Terrence is literally based on real people who have harassed me and my friends. From his first appearance in strip I was inserting deliberate red flags anyone who has dealt with this kind of guy would recognize, and that you didn't notice them until later in the crescendo says a lot more about what you don't notice in real life than anything else.
Like even his Nazi uniform moment was based off of a couple of REAL THINGS I've experienced.
And yes, that means it's happened more than once.
The "left" is not trying to exert control over every part of life, and I don't think it's an honest stance to argue from.
The only reason I used the term "Walk out" is because the majority of exiting staff who I talked to said that they quit the event.
I'm not saying anything you just described didn't happen -- I'm just picking a word to describe a large exodus that had a mixture of reasons for the exits.
(Also, what a weird post to choose to complain about someone "begging for money." Like, there isn't even a single appeal for help on this page. But hey, if you have a problem with someone innocent raising funds for legal defense or a comic artist daring to have a Patreon... you live in a weird world)
I'd like to, but in all likelihood I'll be taking the opportunity to get some rest Saturday and just making the short drive down to Indy from Lafayette on Sunday.
Actually, her chest is scaled to her torso about the same as it was before -- but I used to draw her head much larger.
The gloves are mostly the same, but she's making a fist in the first image and her hand is relaxed in the second. Mostly it's notable because she actually has fingers now.
The hair is a bit shorter, because I used to be fairly inconsistent about the length. Like the bag, it varied from drawing to drawing originally.
I'm going to do some artwork for UnCONventional Book 5 (which will come out in the spring) of this stuff -- and I'll wrap it in as many cliches as I can. :P
Yeah, the Crockpot thing ended up being a rumor passed around that night. Likely someone said "I bet it was a [insert idea]" -- which then became "I heard it was a [insert idea]"
Nah. Never was a Beetle Bailey reader. I came up with it when I needed to list a credit for music on a short film I made years ago. I have a title of combining [random title or adjective] [random noun] when I need to come up with something on the spot, and it sort of stuck.
I'm sorry, but did you just say that people's cosplay would be considered bad because of their size? I hate elitism and take a lot of issues with the Geek.kon cosplay contest, but if you think larger people shouldn't be able to cosplay whatever the hell they want, you can get your ass off my website. Immediately.
Anybody, regardless of body type, can cosplay whatever the hell they want. I don't want or need you body shaming bullshit here.
His lawyer is one that does a lot of online stuff and cut and paste C&Ds.
And apparently my blog is now a webcomic? The blog is "The Life of the Traegorn" because I'm Traegorn (or, as it's less awkward to call me, Trae). My webcomics are UnCONventional (unconventional-comic.com) and The Chronicles of Crosarth (crosarth.com)
1. What cons have you worked? Staff or volunteer? If you're going to claim that all cons are run at the same professional/unprofessional level as Kopf's, I'm going to have to either call bullshit or see some examples of cons you've staffed.
2. Any staffers that young are unacceptable in my book, and considering that at least one has proudly proclaimed themself staff between cons, I have a hard time buying your "mother pleaded" story. I've exaggerated nothing.
3. Tell me one thing that is factually incorrect in my post? Because the words "ill informed" are rather strong. I verified all of my claims, and have a folder of data to back it up. Maybe you should read my follow up post if you want more information.
4. There is no smear campaign. There is outrage, there are a lot of people talking about him, but there is no organized effort -- or at least none that I'm a part of. Hence why I only use primary sources. There are a lot of stories out there, but I only talk about the ones I can prove.
I guess to finish, you can't just change reality by walking in and saying "none of this is true." My words don't become ill informed just because you said so. Nor do the legions of staffers I've known over the last twenty years become as unprofessional as Kopf because it fits your narrative better.
I've seen plenty of cons run out of badges -- it happens when they get unexpected growth (or if they're new).
The important thing is how they adapt to it (My con ran out of badges once -- and we had an emergency print run done within the hour and at the con from the printers... of course, we also tracked that we were running low, and were making phone calls to fix it prior to actually running out...)
That's not exactly true. Volunteering for a for-profit corporation is a gray area with the department of labor. The legality is complex, and a lot of it is being decided right now (especially with unpaid internships). To say it's outright illegal though is highly inaccurate.
It takes a hell of a lot to get from "Person A thinks X thing is bad" to "Person B, who MIGHT agree with Person A is actively trying to censor and persecute Person C (who Person B has never heard of) because Person C promotes X thing."
They did dumb things along the way, yeah -- and they were naive, but that sure as shit doesn't make it ALL their fault. And the lack of litigation isn't surprising at all -- you'd be surprised how many people don't know what is and isn't actionable (not to mention how much is they said/ he said).
Oh, I don't mind the criticism - or even having a bad review. I just hate it when someone says they're reviewing an aspect of a work without really having looked at it.
Well, my goal was to say that regardless of whether the sexual assault allegations are true, his events should be avoided (that whole 14 year old staffer thing is a big deal for me).
I'm inclined to believe the allegations are true of course, but people were already talking about that (heck, way more people have seen that Tumblr post than have ever read my blog entries about Kopf).
And as I've said before, it's kind of depressing that I have to be thanked for having basic human decency :p
For the record, as a person who was the victim of a genuine defamation campaign several years back, the best action is to let good press and time bury the bad press you don't like.
Of course, to do that, you need to generate good press.
You keep misgendering the lawyer. Salar Atrizadeh is a guy.
What I referred to was their continued reference of Wisconsin Statutes Annotated in the second and fourth paragraphs, which refers to Wisconsin Defamation law specifically. That's what I was making fun of.
I'm not a lawyer, so I don't want to comment on the caselaw and federal law specifically referenced (although I have read Newspapers v Breier), but if you think my guard is anywhere near down, you don't know me too well.
If Kopf is smart, he'll let things stop here. He tried to scare me and it didn't work - further action on his part only can lead to a larger Streisand effect. I'm not anyone famous or important, but if what he's worried about is losing professional credibility, litigious attacks on his critics (who only posted factual information) can only hurt him.
I grew up in a pretty urban environment, where something like this would have been like an hour drive when I was a kid -- being in a much more rural environment has opened my eyes to a bunch of new stuff.
I gave a few dollars to the projector fund and may contribute more. MELS is only open for one more weekend this season, and it's a "50s Night" where they're showing Grease... which is a film I kind of hate -- so I likely won't be going.
Right up until overprotective mom and dad sue your event for putting their son or daughter in danger and your event collapses from trying to pay legal fees.
And again, if you're short on volunteers - figuring out what about your event is driving them off is far better than recruiting 14 year olds.
You should not be in charge of any convention if you can't understand this.
(And I'm turning off anonymous comments -- I'm tired of talking to a void)
Or you could just require all volunteers be at least 18, since you have so many, and not have to worry in the first place. If there are so many volunteers, that shouldn't be a problem anyways.
(Also, problem attendees try to go in almost every room - so there are no "safe" spots)
How exactly is a volunteer supposed to be able to get a senior staff member when they're cornered by a drunk attendee?
My god, these aren't common situations - but they're possible ones. And responsible convention management thinks about this stuff. You wear a seatbelt even though you don't get into an accident every time you drive.
Likewise, in my fairly lengthy history of running cons (13 years of my own event - and I've been volunteering longer), I've never had a problem finding an adequate number of 18+ staff and volunteers to fill my rosters. Frankly, if you can't, then there's likely something else wrong with your organization that's driving them off.
Why would I approach the fourteen year old instead of the volunteer coordinator who is responsible for doing it in the first place? The fourteen year old didn't set the policy.
And what do you do if a belligerent hotel guest tries to force their way past a fourteen year old badge checker? What if that fourteen year old is injured by a drunken attendee? There are liabilities here - both legal and moral - which are mindblowing you seem to be ignoring.
I've had to tell plenty of teenagers they were too young to volunteer for my con. When it's my event, I never have a problem doing that.
Nerdee -- the police report is genuine. Whether you believe the allegations or not is up to you, but don't bring that weak sauce misinformation up in this house.
Reports vary in format by jurisdiction, and none of the "inconsistancy" you point out actually exist.
As for labor laws, I again am not sure - but workers as young as 14 is still ethically wrong and more importantly dangerous even if it might be legal
Oscar winners are chosen by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (hence the "Academy Awards" - Oscars was just a nickname until this year actually) via a ballot process. The Academy is composed of over 5000 film professionals (Actors, Directors, Producers, etc).
Langland, I go out of my way to NOT humiliate people when I talk about this stuff. For an example, look above! I hid every piece of information about this guy when I didn't have to.
Seriously.
I'm kind pf pissed that you assume I must have "ripped this guy apart" in the first place. If you knew the degree of hate mail people send over the most harmless stuff over my youtube videos alone, you'd be shocked.
Now do I have strong opinions? Yes. And I'll back them up every time. Why the hell wouldn't I? Before I take a position on an issue, I research the hell out of it. If I say something, I'm damned confident that I'm right. If someone wants to challenge me, OF COURSE I'll explain why I think I'm right. Wouldn't you in my position?
That's not ego, that's confidence. There's a huge difference.
