Boredom...

I know things get tired and boring. I know that people, as much as they say they don't mind change, actually hate it. I realize that people have lives that may or may not include everyone they have ever met. But what I don't get is when people feel the need to start drama. Life is a fluid creature. It changes, it evolves, it devolves and it moves in really strange ways.

But if you are so bored that you need to focus your attention on a few people, then you need to find a freakin' hobby. I guess I should feel honored that I can spend months doing nothing at all and still be a topic of conversation.  But damn, if you're gonna talk about me give me a heads up so that I can do something cool.

A few days ago, I had another strange encounter with a very bored person. Wolf and I had gone to our regular grocery store to pick up a few items, and within 10 seconds of entering the store, we had a security guard following us at a not-so-discreet distance. He followed us through the whole store. I wanted to go an ask him what he found so damn interesting about us, seeing as we were shopping. I held my inner bitch in check and we went on our way. As I was mulling over the experience in my mind I came to the conclusion that the guy that was following us was on a power trip, and bored.

Now one bored person isn't that bad. But when you get a group of bored people, then shit starts getting interesting. It doesn't take very long for a rumor to spread, and it takes even less time for people to start forming negative opinions. Those start to spread like a cancer. And a lot of people will take those rumors at their word, rather than seek the truth. Why? Because it is more interesting to hear the over-blown, made-up, fictional tales. It alleviates the boredom and makes life seem a little less dull, or shitty because now things are happening to others and not to them. Add a sense of entitlement, some misguided philosophies, and you have any large group of people that have spent a fair amount of time together.

Throw in some alcohol and you've got a party!

Oops

So I had this great holiday post planned, almost finshed, and I closed the window. So I am not going to try and remember what I had typed. At least not after a bottle of mead.

So all you guys are gonna get is happy -what ever you celebrate, be nice to each other and try to pick a new years resolution that you actually have a chance of following.

Ramenoodlekwanahansmass!

Frag-Meppy Ramenoodlekwanahansmass!

Fig-You, uh, wanna run that one by me again?

Frag-It's Hannakwanzayulemass!

Fig-Okay, explain yourself.

Frag-"ell since it is getting closer to the major winter holiday season, I figured I would try to find a greeting that would not offend anyone.

Fig-How could a holiday greeting offend anyone?

Frag-I guess it's because people feel the need to carry any banner they can find at this point and the banner of offense is by far the easiest to pick up and run with. Hell, say 'Merry Christmas' to anyone and you run the risk of offending them.

Fig-I still don't understand. Your telling me that people have thrown out the true meaning (of which there are many) of the season just to be offended by semantics.

Frag-Unfortunatly, yes. I can remember when it didn't matter what religion you followed, it was the thought that counted. So in the spirit of being as inclusive as possible without having to take a breath half-way through my greeting, I have adopted 'Ramenoodlekwanahansmass' for all of the various winter holidays celebrated this time of the year.

Fig-Okay, I think I've got it! Mappy chunnkwzayolkmas!...Meppy hunkamasyulkwaz...Merpy kwazyolhannamas..."

Frag-Your almost there! Just remember people, it's not the words that you use, but the thought that counts!

FIG & FRAG - MEPPY Ramenoodlekwanahansmass!!

I am not cut out for this...

I hate the cold. I hate the cold all most as much as I hate doing my taxes. And so far there is only one thing I can fix. Yep, I can pay someone to do my taxes.

I bring this up today not because it is winter and we need more things to complain about, but because I have no heat in my truck and I have no heat at work right now either. So I am a meat popsicle. But times like this get me wondering, what did people do before forced air heating? And I know people are going to say wood burning stoves, I have done my time with those as well. I learned to cook on one. But before that, what did people do?

