What I need to do today/this weekend:
-Vacuum my room
-Dust my room
-Organize my bookshelf
-Put away and organize the stuff in my room
-Get started on clearing out my section of the basement
-Straighten up my sewing area
-Go to Michaels to pick up some 20-gauge gold wire
-Locate my Mexican wedding cookies recipe
-Start fixing Aaron's coat
-Finish Thai's pin
-Draft out the pattern and start on the muslin for Thai's costume
-Start organizing my computer files
-Clean out my pots and plant some new seeds
-Water my lavender plant
-Trim the ends of Liz's dress and take that sleeve off
-Think of a new username to tranfer my journal to (yeeeaaah.)
-Take my picture and Eric's for the senior band picture frame
-Fold my laundry
-Make new journal icons
-Update my RCR gallery
-Call mom and grandma about graduation party invitations
-Print out my resume for the ice cream store
-Check for new job listings
-Clean out my car
-Check the car's oil
-Pick up a new charcoal filter for Mely's tank
-Start packing bigger things for moving out, or at least find boxes for them
-Work on the next chapter of Lionheart
-Write more book reviews for Associated Content


What I will probably do today/this weekend:
-Go to Michaels and waste time trying to find nonexistent 20-gauge gold wire
-Be unable to find my Mexican wedding cookies recipe and waste time trying to find a new one
-Finish Thai's pin and poke myself in the finger with it
-Water my lavender plant
-Throw out those old roses
-Take one look at the basement and promptly walk back upstairs
-Latchook a Nascar latchook mat I'm not even keeping
-Rage at my computer
-Waste time on Wikipedia
-Forget to call mom until the last second
-Watch too much Colbert Nation
-Go to bed early

So you know how I said the other chapters aren't work-safe? Yeah, well, this one really isn't.

Chapter 6 and OKGO.
 

 

( He gave up too so please stop this foolness.Collapse )

So, I have a preface to this.

You know, I really love satire. And sarcasm. And parody. I do!

But sometimes, I fail to pick up on it.

Case in point: All the stuff below.

But because my points still stand about strict fundamentalists, and it makes me laugh now, I'll leave it up. (I also admit to my mistakes.)

Have a good day! <3

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

( This is why we read between the linesCollapse )

 

I am working on the next chapter of Lionheart, dearies, it will be up, I SWEAR.

Spring concert with the orchestra and choir tonight! We're playing El Camino Real and Joy Revisited. I feel shiny and prepared. The other people playing my part with me on El Camino, though? JESUS. I try not to put my fellow players down, but there are some very exposed parts where they should not be playing. D: State contest with those songs tomorrow. We shall get a 1, yes we will, yes we will....

Also, I wish to tell all of you that P!nk's video for "Please Don't Leave Me" is absolutely TERRIFYING. Jesus. Watch it if you dare. D: (I do like that song, tho.)

So the AP English exam was not as hard as I thought it would be. See, I have a theory on this. We took practice exams for all three of our finals (in my school, the end of every term - of which we have 4 - is when you take finals. AP English is 3 terms, so 3 finals) and near the end of the year, and they were all SUPER-DUPER HARD, like way harder than the exam, so my theory is that she gave us all really hard ones to scare us into studying. I think she really wants someone at North to get a 5. No one ever has. D:

(Am I apparently not allowed to say anything more than that, or else my scores get invalidated. D: )

That's about all I have to talk about right now. Gonna take a shower, do some sewing, and maybe latch hook for a bit. Toodles, y'all. Have a smashing day~

Okay so guys? I am hitting you all up for cash right now.

See, I got all my housing and enrollment stuff today, and I owe BVU $200 for my enrollment fees and housing deposit. I need to get this paid ASAP.

My family is strapped for cash because we owe the high school about $350 for band uniform costs and some fines Eric got. Top that with the fact that we're also getting ready to throw a graduation party, and that we just paid $300 for Eric's enrollment and housing fees at Iowa State, and suddenly, it gets a little more dire. And I can't get a job, apparently, so guess what? I need some help.

So I have a deal for you at Whimsy City: order from me now, and the next time you order, I'll take half off for jewelry and crafts and 25 percent off for custom clothes and costume commissions. If you don't plan on ordering again, I'll do character designs, or graphic and web design, or something else you may want. I'll extend this deal to anyone who writes "BVU" in the "Anything else" section of their order form, that way I know they're ordering to help me with my college and want to take me up on the offer.

I know that right now, you may be wary of comissioning from me because I don't have photos of my sewing work. This is because I recently scrapped all of my costumes. I can take pictures of some in-progress stuff I have, but I have nothing complete. But it's okay, you don't have to order a costume. I do have pictures of jewelry that I made up. And to be honest, it's pretty hard to mess up a candle.