This blog is my venting space - and if people choose to read it, they choose to read it. If they don't, they don't. If you choose to respect me or not, that's your choice - but if your assumption is that any time someone acts rudely to me it's MY FAULT* -- well... then you don't know me at all.
(* - It occasionally IS my fault. I'm not perfect, but you get the point :P )
Digging through my web history, here's the one comment about Apple I wrote the day I got the message "Apple was prepared this time around, after the insane shortages the iPad 2 had."
Yeah... it would be very different. Scott Adams hasn't worked in an office in decades, so while Dilbert is still relatively relevant, there's a lot of material he wouldn't know to cover.
But I digress -- I don't have time to do it either way.
Paul, it's not about what I *want* to happen, it's what I *think* will happen. The tech press will cover Apple front and center no matter what because that's what gets page views. The only people who like reading Apple stories more than Apple Fanboys are the Anti-Apple Fanboys (They'll complain about the article, but read it every time).
For the record, Apple users don't have inflated egos anymore than any other platform's fanboys. Apple has just been better at getting fanboys historically.
Who said I was encouraging debate? I'm promoting the idea that I'm right. It's my personal blog after all.
That said. if you have an argument, make it. Saying "you'll just dismiss it" is the sign of a lack of fortitude. If you can deconstruct my points and prove how I'm wrong in a reasonable, logical way I'll listen.
Chicago crime statistics are apples and oranges here. I'm talking about mass shootings, while you're talking about gang violence and organized crime.
First off, while Chicago may have stronger gun control laws than other cities, the surrounding areas don't. It's easy to cross over to Milwaukee to pick up a firearm, plain and simple.
Secondly, a buy back reduces the number of guns available -- most illegal arms are stolen, and by reducing the number of assault weapons available, you reduce the number that can be stolen.
Thirdly, places that have banned Assault weapons and instituted large scale buybacks (like Australia) have seen a huge decline in the firearm murder rates with no increase in non-firearm murder rates.
Statistics and history back me up on this.
You want a pistol for home defense? Fine. You want a rifle to hunt with? Fine. But you don't need to fire hundreds of bullets for either of those functions, and any rational person can see that.
Sorry I stripped out the bit where it shows blog updates on every page of the site -- I just figured it had been so long since anyone other than me had posted it wouldn't matter...
Nah, it would only mean something to someone with a military background anyways -- and likely only someone with more than a passing familiarity with the air navy to start with. The Air Navy is only 30-50 years old, RAVEN squads less than 10. There are retired Air Navy veterans who have no idea what that insignia means. Remember, this is a pre-mass media world.
The crew of the Hummingbird is nine, including the CO, so there's one bed per crew member by design. Truthfully, the beds are all made just because that's just the default "empty bed" I have designed.
I didn't research the bed design specifically, I've just watched enough TV to make a decent guess. ;)
No responsible gun user would have been able to get off a shot in either shooting, because they'd risk hitting someone besides the shooter. Seriously. Even if everyone had been armed, the shooter would have killed just as many people. Seriously.
You honestly think your gun offers you protection? Statistics don't back you up on that. Again - people who own guns are much more likely to get shot than people who don't keep guns in their home. The numbers back me up on that.
Also, countries with stricter gun control laws don't have this problem. You don't get spree shooters in the UK my friend.
And if you want to know why this sort of event prompts people like me asking these questions -- it's because a lot of people just got killed in my home town by someone who owned legal firearms. When people get killed with legally purchased weapons of death in my backyard, you're damned straight I'm going to want to ask some questions.
I was referencing a line from Schenck vs. US, which put limitations on the first amendment - I understand that firearms were banned from the Aurora theater. That's not the point.
Statistics show that easier access to firearms leads to higher incidents of gun violence. The science is on my side on this one. The problem with gun control in America is that it's always done in half measures. Weak gun control is worse than no gun control -- it merely drives people to the alternatives.
The Hummingbird is an escort, and there's a premium on space. The protocol would be that an Admiral travelling on board would take over the CO's quarters, and the commanding officer would use a bunk.
Hayworth, not having the exact same needs as most (being a squid), has chosen to let Friday keep her quarters is all.
Sorkin is my go-to example of this. The difference is that The West Wing was a much more popular show, so when they removed Sorkin and the ratings dropped (mostly due to the drop in show quality), but not so much to end it.
(And for the record, I do like post-Sorkin West Wing, but it really is an entirely different show -- and Season 5 is so poorly written...)
Well, the maps names are going to be the Crosarthian names for countries (Just as we call everything by ridiculous English names that often don't resemble the real names of the countries - I mean, c'mon "Germany?").
For languages, I'm honestly just using real languages and ascribing them to various fictional nations - for example, the Pavanussian language is just going to be German.
I thought about it, but decided against it. I'll include it in the category as an aside most likely - it doesn't really fit into the progression right now though.
While I've always been more of a planner when it comes to story arcs, sometimes I am just flying by the seat of my pants. Really, my philosophy has always been "know your characters, and once you get things started, they'll tell you where to take the story"
To be fair though, data portability has never been part of the definition of a PC. Back in the day, if your copy of FREDWrite got demagnetized, you lost all of your documents -- but the Applie II was still a personal computer.
(I actually don't sync my iPad to any PC -- because my old Macbook is still running Tiger. When I bought it in the pre-iOS5 days, I used an old XP machine to activate it and do OS updates, but once iOS 5 came out... it hasn't touched a computer since. I backup my app data to iCloud daily, and use Dropbox to transfer files to other machines. It lives independent of another computer in my life)
You seem to have me at a disadvantage then, as you apparently know me, but I don't know who you are.
And if you really think VAs feel the need to impress con staffs... Well... It tells me you've likely never stepped behind the veil. Tiffany Grant does favors for people she's barely met, will help cons no one has ever heard of, and is a genuinely good person. I honestly can't imagine what occured to give you a negative impression of her, but even the most patient people have their limits.
And there are people in this world who don't know when not to push.
You lost me the moment you bad mouthed Tiffany Grant. I've had many encounters with her over the last decade, and she is about the sweetest person on the planet. She goes above and beyond for fans, and is an absolute delight.
You don't like dubs? Fine. Those discs have subtitles too. But just because someone buys product A, it doesn't mean they are entitled to product B.
What are you talking about? Where have nativity scenes been banned on private property? I'm going to need some documentation on that before I'll believe it.
The nativity is a directly relgious display, and has no place on government property... Just like my altar would have no place there, or a giant pentagram.
The thing is, there is no actual fight against people saying Merry Christmas - It's completely invented.
Now now, that Wind farm is outside of Wolcott... Or hpwever you spell it. It's a good half hour before Lafayette. Also, the whole thing has gotten better traffic wise since the patched the gigantic car sized potholes :P
It's a mix of my photos and some public domain shots with some adjustments made to most of them. Most are in Eau Claire, but some (like the Marshall Hotel, which I didn't want to look like any of the hotels in Eau Claire) come from other places (in that case, the Lafayette Indiana Holiday Inn). Like, Unagi Con's hotel was the recently defunct Stevens Point Ramada. I don't match Eau Claire geography exactly, as Eau De Puanteur is supposed to be a different town (and Eau Claire DOES exist in this reality), but visually I want Eau De Puanteur to have the same kind of look.
The one on her right hip is a holster, the one on her left hip is a pouch. If you go back to the Commander Friday image, you can see a similar bag on her belt as well.
The Jacket Ilyena is wearing is the same style as Friday's, Ilyena is just not wearing the center piece of it. Ilyena wears it in this style because the weapons bay of the ship gets cold when the gun ports are open, but she needs the freedom of movement to load and operate the cannons.
on the other hand is wearing an alternate, lighter uniform, as he works in the boiler room of the ship mostly, and a jacket would be waaay too warm.
Hehe - I deleted your blank comment (there's a bug in my comment code where if you leave a comment blank, it displays the previous comment in the system - I keep meaning to fix it, but hey -- you try writing a blog platform from scratch :P ).
I think the final album version is going to use the unfiltered vocals.
Also, to be nice, here's the translation for the verses: I don't know the words. I don't know how to speak japanese. Someone please help me. I don't know the words.
Honestly, this takes me five time longer than the stick figures, so I wouldn't be able to update regularly if I drew it like this. I'd rather tell a story with lower quality art that updates regularly than makes something that looks prettier but peters out because I don't have time.
Characters are actually going to vary their outfits in November, as that storyline is going to be more serious. But really, you won't have a perfect cosplay until you buy a mid-eighties red Grand Marquis. :P
Sorry I'm a bit late with my reply Becca, but here goes: Guests are a huge part of a budget, so it's true - not having high profile guests will save you money. Vendors on the other hand tend to be rather budget neutral, and can add a lot to the con. While losing guests may hurt your attendance, you will save money. Cutting vendors though? That just seems like a loss with no financial gain.
Sorry I'm a bit late with my reply Becca, but here goes: Guests are a huge part of a budget, so it's true - not having high profile guests will save you money. Vendors on the other hand tend to be rather budget neutral, and can add a lot to the con. While losing guests may hurt your attendance, you will save money. Cutting vendors though? That just seems like a loss with no financial gain.
