Yes, the title of this journal is a little sensationalist, but I think it should be.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/uganda_stop.....ion/?slideshow

In about ten hours, the Ugandan government is voting on a bill that would legalize the death penalty just for being gay. This is atrocious. I'm to understand that they've tried this before, and failed because of public outcry. Let's stick it to the system, hm?
Go sign the petition in the link.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/uganda_stop.....ion/?slideshow

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5721500/

Click on the link. Go look at it and read the text. Give me feedback. If you know me personally, and know anyone else who knows me, please point them in my direction. If feedback is good I may be opening up later this week. If not, I'll revise and ask again.
Please don't make me regret this.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5721500/

Again, not me, but a raffle sort of deal by this wonderful person  achiga =3

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2316606/ Go there, and tell them I sent ya ;3 Srsly, it's important.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2316343/

 celestialwolfen Is doing a raffle! Go look!

I posted a journal referring to this, and I wanna see more people go and do this. You can vote once every day, so come one, Let's have some participation here! There's even more stuff you could win now, too. Go vote here: http://family.go.com/happily-ever-a.....friends-70906/

Reposted from  ookaminobaka , original journal is here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2263645/
Go to the original journal to comment.


Hello furries and fur-iends! :3

Want to win free art? How about free t-shirts? How about tickets to an off the hook party?

Please help some fellow furries out by voting for us to win a dream wedding. There are tons of prizes available to those who vote for us and share this message with friends, so please vote and share this message with other furries who can vote for us as well.

As some of you may know Furkitfox and I are engaged to be married. He actually proposed to me at Disneyworld earlier this year during a trip with his family. Our speculation was that we weren't going to get married until a) it is legal in Washington and b) we can afford it (since there's no bride, there's nobody to pay for the wedding for us). I have always had a dream of getting married at Disneyworld in some fairy tale wedding, but that's always kinda looked like an impossible dream for the two of us. Cause we ain't exactly rich.

Well, Disney is going to make that specific dream a reality for one lucky couple. They've started a contest where the goal is to vote for your favorite couple to win the wedding. All we needed to do was submit a photo of us and tell a short story about why we should win. So far we're one of only a few gay couples who have entered, which is interesting, so I'm hoping to make some waves in the furry community and get a lot of votes.

So far the number one submission on there has around over 1000 votes. That's a lot, and it seems very unlikely that we'll ever get that many votes. But then I started thinking, well, the furry community is pretty frickin' big, what if we can get this thing circulated around somehow to all the furries we know and maybe have them share it as well? There's a chance we might actually win, and even if we don't it will still be fun! Also, it will give everyone a chance to win some prizes which is always fun.

Here are the prizes! They have been donated by some very awesome people in the furry community, so if you have a chance, please tell them thank you. They are really great people and friends.

Here are the prizes that you can win!

Two Admissions to the RainFurrest PreParty Donated by Tigon
https://www.rainfurrest.org/2011/

Fur The Record T-Shirt Donated by Tigon

Three Colored Sketches by LykanThrope
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/lykanthrope/

Custom Screen Printed T-Shirt from Kittylovesmonster.com
http://kittylovesmonster.com/

Two Digitally Colored Commissions from Ookaminobaka
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ookaminobaka

So, here's what you can do to help, if you're inclined to do so (and we both really hope you will be).
1. Vote for us, of course! Instructions on how to vote are below. Remember, you can vote once every day!
2. Share this message with your friends. Please don't just forward at random, we don't want to SPAM people or piss anybody off, so only forward to people who you think will be interested in helping, or winning the art.
3. Post this on your own journals on FA, LJ, FB, Twitter, whatever, and make sure to mention the free art. =) Do whatever you can to spread the word.
4. Vote again, every day until the contest ends.