Keep in mind that the stuff I have listed is no necesarily the only things I will make. I will do custom designs for jewelry, and of course, since I have no crafts up right now you can suggest anything. And I will make clothes! I'll design it for you at no extra charge. That's right, I'll design it for you for free.  And I'll do costumes from movies and shows that aren't listed - those are just ones I know I can make.

Some crafty things I'm going to be adding? Pot holders, towel holder things, plushies, throw pillows, pencil holders, and random decorationy things. I just need to get all my info.

This means I'm going to have to suspend the Love146 fundraiser for a bit, but if I can get into college, I sure can help them a lot more. So if you want to help someone get into college, then go visit Whimsy City Creations.

(oh my god so much advertising I apologize)

So I called BVU yesterday to make absolutely sure they had my transcript and I GOT ACCEPTED. Not where I entirely expected to go, but whatever. \M/ Although, in the words of Dad, it's in "Bum Fuck Egypt". Which is my new favorite phrase. BFE. BFE!

BVU is in BFE. :B

So I'm waiting for my stuff to come in the mail and to apply for housing and stuff. I owe $200 for the deposit on housing and to secure my spot as a student. WHICH BRINGS ME TO SOMETHING: If you all love me and want to help me pay that $200, then you should totally buy some jewelry from me. Or comission me. Gaiz. D:

On the subject of Whimsy City, I need to get all my stuff printed out and organized in my binder (I swear I am micromanaging all this crap), then I need to post some fashion designs, more absolute information on some costumes, and more crafts and jewelry! It's wonderful, yes it is.

I called JCPenney yesterday about my inability to be hired and they told me to call a supervisor, so I'll be doing that today too. I dropped off my application to do the Young Emerging Writer's internship again this year today, too.

I wanna go to Vander Veer Park and just take a nap. It's wonderful out. Maybe I'll go for a bike ride later.

AP English exam tomorrow. D: Wish me luck!

Thinking about moving to a new username because NO ONE CAN SPELL THIS ONE, except me. D: Thoughts/ideas/cupcakes?

And now for the MAIN EVENT, some epic wankery/asshattery/wtfisthis!

I opened my DA inbox to find Jateshi's journal entry on the one and only Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander series of books (which I have never read). She linked to this fandomwank post which summarily links to Ms. Gabaldon's blog post in which she BAAAWWS about fanfic authors and how they are immoral. And wrong. And rapists. And possibly pot heads growing marijuana in some random guy's backyard. it's a pretty long read, full of wtfformatting, so allow me to summarize it for you:

Ms. Gabaldon does not like fanfiction. She thinks fanfiction authors are doing illegal things, like rape and murder and stealing from people's brains. She also thinks there is an International Copyright Law (Honey? There isn't. No, really, there isn't.) AND THIS MAKES MY BRAIN HURT:

One real easy way to find out. Write anything you want, using Jamie Fraser, Edward Cullen, Harry Potter _and_ Dr. Who….and then change the characters’ names before you post it. Simple. Find All: “Jamie Fraser”. Replace with: “Joe Kerastopolous”. No problemo, all your own work, and any praise you get is duly earned.

Okay, guys, I have a new novel idea! It's about this guy named Bobby Alan, who is raised by his aunt and uncle, Veronica and Joe, and lives with his cousin, David! But they really suck and they're mean and they make fun of him for the squiggly scar on his shoulder. But then one day they start getting tons of E-mails and so they start running around only than this huge guy named Nathaniel shows up and tells Bobby he's really a wizard and he gets to go to the Salem School for Magic! And I'll call it Bobby Alan and the Mirror of Bad Fortune, 'cause it'll involve a mirror. Yeeeaaaah.

Of course, the fact that it's basically the plot of Harry Potter means nothing, because I replaced all the names! Oh, god, my sides, they hurt. Ms. Gabaldon: FANFICTION IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS.

Ms. Gabaldon also thinks that somehow, fanfiction is moral if the author is dead and the work is in the public domain. This is such a double-standard I don't know where to begin, because technically, it's still "stealing" (her words, not mine), right? Are you suddenly okay with fanfiction of your characters after you're floating around in Whatever Ghostly Plane May or May Not Exist? Excellent! I'll just find a way to live forever, read your doorstops of books, and write fanfiction all I want!

6) But I just looove your characters! And isn’t imitation the sincerest form of flattery?

Weeeelll…let us just say that there’s a difference between someone dating red-haired men, and the same someone trying to seduce my husband.