Character designs break down pretty evenly here, actually. And considering the two women primary characters are brunettes, they have a lot more representation. Also, as the secondary characters need to be distinct visually from the main characters, it means they're more likely to have lighter hair to contrast with the dark haired leads.
Right, that's the part that sounds like it could be satirical (as I stated earlier in the comments), but it clearly reads as a sarcastic suggestion to fix what he has presented as a real problem... And it seems to mock those who disapprove of the "natural" male behavior anyways.
I don't think he's advocating rape, but to say it's a normal instinctive urge for a man to want to rape someone... Well... That's the absurd, creepy part.
The article doesn't read as satire though. The only satirical parts appear to be near the end where he jokes about chemical castration. He's satirizing feminists at the end, not antifeminists as you claim.
Yeah, I think they do -- but they were apparently delisted from google last week when they got hacked. Their site is fixed, but it's not appearing in results again yet
How high my site comes up in results for their name is part of the problem apparently too.
So far I am loving it. My planned use for this is to replace 50% of what my old MacBook was doing (the other fifty percent will be covered by an iMac I won't be buying until they refresh the line)
I'm going with the iMac for a few reasons - 1. I really like OSX, and I don't want to go through the work of Hackintoshing something (I also want the upgrade to Lion to be a simple, painless process :P ). I work in Windows all day for work, and while I've got nothing against it, I just prefer the OSX environment. 2. The Form Factor. An all in one unit is best for the physical space I have.
Add those together, and the iMac is the headache free solution.
As for what my wife is getting - yeah. While I spend time rending videos and working on graphics, she doesn't. In truth, with the solid state drives in the Airs, I think the Air will actually feel faster for her even with it's slower hardware. I think it's mostly an issue of whether or not she'd occasionally run stuff for her lab work on it (which would benefit from the faster processor in the Pro) - which wouldn't be that often.
I think the Air is the better computer for her, but as it's going to be her machine, it's her decision in the end.
And just to blow your mind, and to break from all this apple stuff, while my wife has an iPhone... I don't.
My point is that Max not talking about it (regardless of his politics) isn't weird, but Phil not talking about it (as it effects his life deeply) would be.
Discovery Channel, not History - but yeah, I'm familiar with "The Colony." I watched the first season beginning to end, but only caught part of season two. It's a pretty good show.
You know what show I wish they had made more of? The Last Train. That was pretty good.
Earth 2 - seen it Sliders - seen it multiple times Red Dwarf - seen in multiple times Seaquest - Seen it so often, I prefer the 2032 season Space Above and Beyond - Seen it.
Also, before anyone suggests them - VR5 - Seen it Mercy Point - Seen it The Chronicle - Seen it Dead at 21 - Seen it Jake 2.0 - Seen it Mutant X - Seen it
There's a difference though between being angry about something and Living Angry though.
The Penny Arcade guys got mad at first, but they didn't stay mad. They don't run Child's Play these days because they're mad - they run it because they care.
There's a difference though between being angry about something and Living Angry though.
The Penny Arcade guys got mad at first, but they didn't stay mad. They don't run Child's Play these days because they're mad - they run it because they care.
I feel like they believe they can only take action if they're mad -- but you know what? The person who wins the argument is the person who doesn't get mad. The person who wins the political debate is the person who doesn't get mad.
Calm and determined beats angry every time, and it lets you be happy often as well. Anger is negativity - and the last thing the world needs is more negativity.
There are lightyears in difference between Walker and Barrett. Walker of course screwed Milwaukee County financially, and we'll get to watch him do the same to the state of Wisconsin... and then he'll promptly get defeated in four years.
There's no crime in my having something I want - and I will likely end up with a Mustang one day. Crysta actually doesn't oppose my eventually getting one, I just like to make jokes about it.
We honestly decided to go with the Versa right now because long term, this will become Crysta's car (hence why we still own the Escort too) and she doesn't want to drive a Mustang. :P
Lynn is based off of no one actually. She's entirely original.
She was first created back in 2003 for a project I never launched called "Re-entry." I actually have some of the original concept sketches in an old sketch book of mine. Her personality and characterization were pretty much set in stone back then -- long before I ever met the person I think you believe the character to be based off of.
Lynn did first publicly appear in a project called Full Circle in 2006, which was presented as a series of in-character blog posts (and if you can dig through those, they are in continuity with UnCONventional officially). This is what her official character art looked like at the time: It was that 2006 project that solidified her back story, and set her official birthdate (11/17/1984), full name (Lynn Guadalupe Baxter), and a whole lot of other stuff, including notes detailing the reasons for each of her tattoos.
You're forgetting that they socialize separately too -- a lot of them only hang out with other women. There's a pretty big tent here I think you're neglecting, and only looking at the portion of geeks you personally interact with.
Socially awkward males will interact easily with socially affluent males - which is what you're seeing. Socially awkward women are far more likely to stay home though. You have to understand how inclusive I'm being in my definitions here, and that I'm cutting my swath fairly large.
I go back to Geek.kon's attendance numbers - half of it's attendees were women. In my experience, they've been a fairly good indicator of geek demographics between the ages of 18 and 30.
Well, IXWebhosting is a friggin' mess, and I wouldn't trust them to tie their own shoes let alone scan their servers at this point.
I've gotten the go ahead to move the site by the organization, so I'd expect a new DrakNet account to start in the next few days under the name of their Director. :P
I think you're drawing the lines differently than I am Jen, and honestly what you're pointing to are problems I addressed in the text.
Part of the problem is that women geeks are currently discouraged to be open. This doesn't make them "Not geeks" but instead closeted geeks. I argue that there are just as many women geeks as men at the core, but women geeks are forced to hide it by biases in culture. The culture is the problem, and that's what we need to change. We need to think of women geeks as normal. There are large portions of the culture that either denigrate or elevate women -- but never see them as equals.
My point is that women geeks need to be open and proclaim themselves as such, yes. This is something that needs to happen without a doubt. But what we can't do is pedastalize them either, and make the objects of (often sexual) worship.
Because in my mind, that's worse.
You also have to understand the range of what I'm describing as the "Geek" subculture. I'm *not* talking about the tech industry at all, which still has it's issues and is frankly one of the worst parts of the culture. I'm talking about a rather large social community - the gamers (both video and rpg), the otaku(s), the ren faire, and the trekkies/trekkers - which is not limited to those who have an interest in computers.
It's also a generational thing I think too. The average age at an event like Geek.kon is 23. In even my lifetime (I'm 30) there's been a huge shift in the Geek social dynamics. When I go to an event like MarsCon (a science fiction convention) there is a massive male demographic.
As for comic book readership, I want to point out that your article specifically points to "superhero comics" -- I would like to see what the metrics are when you include things like webcomic readership and the surge of Yaoi popularity.
I guess to summarize: I'm not saying the problems women can face in geek culture don't exist -- far from it -- I'm saying that the "unicorn" attitude isn't the solution.
The chart I show is an example of a mature convention's staff structure. Honestly a first year con will likely have nowhere near enough staff to fill that many positions (although they will have to have people covering that many jobs).
I reccomend seperating treasurer from con director if only because these are positions which take up a lot of time, and it provides a check on the system for two people to be thinking about the money.
Meep -- the difference is with Twitter you can follow people you aren't friends with (like celebrities, conventions, etc) without having to be authorized most of the time. It lets people put out a public stream without giving people access to their private info.
Likewise, I enjoy using it because I can have it update Facebook for me, while still creating a publicly readable set of statuses for people who I'm not friends with on that service.
The people who firmly believe this stuff aren't the target -- they already have those people in their hands. It's the undecideds who they're attempting to convince... those are the ones I hope I reach.
Although considering how liberal most of my readership is, I doubt it will make a difference. :P
I also drive older cars with high mileage, so things are bound to happen. The last wear and tear problem was just a belt in April, and those are pretty cheap to replace (and will wear out on any car too)
Scrotty -- We could argue a billion different ways about the reasons Arizona is broke. I don't think it's because of illegal immigration, but that's not really the important part -- and it would totally side track this. :)
I don't think border enforcement is really a workable solution. I think someone earlier in the comments mentioned a solution that I think is probably the best one: Employment law enforcement. To clarify a misconception -- a lot of illegal immigrants really do pay taxes. Not all, but many. If they ALL paid taxes, in the short term it would help budget problems. In the long run, under the table jobs would go down, reducing the motivation for illegal immigrants to come to the US in the first place.
Can I just say that I'm glad this discussion has been amiable? Political discourse often gets too volatile these days.
May I recommend doing what Crysta and I did: Keep an excel or google docs spreadsheet of everything you're given, organized by gift giver. That way, you can easily track everything (along with who you've thanked).
With the size of a wedding guest list, it can get pretty complicated otherwise.
You say that Wurm, but Crysta and I managed to NOT talk to each other that day (even though I ended up in Crysta's photos from the concert). We wouldn't do so until two months later -- because of Belkie.
Well, in my experience, online advertising is great -- but not as big an influence as the older methods still.