Here's how to win the prizes!
1. Post a comment on FA on this particular journal on letting us know that you voted. We'll trust that if you post, you really voted. =)
2. If you forward this email, post on the journal and let us know, you'll get entered a SECOND TIME for forwarding the email.
3. If you post on your journal let us know, you'll be entered an additional time for each journal you post it to. =)

How to vote!
1. Visit this link: http://family.go.com/happily-ever-a.....friends-70906/
2. Register for Disney.com if you aren't already registered (it takes like 2 minutes)
3. Click the button to vote. =)

Anyway, I hope this doesn't annoy anyone. I just think it would be really really awesome to have this wedding at Disneyworld and I know it would end up being the best moment of our lives together. Thank you in advance to anyone who helps us out, even if nothing comes of it, it will still mean a lot to us knowing that we have your support.

Love

The Adorable Occasionally Retarded Whimpering Wolf Jarrad Ryan Cravens

Again the link to vote is here!
http://family.go.com/happily-ever-a.....friends-70906/

LAYER ONE : THE OUTSIDE
- Name: Nominus Expers
- Eye Color: Blue gray
- Hair Style/Color: Bronze, mid-back length
- Height: 5'10"
- Clothing style: Practical/Inductrial
- Best physical feature: Everything from the shoulders up.

LAYER TWO: THE INSIDE
- Your fears: tall buildings, incapacity, the dark, my own mind.
- Your guilty pleasure: I don't know if I have any pleasures about which I feel particularly guilty.
- Your biggest pet peeve: People who refuse to think.
- Your ambitions for the future: Build workshop. Make awesome things. Sell awesome things. Make more awesome things. Oh em Gee I'm santa claus! With robots instead of elves c.c


LAYER THREE: THOUGHTS
- Your first thoughts waking up: Mmmmm that was nice... when am I and who's texting me?
- What you think about most: That's in a state of constant flux o.o but it's usually how something works or how I can make something work....
- What you think about before bed: The conversation still taking place on my phone, and/or a memory or fantasy sexual encounter. Yeah, you heard me.
- You think your best quality is: It's a toss up; intellect, insight, creativity, or experience. It's all based on which is applicable.

LAYER FOUR: WHAT'S BETTER?
- Single or group dates: My sampling has been totally insufficient....
- To be loved or respected: The two are not mutually exclusive.
- Beauty or brains: The two are not mutually exclusive qualities, but intellect is more important than physical appearance. Actual 'beauty' is also a property of the mind.
- Dogs or cats: Cats.... so much lower maintenance....

LAYER FIVE: DO YOU?
- Lie: As close to never as possible, but I still do it.
- Believe in yourself: ...No. I don't. That's my problem. I KNOW what I'm capable of, but I don't really believe in myself. I'd like to....
- Believe in love: Ohhhh yes.....
- Want someone: I have someone ^__^

LAYER SIX: EVER?
- Been on stage: Yes, lots.
- Done drugs: Yes, and I had a lot of fun, without ever hurting anyone or missing a single day of work. Sorry =3
- Changed who you were to fit in: I don't really have to.

LAYER SEVEN: FAVORITES
- Favorite color: Not every color is appropriate for every situation... oh, wait, black.
- Favorite animal: Uhhhhhhh...... god do I even HAVE a favorite?
- Favorite movie: I don't have one D=
- Favorite game: Arrrgh!!! What is it with you people and FAVORITES?! I can't have just one!

LAYER EIGHT: AGE
- Day your next birthday you will be: August 23rd 2011
- How old will you be: 27
- Age you lost your virginity: 18
- Does age matter: Age is just a number baby, it's what's inside that counts. That being said, experience is fun....

LAYER NINE: IN A BOY OR GIRL
- Best personality: Chill, thoughtful, intelligent, sweet, loving.
- Best eye color: I'm the biggest sucker for green or hazel.....
- Best hair color: I don't even care about the hair color as long as it looks good.
- Best thing to do with a partner: Connect.

LAYER TEN: FINISH THE SENTENCE
- I love: All of you.
- I feel: frustrated by my creative drive and lack of resources to act on it.
- I hide: My actual opinions when I'm afraid they'll get me in trouble.
- I miss: feeling really alive.
- I wish: I could just get my act together....

