops. Check out their twitters spooksfox parapocalypse blinkbird sablealice. Honestly they were delightful to hang out with and things like this are what makes con for me. Being able to meet these people you wouldn't have a chance to otherwise and share a moment together. So honestly I missed the parade but with these 4 I never regretted a moment of it.
The rest of Saturday was mostly just hanging out. I had dinner with Firefeathers and crew again, we played a fun art telephone game thing that turned ridiculous as things like that tend to do. We ended up that night going to the bad fanfiction reading panel. This was amazing. Words fail me. The readers for this, I dunno your names but hats off to you. So many readers that were just amazing and able to draw me into what was the worst story i've ever heard, especially Jersey guy. whoever you were, where ever you are, Jersey guy everyone in that panel is in your debt for just making that event amazing. The whole thing got a cherry on this magical cake as
was there and drew the most astounding fanart while the readings went on, I wish I had a link to it to show you guys. Sunday At this point it's getting hard to remember stuff, basically on Sunday we got some lunch, I got to say goodbye to Ken as he headed back home, then suited up again to make rounds one last time. This was sooo much fun. I went out with Rio and Sic again, wonderful performers as they are. We did the fursuit loop and met more people. I can't say much as with fursuiting there's always so much happening in such a short amount of time, and really it's always such a wonderful experience. This was my best day out, I was just flabbergasted by the wonderful compliments and greetings. It's more than just "cute suit" and such, which are always wonderful, but more in depth compliments where people complimented my comics, art, or even the journals I write from time to time. I love compliments on my suit, I do, but goodness is it truly amazing when I hear that someone is interested in more, in my work. They've taken the time to go beyond the moment beyond just the surface at the con.
I'm being gushy but, never in my life did I think that I would be in this kind of position, that anyone, much less a multitude of people would give a damn about what I was doing. Goddamn thank you everyone, honestly.
This con was amazing. I really needed this kind of fun, relaxation, and just enjoyment. Thank you so much for everything, everyone I hung out it. Sometimes you really need a good con to just show how astounding this fandom can be and how many amazing people are in it.
As always I am looking for pics of my suit. If you see them comment, send a shout, whatever just let me know.
Later I'll post up some more specific con stories or even comics of what went on...like having Deo arm me with a butterknife so I could defend myself.
Can't wait for con
General | Posted 10 years ago3 days. I have been working my ass off, stressed like crazy.
This past week has been a nightmare. Talking friends through a failing marriage, others with relationship issues, keeping people together through pregnancy scares, and not scoring super great on LSATs. Talking dear friends down as they drink their sorrows...it's been one hell of a week.
I'm so excited to just forget all of that shit, forget work, money, troubles, and just get to let loose and relax at con. So fucking excited.
This past week has been a nightmare. Talking friends through a failing marriage, others with relationship issues, keeping people together through pregnancy scares, and not scoring super great on LSATs. Talking dear friends down as they drink their sorrows...it's been one hell of a week.
I'm so excited to just forget all of that shit, forget work, money, troubles, and just get to let loose and relax at con. So fucking excited.
AC Badges
General | Posted 10 years agoTo be delivered at AC.
30$ each. I have enough time to make 5 badges for the AC Vikings theme.
Here's an example of my last badge http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16012409/
It is not first come first serve. However once payment has been made your place in queue is set.
For a badge please have an accurate ref sheet ready. If you're interested please comment here or in a note with the title "AC: Badge"
30$ each. I have enough time to make 5 badges for the AC Vikings theme.
Here's an example of my last badge http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16012409/
It is not first come first serve. However once payment has been made your place in queue is set.
For a badge please have an accurate ref sheet ready. If you're interested please comment here or in a note with the title "AC: Badge"
What do you wanna know about college classes?
General | Posted 10 years agoSo I doodled up a half assed comic about one of my days while teaching http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16982564/
Got me thinking on what people are actually interested in, and then I got to thinking that I could help people get a better idea of college courses from the instructors perspective.
So what do you want to know about college? What do you wanna know about professors, adjuncts, homework, exams, etc?
What other sort of funny stories or types of stories do you wanna hear?
I'm looking for comic material, but also I would like to help the genuinely curious.
Got me thinking on what people are actually interested in, and then I got to thinking that I could help people get a better idea of college courses from the instructors perspective.
So what do you want to know about college? What do you wanna know about professors, adjuncts, homework, exams, etc?
What other sort of funny stories or types of stories do you wanna hear?
I'm looking for comic material, but also I would like to help the genuinely curious.
Radio silence
General | Posted 10 years agoHey everyone,
I feel bad, I don't want to make excuses, I will however be rather silent for the next week and possibly onward. A close friend has some really bad news that is still developing and I'm helping her get through it, so I'm not going to be around for a bit.
I'm still working on art, but not at the break neck speed I had before. I probably can't make the june deadline for tarot stuff at this point. I'm sorry for that, I really am. I will be around to discuss owed commissions via note. Otherwise I'm sorry and I'll see people at Anthrocon.
You can check progress on things here: https://trello.com/b/RQD5ljRs/commissions
I feel bad, I don't want to make excuses, I will however be rather silent for the next week and possibly onward. A close friend has some really bad news that is still developing and I'm helping her get through it, so I'm not going to be around for a bit.
I'm still working on art, but not at the break neck speed I had before. I probably can't make the june deadline for tarot stuff at this point. I'm sorry for that, I really am. I will be around to discuss owed commissions via note. Otherwise I'm sorry and I'll see people at Anthrocon.
You can check progress on things here: https://trello.com/b/RQD5ljRs/commissions
Does this happen with other symbols or just the losers?
General | Posted 10 years ago(this is a long one, the actual discussion bit is at the end)
There's been a lot going on this week with all the SCOTUS decisions this week, for good reason. Of course the big ticket item is nation wide legal marriage between same sex couples, however something that also got some attention is the issue of the confederate flag and its use in government speech.