As for names, I totally agree with you on the spacing and punctuation. The biggest difficulty with "No Brand Con" is how many times people eliminate the space between "No" and "Brand" which always drives me nuts...
Regional names are good, but remember, with your name, if you need to adjust your subject matter, you may be pigeonholing yourself. In 10 years, anime won't be as big a deal as it is now. Do you want to be stuck with that in your name as you're trying to become a general convention in a decade? It's about adaptability and long term branding in that case.
1. I have no tolerance for those who say they are sorry and don't mean it. I would be a hypocrite if I did so myself.
2. I do not fear conflict nor do I appease people for the sake of avoiding it.
3. Defending your position isn't arrogance, it's human nature. While one must always be willing to accept new information, always backing down regardless of the source or validity of the information is called being a doormat, not being mature.
Dude, you really don't know what's going on, do you. I actually never "revealed anything private." If someone says "Hey, you're an asshole!" and you say "Hey, someone called me an asshole!" that's not revealing private information.
Especially when I've gone through great pains to conceal the identity of the attacker for reasons now surpassing understanding.
1. "Annoyed TRH Reader" is "That Guy" using a different name according to the IP addresses. I have since begun to wonder WHY he's spending the time to go to my website this often if he doesn't like me so much, but whatever.
2. To "Anonymous" -- the only "apology" I ever got was in response to this post, and it's not an actual apology, but a backhanded self justification. And secondly, when someone you know from real life says something, it doesn't matter if it's over the internet, over the phone or in person -- it is one person communicating with another. I'm not "trying so hard to justify myself" -- I'm saying "That Guy's" statements are bull, and that I need to not let myself be hurt by them. I wonder if you've even READ what I wrote.
I'm turning off anonymous comments again. From now on, if someone wants to post something, they'll have to put a name on it. If people want to let it drop, they should let it drop themselves.
1. I didn't make his messages public, I paraphrased the gist of them. Trust me when I say his actual messages to me were much harsher.
2. He didn't apologize. He said "So, here I go. I am sorry for attacking you - but I deeply feel that you needed it." That's not an apology. You can't claim to be apologizing and yet say you don't regret anything.
So, "Referee" I recommend that you learn more about a situation before inserting yourself into it.
(Also, did you notice how this whole post was about how your criticisms were baseless and that you didn't really know me at all? Yeah, you kind of missed the point)
The Liechtenstein map is a reference to a similar situation from 2004.
Like I said, I have standard images I use when I post these kinds of things. I post the picture with Japanese text and the guy with the chainsaw-sword when I'm mad, and I use Liechtenstein when I'm being introspective.
It looks like Purdue itself has an NPR station -- it's just oddly at 101 point something on the dial for some reason, which threw me off as I'm so used to the stations all being in the high 80s/low 90s.
I don't honestly know what you think you're standing up against. I am not a tyrant. I am not ruining anyone's life. For the most part, I leave other people alone. What on earth is there to stand up to?
Yes, I used you as an example in my blog -- but a generic one who I didn't identify.
I wrote this as a general rant about people who hurl insults at someone when the same could be said about themselves. That's it. I often use things from day to day life to write broader editorials in this space... it's the entire purpose for it. It helps me think, and if anyone else reads it or identifies with it, I think that's actually a good thing. If I didn't succeed in the general message, then that is my failure as a writer, not as a human being.
You'll notice how I acknowledge how someone could come to the criticisms made about me. I understand how I can look to other people quite well, I'm just at a point in my life where I know that the friends I have who like me, like me. That's all I need.
We've argued this to death in a more private setting, and it's clear that you aren't actually hearing what I'm saying. I understand that I come off as antagonistic at times, but I really don't think you're reacting to this in a logical manner. I think you're reacting emotionally, and I'm sorry you aren't willing to engage in a discussion beyond telling me what you think is wrong with the image you have of me in your head.
Dude -- the only people who know who I'm talking about are people who ALREADY KNOW. I didn't reveal who you are, and I don't mention anything specific.
If you can't see the difference in what I did here and what you did (and have done in the past), then I can't begin to describe how ignorant you are about what other people think of you.
If it were in Milwaukee it wouldn't be a problem. The van is currently sitting in my spare parking spot in Eau Claire though -- a spot that won't be mine fairly shortly.
But they didn't really "kill Hair Metal" -- they merely played something different which those of us sick of the glam and excess of the eighties connected to.
The nation was in a recession at the time (albeit not as bad as the current one), and it was hard to feel excited about a guy in spandex and hairspray. There was a disaffected, cynical generation that wanted something deeper than the shallow riffs and gloss of Hair metal. That's why Metallica survived the eighties, and Thrash Metal became the icon rather than Hair Metal. Alt Rock took over the mainstream too. People wanted something to connect with that was real and not just a plastic finish.
Whether you like them or not, don't think as shallowly as a DJ who could only get a job at a Rock Station in Green Bay, recycling something they heard said on MTV fifteen years ago in the height of Cobain martyrdom.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Meep deserves way more credit than people give him. The first three years of No Brand Con would not have happened without him.
Mostly Vinnk and I get the most "respect" because we're the ones who get up in front of crowds. The public face of any organization gets a lot more attention than the hard workers who put everything together behind the scenes.
Well, that and these aren't articles about "How did we start No Brand Con" so much as "How to start your OWN con... and not screw things up the same way we did. Seriously. Get it right"
Yeah, I debated mentioning your experience with orgs, as without that, there wouldn't have BEEN a No Brand Con 1, let alone the rest that followed. But the article was getting long for a blog post, and the first thing I do is shorten the examples when I'm looking for something to cut. :P
Meep: The month buffer is in reference to your own genre. I guess I should have been more clear.
And I'm talking about the ideal circumstance here, not what you can overcome if you need to. Hopefully someone else wouldn't have the same problems that we did in our early years. :P
In my experience, any hotel can be talked into it if the price tag is large enough. They worry about "weirdos" if you don't control the whole hotel, as we weird out the rest of the guests. The instant you can book the entire facility, trust me when I say their attitude changes quite quickly.
Yeah, I didn't go into too much detail on the University orgs because that's going to differ by campus... and by the time I got to the examples, I was already over 900 words, so I decided to keep it briefer. :P
Yeah, I didn't go into too much detail on the University orgs because that's going to differ by campus... and by the time I got to the examples, I was already over 900 words, so I decided to keep it briefer. :P
I'm glad my experiences seem to be as universal as I assumed they were.
And I wouldn't give up running cons for anything. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do once I move away from my home convention in a few months. :P
AAS was nothing but a front organization in its early years. These days it's a full fledged organization that actually does things... but not so much back then. :P
WestCon: A now defunct Science Fiction convention that took place in Wausau, Wisconsin. It was run by the Wausau West High School Sci-Fi club and was helped by a local fandom community known as N.E.W.F.O.D. (North Eastern Wisconsin Friends of the Doctor). The convention ran for 5 years from 1996-2000.
How many times do I have to tell you Meep: WestCon was a SCIFI con not an Anime con. I know this, because I was part of a Klingon Costuming Group that was invited to go there years before I met Vinnk. :P
Y'know, you say that, but what's actually happened is that now my brain is frustrated that something happened that it can't remember. Respond to my PM so I can get my feeble mental capacity to stop stalling out... :P
Considering I can't even remember what you're talking about with that last bit, clearly I wasn't offended enough for it to make a huge impact on me. :P
Well, the actual presentation of contestants to the audience was fine. From an audience point of view, what was unfortunate was the length of time until the winner's were announced.
There were other issues (Prejudging is needed, letting the cosplayers watch the contest, etc), but that was the one that effected me the most.
Well, y'know, I have been doing this for a while. :P
Many scifi cons are dying or have already died because they aren't able to draw in a new generation. The anime cons are a whole new generation -- many of which have attendees who actually don't care about the Anime part and are going just for the Table Top Gaming/Video Gaming/Parties/Boffer Fighting/Costume Contests/Geek Comraderie that they offer.
I would never suggest that a scifi con change it's core programming, but as they also offer most of these other things... it makes no sense to me that this large portion of Anime con attendees aren't showing up to the Scifi cons as well.
MarsCon would do well to focus on this demographic, as well as promoting it's party floor which is by far the best I've seen at a convention this size.
Most Lutherans I knew growing up were Missouri Synod, and a lot (but not all) Missouri Synod churches do the ashes on Ash Wednesday these days... and some even do Lent.
...why do I, a non-Christian and a Wiccan to boot, know this much about Church politics and organization? :P
Most of my experience with Christianity had been with people I knew from school. The reason I never knew about the ashes on Ash Wednesday is that my friends from High School would go to church *after* school, and thus I'd miss the whole ritual portion.
It's funny - the people who look at me strangely for being a Wiccan are the same people who never think that their own faith might seem a little odd to an outsider. :P
Well, a lot of people go at night and in the afternoon because that's when they can make it (after work, school, etc). It's why I never saw it in high school.
Many churches have Ash Wednesday services at different times of day though, hence why Vice President Biden was walking around with Ashes on his forehead today.