They moved! Back in the day before we humans became domesticated, we got our shit together and moved to warmer climes when winter showed up. They didn't have to worry about their appendages freezing off. It really kinda stinks that we have put down the roots that we have. We can't just pack everything up and pick a direction and start walking. Nope. Why? Because we have this huge things that are almost impossible to move. We have built houses and buildings that keep us stuck in one place. Now I am not saying that life was easier before buildings, or heat. Just different. Before we had desk jobs, we were more active and able to keep warmer easier.

Maybe. It could all just be me thinking that since it is cold right now, and I am not comfortable, that life before modern conveniences was better. Maybe it is just the fact that my neurons aren't firing right because I can't feel my ears. I am having to re-train my fingers to type in gloves. And I can't hear the phone over the space heater that rattles like it is about to die.

On the bright side, our office heat will be fixed this afternoon, and I have many many layers...

Because the Internet said so!

I love the 'net. I love it like a fat kid loves Twinkies. It is a weakness. It is an addiction. It is a fantastically fuckered up home for disinformation. There is so much information clogging up the fiber-optic arteries, that it is hard to filter the legit info from the rest. And social networking is one of the biggest culprits of churning the rumor mill.

All it takes is someone putting a link on their page, especially if it has to do with kids or animals, and it's like someone yelled fire in a theater. People panic. People take sides, people debate how the current economic climate is affecting people's ability to rationalize what color socks they wear in the morning. People hijack debates and lob subject grenades with wild abandon. People get fired up, and angry.

People don't check their facts. People don't think before they post on someones wall. People take things so far out of context that they aren't even playing the same game anymore. For example, there was a picture of a dog that was being restrained by a police officer in a very harsh way. This caused a blow up and people were all up in arms about the cop's action. What the picture didn't show...the dog that was being restrained, had a history of biting people, including it's owner, and was actively attacking the police officer.

Then there was the story of the kid who was shot by his brother. Yep, you guessed it. Just a meme. And right now with all of the country keeping a partial eye on the Occupy Movement, it seems that people are way more trigger happy with their opinions then they were before the whole social networking thingy.

Then we have Wikipedia. The bane of teachers and fact checkers everywhere.  A while ago someone had change the name of a parent of a rather famous person who was in the news recently, and a news reporter had gone with the wrong name.


It must be true. It was on the Internet

How can you expect me to be responsible?

I was listening to the radio this morning. I tend to listen to talk radio when I am on my way to work in the morning. I do this so that I can get my blood pumping and get warmed up since the heater in my truck isn't working right now. More often than not I hear things that make me wonder 'Who in this fresh hell thought that was a good idea?' and I also hear strange ideas that may not always mesh with mine. Those are fine and good. They give me something to ponder during the day. But then I hear something that just sticks in my craw all day. And it drives me batty.

Today, as I listened to the radio they played an audio clip. This one was from a 30-something woman with 15, yes, 15 freakin' kids. Her voice, filled with a hint of anger, serenaded me from the speakers in the door in my truck. She is in the news, or should I say on the radio because her 'baby daddy' got his ass arrested for selling drugs, and she has had to figure out a way to care for 12 of her 15 kids. According to her, she has been to every agency, and asked for every kind of help available. But they won't give her anything. And on top of all this, she wants, begs and pleads, through my 4 inch speakers, 'who is gonna pay for my pain and suffering?'

My jaw hit the bottom of the steering wheel. I was listening to this lady who has had more kids than the Octo-mom, bitch and moan about taking care of them. I could hear the demand in her voice. She wants someone else to pay for her to raise her spawn. No. Shit. I had to listen as they re-played the clip. I wanted to make sure that I was hearing things right. She was demanding to know who was going to compensate her for her pain and suffering.

I think after having 15 kids, she wouldn't feel much pain. Then I thought, damn, this woman is about my age, and I know that things are kinda crappy right now, but I am not demanding that anyone pay anything for me. Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't turn away money if someone decided to give me some, but I don't expect a pile of $100's on my porch when I wake up in the morning. There is a reason that I only have one child. It was all I could freakin' afford! I also realize that with some people they have lots of kids for cultural or religious reasons. Let's look at that shall we? In the time before the industrial revolution, disease and infant mortality was sky high. People had lots of kids, and were hedging their bets that at least a few of their offspring would survive to carry on the family name.