The government part is rather important. The court decision earlier this week determined that state governments were not violating free speech by denying license plate designs, because governments are not subject to the protection of free speech under the constitution. This makes sense, free speech protects the population from government interference over their speech.
To be honest this case was the most fascinating for me as it opens up a can of worms for state governments. Can religious and non-religious designs now be denied for the same reason? should they? How does this work with Wooley v. Maynard? (a case that determined state's could not force people to have certain license plates if the plate violated the person's religious convictions)
I don't expect answers here, just interesting is all. Anyway in light of this ruling there's been a lot of talk of the confederate flag. Note that (so far as I am aware anyway) portraying the flag isn't illegal, it's simply that the government can choose to not display it in what would be considered government speech. That same logic, presumably, would occur if a state chose to deny any other type of design, such as the pride flag. Again this isn't that important though.
The case itself has brought up a lot of discussion about the nature of the flag itself. Does it act only as a symbol of racism, or is it that it can be representative of southern pride without the association with racism.
I'll state bluntly my opinion: I do not think the confederate flag will ever rid itself from the association of racism and no matter the intent in portraying it a person must keep this in mind.
That being said, I do not think everyone who wishes to display the flag or work with it are intentionally racist. I do not believe associating with the flag means that all persons involved dream of days where they could own people and eliminate rights. I think there is some legitimacy to the argument of using the flag to demonstrate southern pride or honor that does not necessitate also believing anyone is of a lesser race, but I think that such ideas are wishful thinking.
Again, I'll be clear. Yes racists use the flag to represent extremely racist views. I'm saying I don't think that's true for everyone.
[facetious]So how can someone believe things like southern pride and not be racist? Obviously the confederate flag is the flag of the south in the civil war, and the civil war was about racism. South was racist and the north was not [/facetious]
I think our idea of history has become very simplified, making it extremely difficult to separate more nuanced reasons, ideals, motivations, especially in things like war. History has a tendency to make the winner the good guy. After all, no one goes to war believing they are in the wrong. No one wants to believe their actions are morally wrong. So when it's time for the winners to write the history books, we see the reasoning for why the victor was in the right and the loser was in the wrong.
In the case of the american civil war we often simplify it down to racism, which is disingenuous. It paints a progressive light onto the north, as a bastion of freedom and tolerance, when in reality the north was still really fucking racist as it was. Still morally right in my opinion, it's hard not to be morally right when part of your stance is "you can't own people" but our simplified version paints things as more angelic than they actually were. It's easier to sell the battle of angels and demons rather than a horrible nasty bloodbath between two kinda shitty people where one is slightly less shitty.
There are a lot of reasons that we went to war, one of the primary ones was indeed slavery, but it was more than simply "haha fuck those people, I want to own and destroy them" on a large scale. The argument of slavery was bigger than that and dealt with issues of the governments as a republic (in which slavery was a moral transgression that could not stand) or if slavery was a matter of state property that was protected under the constitutions, in the manner of the romans (but roman slaves were a lot different from american slaves) Added to this was economics, the more agricultural south was in economic danger with the absence of cheap labor, while the technological advancements of the north left it poised for economic and in part representative supremacy. Political work in the west in regards to new territories and states being slave or non-slave states were seen by southern states as unconstitutional acts.
The large issue of slavery in the nation fed into another primary cause for war that we very rarely ever talk about. Again the civil war gets summarized as about slavery, and it was. There was one morally correct side, but the issue of slavery was political not necessarily just ethics. A big part of it was the determination of state vs. federal rights. The north was more republican, meaning they wanted to be a republic. The U.S. as it stands now is a democratic republic, we have a strong federal government (that's why the SCOTUS decision made marriage legal nationwide). The south was more inclined toward a confederacy. Keep in mind the U.S. started as a confederacy (each state acting as a sovereign authority that bands together), but the articles of confederation were rewritten to become the bill of rights, which gave the federal government more power. This was in 1787. The civil war occurred in 1861. 100 years is not politically that much time and between the constitution and the civil war there was a lot of political development on the rights of the states vs. the rights and power of the federal government.
So the southern states were concerned about a state's rights to determine laws and such for their own good. Again to the southern state they were in a very present danger of economic trouble when subjected to laws developed by northern states and representatives that had very different interests.
This is still something that we'll see today. In cases like marriage equality, the power of the federal government to protect the rights of everyone seems a no brainer, but for lesser issues it's a bit more annoying. Montana has much different problems than New York, California, or Florida, and yet often there are certain laws passed which are beneficial for those states and rather harmful for others.
This has all been rather long winded, but the point of all that history and such is to clearly address that the civil war wasn't just about racism, but also dealt with an array of political issues including the non-compatible views of a republic central government versus the state focused confederacy. Remember at the beginning of this long rant I said that I think someone can choose to display the flag without being intentionally racist or believing there is some greater race? I think when we stop taking such a simplified view of history it's easier to see how that could be the case. It is entirely possible that someone could advocate for stronger state's rights and use a symbol of confederacy to attempt to represent that.
Still even if someone completely innocently only supports state rights, the confederate flag is inherently tied to american slavery, an inherent racist system (not like roman slavery at all, even if that was the goal). Even if one is innocent of racist beliefs they must be aware of the symbolic association, and that association is never going to go away.
All that being said I wonder how true this is of other symbols as well or if it is only the symbols of the losing side that are doomed to symbolism without evolution. The confederacy of the south advocated a position that denied basic human rights, and now has no time to develop into something different.
You see the same with symbols of Naziism. The swastika while once a rather positive symbol was warped under Nazi use and will for the foreseeable future be a symbol of hatred (racist, ableist, any homosexual etc etc).