Peso has the advantage of being a dick who is usually right. I should be clear that I'm not trying to glorify acting like a jackass -- but point out that if it weren't for the jackasses nothing would ever get done.
I mean, Hitler was a dick too so I'm not trying to say it's always a good thing.
Hell, if I mentioned characters I'd recycled in Gaming contexts, Vinny and Ilyena take that cake. I created them a decade ago, and have recycled them more times than I can count. :P
Kitty -- Yeah, that was a requirement for me. Right now the comics for the rest of the month are already finished and online (just queued for release over time). I plan on sitting down next weekend and drawing the rest, which shouldn't take me too long.
Langland -- I wouldn't look too hard. I'm trying to avoid direct references to real world people, as I don't want to offend anyone. The instant you reference one person directly, people start assuming the other characters are based off of other real people, and things just snowball.
Calvsie, you're asking me to politely say "Hello person who serves me food every once and a while, why do you do your job poorly?"
In a busy fast food place no less.
That doesn't exactly work, dude. Also, I understand how hard it is to work the counter. But I also understand that every other person who works at that particular McDonalds doesn't screw up my stuff... so it can't be *impossible* to do it right, y'know? :P
As for the two infection types I thought it was a temperature thing, not a cell type thing... but I have a degree in Political Science so I don't want to sound like a medical authority. :P
Yeah -- it's almost impossible to make me throw up. It happens, but since I reached adulthood it almost never does. I can count on one hand the number of times I've thrown up in the last ten years.
That said, I had to resist throwing up on several occasions. I think anyone else would have.
Looking at the site logs, I thought it was odd that someone had commented on such an old post.
Reading said comment leads me to point out that the word you were searching for is "psych" -- and it's very strange to go onto someone's personal blog/journal and criticize them for talking about their life... as that is the entire point of the space.
And Just a Note, Anonymous -- since you came here based off of my Facebook page, and have a Menomonie based IP address (although it's true, that might not be accurate... IP regions are flexible) I can only assume that you are 1. On my friends list and 2. Haven't called me recently.
Should I therefore be offended that you haven't called me?
If you're confused by my meaning, it's simple: I mean that if you didn't want to talk to someone, you wouldn't contact them.
The call in this context is merely a contact method.
I mean, seriously, do you get offended when someone you aren't close to doesn't try to hang out with you? Do you get mad when a coworker doesn't invite you to their family Thanksgiving? Do you get angry for every poker game someone you've met has that you don't get specifically invited to?
Your lack of sense making is incredible, Anonymous.
Well, I posted about it here because I wanted to make the larger point about how a site like this can change our long term social interactions with people -- but I wanted to wait until things calmed down first.
That and it was a lot less inflammatory to talk about than the other drama I've created lately.
Well, on Genesis it's just mediocre instead of god-awful. Not really a good game on either of the two big consoles.
The portable versions are a completely different story -- They're actually pretty good. Although from what I've been told, they were developed by a completely different team... so that may be why. :P
Eh, could be worse. I once had to spend 45 minutes listen to some guy go on a classic paranoid rant. I think the fluoride in the water even got mentioned...
Eh, could be worse. I once had to spend 45 minutes listen to some guy go on a classic paranoid rant. I think the fluoride in the water even got mentioned...
Eh, could be worse. I once had to spend 45 minutes listen to some guy go on a classic paranoid rant. I think the fluoride in the water even got mentioned...
It's weird, I know. But it worked. The entire reason I used the song was just because the guitar kicked in at that point you know. :P I only had a short list of songs that fit the length of the pre-existing video... so that's how things ended up.
Thanks for stopping by. I am a member of the Facebook group - which is here for those interested. If people are concerned about Ashley, that's probably the best source of information.
Well, Geek.kon has a microscopic budget for space since they're a free convention, so the Humanities Building makes total sense for them. It's what they can afford.
Dude -- I said I was dropping it if people stopped talking about it. That's why I didn't feel the need to contact you.
Secondly, my e-mail address is on the bottom of every single page of this website ( trh@trhonline.com ) -- if you really wanted to talk to me privately, you could (and still can).
I should also point out that, if you read my actual post, it is a general complaint and the only specific criticisms I list as MBP's fault are the comments made to me in personal communication -- hence MBP only being listed as one of three points in the title of that paragraph.
Nothing I stated was slanderous or libelous as nothing in my complaints is untrue. If Sam and Ryan gave you permission to run that set up, then my particular complaint on that count is at their feet. I seriously doubt they were thinking of the acoustic issues when it happened. My complaint and comment is entirely true, including the offering of a controlled substance. Maybe you should consider what you say and who you say it to in the future. I am the convention director and co-founder of one of the older Anime conventions in the region. I have a reputation for professionalism, and am not one who is known to exaggerate. You've earned a black mark in my book and I feel no guilt voicing it on my personal website.
My funds are tight, so a couple hundred dollars is a bit much.
Yeah, I know, my e-mail to the judge will probably do jack and/or squat -- and I'll probably end up paying the fine. It sucks, but I don't have anything in writing.
No... the sound is most definitely off. I was trying something new, and I don't like it. If I do another one, I'm going to use the original sound settings.
Representing George W. Bush with Ming the Merciless wasn't silly enough early on?
In 1801 the revolution had been won, but Uncle Sam's favorite Son had a job he needed done -- which brought Jack to a lady, both beautiful and smart, who found his mix intriguing: a Scoundrel with a Heart. :P
I know! I blame Steve for that. That reminds me though, you should call me so we can figure out when we can get together and actually start putting wheels on this thing. :P
If you like retro stuff, you'll love my next entry.
I actually have a small pile of stuff to document for Digital Obscuria, and one of these days I'll get to all of my backlog... I've had some of the pieces for far too many years...
The panelling is all over the second floor of the Zombie House. The actually neat thing about this room is the floor to ceiling windows you can't see in that shot...
You don't have to, but one of us should ask Kevin.
And Black Forest Gummy Bears taste better, plain and simple. They are chewy, yummy, and oh so much better than Haribo. Original sometimes just means "unimproved" :P
The first time is always the hardest. I reccomend pretexting anything you ask with "I have no idea how to ask this, so please forgive me if I sound like an idiot" :P
Your old VCR had been dead for a while. One day it stopped working completely. I researched the problem, and the repairs would cost more than a new unit because part of the circuit board fried itself.
Well, it's blending the pixellation of my camera... so the low video quality is still my cheap camera's fault - it's just being shown in a different way. :P
I am most definitely NOT leaving the staff of NoBrandCon. I'm taking a reduced role (no more Events Manager style roles), but I will still be there to host Hanzo, and help out with other events (and play the Gardening Ninja)
Cecil - I'm going to look at jobs all over the state as well as the cities, it's just that I have a free place to live in Milwaukee while I get my stuff together.
Matt - Knowing I'm not coming back to that room is just odd. I've lived in that room for two and a half years, and it's as much home to me as anywhere else at this point. And by the way, I've also always felt the wooing was a little tacky too. :P
You are memorable. Your character has only appeared for five minutes on stage ever - so I'm assuming that until this video is released, most won't know who she is.
On the other hand, EVERYONE knows who the Kitty is. :P
Well - we had to wait for them to go on the air. :P
What was really funny for me (and you can't see it because Ross didn't get a shot of it) was how confused the crew members were - and the expressions on their faces when we came in. :)
I think I did. Wow. And that had to be a manual person too - since this is specialized software I wrote myself, and the comment post form for Anonymous users is hidden in JavaScript...
Dude.
Anywho - to the first person: I actually like David Tennant quite a bit, and Runaway Bride proved he could carry the series without Piper to me. The series is good, and is going to continue to be.
Well, the problem there comes mostly from the imprecision of my editting software on longer videos... except the one on the side of the hill, that was just because I didn't stop talking when I should have for the edit.
See, again, that baffles me because I don't know what there is to be jealous of. Of course, this is why I never feel bad when someone gets engaged... :P
Why does that bother her? I mean, it's not like she's single. And people always get married in batches... it's not like she's 30 and not married anyways (and honestly I don't think there's anything wrong with that either)
With Back to the Future you mean "gigawatt." People get confused for some reason that Doc Brown uses a soft G (sounding like a J), but it's still a legitimate pronounciation.
Chris, if you read carefully, I say you bribed M$, not M3. :P I state you bribed Microsoft - and yes, I just typed that in.
Okies, more questions:
Alexiel 1. How many times do you think you'll "move back to EC"? 2. What goes up but does not come down? 3. If a multitude of small woodland mammals decided that you were their Queen, how many would you arbitrarily execute to maintain power? 4. Nickels, good or bad? 5. If I shot a Bananarama CD at the Moon with Rubberbands, would I have made it to Glenbogle?
Notasfatasmike 1. When am I getting my copy of Vandal Hearts back? 2. How German is too German? 3. Have you ever woken up screaming after having a dream that you were Matt White? 4. Do fictional Chocobos have an afterlife, and if so - did Rex go to Chocobo heaven? 5. Do you miss having Kyle around as much as I do?