LAYER ELEVEN: I TAG
- Nobody. Everyone runs faster than me xD

Got the original article from  prawst and you can see his thoughts here : http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2288124/

I've reposted the article in its entirety below, or you can go read it here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/Story/st.....B-00212804637C


Commentary: China’s economy will surpass the U.S. in 2016

For the first time, the international organization has set a date for the moment when the “Age of America” will end and the U.S. economy will be overtaken by that of China.
IMF sees China topping U.S. in 2016

According to the latest IMF official forecasts, China's economy will surpass that of America in real terms in 2016 — just five years from now.

Put that in your calendar.

It provides a painful context for the budget wrangling taking place in Washington right now. It raises enormous questions about what the international security system is going to look like in just a handful of years. And it casts a deepening cloud over both the U.S. dollar and the giant Treasury market, which have been propped up for decades by their privileged status as the liabilities of the world’s hegemonic power.

According to the IMF forecast, whomever is elected U.S. president next year — Obama? Mitt Romney? Donald Trump? — will be the last to preside over the world’s largest economy.

Most people aren’t prepared for this. They aren’t even aware it’s that close. Listen to experts of various stripes, and they will tell you this moment is decades away. The most bearish will put the figure in the mid-2020s.

But they’re miscounting. They’re only comparing the gross domestic products of the two countries using current exchange rates.

. . .

Under PPP, the Chinese economy will expand from $11.2 trillion this year to $19 trillion in 2016. Meanwhile the size of the U.S. economy will rise from $15.2 trillion to $18.8 trillion. That would take America’s share of the world output down to 17.7%, the lowest in modern times. China’s would reach 18%, and rising.

Just 10 years ago, the U.S. economy was three times the size of China’s.

Naturally, all forecasts are fallible. Time and chance happen to them all. The actual date when China surpasses the U.S. might come even earlier than the IMF predicts, or somewhat later. If the great Chinese juggernaut blows a tire, as a growing number fear it might, it could even delay things by several years. But the outcome is scarcely in doubt.

. . .

This is more than a statistical story. It is the end of the Age of America. As a bond strategist in Europe told me two weeks ago, “We are witnessing the end of America’s economic hegemony.”

We have lived in a world dominated by the U.S. for so long that there is no longer anyone alive who remembers anything else. America overtook Great Britain as the world’s leading economic power in the 1890s and never looked back.

And both those countries live under very similar rules of constitutional government, respect for civil liberties and the rights of property. China has none of those. The Age of China will feel very different.

Victor Cha, senior adviser on Asian affairs at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, told me China’s neighbors in Asia are already waking up to the dangers. “The region is overwhelmingly looking to the U.S. in a way that it hasn’t done in the past,” he said. “They see the U.S. as a counterweight to China. They also see American hegemony over the last half-century as fairly benign. In China they see the rise of an economic power that is not benevolent, that can be predatory. They don’t see it as a benign hegemony.”

The rise of China, and the relative decline of America, is the biggest story of our time. You can see its implications everywhere, from shuttered factories in the Midwest to soaring costs of oil and other commodities. Last fall, when I attended a conference in London about agricultural investment, I was struck by the number of people there who told stories about Chinese interests snapping up farmland and foodstuff supplies — from South America to China and elsewhere.

This is the result of decades during which China has successfully pursued economic policies aimed at national expansion and power, while the U.S. has embraced either free trade or, for want of a better term, economic appeasement.

“There are two systems in collision,” said Ralph Gomory, research professor at NYU’s Stern business school. “They have a state-guided form of capitalism, and we have a much freer former of capitalism.” What we have seen, he said, is “a massive shift in capability from the U.S. to China. What we have done is traded jobs for profit. The jobs have moved to China. The capability erodes in the U.S. and grows in China. That’s very destructive. That is a big reason why the U.S. is becoming more and more polarized between a small, very rich class and an eroding middle class. The people who get the profits are very different from the people who lost the wages.”

The next chapter of the story is just beginning.

. . .

What the rise of China means for defense, and international affairs, has barely been touched on. The U.S. is now spending gigantic sums — from a beleaguered economy — to try to maintain its place in the sun. See: Pentagon spending is budget blind spot .