What's the excuse now? You didn't figure out what caused that the first time? If your religious views forbid any type of birth control, then lay off the sex, or lay off the religion! I was raised to believe that the world didn't owe me a damn thing, and if I wanted something, then I either had to save the money to get it, or I had to do without. That is how I am raising my son. But my heart goes out, not to the adult in this situation, but to the kids. They are in a terrible position. They are learning that if you don't want to do something, then all you have to do is complain loud enough and someone may take care of you. There is no incentive to learn how to handle money, or even learn personal responsibility.

More now than ever, I hear these types of crazy. I see people who don't feel they need to work and things should be handed to them. It's kinda like a rich kid who gets kicked out of the house. They don't know better, but they expect things to be just the way they were when they were at home. And given these examples, I am so glad that I was raised to be responsible for myself and my actions. But I do worry about those who aren't going to have the chance to learn those lessons. And I hope that our society will encourage the learning of those lessons rather than enabling the lack of responsibility.

70 years, and what has changed?

70 years ago today, one of the most devastating attacks was carried out on American soil. For many it was labeled the 'Day of Infamy'. It drug us kicking and screaming into World War 2. When we got there, we kicked ass. We were the kid who didn't start the fight, but we sure as hell finished it. The generation that was called upon to fight in the Second World War was ever after known as the 'greatest generation'. During the war, people had to choose. They had to make sure that they saved resources such as tires and sugar. Women went to work in factories, making planes and muntitions for the war. People pulled together to make sure that our country could finish any task set before us. Victory gardens and war bonds were common place.

Today we live in a very different America. Today we live in a time when communication is as fast as someone can type. We live in an age when people purposely mess with facts on the internet just to see if anyone is paying attention. We have passed the age of Baby Boomers and we have become the Bullshit generation. We no longer get our title of Gen X. And the generation after us is so filled with apathy, that they will be know as the "I don't care, just give it to me" generation. We have gone from those once noble ideas, and we have become complacent and bored.

We are living longer than ever, and we are bitching about more stuff than every before. With cell phones, tablets, PDA's and the 'net, we have moved away from our fellow countrymen. The anonimity that technology offers us, has taught us that we no longer have to watch out for our neighbor. It has taught us that we can speak freely and act like total assholes to the person on the other end of the conversation. Now while I wasn't around 70 years ago, I was around 20 years ago before the proliferation. Just at the begining of the Technical Revolution. I do miss the days when I was able to leave the house and only have to worry about where I was going.

So given the fact that things have changed a lot in the last 70 years, I would like to say thank you to those who fought in World War 2, and I would like to extend my thanks to those who continue to fight to protect the American way of life and our ability to totally screw it up.

The new "Grinch"

Okay, my last post was about how I like to do good things, and how some people just suck. Well here is another example.

I follow Regretsy. It is another blog. It is for all of us craftards out there. They feature some truly hideous stuff. They also do a metric ass ton of good things. They run a monthly program where they can help an Etsy artist in need of money for things like surgery or rent. I love that site. I like the community, and I adore what they are doing. So this year when they announced that they were gonna do a toy drive for Regretsy kids. You could nominate your own family or someone else's. I chose to nominate someone else's kids for toys. All was well and awesome, until today.

Enter the Grinch...

Paypal. The site that you love to hate. I know many people use it simply because it is the biggest and the most convenient. Well what I have to say may change your mind about that. This giant of the payment processing, has decided that Regretsy can no longer use the 'Donate' button and forced the lady who runs the site to refund hundreds of $2 donations. But here is the really shitty part. Paypal kept a portion of the donations when they were made, and they kept a portion when the donations were refunded. Yeah for double dipping. That alone was enough to make my skin crawl, but on top of that, they have now decided that Regretsy can't even use the 'Purchase' or 'Buy Now' buttons and have frozen their account.