NewtypeUK 1. Does it hurt to be British? 2. If you had a hammer, would you hammer just in the morning? 3. Is it true that if John Barrowman showed up at your door and offered to take you away from all of this, you'd accept? 4. Have you ever gotten in trouble for attempting to construct a giantic rube-goldberg device designed to kill your boss? 5. No, really, I mean, does it hurt to be British?
b.g... 1. What's it like to have the same name as almost every other girl on the planet? 2. How lazy is Keanu, I mean really. :P 3. Pirates, Ninja, or... and this is the kicker... Pirate-Robot-Ninja? 4. You are surrounded by ten fodder-level ninja on a construction site, what Sweet Move would you use to get out of this situation? 5. (And since I'm rewatching Series 1 of the new Doctor Who...) Are you my mummy?
Winchester 1. How many times in the past six months have you accidentally put your life at risk? (So, people shooting at you doesn't count). 2. Complete this line: For it is, it is a glorious thing to be a... 3. I know you've cut back on the drinking, but at any given moment, what is your estimate as to how drunk our nation's armed forces are? 4. Will I ever be able to beat you in Halo? 5. Did you just lie in your last answer to spare my feelings?
Befu 1. Why are the Danish pastries unable to take down the French Silk regime? 2. If you were a window, what kind of window would you be? 3. If you had to choose between brownies and sleep, which would you pick? 4. Which is more fun, to want or to be wanted? 5. Why do you think we have so many inside jokes?
Kitty 1. What is the chemistry behind making pancakes yummy? 2. Can you look at swedish fish without laughing? 3. If you could do one thing in your life differently, what would it be? 4. What was your first impression of me (Trae)? 5. Ball of String?
1. If a train leaves Boston heading east at 55 miles an hour, and a train leaves Chicago two hours later going west at 65 miles per hour - and saying that there was a straight line of track between the two points, and that no barriers exist between the two points, how long does it take for you to go get me a coke? 2. Why, when given the option to call yourself anything, do you pick an anime reference instead of something personal online? 3. Why isn't the sky purple? 4. Why hasn't Brett Favre been shot in the face yet? 5. If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
Well, I originally had a much longer answer that I editted down to just my final summary... it was just so long that it didn't pace well for the video.
Now, if you really want to hear a Misfits opinion, ask Topher (Scrotorius), as he has some very strong ones. :P
Actually, you state quite clearly in the video that it's Ron's Castle Foods - and as a person who shopped there for years, and who shopped at Festival for a while, I can tell you that it's definitely Ron's in the video. :P
I should note - that I may have gotten the wrong house. I had a very short list to choose from though - so the odds were very good.
But the person who posted the comments is more familiar with it that house than they are letting on as well (based off of IP records) so I don't feel too guilty for leaving a note criticizing the house's paint color. :P
I had two choices for location. I picked one - and I knew I could be wrong - but you got the message.
But honestly, this is insulting beyond all belief. Anonymous comments are now turned off. If you want to say something, you now have to have the balls to sign off on it yourself.
You can now congratulate yourself on making it so no one else can comment without logging in. Feel proud.
I just want to note - that right now I'm running Firefox 2.0 on a computer with a much nicer screen than my laptop - and at higher resolutions all of my complaints about the cosmetic changes I teach you how to undo in this post evaporate. The layout looks wonderful.
Again - I think that people will love this browser out of the (metaphoric) box. I'm just addicted to tweaking things.
You know - no one made you click play if you have such an issue with this "Anonymous." If you don't want to see me talk, you don't have to press play. (and if I see another sniping comment from an anonymous user, I'm turning off the feature).
Leah - Yeah, the rooms were WAY too cold, because Davies is kept at 65 degrees to save heating costs (because of budget cuts). I actually opened up the thermostat and turned it up in Arrowhead for most of Sunday, but I turned it back down when we left. As for the video being long... eh, I'll work on it. Oddly enough, I've gotten the reverse feedback from other people who apparently do want to see me talk for five minutes. Who knows... but your comment is noted.
Well, I have no problem with anonymous comments - I just had a problem with the same person reposting the exact same complaint anonymously - and while I didn't know who the person was, I knew that it was a person local to me in real life based on the IP address. Meaning, that someone who knew me personally was making sniping remarks and hiding behind my allowance of anonymous comments.
My anti-anonymous comments statement was mostly an expression of my frustration with passive aggressive behavior. :P
And actually, thank you very much for the feedback. :)
It's been floating around in the ether for a while... the funny thing is that I'd never bothered to watch the final version until about a month ago... and I'm IN the damned thing. :P
Honestly, go away. You've said your piece, but unless you are willing to sign your comments or get a username at this site, you're just a troll whose opinion means jack and shit.
Quit your bitching and leave if you don't like what I'm doing.
Well, I might change the ending, but I like the opening because it works really well for a title card length-wise.
I don't think I was ever "skeptical" about the CD... There are definitely some tracks that I don't like as much as others (you'll notice that the two songs I use are ones I've always said I liked), but frankly - the disc has grown on me as I've listened to it more.
I don't know - I think at this point I'm just trying to get Google to notice their site with the links. :P
Why gee, you must be right anonymous person. I will completely change everything I'm doing because of the advice from a person's whose credentials just have to be so deep in internet culture that they don't even have to identify who they are.... *rolls eyes*
Honestly, while critical feedback is appreciated, randomly stopping by someone's site and just expressing pure negativity (without being willing to engage with the rest of the site's community even) is just rude. Register yourself a username or stop sniping. Your choice.
Actually, that IS the road that leads up to chancellors. They took out the whole road, and are redoing it. They park the equpment right next to the "Putnam Prairie" area, and it's a rather depressing image if you don't know what the equipment is there for. :P
I've since searched the net for portions of what the bot said - and it looks like it's a fairly primitive bot (the script is almost identical every time). What amazes me is how many people don't figure out immediately that it's a bot. I was suspicious by the greeting, and knew for sure with the second thing it said...
Nah, I just have a bunch of random photos I've taken that I want to post, without really much of an excuse... so I'm putting them up whenever I feel like it.
I took the last couple of duck photos this summer, and I just like them.
Um, my whole point is that I wasn't going to judge the person for making a decision I disagreed with. I'm saying "don't be afraid of my judging you because I won't, and I'm your friend."
(And just a note to Kellin - the whole point of my entry is that this new single isn't really whiny at all - and that the proactive non-crybaby tone is what makes it better than their older stuff. The song is effectively her telling off her exboyfriend... it's a raised middle finger more than anything. :P )
My apologies - I actually meant to say "50+ issues," as I have issue 50, with the color cover, sitting around my room somewhere.
eXpressions uses the same level of printing as The Flip Side - although the layout seemed to be of Fanboy level quality.
The funny thing is, more people know about eXpressions Journal from being hassled by their sales guys than from actually having ever read the publication. I mean, when you think about it, this site itself has a larger audience than eXpressions - and the audience here is actually pretty small.
If they just sold some advertising, and made some deals with local coffee joints on the East Side, and then just charged for subscriptions for home delivery, I'm sure they could easily 1. Widen their audience 2. Become more profitable. Not to mention, they could do both of these things without compromising their ethical stance. It's really... sad? Ironic maybe.
If I lived in Milwaukee full time right now, I would probably actually just try to put together a similar publication just to show them how to execute the business model properly. :P
Wait, if agreeing with me makes you a bitch - what the heck does that make me for having said it in the first place? :P
While improper use of grammar and poor spelling bug the heck out of me, I try not to point it out. The reason is simple: 9 times out of 10, when you point out grammar errors and/or mispellings on the internet you will likely make several of your own within said correction. :)
Of course, the original series is actually terrible when you look at characterization and plot. We all remember the show with rose colored glasses, but as I've rewatched the old series as an adult... oh god, it really is terrible. So, I actually don't think there are many ways to screw it up -
- because the hate plague episode of the old series will always be worse. :P
All Bay needs to do is have giant robots, stuff blowing up, and Prime needs to be cool and Megatron evil. That's it.
(And it looks like I might have been wrong, and Megatron will be a giant jet and not a tank - and he HAS been a jet in Toy form, so it's not uncalled for)
Well, my issues comes down to getting annoyed with people who have been screaming "They're destroying Transformers!" and claiming that Prime never looked like that - when he has. They claim to be purists without understanding the full text of what they're defending.
It's like me complaining about a picture of flowers, claiming to be a botany expert, saying "Tulips aren't supposed to be yellow!" just because I had only seen red tulips. I just get tired... of stupid.
See, the UK comics are a wholey different continuity than even the US comics (although the UK comics do incorporate the US comics... it doesn't go both ways). So, yeah - Beast Machines does not take place in that universe.
Maybe it's just because I watch a lot of Anime, but I've never had the problem with multiple universes that so many American fans seem to...
Well, actually BM doesn't really contradict the US cartoon (both the US and UK comics occur in a different continuity from the G1 cartoon) - and it added quite a bit of depth.
I loved G1 references spliced into Beast Machines.