It’s a lesson we could learn more cheaply from the sad story of the British, Spanish and other empires. It doesn’t work. You can’t stay on top if your economy doesn’t.

Equally to the point, here is what this means economically, and for investors.

Some years ago I was having lunch with the smartest investor I know, London-based hedge-fund manager Crispin Odey. He made the argument that markets are reasonably efficient, most of the time, at setting prices. Where they are most likely to fail, though, is in correctly anticipating and pricing big, revolutionary, “paradigm” shifts — whether a rise of disruptive technologies or revolutionary changes in geopolitics. We are living through one now.

The U.S. Treasury market continues to operate on the assumption that it will always remain the global benchmark of money. Business schools still teach students, for example, that the interest rate on the 10-year Treasury bond is the “risk-free rate” on money. And so it has been for more than a century. But that’s all based on the Age of America.

No wonder so many have been buying gold. If the U.S. dollar ceases to be the world’s sole reserve currency, what will be? The euro would be fine if it acts like the old deutschemark. If it’s just the Greek drachma in drag ... not so much.

The last time the world’s dominant hegemon lost its ability to run things singlehandedly was early in the past century. That’s when the U.S. and Germany surpassed Great Britain. It didn’t turn out well.


Brett Arends is a senior columnist for MarketWatch and a personal-finance columnist for The Wall Street Journal.

---

Any thoughts?

I'm stuck here at my house, on a holiday, no human contact except what's taking place through this machine.

Part of my family is in jacksonville, fl because my sister's having a baby. I haven't heard a word since thursday beyond that.

My mate is also attending a funeral, there was a death in his family. I've at least been in contact with him, and he seems okay. He's visiting a friend today on the way home, and I'm glad. He could use some comfort right now, and it just fucking kills me that I can't be there to give it to him.

I could use some comfort too, honestly. I've been so fucked up about business shit the last two weeks, not to mention being worried about my Mom, my sister, my man..... I had a full blown panic attack over something personal last night that's probably nothing, because I'm stuck here, alone, no way to get help if anything happens. And what's really fucked up is I'm actually jealous of my mate for getting to go out and be with people. Christ, how fucked up is that?!

I am desperately lonely right now.

....

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2259563/ - What goes into commission Pricing

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2143884/ - A call to responsibility

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2280608/ - Thoughts on the above

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2282036/ - Don't click this if you're easily upset or depressed. It refers to some powerful artwork.

None of these journals are mine, but if I could fave journals these would be getting faved. They're thought provoking and worth reading, and in the case of the last one, the artwork and music it refers to are what art is all about for me, communicating an idea without the use of words. It's all about connection, folks.

My mate is attending a funeral for one of his family members who passed on recently.

My mom is out of town to be with my younger sister, who's having a baby.

My irl friends are all otherwise occupied, so I'm alllllll alone. There was supposed to be some local thingy going on today I thought, but I appear to be inadvertently excluded.... but that's what I get for being in my own little world I guess.

Anyone wanna start a conversation?

How's everybody doing?

yeah, i'm really that bored.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2263645/


Go here. Read the thing. Do what it says. There might be some sweet free stuff in it for you.


DO IT I SAY!!!!

The couple?
 ookaminobaka
and
 furkitfox


Register and vote for these guys here
http://family.go.com/happily-ever-a.....friends-70906/

The rewards?
 lykanthrope - http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2270292/ ART!!

http://kittylovesmonster.com/ A free t shirt?

 tigon is offering two admissions to the RainFurrest Pre-Party AND a Fur The Record tee-shirt (once they're printed) as (two separate) prizes.

More information can be found here-
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2263645/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2265371/


Come on people, leave the world a better place than you found it.

It's a profound thing to realize that the rest of the world is crazy, and you're the sane one.

Normally, this is considered to be proof positive that you yourself are, in actual fact, clinically insane, but hear me out before you decide not to listen to what I have to say.

It has been said that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again, but to expect a different result. If this is the case, then the rest of the world, with some exceptions, is completely insane.
And I'm one of the exceptions.

I wasn't always exceptional in this way; I, like many of the rest of you, once had a regular job, rent, car payment, all the trappings of a life in america for a twenty-something who went from high school straight into the work force.