Both of these symbols are representative of losing groups, the original political or whatever force was destroyed and could no longer develop and evolve. Where as with other symbols and issues you see something different.
The democratic party today is vastly different from the one originally founded. The same with republicans. Lincoln is noted as a republican but the modern party would be unrecognizable for him. The symbols of the original group continued to exist and evolve so the original intent cant be said to represent the group now.
This got me thinking of something like the christian cross. Is the cross doomed to be an inherent symbol of homophobia? Some might say yes, others no. The christian churches all stem from the original catholic church, and the catholic church depending on the leadership have various levels of acceptance for homosexuality, but it is without a doubt, anti-homosexuality. Even the most tolerant of popes has stated that homosexuality is a sin (like many other things are sins and it doesn't necessarily damn you, but still). Undoubtedly had the christian church not risen to power under late roman empire we would have a different view of the symbol itself.
But that's not what happened. Christianity persisted and was able to evolve. I would find it doubtful if people saw the christian cross as fundamentally anti divorce or something like that, because Christianity developed beyond the representation of catholics. It's true that in this day and age people will use Christianity as a justification for their own homophobia, but can it be assumed that anyone displaying a cross is fundamentally homophobic in the same way we believe that those using the confederate flag are fundamentally racist. Seems rather harsh, after all there are churches across the nation that welcome and support homosexuals to their ministry.
Will the church always have this homophobic association or can it evolve? Are symbols and meaning stagnant only for the losers of politics and history?
There's been a lot going on this week with all the SCOTUS decisions this week, for good reason. Of course the big ticket item is nation wide legal marriage between same sex couples, however something that also got some attention is the issue of the confederate flag and its use in government speech.
The government part is rather important. The court decision earlier this week determined that state governments were not violating free speech by denying license plate designs, because governments are not subject to the protection of free speech under the constitution. This makes sense, free speech protects the population from government interference over their speech.
To be honest this case was the most fascinating for me as it opens up a can of worms for state governments. Can religious and non-religious designs now be denied for the same reason? should they? How does this work with Wooley v. Maynard? (a case that determined state's could not force people to have certain license plates if the plate violated the person's religious convictions)
I don't expect answers here, just interesting is all. Anyway in light of this ruling there's been a lot of talk of the confederate flag. Note that (so far as I am aware anyway) portraying the flag isn't illegal, it's simply that the government can choose to not display it in what would be considered government speech. That same logic, presumably, would occur if a state chose to deny any other type of design, such as the pride flag. Again this isn't that important though.
The case itself has brought up a lot of discussion about the nature of the flag itself. Does it act only as a symbol of racism, or is it that it can be representative of southern pride without the association with racism.
I'll state bluntly my opinion: I do not think the confederate flag will ever rid itself from the association of racism and no matter the intent in portraying it a person must keep this in mind.
That being said, I do not think everyone who wishes to display the flag or work with it are intentionally racist. I do not believe associating with the flag means that all persons involved dream of days where they could own people and eliminate rights. I think there is some legitimacy to the argument of using the flag to demonstrate southern pride or honor that does not necessitate also believing anyone is of a lesser race, but I think that such ideas are wishful thinking.
Again, I'll be clear. Yes racists use the flag to represent extremely racist views. I'm saying I don't think that's true for everyone.
[facetious]So how can someone believe things like southern pride and not be racist? Obviously the confederate flag is the flag of the south in the civil war, and the civil war was about racism. South was racist and the north was not [/facetious]
I think our idea of history has become very simplified, making it extremely difficult to separate more nuanced reasons, ideals, motivations, especially in things like war. History has a tendency to make the winner the good guy. After all, no one goes to war believing they are in the wrong. No one wants to believe their actions are morally wrong. So when it's time for the winners to write the history books, we see the reasoning for why the victor was in the right and the loser was in the wrong.
In the case of the american civil war we often simplify it down to racism, which is disingenuous. It paints a progressive light onto the north, as a bastion of freedom and tolerance, when in reality the north was still really fucking racist as it was. Still morally right in my opinion, it's hard not to be morally right when part of your stance is "you can't own people" but our simplified version paints things as more angelic than they actually were. It's easier to sell the battle of angels and demons rather than a horrible nasty bloodbath between two kinda shitty people where one is slightly less shitty.
There are a lot of reasons that we went to war, one of the primary ones was indeed slavery, but it was more than simply "haha fuck those people, I want to own and destroy them" on a large scale. The argument of slavery was bigger than that and dealt with issues of the governments as a republic (in which slavery was a moral transgression that could not stand) or if slavery was a matter of state property that was protected under the constitutions, in the manner of the romans (but roman slaves were a lot different from american slaves) Added to this was economics, the more agricultural south was in economic danger with the absence of cheap labor, while the technological advancements of the north left it poised for economic and in part representative supremacy. Political work in the west in regards to new territories and states being slave or non-slave states were seen by southern states as unconstitutional acts.
The large issue of slavery in the nation fed into another primary cause for war that we very rarely ever talk about. Again the civil war gets summarized as about slavery, and it was. There was one morally correct side, but the issue of slavery was political not necessarily just ethics. A big part of it was the determination of state vs. federal rights. The north was more republican, meaning they wanted to be a republic. The U.S. as it stands now is a democratic republic, we have a strong federal government (that's why the SCOTUS decision made marriage legal nationwide). The south was more inclined toward a confederacy. Keep in mind the U.S. started as a confederacy (each state acting as a sovereign authority that bands together), but the articles of confederation were rewritten to become the bill of rights, which gave the federal government more power. This was in 1787. The civil war occurred in 1861. 100 years is not politically that much time and between the constitution and the civil war there was a lot of political development on the rights of the states vs. the rights and power of the federal government.
