Topicless thread

[stewartsage]

Yes.  I want to drive home with no snow tires in a two wheel drive car in the snow through switchbacks and six series of mountains.

Other then that; 36F and shorts.  Yay for Archery.

[Bella]

Yes.  I want to drive home with no snow tires in a two wheel drive car in the snow through switchbacks and six series of mountains.

Other then that; 36F and shorts.  Yay for Archery.

As somebody who just died in a fairly traumatic car-accident dream, this scares me.


Also, I'm never driving/riding in my family's truck again. ;___;


Why are you wearing shorts in the cold?

ALSO: IF YOU ARE AN AMERICAN, I HIGHLY SUGGEST CHECKING OUT THIS SITE/SENDING A NOTE TO YOUR CONGRESSPEOPLE. (It generates one automatically, you just have to "sign" it.) Congress is close to killing the internet as we know it. And if you like sites like OSC and being able to post here and DON'T want it to be destroyed along with much of the internet, you have to take action. -> https://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173


We don't want to become like China (having huge swaths of the internet blocked) or Australia (having to pay for EVERY. MEGABYTE. OF INTERNET BANDWIDTH USED.) We want the internet to be left free and open, and the only way to do this is to make a fuss whenever shitheaded legislations like this are proposed.

[Nichi]

@Bella: I think it's fucking stupid they would even attempt something like this. It's like how, a few years back, they wanted to ban the sell of violent video games altogether, or ban the sell of Segways because they're a "safety hazard". It's pretty much a case of Congress going "We don't understand it, therefore it's evil"; beginning a mission to destroy it

I already sent the e-mail

[Bella]

@Bella: I think it's fucking stupid they would even attempt something like this. It's like how, a few years back, they wanted to ban the sell of violent video games altogether, or ban the sell of Segways because they're a "safety hazard". It's pretty much a case of Congress going "We don't understand it, therefore it's evil"; beginning a mission to destroy it

I already sent the e-mail

Actually, it's far worse than those examples, which were caused by plain stupidity (or in the case of violent videogames, moral policing). SOPA is being backed by the MPAA and RIAA (the motion picture and recording artists associations) in a misguided attempt to curb copyright infringement.

If SOPA passes, every single video on Youtube that has copyrighted material in it (which is pretty much every video) will become illegal. The people who posted them will face fines and/or jail time. The website hosting the material will be subject to forced shutdown by the government. The same goes for Facebook, Tumblr, DeviantArt, Google, pretty much any blogging, video, music, art, or webhosting site that has copyrighted material on it and whose servers are based in the US. It sounds like they'd plan on blocking foreign-hosted websites with US-copyrighted material too.

It sounds way too, well, insane to pass, but I really wouldn't put it past congress - besides, just the thought that they're entertaining this idea is very disturbing. It would be like if they were "considering" repealing the Civil Rights act, or if they were "considering" removing the right to free speech. In these cases, even "considering" something is going too far.

[Chocofreak13]

@bella: signing, since this is just one more shit taken on my day.


so guys. idk if i'm going back to school next semester. and by government standards, it's likely my family's poor.

on the upside, i got pictures of an exhibit going on at my school. when i'm feeling less 'oh-god-i-have-no-future-please-just-let-me-die", i'll try to get them into member picture thread.

[Bella]

Thanks for signing guys, try to spread the word too.

@Kari: Is it a matter of money? My family is poor too, and lack of money is one of the biggest obstacles keeping me from going to school (and having a "normal" life in many more ways), so I can sympathize with you.

As for having or not having a future - I really think that's something that only you, and not your level of education, can decide.  I mean, if you want to go into the medical or scientific (or many other) fields you NEED to have a higher education - usually a lot of it - to fulfill your goals. But artists don't have the same requirement to go to school, IMO - it's great to go to school because you'll learn new and more advanced techniques and be able to try out different kinds of art, but in the end nobody buys a piece of artwork because the person who made it has a degree.

Personally - I've decided, whether or not I go to college and whether or not i end up with some other job, that I will do professional photography, either as a full-time or part-time job. In fact, that could be the thing that (helps) puts me through school, since my family probably isn't going to be able to provide the money as it stands. :/ And I would feel terrible going to college without any real plans for the future or knowing how I was going to support myself after I was finished.

[Red-Machine]

You know what gets me?  The motion picture/music industry is the ONLY industry that has NOT been affected by the recession.  In actual fact, they're continually growing thanks to the likes of iTunes making it easier and cheaper for people to purchase stuff.