But something happened to me that changed all that, and changed it, I feel, for the better. I reached a point in my life where I went absolutely out of my mind. If it had not been for many years of practice at exercising cast iron self restraint, I would not be typing this. In short, I reached a revelation: all the things I was doing were keeping me alive, but nothing more. I was sustaining my own existence, barely, but everything I was doing to sustain myself was only going to continue sustaining me, never change anything for the better. It hit me like a ton of bricks. All the things I wanted out of life, dreamed about doing, had dreamed of doing since childhood, were never, EVER going to happen. I had forgotten what FUN was. I had forgotten what JOY meant. I was not alive. I was a corpse that hadn't quite died yet.

I had reached the point where I had to make a choice. A choice between actually living or being very, very dead. I was no longer going to be able to merely exist once this hit me; I was going to do something quite drastic one way or another. Evolve or die; and take as much of the bullshit world with me as I could in the process. Considering where I worked at the time, a large gas station, that would probably have been quite a lot.

It took being pushed to the breaking point to make the right choice, or to make any choice at all, and that's a sorry state of affairs. When an obviously insane system has to fail that dramatically for a person to recognize it for what it is, and even then most people don't, ladies and gentlemen, that is a PROBLEM.
Am I alone in thinking along these lines?

Even just choosing the harder road and following what makes you genuinely happy before reaching that point is a significant achievement. But it's so easy, and every generation for over a hundred years has been making it so much easier, to follow the path to self-destruction. Think about what you're bombarded with day in and day out, all the things you're being told to wear, eat, drink, smoke, buy. All the things that are bad for you, they're cheap, brightly packaged, and readily available. All the things that are good for you are expensive, subdued, and honestly a little difficult even to locate. You have to work much, much harder to do the things that, ultimately, will be most rewarding: a life of physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological health takes so much work that it's practically a fantasy. But the 'american dream' will kill you.
It. Will. Kill. You.

What I'm saying is not popular. Hell, I wish it were, because if it were popular then maybe people would make the difficult, but the right, decision. They would stop submitting to the insanity and commit to the arduous road to recovering from it.

I made a decision four years ago to stop being crushed by the weight of the drone machine and start doing what I have known in my heart my entire life was what I wanted to do, and what would make me happiest as a person, something that I am loathe to think of myself as because of the stigmas impressed upon me from the time I was old enough to use language just because I'm different. I am proud to say that even though it took being pushed to the point of evolution or death, and even though I've done more than my share of complaining about how hard it's been, that I have NO REGRETS about choosing to pursue a life of genuine, heartfelt self-expression and creativity instead of being integrated into the system, just another copper-top battery in the machine being bled to death before my time.

Please, don't let yourself be pushed to that point.

I'm restating my commitment today, as a matter of personal desire and spontaneous inspiration, not just for myself, but in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, someone will listen.

I haven't been doing my best to follow my chosen path. I have been lax, and I've strayed far more than I care to admit. But I'm committing right now for everyone who actually cares to read this that that will no longer be the case. Anything worth doing is worth fighting for. Starting right now, I'm fighting again. I have all the weapons I need.

YOU HAVE ALL THE WEAPONS YOU NEED.

Are you living a life that's worth using them to defend it?

I haven't been. A fact that I sorely regret. But there is still breath in me and I am going to start fighting for a life worth living.

Starting now.

So, Rift is actually pretty fun. I like a lot more things about it than I dislike. For a first MMO, it's good stuff.

I had these extremely bizarre dreams last night, in which my subconscious mind presented me with dozens of things which have been on my mind lately, amplified and distorted through the lens of my imagination. I didn't know I was dreaming when I woke up, it was so vivid.... but when I finally came all the way out of what you might call sleep, but what I would call thrashing around for eight hours in a state of panic and distress, I was so wrongheaded, so emotionally compromised, that it's been three hours and i still haven't decided what to have for breakfast.

I'm totally compromised in mind and spirit. I'm so dissatisfied right now and I have no real reason to be, but I'm just, I'm burnt out.