So the southern states were concerned about a state's rights to determine laws and such for their own good. Again to the southern state they were in a very present danger of economic trouble when subjected to laws developed by northern states and representatives that had very different interests.
This is still something that we'll see today. In cases like marriage equality, the power of the federal government to protect the rights of everyone seems a no brainer, but for lesser issues it's a bit more annoying. Montana has much different problems than New York, California, or Florida, and yet often there are certain laws passed which are beneficial for those states and rather harmful for others.
This has all been rather long winded, but the point of all that history and such is to clearly address that the civil war wasn't just about racism, but also dealt with an array of political issues including the non-compatible views of a republic central government versus the state focused confederacy. Remember at the beginning of this long rant I said that I think someone can choose to display the flag without being intentionally racist or believing there is some greater race? I think when we stop taking such a simplified view of history it's easier to see how that could be the case. It is entirely possible that someone could advocate for stronger state's rights and use a symbol of confederacy to attempt to represent that.
Still even if someone completely innocently only supports state rights, the confederate flag is inherently tied to american slavery, an inherent racist system (not like roman slavery at all, even if that was the goal). Even if one is innocent of racist beliefs they must be aware of the symbolic association, and that association is never going to go away.
All that being said I wonder how true this is of other symbols as well or if it is only the symbols of the losing side that are doomed to symbolism without evolution. The confederacy of the south advocated a position that denied basic human rights, and now has no time to develop into something different.
You see the same with symbols of Naziism. The swastika while once a rather positive symbol was warped under Nazi use and will for the foreseeable future be a symbol of hatred (racist, ableist, any homosexual etc etc).
Both of these symbols are representative of losing groups, the original political or whatever force was destroyed and could no longer develop and evolve. Where as with other symbols and issues you see something different.
The democratic party today is vastly different from the one originally founded. The same with republicans. Lincoln is noted as a republican but the modern party would be unrecognizable for him. The symbols of the original group continued to exist and evolve so the original intent cant be said to represent the group now.
This got me thinking of something like the christian cross. Is the cross doomed to be an inherent symbol of homophobia? Some might say yes, others no. The christian churches all stem from the original catholic church, and the catholic church depending on the leadership have various levels of acceptance for homosexuality, but it is without a doubt, anti-homosexuality. Even the most tolerant of popes has stated that homosexuality is a sin (like many other things are sins and it doesn't necessarily damn you, but still). Undoubtedly had the christian church not risen to power under late roman empire we would have a different view of the symbol itself.
But that's not what happened. Christianity persisted and was able to evolve. I would find it doubtful if people saw the christian cross as fundamentally anti divorce or something like that, because Christianity developed beyond the representation of catholics. It's true that in this day and age people will use Christianity as a justification for their own homophobia, but can it be assumed that anyone displaying a cross is fundamentally homophobic in the same way we believe that those using the confederate flag are fundamentally racist. Seems rather harsh, after all there are churches across the nation that welcome and support homosexuals to their ministry.
Will the church always have this homophobic association or can it evolve? Are symbols and meaning stagnant only for the losers of politics and history?
And now for something completely different
General | Posted 10 years agoI wanted to lighten up the mood. You know I was half considering doing a little contest for an AC badge. I wanted something clever that would take some effort, something where the answer couldn't just be googled...
Then I ended up thinking "Who can answer the question, in the battle of Maldon, what is the meaning of ofermode and why?"
But this is probably far too obscure and dickish and I'm betting that people will just look up the first translation they could find and have no idea why. Also it's particularly dickish because there's still a lot of debate over the answer to that question.
Tolkien wrote a paper on it actually. Yeah the Tolkien of LOTR importance. he was a linguist, fluent in anglo saxon and other things. He translated a lot of old and middle english. His work with Gawain and the Green Knight is pretty fuckin awesome.
See Old English was an oral language, meaning that people didn't tend to write shit down. The stories we told back then were also oral, obviously. So shit like beowulf and such had to be remembered. English used to be rather...poetic. It had a certain meter, a sort of rhyme scheme, and by god could those people turn a phrase.
There's always something lost in translation. You lose the meter, or you lose the way the words can incite and image in the mind. Tolkien was one of the greatest writers of the English language, and his translations were able to capture so much from the old works. not everything but enough.
I still dunno that I agree with his translation though, it's missing an element, or maybe it's truly a word that can never, ever find a modern meaning.
Oh well.
I think i'm done with my rant. I needed to distract myself after watching American Horror Story.
Then I ended up thinking "Who can answer the question, in the battle of Maldon, what is the meaning of ofermode and why?"
But this is probably far too obscure and dickish and I'm betting that people will just look up the first translation they could find and have no idea why. Also it's particularly dickish because there's still a lot of debate over the answer to that question.
Tolkien wrote a paper on it actually. Yeah the Tolkien of LOTR importance. he was a linguist, fluent in anglo saxon and other things. He translated a lot of old and middle english. His work with Gawain and the Green Knight is pretty fuckin awesome.
See Old English was an oral language, meaning that people didn't tend to write shit down. The stories we told back then were also oral, obviously. So shit like beowulf and such had to be remembered. English used to be rather...poetic. It had a certain meter, a sort of rhyme scheme, and by god could those people turn a phrase.
There's always something lost in translation. You lose the meter, or you lose the way the words can incite and image in the mind. Tolkien was one of the greatest writers of the English language, and his translations were able to capture so much from the old works. not everything but enough.
I still dunno that I agree with his translation though, it's missing an element, or maybe it's truly a word that can never, ever find a modern meaning.
Oh well.
I think i'm done with my rant. I needed to distract myself after watching American Horror Story.
Hatred and rage are not excusable not matter the target.
General | Posted 10 years agoI always find it distressing to read people discussing a known killer, or really any time a group allows themselves to get riled up into a blood frenzy. The Boston Marathon Bomber was sentenced to death, he apologized to the victims. Now I'm not claiming he actually is sorry, I'm not saying we should all forgive him and life carries on.