LOL so okay from what I've heard she based her character Jamie off of her husband, right? So already, she basically wrote real person fanfic (and real person fic gives me all sorts of squicks, but whatever floats your boat) AND she suddenly gets her panties in a wad from someone writing sexual fic using him. YOU DUG YOUR OWN GRAVE, HUN.

About that “privacy of your own imagination” thing….[cough] While not all fan-fic is pornographic by any means, enough of it _is_ that it constitutes an aesthetic argument against the whole notion.

As I say, I’ve unwillingly read a certain amount of fan-fic involving my characters, and about three-quarters of it is graphic, badly-written (of the “his searing touch blazed its way up the silken skin of her thigh to the secret depths of her ecstasy” type) masturbatory fantasy. I mean….ick.

I think this is funny because from what I hear, her books are full of self-grafitying porn. I hear tell of Jamie (I think?) getting nailed to a table and then anally and orally raped. Also of this Claire character running home to her first husband with Jamie's seed all over her legs (!?) and other stuff of that nature. So she gets squicked by reading porn using her characters, but she's perfectly okay with writing it. Hey, lady, if you didn't base your characters off people you know you wouldn't have this problem! This is just too funny.

Also, can I point out that she says she "unwillingly" read this fanfic? Lady, no one's making you read it. lol.

But…imagine opening your daily mail and finding a letter detailing an explicit sexual encounter between, say, your twenty-one-year-old daughter and your forty-eight-year-old male neighbor---written by the neighbor. At the bottom it says, “Fiction! Just my imagination. All cool, right?” This would perhaps prevent your calling the police, but I repeat…ick.

As one person said, it's more like clicking your way to your neighbor's blog, clicking past the 18 and over warning, only to find it. You don't really just "inadvertantly" find porn fic because almost every author who writes fic PUTS UP A SEXUAL CONTENT WARNING. If you ignore it, it's your own fault.

Also, your characters are fictional. It's not like having sex with your daughter or seducing your husband because THEY ARE FICTIONAL. If you're that attached to your characters and you feel a mental blow when someone touches them in any way, you maybe need some meds.

So far, Ms. Gabaldon has compared fanfic authors to stalkers, rapists, vandals, adulterers, horticultural thieves, and slavers. If she wanted to piss off the entire community of fandom people, she did an awesome job. Because writing fanfiction is totally like selling your children into sexual slavery. Oookaaay....

Well as you all know this all comes from something Ms. Gabaldon found using fanfiction: a charity auction involving fan-made pieces using her characters and Twilight characters. The auction would be to raise money for a girl named Stacie dying from cancer. Now I don't quite agree with selling pure fanfiction (there is a difference between actual fanfiction and parodies or satires like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a fact Ms. Gabaldon misses as she calls it fanfiction) but it's for a good cause and it's not like they're using the money to go party. Sakky has sold the original sketches of some of her fan pieces to raise money for Sara Baker, a girl from the Tower of Time (a Sailor Moon forum I frequent) who was involved in a car accident and now suffers from locked-in syndrome. It was a way to raise money, and no one was hurt by it. Naoko Takeuchi, the creator of Sailor Moon, did not lose money. Ms. Gabaldon is not losing money because of someone writing fanfiction. So I ask: what is the big deal?

Of course, her constant screaming of "COPYRIGHTCOPYRIGHTCOPYRIGHT!" does not work as well as she thinks it does, because copyright does not cover everything. There's the Fair Use clause, and oftentimes exceptions are made for transformative works, like fanfiction. Fanfic is in a gray area; it's not illegal. If Ms. Gabaldon hates it that much, she can just say "Hey dudes don't write fanfic okay?" and pretty much all fanfic authors will not write fic because they do this out of love for what they're a fan of, and respect for its creator. For example, I love Robin McKinley's book Beauty, but she has spoken out against fanfic so I don't write fanfic about Beauty. It's that simple.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery and I would be ECSTATIC if I ever found fanfic using my work. It proves that someone cared enough to read the whole thing in-depth enough to expand it with their own ideas. Tolkien himself loved fanworks, saying "I would draw some of the great tales in fullness, and leave many only placed in the scheme, and sketched. The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama."

The authors posting on Ms. Gabaldon's blog agreeing with her in the form of "I DON'T KNOW WHAT FANFIC IS BUT I DON'T LIKE IT, THEY NEED TO DIE" and issuing challenges like Eddie Louise's apparently have some insecurity because they are that worried about an innocent fan pasttime that has existed for AGES. Dude, if you're that worried, just ask people not to, we're not going to be that devastated. Oh, lol, this is just too much to deal with this early in the morning. So much stupidity.