I'm actually considering video games as an escape again, and if you guys knew my history with video games, you'd understand why that's such a bad thing. I love RPGs, I love them so much that I'm the sort of person who can sit and play one of the final fantasy games for twenty-six HOURS and ultimately have to stop because I keep forgetting to blink and my entire body hurts too badly to keep going.

A MMORPG would be even worse... it could totally consume my entire life and I'd quite gladly let it do so, and someone I know is begging me to try RIFT with him. Several somebodies actually.

And I'm actually giving it serious consideration.

Because the stuff I actually WANT to do is out of my reach, and the stuff I NEED to do I really need collaboration on.

It's sad.... I don't even want to do anything artistic right now. I know it's bad when my creative urge drops low enough that I can't make myself draw.

Fuck..... what the hell is wrong with me today..... ;-;

Nevermind, I thought of something to do....

Ask you people what you'd pay for my work.


I'm going to list what I can do, and you guys put a price tag next to it, hm?

And if you need an example, just go look in my gallery.


sketch, inks, color in marker, colored pencil or watercolor in the following sizes

8x11 (full sheet)

6x9 (half sheet)

4x6 (postcard)

3x5(index card) (I dunno if I want to actually try these or not, I haven't yet x3)

the idea behind offering different work sizes is just to have a wider price range. Smaller stuff takes less time and effort so I can charge less for it; a postcard for example, done in full color with paint, might take two hours; an 8x11 literally takes me all day, anywhere from eight to ten hours drawing, lining everything up just so, cleaning up the initial sketch, inking and coloring and touching up. That really nice series that I did that got me a bunch of watchers, that's two or three days of prep plus three full days of execution x3

---

Badge (2x3)- basic piece of art paper or such in a badge holder with a clip.

Laminated cutout badge ( a drawing in any of the sizes I work with, with a name, laminated and punched to accommodate a clip. I can't do these just yet without asking someone if I can borrow their laminator.)

Second Character

Each additional Character

Detailed background

Ref Sheets- two views or three views. ( I've revised these, I'll be posting examples as soon as I get a chance)

---

"Quickes" I'm thinking of offering five to ten minute, unrefined sketches at low cost. I'll have to post some examples of this.


tell me what you think?

hehehehehHeheHahahahah... HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Guess who's back online....


>=3

I really need some stuff; I need to work on a concise price sheet for commissions, for one thing, but I can worry about that when I have regular internet access again and that doesn't cost anything but time.

Does anyone out there have a scanner they don't want or need that would be willing to ship it to or just give it to me if you're nearby (you know who you are) and I'll art for you in exchange? Just asking. I'm more than willing to trade art for art or art for crap that I need most of the time. I should post my wish list x3

Also, there's this friend of mine who's having a really tough time of it lately. the full explanation of what's going on with his life is here: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2210410/

Spreading the word about his trouble is the only thing I can really do to help him out. It's tough times for all of us, and that's due in large part, in my opinion, because of a lot of greedy self serving bastards who take no interest in their fellow humans. Don't be like them. Help if you can. And if you're worried he's pulling the wool over on you, just think of it this way: It's his problem if he's irresponsible with the generosity and kindness of others, and it'll come back on him. But the kindness you dealt will come back to you regardless.

That's it for now.

So, as part of my process when I do a piece, I draw a rough skeleton. I add detail to it and remove parts and it evolves into the finished drawing. Recently, I got really bored and decided I needed some practice, so I went through my collection of porn and started doing thumbnail stick figures of my favorites. This evolved into, so far, like nineteen pages of stick figure porn. If anyone's interested, I'll post some of it. I may actually try to turn it into reference material, but I don't know.

Oh!!! Also!!!