The apology is irrelevant, truthful or not something horrible wrong happened and perhaps the death penalty really is the best way to prevent those terrible things from happening again (I don't believe that but that's more general discussion of capital punishment not important to this case)
The thing that gets me is the rage and the comments I see people make about this. "I hope they forget the sponge when he goes to the chair" "I hope they electrocute him for 10 hours" it is a fevered pitch that calls for suffering. extreme suffering.
It's honestly just sad to see. People attempt to take a moral high ground, calling for the abject suffering of another human being and for what? because they deserve it? Because they are now lesser than you for falling from grace? It all rings so morbid and hollow, like a group of superstitious monkeys screaming at each other.
"The dignity of human life is sacred/ is intrinsically good. To violate the basic rights of human beings and cause such suffering is an ultimate immoral act...and so for that I wish to violate those same rights in you"
We dehumanize people too often to justify our own anger and rage. To permit ourselves to act in ways that otherwise would be directly what we're calling out against. Again, what he did was wrong, what he did should be punished and we must ensure it will not happen again. If death is the only certainty then that's that, but there's a big difference between suffering and stopping more wrong doing. Despite such wrong doing he is human, he was always human and not that different from most other humans on this planet.
He's not special. He's not some monster incapable of any good. He is human. He is human that experienced rage and hatred and allowed them to overcome him and make him a killer. The same rage and hatred that allows people to call for his suffering is what spurred those bombings.
I particularly hate this sort of things due to my ethics background. Kantians have this terrible habit where one of the greatest principles of ethics is the value of autonomy, the respect of human dignity, and yet Kantians/deontologists will happily turn around and condemn those that do wrong, stripping them of their dignity and in punishment will go above and beyond what it takes to simply stop something, because such a person deserves to suffer.
It's distressing to see even brilliant minds get wrapped up in this kind of blood lust and attempt to excuse it with faulty logic and ethical arguments.
I really hate to see these kinds of tragedy, because it's never just the horror of the moment. There's something about death and killing that destroys so much for everyone involved, taking the basic humanity from even just a casual observer.
Don't let yourself fall to blood lust. Don't seek out the suffering of others. Rise above it. Build yourself up to be the better person rather than dehumanizing and tearing at someone to make them less. The loss of life is the ultimate punitive measure. To seek anything above that is not only pointless, but it will only lead to more death and tragedy in the long run.
The apology is irrelevant, truthful or not something horrible wrong happened and perhaps the death penalty really is the best way to prevent those terrible things from happening again (I don't believe that but that's more general discussion of capital punishment not important to this case)
The thing that gets me is the rage and the comments I see people make about this. "I hope they forget the sponge when he goes to the chair" "I hope they electrocute him for 10 hours" it is a fevered pitch that calls for suffering. extreme suffering.
It's honestly just sad to see. People attempt to take a moral high ground, calling for the abject suffering of another human being and for what? because they deserve it? Because they are now lesser than you for falling from grace? It all rings so morbid and hollow, like a group of superstitious monkeys screaming at each other.
"The dignity of human life is sacred/ is intrinsically good. To violate the basic rights of human beings and cause such suffering is an ultimate immoral act...and so for that I wish to violate those same rights in you"
We dehumanize people too often to justify our own anger and rage. To permit ourselves to act in ways that otherwise would be directly what we're calling out against. Again, what he did was wrong, what he did should be punished and we must ensure it will not happen again. If death is the only certainty then that's that, but there's a big difference between suffering and stopping more wrong doing. Despite such wrong doing he is human, he was always human and not that different from most other humans on this planet.
He's not special. He's not some monster incapable of any good. He is human. He is human that experienced rage and hatred and allowed them to overcome him and make him a killer. The same rage and hatred that allows people to call for his suffering is what spurred those bombings.
I particularly hate this sort of things due to my ethics background. Kantians have this terrible habit where one of the greatest principles of ethics is the value of autonomy, the respect of human dignity, and yet Kantians/deontologists will happily turn around and condemn those that do wrong, stripping them of their dignity and in punishment will go above and beyond what it takes to simply stop something, because such a person deserves to suffer.
It's distressing to see even brilliant minds get wrapped up in this kind of blood lust and attempt to excuse it with faulty logic and ethical arguments.
I really hate to see these kinds of tragedy, because it's never just the horror of the moment. There's something about death and killing that destroys so much for everyone involved, taking the basic humanity from even just a casual observer.
Don't let yourself fall to blood lust. Don't seek out the suffering of others. Rise above it. Build yourself up to be the better person rather than dehumanizing and tearing at someone to make them less. The loss of life is the ultimate punitive measure. To seek anything above that is not only pointless, but it will only lead to more death and tragedy in the long run.
Slowdown continued
General | Posted 10 years agoSo the headaches was a step 1 to getting a bit of a bug. Sorry guys. I'm working on stuff slowly but I can't really marathon through a commission without the quality just plummeting.
I'm still working on things step by step. I might do a doodle comic to appease you in the meantime (since the quality for those don't matter)
I'm still working on things step by step. I might do a doodle comic to appease you in the meantime (since the quality for those don't matter)
Commissions slowdown
General | Posted 10 years agoI have had a big migraine and it's starting to make it hard to look at a screen and work on commissions. so i'm going to be a bit slow finishing commissions. Sorry guys.
Please, Do not ask me to deliver messages to other people.
General | Posted 10 years agoI'm not calling anyone out, but this happens enough that it's really starting to get on my nerves. I do not like playing messenger, I don't want to be part of a conversation that does not involve me. My association with another person does not make me their keeper.
Do not ask me to get a message to another person for you. Especially if it's something involving personal drama or some business transaction. It's not my business, I don't want it to be my business. My fursona is not a carrier pigeon.