Can I just say that I think it's funny that she has such a problem with derivative works? THE PARTY'S OVER, GUYS! NO MORE SHAKESPEARE! NO MORE DANTE! NO MORE MOVIES OR GAMES BASED ON BOOKS OR OTHER THINGS! NO MORE KARAOKE! IT'S ALL OVER! Because Diana Gabaldon said it was immoral, and Her Word Is Law. Except for the part where it isn't.

My new manifesto with my work: GIVE ME FANFIC. I want your smut, your Mary Sues, your bad English, I WANT IT ALL, BBY. Give me something based on When the Stars Fade (If I ever get that monster finished) where Aisling is replaced by Alexandra and falls in love with Kotone or whatever. I HUNGER FOR IT. And I don't base my characters off people I know, so go wild with the sex.

And when I finally get published I will wear my fanfic author badge proudly because it helped me and I know that many fans are the salt of the earth. They're what keeps something going. If you don't have the support of fans you are totally screwed, so EXCELLENT JOB ALIENATING YOUR FANS MS. GABALDON. I know I'm not reading Outlander now.

I don't know about you, guys, but I'm itching to write and read some fanfic. Maybe I'll write some Star Wars smut with Obi-Wan and Siri. And maybe trawl through the Percy Jackson Hole of Bad Fanfiction on FF.net. What say you? Recommend me some stuff. :B


ETA:

My wishes have come true and Ms. Gabaldon has posted a follow-up entry in which she is trying to attempt damage control and not sound so pissy. I suspect that if she hadn't stepped into the hornet's nest, she wouldn't be having this problem. Just sayin'.

I was hoping she'd bring up the Berne Convention as her explanation for that strange "International Copyright Law" because that is most definitely what it isn't. An International Copyright Law would imply something universal and uniform. The Berne Convention is not universally accepted, and it still makes exceptions for Fair Use, Creative Commons, and LOOKIE HERE, derivative works. So LOL Gabaldon, your International Copyright Law thing, wherever it exists, still does not protect you.

Copyright is kind of overrrated anyways, why do I care about it after I die. lol. I wonder if there's some way to say "AFTER I DIE, MAKE IT PUBLIC DOMAIN!"?

I'm really fuzzy right now and I forgot how boring it can be reading the Berne Convention (Hey, look, I actually read the thing) so I may be a little wrong in the above paragraph, but jeez.

I'm a little surprised that no one has brought up the issue of writing fanfiction using original characters. This is something I do. Am I still not a "real writer"? Or am I suddenly one because I use OCs? But that would be a double standard! BALL IS IN YOUR COURT!

(I love how we call it "real writing" if it's not fanfic. What, so they're not actually writing, they're just making pretty pictures? It's like when companies say they're using real cheese, not fake stuff. So you're not using plastic cheese? Okay, so maybe it's genetically "enhanced" but we still call it cheese. Ergo, fanfic writers are still real writers. Just...lol.)

Also, I have to agree with all the people calling her out on being an insensitive bitch (I apologize, sort of) and trvializing the pain of sexual assault victims and then not apologizing, but finding the time to put in a plug for some random tea named after her characters. Fail, Gabaldon! I hereby revoke your internets.

Why is everything made of so much SUCK recently? Seriously. D:

So I got rejected from University of Iowa for not having taken algebra 2 (Basically, I failed geometry my sophomore year, was recommended to take intermediate math the next year which is like a transition course between algebra and geometry and then take geometry my seniour year - I didn't have time for algebra 2) and I couldn't get my papers and stuff in on time and so now I'm so confused about where I'm going and that is why my life has not been a complete ball of fun recently. But I think I got accepted at Buena Vista University since they're apparently setting me up with a financial aid reward (this guy called and begged for my FAFSA, will more like asking, but I like calling it begging) and I got an E-mail telling me to register for classes. I CAN HAS ACCEPTANCE LETTER? D: I got a letter saying I needed to give them my transcript, which is made of fail because they already have it.

I also wound up not being hired at JC Penney because of when I backed into that car in June last year, and caused some minor damage to the front. I did my 12 hours community service, and this was a year ago, and I don't need to drive to be a dressing room attendant. Seriously, there is such a non sequiter between why I wasn't accepted and what the job requires that I need to say something to them. I have been looking for a job for FOUR YEARS, and I'm sure people out there will say "Oh, but you're a teen, you don't need a job!" that's funny, because I definitely have my own costs. My parents don't usually pay for when I want to buy something I don't absolutely need, unlike some people I know who have their own credit cards, allowances, mommy and daddy shower them with gifts, etc. And I'm definitely going to need a job through college, a job I won't be able to get because I don't have any work experience. GUYS. A LITTLE HELP, PLEASE.