The fact that they would quibble over what amounts to about 1-2% of their profits makes me think of them as nothing but greedy, money-hungry whores.  Piracy doesn't harm the industry, quite the opposite.  I would never have discovered some of my favourite anime, TV series or bands if I hadn't pirated their stuff first.

[NejinOniwa]

It's a new world order for the old world folks, and they're in a fuckass of a panic. EVERY SINGLE TIME a new medium has been introduced to the entertainment industry, they go BAN EVERYTHING on it. VCR, Cassette, LP, CD, DVD, EVERY TIME.

THIS. Is why I am a Pirate Party member. Because they are ALWAYS going to try and put the cunt punt into the internet's crotch, because they hate its guts in its current form.

[Nichi]

@Bella: I know what the money issue is like. That's why I've only set foot outside of Texas once in my entire life; my parents have never had the money to do much for family trips other than "drive to a city that's an hour or two away"

@Nej: Exactly

[NejinOniwa]

OMEGA IS BREATHING. SHE IS ALIVE!

[Chocofreak13]

guys, it was so cold. now i'm strapped into the heating pad with a cup of tea, but it's still rather cold. (my hands were going numb earlier.) in the meantime, the temperature is making me more introspective and lonely. i usually love this time of year, but with things so insecure right now it makes it hard to focus or think positive. at least i'm rather cozy.

@nej: awesome! and if there was a pirate party here, i'd join it. consider me a member in spirit. :3
@red: i agree. without the ability to try before you buy, how can we be sure about a purchase? torrent a few songs from a new cd, and if you like it, buy it and get the poster and lyric sheets inside. and since the population that knows about torrenting and the like is outweighed by the population that doesn't, they really don't lose any profit since the media has blown the amount of pirates out of proportion.

@bella: people in the art world respect you more if you come from a solid university. not to sound elitist, and i think it's stupid, but it's true. plus, i'm happy where i'm going. i like the classes, the teachers, even a good chunk of the students don't bother me. the commute doesn't even phase me anymore. (plus, the term "harvard of art schools" was tossed around. i really don't want to leave.)
if i lost that, i'd lose purpose. i don't have the money to get the supplies for future website stuff, and in the meantime, with nothing to do for my days, i'd be shoved into a retail job i hate and would likely fall victim to the same pattern that alot of people do: stuck in a dead-end job for the rest of my life (which wouldn't be long, given my capacity to tolerate such a situation is rather low).
the only other job i could see myself in is social work, and that would involve going back to a different school to get a degree in something that's going to leave me an even more depressed husk of a person.
you're lucky. you have a parent in what sounds like an awesome profession, and even if it doesn't make a king's ransom it still sounds like something to be passionate about. you still get to be creative while earning money, and since it's your dad doing that, you have an instant in.
sorry if it sounds like i'm ranting, i just figured i'd explain the situation a little more. money has (sadly) dictated the large part of my family life since i was very young, and i don't see that changing in the near future. such is the plight when you're (almost) poor. :[

[NejinOniwa]

There IS an american Pirate Party. It's just...not very well-known is all...
http://pirate-party.us/

[Nichi]

So, I'm just getting back in my adventure out of town with my sister. Today went quite well, although it got off to a slow start.

My sister got a lot of Christmas shopping done for her husband, I found some games for myself (Chocobo's Dungeon 2 being the big one, as I've never seen it in person), bought a book I mentioned to Bella this past summer that I though she would like, and got over the sore throat I've had since yesterday (A nice hot cup of Earl Grey tea helped with that ^_^).

Also, to top it off, some of my stuff sold at the garage sale my grandmother was having; netting me an additional $5 toward my trip >:3

[Chocofreak13]

nice man. -w-

meant to do homework today, but i spent the better part of it shopping. which is just fine with me, since we got info on how to fix speedy, i got a pile of books and dvds for cheapo, bought 5 pounds of potatoes cause i felt like it, and bought an imac. -w-

on the downside, it looks like i'm going to need to get another book for my report, since this one is LITERALLY an encyclopedia--not terribly helpful. thankfully there was another one i saw online that should prove more helpful, just hope it can ship here in time. and even though we replaced my cable box, it's still out, and won't be online till monday. stupid lady forgot to scan it into the system. >:\

[Dr. Kraus]

EVERYONE GET IN THIS FUCKING RAVE.

NOW.

http://www.livestream.com/sora01