I'm finally getting home internets again!!! SQUEE!!! ~<3 It'll be ready for setup sometime early next week =3

Edit: Some samples: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5528005/

Things I Learned at FWA 2011

Lesson Zero- I totally wanna build a fursuit now x3
Lesson One- People who aren't themselves artists or crafts persons seem to be all too often lacking in imagination. You have to put on display what they want before they even realize that they want it if you expect to sell things.
Lesson Two- Iced Tea is a relatively balanced source of both caffeine and water. Monster Energy Drinks are not. Force fluids, force fluids, force fluids! Dehydration is MISERABLE! (link to FWA day 3)
Lesson Three- Listen to intuition. If you have a feeling you'll need something, bring it. If an omen of some kind presents itself, pay attention to it. I caught con crud this year, and experienced the worst depressive episode I've had in months after the convention because I did not pack my immune boosters and 5-htp. Stupid, stupid, stupid!!
Lesson Four- Product- I was dumb and didn't prefab any collars, thinking that if someone wanted one they'd ask about them. Bracelets sell alright, Earrings do about as well, but I probably could have made a lot more with a little more variety in my offerings. Collars, leads, Harnesses, and undergarments/ bikinis are all well within my ability as a craftsman, and I could have made a KILLING on them, I just bet. Several people asked about other materials and scale maille, too. I wouldn't mind branching out a little and it certainly wouldn't hurt anything.
Lesson Five- Graphic Art- Being Neighbors with  hibbary and  gideon generated so much traffic. It was unbelievable. I need to make sure next time that I have prints and enough ready-made chain that I can focus on art. Full size commissions and custom maille take so much time that I doubt their feasibility somewhat, but less complex or smaller items of graphic art are easily managed in a short time, and it may be acceptable to simply ship larger finished work.
Lesson Six- People love cute and cheap, and it seems to sell very well. It might be plagiaristic but I'm thinking about offering stylized sharpie sketches (five minutes of work) for a dollar. I also sold four of the five galvanized steel hackey sacks I made and they were the cheapest item on my table.
Lesson Seven- Bring better displays next year. My limited space could easily be optimized with a little more flash and a little more planning.
Lesson Eight- I could probably get away with tarot readings for tips if I were so inclined.
Lesson Nine- Signage- I need to design and have printed some better signs advertising my rates and services.
Lesson Ten- My heroes are people like me. There is no reason to be intimidated by them. I am reasonably convinced that being placed between bigger names than me earned me more customers, rather than competition. They were pretty nice, too, once I came out of my shell =3
This brings me to....
Lesson Eleven- Once upon a time, I was a much more confident person. I was charismatic and gregarious. I've been trying to find that part of myself for a long, long time.
I think I finally have.
I lost my daring to a bad relationship, a worse psychotic episode, and Binge drinking and weight gain. This happened because everything that I believed in, everything I had faith in, broke down. I've been practicing cartomancy on and off since I was about fourteen or fifteen years old. Nearly half my life. The only times I remember ever being seriously mistaken in my readings were either when I refused to see what the cards were trying to tell me, or when I foolishly attempted to predict the outcomes of games of chance. As an oracle, I tend to be extremely accurate.
One problem: I put the cards down almost entirely for years.
I picked them back up, and ever since I started reading every morning I've regained a lot of confidence. I'm much happier, and I never would have thought to try it on my own.
Lesson Twelve- Branch out. Titanium is a wonderful material, but I had a lot of interest in other materials too. Copper, stainless, scales.... all much, much, much less expensive. Beads, too. I can achieve variety without compromising quality. But I need to get some new material... and a 120v DC power supply with adjustability in 10v increments.
Lesson Thirteen- Take better care of myself. Bring the picnic basket to the dealer's table so I don't have to leave for lunch, bring meds, and get more fluids. I can do with five hours of sleep or less, I can do it every day for two weeks or more if I need to, as long as I'm doing everything else right, I suffer no ill effects. I've GOT to remember to keep track of basic maintenance, especially when it's inconvenient to stay on top of it. I'm much more myself when I'm doing that, and much, much more capable.
Even with everything I did wrong this year, I came within thirty dollars of breaking even and had the time of my life. I definitely need more of this, and if I can make a living making things and this is part of it then BY GOD I have GOT to do this more.
I close with something that got stuck in my head for DAYS after the convention, from my one of my all-time favorite movies- The Nightmare Before Christmas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXOO3Wd_5Q From about 1:27 on...x3

I learned a bunch of stuff at FWA this year, and Nomi actually has a concrete species but it's so complicated I never bother explaining it, because I think I'm the only one who's in furry but there are like eight or ten of us....