So I swear, I will post another Lionheart soon. I know, that cliffhanger is killing all of you. But I'm so stressed out, so I beg your forgiveness.

One more month and I will be out of this high school thing, jesus.

Over the summer I'm hoping to go to San Japan to meet the amazing thaizertazerll . This will, of course, be dependent on my ability to get a job, as driving to Texas is a little expensive. I'm also hoping to attend the Gathering of the Tribes in Waterloo, which is basically an organized meeting of Pagans, or at least as organized as we can be (we are chronically disorganized).

OH! omg I can't believe I forgot to mention this. I finally opened up my commission site! I have been working on this for yeeeaaars. Whimsy City Creations! Right now I have jewelry and some costumes up (BY THE WAY: People seem to not realize that those aren't the only costumes I will make. Which is not true. I will make other ones.) right now, and I'll add clothes and crafts ASAP. Check it out!

There was a bit of a break with the suckage due to Beltane and Prom on Saturday. omg. so much fun.

Here, have a little bit of Earth Day ranting because I've been reading news article comments all day and they tick me off a lot. D:

So why is it that whenever someone takes intiative to help out and be good to nature and tries to get people to help, a bunch of people start ridiculing them and calling them stupid and liars? Why is it even a question anymore that we've pretty much screwed up a lot of Earth? Gee, I would have been pretty sure that rivers catching fire from the chemicals in them would have proven that yeah, we messed up. Or maybe the dead zones in the oceans from overfishing. Or maybe the giant plastic patches in the Pacific and Atlantic.

But these people don't care. It ruins their sense of reality where everything about the planet is perfect and it'll always be there. "This planet was here before us, and it'll be here after us." Well, of course it is, you nitwit, we're not likely to smash up however many cubic miles into pieces. The question is, will it still be a liveable planet and not just a husk of one that can barely sustain life?

No, they don't want to help because it'll affect their taxes and is a waste of money or whatever. That's all it comes down to, isn't it? Money. Who cares if our drinking water becomes unsafe to drink or even touch, or if more people start dying from smog. You'll have your pocketbook still.

But the sheer stupidity of even that argument appalls me. So many things you can do to cut back on waste can save you money. Open your windows in the summer, weatherproof your house and dress more warmly in the winter - you'll cut back on heating and air conditioning costs. Turn off lights when you leave the room - a smaller electricity bill. Turn off the water while you're brushing your teeth or washing your face or otherwise aren't using it - a smaller water bill. Walk or ride a bike when you need to go someplace not too far away - save on gas and the costs of keeping a car in good working order. And so many others! There are so many small things people can do to help out the environment, but they don't want to because apparently, people who want to help the environment piss them off.

Yeah, do you have how many times - especially today - that I've seen comments that basically say "Today, I am going to be as wasteful as possible and run every light in the house, use as much water as I can, throw plastic on the ground, and dump bottles of old chemicals down the sink and toilet"? Too many times to count. I seriously have to say that these people are assholes, there is no better word for it. They are only hurting themselves.

I mean seriously, you're going to dump chemicals down your sink - dangerous, poisonous chemicals that can kill people - down your sink and straight into the water supply, the water that you drink, the water that you use to cook with, the water that you shower with, the water that fills your swimming pool? Just because you can't accept that no, the Earth can't withstand everything we throw at it? It's not just the animals and plants, it's human beings too!

Human beings are as much a part of the cycle of life on this planet as any ant or flamingo. We depend on this planet being in top condition. I don't care if you're a Christian and God apparently said that you have dominion over the planet, do with it what you will. I'm pretty sure that your God wouldn't agree with you trashing it, since it's supposedly his creation. I mean, I don't appreciate when I give gifts to people and they throw it in the garbage, I'm pretty sure he'd be twice as pissed as me because a planet is not something that you make every day, I mean come on, that's a lot of work for six days. He's probably going to be tired for a while, that's a pretty epic allnighter after all.

So seriously, people, stop being dumb. Just small things will help. Use a canvas bag for shopping - consider the fact that plastic is not biodegradable and thus stays in the environment for hundreds or even thousands of years. Don't get an ATM receipt for a small transaction - that uses way less paper, and come on, do you really ever use those receipts to reference things in the future? Keep a bin to throw plastic bottles and aluminum cans in - you can even get money for redeeming some things. Don't support companies that strip mine - whenever you buy things using mined components, see if you can find out if that company strip mines. Buy locally whenever you can, and try to not support Monsanto, because if they start losing money maybe they'll stop being so idiotic.

Basically, just do what you can. We're not asking you to change your entire lifestyle; just to change some things. We've only got one planet, if we mess this one up, there's no second chance.