There are two exceptions to this:
1. If it is an honest to god absolute emergency that you need to speak to this person as soon as possible. If it's an emergency then I will do my best to get you guys in contact as soon as I can. The keyword here is emergency. If you ever ask yourself "is this an emergency" usually it isn't. Not trying to be a dick, but seriously I'm talking about life and death sort of stuff here.
2. If it is something of a time sensitive message and I am physically in contact with this person then cool. Considering I don't live with or around other furs this is essentially just con stuff. If you see me at a con and go "hey tell Rio the dinner moved to 8" I won't fly off the handle. That's reasonable. I won't do this for business transaction stuff "tell WolfymcFurpants I put the money in his paypal for the commission" or "tell ArtistGoat i'd like the full color option instead" no, fuck you, I don't get involved with other people's business. In fact you should ask that of anyone. Keep that shit between you and the artist.
I suppose there's another thing I'm fine with "Tell friendfur I say hi" sure. This is a casual greeting, it's nice, no big deal.
Honestly this is coming off more aggressive than I ought to be but I really really hate when people perceive me as being close with someone and attempt to use me as a means to speak with them for whatever reason. They feel like i'll get the message faster, that the message will have more import coming from me, or that the person is ignoring them or screening them and they can use me to get around that. It's a dick move and it's unfair. It's dragging me into whatever private business and expecting me to do a job for you because i'm perceived as useful.
That said, it goes the same for trying to contact me as well. If you want to talk to me, send a note, and email, a skype message when I am on. Do not use my friends as runners. ESPECIALLY if it involves a commission. Its not fair to them and it can only lead to misunderstanding in the future. The only time i'm cool with it is if someone is going to physically talk to me and you might not have that chance, or if it is an absolute emergency, in which case my friends might have another method to contact me, but really, emergencies don't come up that often for that to be a concern.
So that's that. Seriously guys, stop trying to use me to get messages to other people. It's rude and annoying.
Do not ask me to get a message to another person for you. Especially if it's something involving personal drama or some business transaction. It's not my business, I don't want it to be my business. My fursona is not a carrier pigeon.
There are two exceptions to this:
1. If it is an honest to god absolute emergency that you need to speak to this person as soon as possible. If it's an emergency then I will do my best to get you guys in contact as soon as I can. The keyword here is emergency. If you ever ask yourself "is this an emergency" usually it isn't. Not trying to be a dick, but seriously I'm talking about life and death sort of stuff here.
2. If it is something of a time sensitive message and I am physically in contact with this person then cool. Considering I don't live with or around other furs this is essentially just con stuff. If you see me at a con and go "hey tell Rio the dinner moved to 8" I won't fly off the handle. That's reasonable. I won't do this for business transaction stuff "tell WolfymcFurpants I put the money in his paypal for the commission" or "tell ArtistGoat i'd like the full color option instead" no, fuck you, I don't get involved with other people's business. In fact you should ask that of anyone. Keep that shit between you and the artist.
I suppose there's another thing I'm fine with "Tell friendfur I say hi" sure. This is a casual greeting, it's nice, no big deal.
Honestly this is coming off more aggressive than I ought to be but I really really hate when people perceive me as being close with someone and attempt to use me as a means to speak with them for whatever reason. They feel like i'll get the message faster, that the message will have more import coming from me, or that the person is ignoring them or screening them and they can use me to get around that. It's a dick move and it's unfair. It's dragging me into whatever private business and expecting me to do a job for you because i'm perceived as useful.
That said, it goes the same for trying to contact me as well. If you want to talk to me, send a note, and email, a skype message when I am on. Do not use my friends as runners. ESPECIALLY if it involves a commission. Its not fair to them and it can only lead to misunderstanding in the future. The only time i'm cool with it is if someone is going to physically talk to me and you might not have that chance, or if it is an absolute emergency, in which case my friends might have another method to contact me, but really, emergencies don't come up that often for that to be a concern.
So that's that. Seriously guys, stop trying to use me to get messages to other people. It's rude and annoying.
AC meme!
General | Posted 10 years agoThat time of the year again! :0
Where are you staying?
A hotel! yaaay! (not the main one)
What day are you getting there?
Wednesday!
How are you traveling?
Carpool!
Who will you be rooming with?
, 
and Ken Crocker of Star City Games infamy
How is the best way to find you?
I suit, a lot, a looot. I also wear a bell. Out of suit, look for the button hat.
Are there any panels you might be attending?
Eh one or two maybe. I'm not running any this year.
What do you look like?
Short, button hat
Will you be suiting?
HELLS YES
What is your gender?
I R a Gril
How tall are you?
Short
How old are you?
too old
Relationship Status
Taken
Can I talk to you?
Hells yeah! I apparently look intimidating or something in person, don't worry about it.
Can I touch you?
Weird....if I'm in suit I'll give hugs.
Can I visit your room?
Nope! It's just a fursuiter room, all cold and for sleep.
Can I buy you drinks?
Sure, if we're hanging out.
Can I give you stuff?
Yes, maybe...does this come up?
Can I hug or snuggle with you?
Fursuit hugs yes, snuggles no.
Are you nice?
Yeah pretty much
How long are you going?
Till Monday
Will you be going to parties?
yes!
Will you be performing?
haha no
If I see you, how should I get your attention?
Fursuiting, stand in front of me and wave a hand. PLEEEEASE don't grab me from behind at all, ever.
Out of fursuit tap me on the shoulder, say hi, whatever
Where will you be most of the time during the day/s?
Fursuiting, the zoo, with friends.
What/where will you be eating?
Fancy places requiring ties and coattails
Can I come with you for food/fun/etc?
Ask, depends on the group I'm with
Can I take your picture?
Fursuit yes
Do you do free art?