If I post these things.... Will anyone read them?

Where are you staying?
The Sheraton.

Who will you be with?
 pantherapacific  lonejackal  shuigetsu  spicypenguin

Do you do trades?
Yes, if it's a fair trade.

What suits will you have?
None c.c


What is your gender?
Male....

How old are you?
26

Can I talk to you?
If you like =3

Can I buy you a drink?
I'll hug you if you do.

What's your poison?
Surprise me ;3

Can I commission you?
PLEASE. But I may have to mail it to ya

What events will you be attending?
Events? This is a work weekend for me, I'll be lucky to leave my table.

Can I hug you?
Probably.

How tall are you?
5'9"

Are you nice? Or do you think so (no personal references needed)?
Extremely, unless you give me a good reason not to be.

Are you friendly?
Yes, once I've gotten a feel for you. Before that expect me to be direct and introverted.

How long are you going?
Arriving thursday, leaving sunday.

Do you have an artist table? If yes, what will you be selling?
Yes. Chainmaille stuff, art, and badges.

Do you like parties?
Sometimes....

Can I give you a gift?
If I won't regret accepting it.

If I see you, how should I get your attention?
Strike up a conversation or look at what I'm selling till I say something.

Anything else?
....Nothing comes to mind.

How you folks doin'?

So, I finally have a computer!!


It's a netbook.... with a busted screen and a semi-functional hard drive....linked to a flat screen tv and an external hard drive... running ubuntu from a thumbdrive.....


It is an accurate reflection of my life x3


Now I just need internet back at my house.... and a working car.....

Maybe if my prices were clearer I'd get more commissions.

I think I'll work on that.

Thanks for the watches and faves while I've been gone, You know who you are =3

I may or may not need some.



First, if anyone is familiar with tech support, I'm curious about something:

What on earth could cause cable internet service to randomly disconnect without any warning?

I'm inclined to believe it's a hardware issue with either the modem or the router, because resetting the modem will occasionally solve the problem. Not always though.

This inconsistency is a problem because even if I manage to fix one of the several dead computers I have, I'd really like to be able to use the internet when I want to use it, not when the stars align in such a way as to drive off the elder things.

One suggestion I've been given is that the modem and the router may be too close together. I'm not sure how much sense that makes. Anyone?


Second, anybody out there using Etsy? If so, how's your average take?
Same question for any other such sites that I don't know about.

Third, are there any things others are doing with their jewelry that you people would like to see me doing with mine?

Fourth, many of you may or may not be aware that chainmaille is not even close to the only skill I have. It's among my most practised skills so I'm not embarrassed to charge money for my work. I do ALLLLLL sorts of other stuff. I can sew and design patterns, I can manage some carving and sculpting, and I make some really good herbal teas with medicinal properties. I bake pretty well. And I'm reasonably skilled in drawing and painting. I'm trying to get more tools together to exercise a wider variety of skills and thus appeal to a wider variety of individuals and, ultimately, I'd like to be doing things like full sets of armor, costumes, possibly even fursuits although I hear they're a pain. Honestly, I don't see how a walking carpet could be more trouble than a walking scrapheap x3 So far my list of venues is fairly limited and most of them require monetary investments that I'm not presently prepared to make. Does anyone have any very general advice they'd be willing to share?

Some people think i'm trying to spread myself too thin, and maybe that's true. But is it so wrong to want to be able to make almost anything I could possibly need and make a living while I'm at it? xD

(Note: I haven't really been open for business much this year because I feel it's irresponsible of me to try and conduct internet business without regular uninterrupted access to the internet. I'm trying, trying SO HARD to get that issue taken care of sometime within the next 30 days. God, maybe I should set up a donation box.... I'm pathetic x_X)

Soft.
Gray.
Easily broken.
Easily made new.
Easily molten.
Brittle if Chilled.
Endlessly useful if handled with care.
Deadly poison if handled carelessly.
Empires fall by its abuse.