All over rules that make Calvin Ball seem simple. See according to Paypal, you can accept donations for a worthy cause like, oh let's say, a sick cat. But you cannot accept donations for poor kids. Apparently their ability to speak has removed them as viable candidates for charity. Within hours of this hitting the Regretsy site, Paypals facebook page was covered in comments about how much ass they are sucking right now. I have even seen other sites that are devoting space to this issue. I think that it is worthy of attention as well.

Lately it seems as though people around the holidays have lost their damn minds. People have gotten rude, they have quit paying attention to anything that has to do with someone else. And I know that companies are coming out of the woodwork this time of year, looking for money, but those who want to contribute should have a say in where they can contribute, and I don't think that any payment processing place should have a say in what goes where. They make their money by moving money, but in this case they managed to triple dip a charitable cause.

As I finish writing this, Paypal had un-frozen the account, and has given a half-assed apology along with what I am sure will be an only slightly compensatory donation for all of the grief they caused.

I still don't believe they have grown a heart.

Feeling Charitable?

So last year I had this idea. I had some old brass shell casings rolling around in my junk drawer. I came up with the plan to make jewelry out of them. And then I decided that I would donate half of whatever they sold for to a program that help troops when they return home from deployment. It quickly took over a large portion of my heart. I was proud and happy with what I was working on. The jewelry came out well, and people liked it.

So when someone came by the booth to look at the jewelry, I would give them the spiel, I would talk about the materials and I would tell them that half of each item went to a program that helps our troops. People seemed to like that. but they didn't buy a whole lot. So I decided that I would try an experiment. I wouldn't tell them that half went to a charity, and I would see if that made a marked difference. It didn't seem to. So then I went onto the next logical thing. I opened a store on Etsy. Complete with a bio and what I was doing and the whole shebang.

That was back in April of this year. So about 8 months ago. So far I haven't had one sale. I have had lots of hits, but no sales. I can't seem to figure it out. I know that most of my friends who read this are local and buy from me at shows (thanks by the way), so I know they don't use Etsy, but come on. 8 months and not one taker. It's getting frustrating. So I think-how can I make this work better.

Facebook. I started a facebook page. I put up pictures, I sent out invites, I posted information on where I was going to be and where the next show was. I figured that I have over 200 people on my page alone, I should be able to get at least 100 people who were interested. Nope. I got 30. Now I realize that the 30 are the Die Hard facebookers who check on a regular basis. So okay, I can deal with that. But I thought, I still need to do more.

CraigsList. Those 2 little words that fill sane people with fear. I figured that I could maybe get a few more hits, maybe I could find more people who wanted to get rid of some old broken brass that they couldn't use. Hell, I thought that maybe I could squeak a sale or 2 out of it. Nope. What did I get? I got flaggers. I didn't even get those who wanted discounts because the economy sucks and they lost their job last week, and are still driving around in their Land Rovers. I was expecting at least a few of those. Nope. I got assholes.

Now for those of you who don't use Craigslist on a regular basis, flaggers are like the cops. Anyone can flag a post, and some of those do deserve it. I can even see why a few of mine got nailed. But when I went to the forum to find out why my posts were flagged, I learned that people on Craigslist are assholes. I went with a simple question, and got some good advice, then the 'Internet Gestapo' decided to show up. I was nice until someone accused me of scamming people for 'precious metals'. I was unaware that brass had moved that far up the scale. I was still under the 'brass is a base metal' thought pattern. Shit, maybe the economy is even further in the hole than I thought.

Now I did get a few people who want to trade some pieces that I made for used brass. And that is way cool. So I do have to say Thank You to those who want to help a good cause. You have made a very big difference. To those who had to be dicks, I say, have fun in your little playground. You can go be the self-imposed kings of the classifieds, just don't expect me to bow down when you decide to be an ass.