Depends on if you catch me out of suit, with paper, and in a good mood.
Do you do trades?
hells yes
Do you do commissions?
I'm not running a table. I might have my computer to work on some stuff, catch me at the right time and you'll get a maybe.
What's your goal(s) for the con this year?
See friends I haven't seen in forever.
Where are you staying?
A hotel! yaaay! (not the main one)
What day are you getting there?
Wednesday!
How are you traveling?
Carpool!
Who will you be rooming with?
, 
and Ken Crocker of Star City Games infamyHow is the best way to find you?
I suit, a lot, a looot. I also wear a bell. Out of suit, look for the button hat.
Are there any panels you might be attending?
Eh one or two maybe. I'm not running any this year.
What do you look like?
Short, button hat
Will you be suiting?
HELLS YES
What is your gender?
I R a Gril
How tall are you?
Short
How old are you?
too old
Relationship Status
Taken
Can I talk to you?
Hells yeah! I apparently look intimidating or something in person, don't worry about it.
Can I touch you?
Weird....if I'm in suit I'll give hugs.
Can I visit your room?
Nope! It's just a fursuiter room, all cold and for sleep.
Can I buy you drinks?
Sure, if we're hanging out.
Can I give you stuff?
Yes, maybe...does this come up?
Can I hug or snuggle with you?
Fursuit hugs yes, snuggles no.
Are you nice?
Yeah pretty much
How long are you going?
Till Monday
Will you be going to parties?
yes!
Will you be performing?
haha no
If I see you, how should I get your attention?
Fursuiting, stand in front of me and wave a hand. PLEEEEASE don't grab me from behind at all, ever.
Out of fursuit tap me on the shoulder, say hi, whatever
Where will you be most of the time during the day/s?
Fursuiting, the zoo, with friends.
What/where will you be eating?
Fancy places requiring ties and coattails
Can I come with you for food/fun/etc?
Ask, depends on the group I'm with
Can I take your picture?
Fursuit yes
Do you do free art?
Depends on if you catch me out of suit, with paper, and in a good mood.
Do you do trades?
hells yes
Do you do commissions?
I'm not running a table. I might have my computer to work on some stuff, catch me at the right time and you'll get a maybe.
What's your goal(s) for the con this year?
See friends I haven't seen in forever.
...off the rails...(also story opinions)
General | Posted 10 years agoSometimes the most innocent things seem to go off the rails and out of control into places you never would expect. okay maybe not completely innocent.
So once upon a time (about 2 years ago come august) I was new to the program and was at a little house party with the other grad students just hanging out.
For the life of me I do not remember how this joke started, however. For some reason I decided to take out my laptop then and there and photoshop one of my classmate's head onto the body of Justin Beiber. To this day I am immensely proud of that shop. It got a bit away from me though, it became an image we would randomly spring on one another to cheer things up or cause a stir. Sometimes months went by and then it would appear again like a gift from the gods.
Now...now we have an empty frame, and a spot on our wall because we decided we needed art. Now it's been decided that we're going to print out and hang up the friend beiber until someone else notices. I find this incredibly amusing because while i whole heartedly agree with the choice it was not my idea originally.
Ah art has a way of touching us all.
Anyway on another note. with my little writing practice bit I feel elated. I've been thinking about getting into writing more. So here's a question for you lot. Which would you prefer, a somewhat fantasy story about beating the god of death oooor a steampunk story of a man with a limp that chases storms? Please don't say both, however neither is an option.
vote:
Steampunk stormchaser: 3
God of death: 1
So once upon a time (about 2 years ago come august) I was new to the program and was at a little house party with the other grad students just hanging out.
For the life of me I do not remember how this joke started, however. For some reason I decided to take out my laptop then and there and photoshop one of my classmate's head onto the body of Justin Beiber. To this day I am immensely proud of that shop. It got a bit away from me though, it became an image we would randomly spring on one another to cheer things up or cause a stir. Sometimes months went by and then it would appear again like a gift from the gods.
Now...now we have an empty frame, and a spot on our wall because we decided we needed art. Now it's been decided that we're going to print out and hang up the friend beiber until someone else notices. I find this incredibly amusing because while i whole heartedly agree with the choice it was not my idea originally.
Ah art has a way of touching us all.
Anyway on another note. with my little writing practice bit I feel elated. I've been thinking about getting into writing more. So here's a question for you lot. Which would you prefer, a somewhat fantasy story about beating the god of death oooor a steampunk story of a man with a limp that chases storms? Please don't say both, however neither is an option.
vote:
Steampunk stormchaser: 3
God of death: 1
E3 sale (flat color commissions 25$)
General | Posted 10 years agoIn honor of E3 and the Steam Sale, and all things videogame. I am doing Flat color commissions for 25$
I will draw your character as a videogame character. Mario, Link, Sonic, pokemon, borderlands people, whatever. Specific character, or just from a particular kind of video game world.
Prices: $25 single character flat color commission, $35 for a couple (2 characters same image)
Price may vary based on complexity (if you have a 10 armed rainbow tiger dragon with 4 sets of wings dressed up as a Jrpg character with 5 million belts, I will have to charge more, sorry)
I will draw mature content (violence, tame gore, genitals), I will not draw sexual intercourse or extreme fetish material.
To get a commission just note or comment with
Ref (visual references preferred)
Game character or character type and the game they are from. (Ex: Mario from super mario, columbia police from bioshock infinite)
Ref for specific character or thing.
Paypal only, payment upfront, the address is FayvFox[at]gmail.com
I reserve the right to refuse commissions for any reason.
I will not be doing draft sketch approvals for these, but I will do minor changes for things like markings and coloration.
I will draw your character as a videogame character. Mario, Link, Sonic, pokemon, borderlands people, whatever. Specific character, or just from a particular kind of video game world.