I just dug out a bunhc of RID and BM toys I had stored away for the last three years... I forgot how much fun they were to mess around with. :P
Well, we got spoiled by the later Beast Wars/Beast Machines stuff, which managed to be good for both young viewers and older viewers - but yeah. Transformers is made primarily for children - and if they choose not to cater to me (the older fan) I respect that, and I understand.
Like, I hated the "Robots In Disguise" cartoon - although I loved the toys... those are the last Transformers toys I ever bought - but I didn't bitch. I just said "Oh, it looks like they're going for the kids" and turned it off not worrying about it.
Now, the movie looks like it's aimed at older fans, and while I hate Michael Bay... I hate Bob Skir too, but I loved Beast Machines. So... it may, in fact, be an awesome movie. I mean, stuff is going to blow up and there willl be giant robots - if anyone expects any more from Transformers, they just aren't being realistic. So, I'll probably love this movie...
...the plot can't be any dumber than an episode of G1. :P
What happened to Lazer 103 is a travesty. Saga Communications (which owns The Hog/Lazer and KLH - and other stations across the country) managed to kill the nostalgia I used to associate with the channel, and while I'm sure they've attracted a new audience, everyone I know who used to listen to it has since turned it off.
WLUM 102.1 has always been a locally owned station for-friggin-ever (although the owners do also own 93.3), and because of that they have become my default station post Lazer-death. I think with the Hog showing it's corporate stripes, and negative press against Clearchannel (who own The Brew, and are in fact the great white Satan), WLUM is doing exactly what they should. They've dropped all of their syndicated programming, and are sticking to local talent. We need more radio stations like that, and I'm more than fine with their tooting their own horn about it.
Thanks - taking that photo took forever just because I had to teach myself to tie the knot. :P
(and actually, it's an old MadCatz PC controller, with the old 15 pin connector that I had lying around - I figured it wouldn't matter if I damaged the cord or not)
RSS is the direct descendent of the Netscape "Push" technologies - but yeah, channels were Microsoft's imitation. And Sony is so f***ed on so many levels, that I can't begin to describe it.
There are two other writers - when I expand the Full Circle metasite, they'll be credited - but they're Keanu and Liz (of Zombie House). We each writer two characters.
This is effectively the sequel to Room 825, David. Many of the plotlines are from that storyline that I had never ended up drawing. Right now Marcus is the only returning character, but Will and Terry may return in the future as well. Also, right now things seem a bit ordinary... but I wouldn't guarantee on things staying that way.
The difference is also that this is interactive fiction - in the sense that characters can be interacted with via comments (and e-mail, if you can find their e-mail addresses), and reader contribution can influence the plot. We're also building a network of in-universe websites that center around Eau De Puanteur (our setting), a few of which are online - but most of which will go online in the fall.
What you're seeing is a very ambitious alternate reality project in it's seedling form. It will grow much larger than this.
I don't know if Ed Debevic's is still around, as I haven't been their since High School. It's not that great though, so I wouldn't worry about it. Safe House, on the other hand, is cool.
I've decided to rewatch West Wing -- I'm mostly through the first season right now.
As for Galactica, I have the miniseries on DVD, but I haven't bought the first or second season DVDs yet - partially because I've seen all of those quite recently. I loves Galactica. :P
Yeah - sorry about the Safari thing. It doesn't like my WYSIWYG editor - that's why the basic comment form is still available.
I've got big plans for that PDA... and they're mostly legal! Okay, completely legal - but I have the knowledge to do illegal things, and just choose not to.
SeanOrange 1. Scorponok: *HUG* 2. Build a website that's more than a photo gallery. 3. Orange. 4. You can be fairly entertaining at parties. 5. Sitting down next to you in CS185 back in 1999. 6. Marmot. 7. How much, over the years, have you actually spent on Fandom (Videos/Toys/Posters/Cons/Etc.)?
kitty 1. Sometimes you hide underneath the tables! 2. I challenge you to not chase string. 3. Red. 4. Your unique Leah-ness. 5. The hip wiggling at Juggling. 6. A Kitty! 7. How on earth did you survive PChem?
blue.gonturan 1. Worst. Haxor. Evar. :-p 2. I challenge you to wear a dress. 3. Blue... 4. You are fairly entertaining on a regular basis. 5. When you first showed up to OA. 6. A Wombat! 7. Have you ever considered lighting VHSteve on fire?
Of course you can Mr. Recine, I got this off a LiveJournal.
Jason Webb 1. The Sentinel Hat is missed. 2. Get Fanboy.info back up.. 3. Orange. 4. You're reliably Recine.. 5. Not really sure about most early ones, as they've all blurred together... but I clearly remember the Sentinel Hat and the Charlie Brown shirt. Everyday. 6. A newt. 7. What color is the sky in your world?
pinky 1. You attend Hanzo too much. 2. Attempt to cicumnavigate the word! 3. Black. 4. See point #1. 5. Meeting you at No Brand Con. 6. A ferret. And I have no idea why - if you guys haven't noticed, I'm just doing word association with the animals. 7. Why. Just why.
Dialup is teh suck - but it is better than no internets.
Anyway...
Alexiel 1. You are, in fact, not a robot - contrary to popular belief. 2. Start High Speed Llama Racing. Really. 3. Purplish. 4. Your enthusiasm. 5. Meeting you at NoBrandCon. 6. A mother bear. 7. If a train leaves Portland, going East at 90 miles an hour, and a Train leaves Boston going South at 43 miles an our, how long until they stop producing seasons of American Idol?
And now I get to do this for the three of you: newtypeUK 1. You're British. Unoriginal response? Yes. However it was the first thing in my head. 2. Try not watching the next episode of Doctor Who for a full five days after it's aired... I bet you can't. 3. Blue. 4. You don't look at me funny when I talk about Doctor Who. 5. Asking me online as to what I thought about Reanna when you were nervous about first meeting her. 6. Sloth. I don't know why, but you're apparently a sloth. 7. So, does it hurt to be British? azumangadaioh22 1. You remind me of a moose tied to a trainwreck. I don't know what that means, but somehow it's important. 2. Try relaxing, and not angsting out so much. 3. Brownish. 4. You are very persistant. 5. Yelling at you to stop reviving old threads. 6. I guess that moose-thing from point #1. 7. What's the capital of Luxembourg?
befu 1. Blue tie! 2. Make me brownies. 3. Stripes. 4. You're always entertaining to talk to, and you do neat graphic designy things. 5. Talking with you during NoBrandCon years back. 6. A merecat. I have no idea why either. 7. If you could be a speedboat, would you have an internal or external motor?
...and it's even better if you've seen the video for the Halcali "Strawberry Chips Remix" -- and even more if you've seen some Mini Moni stuff... the J-pop references in this thing are occasionally subtle, but there are about a bazillion of them in there...
By the way Kellin, I'll fix the system so it strips the backslashes from your username in the posts... as you're the only person with an apostrophe in their name, I had forgotten to add the stripslashes to the program.
Erika is campaign managing the Jeff Smith Campaign, so she's actually doing quite a bit right now -- And Werthmann has moved on to better things than Brandon...
...and Brandon won because he worked his ass off in this case.
Well, I'm busy Thursday. I'm around tonight though - I have plans for Friday, and I should probably spend Saturday with my family since I leave Sunday morning.
His site is designed to just take content from as many people as possible. I've been unable to find out ANYTHING about the person hosting the site though -- I've never seen a scam this sophisticated in its obfuscation of identity.
Usually the scammer slips up at some point - and while I may still be able to find out who it is, I've never had to dig this far to find out that sort of information before.
I've never understood the kind of parents who have no problem letting their offspring move hours away - but the instant they walk in the door they get treated like they're 15 again...
...thank god my parents were never like that when I was younger... of course, at 20 I was paying my own rent, and not really relying on them for one red cent - so it's not like they would have had much say. *shrug*
I'm the judicial board chair. It's my job to know the rules. But honestly, that's first week shit.
It is a state provided office. Explain to me how that is so complicated for some people to understand? And guess what, yes - and RA is always on duty when they are in their hall. RAs KNOW this when they sign up for the job. Complaining about that is like complainging that guy at McDonalds might be forced to be around Hamburgers. It's the sort of thing you should think about before taking the job. RAs are people true, but they are always the voice of housing when they are in the dorms. That is the whole point of the job, and if they don't want that, they don't have to apply.
This isn't about freedom of speech. This is about the esablishment clause. It must be kept in balance with the free exercise clause, and this is the best way to do it. And by bringing in the ADF, Steiger lost any chance of my ever considering supporting him. They're part of a lensed movement that can't undestand the whole of the first amendment, and only care about it's pieces.
Actually, it was floating around housing that the policy was going to be suspended previous to the filing. Lance is an RA, he could have found out quite easily. Hell, I knew, and I'm so out of the loop it hurts.
Of course, I just love this quote:
"Essentially, the university is saying that, if you're a student dorm leader and you're not being disruptive, you can hold a 'kegger,' but you can't hold a Bible study," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Kevin Theriot.