Prices: $25 single character flat color commission, $35 for a couple (2 characters same image)
Price may vary based on complexity (if you have a 10 armed rainbow tiger dragon with 4 sets of wings dressed up as a Jrpg character with 5 million belts, I will have to charge more, sorry)
I will draw mature content (violence, tame gore, genitals), I will not draw sexual intercourse or extreme fetish material.
To get a commission just note or comment with
Ref (visual references preferred)
Game character or character type and the game they are from. (Ex: Mario from super mario, columbia police from bioshock infinite)
Ref for specific character or thing.
Paypal only, payment upfront, the address is FayvFox[at]gmail.com
I reserve the right to refuse commissions for any reason.
I will not be doing draft sketch approvals for these, but I will do minor changes for things like markings and coloration.
July Sale (interest?)
General | Posted 10 years agoI'm pondering the future and such, putting out feelers.
If I were to do a flat color sale would you be interested?
Commissions would be flat color only. general to adult.
Would you be interested in flat color commissions for 30$?
Would you be interested in flat color commissions for 20$?
Would you be interested in badges for 35$?
If I were to do a flat color sale would you be interested?
Commissions would be flat color only. general to adult.
Would you be interested in flat color commissions for 30$?
Would you be interested in flat color commissions for 20$?
Would you be interested in badges for 35$?
Trivia Tuesday
General | Posted 10 years agoAsk me anything about anything and I shall offer answers
Turning Point
General | Posted 10 years agoSo, supposedly I will have a tablet tomorrow, what a horrible escapade of nonsense that has been, so hopefully I will be able to work on art.
Over the past few days I've finally had he time to think. I've finished up everything for my masters, I have my rent and utilities paid off for the summer, so really all I have to worry about is sitting and drawing.
It feels strange, and utterly completely terrifying, to finally truly have time to dedicate to things other than school. I'm not constantly working on preparing class material, grading, reading for my classes I was taking and was teaching, and all that other bullshit that came with academia.
I've been an anxious wreck that past few days over his tablet. I don't like sitting and doing nothing and it's forced me to fill my time. Without school I need something substantive and that is hard to find. It'll be nice to have the tablet again.
Over the next month expect a huge amount of work. I'm going to attempt to finish the tarot commissions by the end of June, plus little side commissions. so I'm going to be doing 8 hour days like it's my job (cause it is atm lol) and actually do something I've been scared to do for a while, dedicate my time, truly, to art and creativity.
If you guys have any questions, especially those with commissions due, feel free to note me. You can see my to do list here:https://trello.com/b/RQD5ljRs/commissions
It's been hard as hell the past 2 years. some of the best and worst times of my life, certainly the busiest and most draining. I'm excited and anxious to see what comes next
Over the past few days I've finally had he time to think. I've finished up everything for my masters, I have my rent and utilities paid off for the summer, so really all I have to worry about is sitting and drawing.
It feels strange, and utterly completely terrifying, to finally truly have time to dedicate to things other than school. I'm not constantly working on preparing class material, grading, reading for my classes I was taking and was teaching, and all that other bullshit that came with academia.
I've been an anxious wreck that past few days over his tablet. I don't like sitting and doing nothing and it's forced me to fill my time. Without school I need something substantive and that is hard to find. It'll be nice to have the tablet again.
Over the next month expect a huge amount of work. I'm going to attempt to finish the tarot commissions by the end of June, plus little side commissions. so I'm going to be doing 8 hour days like it's my job (cause it is atm lol) and actually do something I've been scared to do for a while, dedicate my time, truly, to art and creativity.
If you guys have any questions, especially those with commissions due, feel free to note me. You can see my to do list here:https://trello.com/b/RQD5ljRs/commissions
It's been hard as hell the past 2 years. some of the best and worst times of my life, certainly the busiest and most draining. I'm excited and anxious to see what comes next
UGH! (More Tablet nonsense)
General | Posted 10 years agoSo I contacted Amazon this morning about the missing package. Customer service was actually quite pleasant and asked if I'd like to have it by the end of the day oooor if I wanted a replacement with overnight delivery. I was like, hey cool, you can get it by today? sure! Let's do that!
Lookit that, nothing again. Asked for an update and all I got was "oh yeah, we got no tracking info, we'll order you a replacement and it'll be here by wednesday."
So yeah...I'm actually mad now. I am really mad that I was told it would be here, twice. I was assured it was going to be here today and I got nothing. Now the stupid delivery that was meant to be overnight is going to take longer than standard service would have.
I don't even have some place to direct my anger. People are just doing their jobs, but I really goddamn wish I knew where that thing was. Did the rep for Fed Ex just lie? Why didn't get get a tracking number. UGH! Rant rant vent rage rant bitch moan grump.
Lookit that, nothing again. Asked for an update and all I got was "oh yeah, we got no tracking info, we'll order you a replacement and it'll be here by wednesday."
So yeah...I'm actually mad now. I am really mad that I was told it would be here, twice. I was assured it was going to be here today and I got nothing. Now the stupid delivery that was meant to be overnight is going to take longer than standard service would have.
I don't even have some place to direct my anger. People are just doing their jobs, but I really goddamn wish I knew where that thing was. Did the rep for Fed Ex just lie? Why didn't get get a tracking number. UGH! Rant rant vent rage rant bitch moan grump.
Never count your chickens...sorry PWYW customers
General | Posted 10 years agotablet didn't come today, no word at all on what happened. I'm sorry. I'll announce when it's here so I can set up the stream and give a realistic time frame for you guys. sigh...
commissions and stream update
General | Posted 10 years agoStream is postponed for tomorrow and monday for the "pay what you want" commissions. Tablet isn't going to get here till 8pm :(.
I'll work on some off camera tonight when it gets here.
I'll work on some off camera tonight when it gets here.