Yeah, that so true, except, wait, NO IT ISN'T. If Mr. Theriot knew a damned thing about the case he was prosecuting, he'd know a keg violates the container rule at UWEC housing, and if an RA had that in their room they'd be documented for violating policy code 34. If people were under 21 in the room, they'd also be written up for violating policy number 32 and possibly 33. Likely policy 20 (Quiet Hours) would be violated as well (when is the last time you went to a quiet kegger?) - and if by 'Student Dorm Leader' someone meant the Hall Council President, then fine - have a study, but State Employee in their State provided Office is a bit different.
I don't know which I'm more angry at, the flippant disregard for the establishment clause, or his stereotypical depiction of college students as dumb drunks.
An RA's Housing and Meals are provided by the University. I don't know if Lance was holding it in his room or just in the hall off the top of my head, but the policy applies to both.
As for the "holding it in the hall" I just don't see why another member of the group couldn't run it (the RA is allowed to attend, just not run a bible study in the hall), as it requires more than one person to constitute a Bible study. :-p
I think this is the first time Republicans have ever spammed my blog - and this is the first time any spam on my site has actually been relevant to the issue.
I'd read the GOP3 blog, and chosen not to link to it in my earlier stuff because (frankly) http://mu-warrior.blogspot.com/, which is also a Conservative Blog, had better coverage. *Shrug*
It's their state provided office, as it is payed for by the state. An RA's room is considered their place of work specifically. They also cannot RUN a bible study in their own hall, but can ATTEND one. The difference is subtle, but important (I'm only using capitals for emphasis - it takes less time than busting out the HTML for italics). They can run a bible study anywhere else on campus - just not in their own hall.
As for the establishment clause, it seems fairly obvious to me - although you and I may read the constitution differently in this case. The RA is the voice of housing (and therefore the state) to new students. There is additional leeway on what's permissible in their room compared to what normal state employees would be allowed (as it is their residence as well), but you have to figure out where to draw the line, y'know? If it were just their residence - then yes, any form of worship should be allowed (barring what would otherwise be illegal of course). If it were purely their office, then I would say "No Brainer" as well, and say that very little beyond basic personal expression should be allowed -- but we have this bizarre mix with an RA's room, and you have to figure out where to draw the line.
This seems as good a place as any to me - placing it between personal expression of faith and what could be seen as an endorsement of religion. This is the best line we can draw, in my opinion.
But, again, like all things constitutional - much of it can differ purely on opinion.
And the only reason I've used the terms of Christianity is that 1. I was talking from personal experience, and Christianity (while on the whole I think is a pretty cool thing by the way) has been the only religion whose followers have given me problems - and 2. The lawsuit is about a Christian Bible Study in specific.
As for the second point - If it were about a Jewish group, I would have used those terms for those parts of reference. If it were about a Hindu group - I would have brought that up instead as best I could. But guess what, most of America self-identifies as Christian - so guess which religious affiliation is most likely to be the topic just based on the odds alone?
Matt - it's a STATE provided OFFICE. There are limits on free expression within them. Plain and simple. If I were an RA, I wouldn't be able to hold a Wiccan study Circle there either. No one is being forced to stop practicing their religion either - so give it up. If I have to dig up the supreme court cases justifying limitations on first amendment rights, I will. I know several. Schenck v. US (1919) comes to mind, but that's free speech, not religion. The Free expression clause can be trumped by the Establishment clause - that has always been my stance, and it will remain so. My religion, your religion - it all remains out of state business.
Biedermann - there was never any policy against talking about religion. NONE. Merely one against an organized practice in their state provided office. Which it IS. Yes, it is their residence as well - and that's why they can hang a big ass cross on their wall if they want, and do whatever the heck they want - just not organize. We're dealing with a tricky issue, as an RA is always on call effectively when they are in the building. It's part of the job - and if a person isn't willing to balance their personal life with their community they shouldn't become and RA.
Biedermann, you really don't know what it's like to have people pushing their faith on you. For every RA that just wants to have a quiet study, there is one who wants to push it on others - and when it comes to the residence halls, where new students are already feeling uncomfortable away from home for the first time, the last thing they need is for the person that is supposed to help them acclimate to their new situation forcing their religion down their throat...
Yes. But trust me when I say I would have reacted worse.
One time I failed something, and barely could get myself out of bed for a week. You're managing to be a lot stronger than I was over the exact same thing.
Well, Fuckmas is the Winter holiday for the Cult of Edwin - Patron God of the Single.
No one gets anything they want on Fuckmas. In fact, the whole point of the Holiday is that you actually get screwed, as you recieve gifts you really don't want.
Fuckmas is not to be confused with Christmas, which involves ironically much more drinking.
I remember, in one of the earliest times you talked to me, you dragged me halfway across campus (barely knowing me), by the hand, and made me talk to your dad about internships.
That cemented the fact that I wanted you right there. :P
Never count on people being able to make the most obvious connections. I never do anymore... except then I start explaining things to people who don't need it explained, and they just get annoyed...
You know - I see the subject "Private until I can finish my thought." I think to myself "That must be a private entry. Clicking on it will do me no good, since I can't read it."
Personally, I'd just like to see a score up there besides ours. I mean, I know several other people who have been playing it - I just wonder why they haven't pinged with LeaderBoard to at least clinch the #4 or #5 spots...
Keanu - the equation for speed is actually based on your score. The delay timer is as follows (timex is the Timer value, SammyDavis is an oddly named value just to tick up:
SAMMYDAVIS = 0
DO WHILE SAMMYDAVIS < (timex / (1 + Points))
SAMMYDAVIS = SAMMYDAVIS + 1
LOOP
So, if you have a high score, it means you were playing the game at a high speed comparative to your starting speed.
I also reccomend that people don't hold the keys down, but instead just press them repeatedly - it's significantly more responsive that way.
Thanks Jesse. I have the old "Antarctic Blaze" game you did years back (was actually playing it earler the other day). I can toss that online if you want me to Jesse.
This is a formerly public post which I've, umm... hidden from you.
It was just me being all depressed while having an entire lack of perspective. But it's so much in the past at this point that the surrounding posts (and this comment) should clear up any issues.
Yeah, but closest doesn't always mean fastest - as going to the other side of the building and taking a practically empty stairwell tends to be actually faster, and frankly less annoyingly crowded.
Honestly, tell him that. Tell him you need a little space - and make sure that he knows that it doesn't mean you don't love him, or that there is something wrong with your relationship - but that you just need to maintain a little personal space.
He may not like that at first, but if he loves you - something that simple won't be that big a deal for him to adjust to in the end.
You know, I again have to say, "Your (former) roommate is f***ed up beyond all belief."
I wouldn't invite you to a family reunion just yet myself, and I'm your boyfriend. Of course, that's mostly because I love you too much to subject you to my extended family. :P
I say that we take everyone who complains about the plovers and says they should be moved should have their house knocked down and be moved to Nebraska.
A tube ride done properly is a battle between tuber and the guy driving the speed boat.
The driver (well, more accurately pilot) driver will attempt to throw the tuber, and the tuber will defy the driver by holding on for their motherf***ing life.
It's fun, but it usually ends up with me getting soaked, and my arms hurting for several days.
"If you hurt my friend, I'll kill you" isn't a power trip - it's being protective of a friend.
I know I've uttered those words before, as have friends of mine about people I've dated. It's not about power, it's about wanting to protect people you care about.
I know exactly what you mean... with The Flip Side's website I just started ignoring everyone after a while and occasionally mention that I'm the only person who knows how to update it, and what a shame it would be if I didn't have time to anymore.
Your high school band director was a bit of a jerk.
But not as bad as my brother's Junior High Band Director -- who threw my brother's trumpet once because my brother hadn't practiced a piece. Or should I say my Father's trumpet. Yeah my parent's weren't too pleased.
But at least there were other positive experiences with directors beyond the dink at your high school.
Secondly to Kitty -- are you sure that means that they don't want to use you at all, or that they just didn't need you for the same scenes they're using Erika?
This is the thing, a person will need to generate a settings file before I can list them (if I do this the way I plan to). So people like Erika (Kid) who have a blog but have no settings file won't be listed until they hit save settings at least once.
Well, my mom was their customer, so they had her phone number. Of course, they just could have E-mailed me. Which is what the LOGICAL thing to do would have been. :P
Okay, the solution is as follows: <font color="000000">Text you want to be a different color</font> Where the "000000" is the color code you want to make the text (same as the codes you use on the layout). You can also use certain color names like "Blue" or "Red" or "Navy" (I forget the whole list of words that work).
Other options that work within the <font> tag are Size (size=+1, size=-2, etc) and Face (face="courier new" , face="Times New Roman", etc).
I was editing a settings file of mine on the admin screen and I noticed another user number that I didn't recognize... so I clicked over to your blog and saw the entry.
Kellin - the Footbridge connects one one part of campus to another, so it makes sense to exist... Eau Claire (the city) has several footbridges scattered throughout town.
I wonder if Google maps mistakes those ones for roads too...
Book will barely be in the movie due to a scheduling conflict, but as Universal said they'll make a 2nd and 3rd movie if this does well, we'll probably see more of him then.
Why is this the earliest comment? Because this was the last post made before the new comment system rolled out. All the previous comments were left behind on Haloscan.
