Website Testing!

- The website is now running a test in a sub directory, which can be accessed Here! As pages become available, the index will be updated with the list of what links work. So, feel free to test around, and either use the email link on the bottom left of the site or this journal's comment box to give us your thoughts!
- Despite the W3C validations, some browsers still have trouble with the site. Right now, I am aware it works exactly as planned in Internet Explorer 6+ and Firefox 1.5+, Flock 1+, and is usable (but with a few quirks) in Opera. I have not bothered with a Safari, MSN Browser, AOL Browser, Konqueror, or otherwise testing yet, as these browsers combined account for less then 10% of internet users, and the main idea is to maximize the site's usability for the majority (the main browsers accounting for 80%+ of users) ..not to mention, AOL's browser is being phased out by AOL, and MSN's is equally being considered for the ax.
- Lastly, as the site is updated with the needed content, its respective portion in this journal will disappear, the journal eventually serving as an update/news center for deviants. (a much more focused version will appear on the traverse itself in the form of my blog for the company, once time opens to begin designing and tweaking a blog for it!)
- Coders, artists, writers and such: if you're good, and you know yer shit, we could use it. I'll be pitching some ideas in the near future and will need the people who are willing to volunteer the time and work to help bring them to fruition. People who provide serious and worthwhile work will be considered for contract or full time work later on when we have the funding capacity to begin bringing those positions onboard and paying them proper salaries. Until that time, we can certainly use things that help bring about awareness to our organisation itself and the charity services we are focusing on at any given time!


- theTraverse is a rather large scale non-profit effort. The basic goals are to more or less take over in all places charities are currently active, and to bring charity to things that no effective charity is currently in action. Each Division/JumpStart will not only work to raise its own funds and perform its own research and efforts, but will push awareness of other divisions that are relevant to the area they are active in, both in terms of geography and cause.
- It is expected that many of our initiatives, policies and goals will cause a stir. We plan to be much more aggressive then most charities are, and to adopt many Commercial Practices that can be successfully reapplied to a Non-Profit situation. We still suspect that some other Charities, and many Corporations who will have to deal with our Patent, Trademark and Licensing Policies, will voice dissent, and we welcome that, since it just makes us more visible.


- Charities are by law required to be transparent to a certain degree. Most times, we're not satisfied with the level of transparency that is offered. Those who research charities know that while we can see some of where fund raising and administrative costs are going, much is still left unexplained. In the same vein, many charities employee full-time people, and while we often can find out how much they make, we can't always find out what exactly it is they're doing that earns them this money.
- We intend to set a new standard in transparency. From simple things like full financial disclosure, to endorsing our employees and volunteers to speak out, on every level; whether it is positive or negative, if it will make a difference to people interested in investing their money in our efforts, we will look in to how we can make it transparent.
- Lots of little things will be done, from having the Directors and Chairpersons keep publicly visible & comment-able blogs, to a weekly newsletter (web and print) that will go in to our activities in-depth, Publicly visible Quarterly and Yearly reviews, and much more.


- How on earth do we make a charity OpenSource? Well, in the vein of code and such, we'll mostly rely on already OpenSource designs, such as WordPress for blogging, Wikis for Information Dissemination, etc. Where possible, we will utilize Creative Commons licensing on much of our Materials, on those Materials that are too costly for us to produce and give out freely, they will be provided on a Cost+Donation pricing scale.
- For example; A World Aware produces a Photo Book on Indian Culture. We secure 10,000 Educational Purchases and 20,000 Commercial Retailer Purchases. a... ]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12408243/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12408243/ Sat, 31 Mar 2007 21:50:38 PDT
killjoy isn't one person
while most of you are familiar with Tony (me, the one typing, lol) i'm not the only person who uses this name. after a time we went through the motions of an elaborate backroute through a single connection, as all of us are using different machines and locations, but there is a group of people behind this name. it can be evidenced in the varied art styles, and what not.

some of you have met the main 'face' to the name, Tony, and others have (unbeknownst to them) met others behind the name, such as Theo, who usually prefers to use a more 'american' name in day to day dealings anyways.

the other dA usernames
were usually one of us branching off and using dA in a more normal respect then the purposes of this name and the computer's that ran behind it. it shows that we influenced eachother greatly artistically, but there are numerous key points that help point out different artists. the oldest art, the clean/tech stuff that incorporated 3d work was one person's dabblings into art, the grunged/blood work was another, the techier grunge was yet another, and the latest "cell/vector" work is yet another's, and infact, is Tony's artistic contribution.

The Journals
over time the journals here did take on a rather community conscious effort in to poking fun and interacting with the members of the site in a stronger respect, the general vibe of the journals gives way to the fact most were written by two specific people (the easiest way to tell is the spelling errors, or lack of them in certain journals!) and were used as a way to create more typical interactions and take any 'heat off' while a lot of very adept technical geniuses have been at work behind the scenes, there's still the need to give the account(s) solid feels.

The Technologies
a few very genius minds have been at the back end of this using a number of means to do a lot of twists in dA's own code and records. numerous backdoors were exploited and advantaged in that time, to say the least. While we aren't willing (and shouldn't) give away these things, they likely will remain there as long as dA remains running (barring other developers address these issues)

The Agencies
a large group of agencies and corporations are at work through this account, each representing their own interests in why they've been here, over time the bickering has been the most amusing part to us all, now that we are closing the door on this and can look back in the sense of "i never have to see/talk/interact with these jerks again" and laugh at eachother and ourselves for it.

An Inside Man?
from time to time a small rumor would crop up that 'killjoy' was the non-employee account of a staffer or administrator. we cannot actively confirm or deny if anyone who served in any official capacity as a 'volunteer' or 'employee' or other such entity for deviantart inc. was participating in this, not at this time anyways.

The Tort
originally the purpose was to watch dA and see what sort of code they cooked up and developed and if it could be used (or based from) to cook up a competitor for an interested company that wanted to look into the commercial feasability of a site similar to dA. as time went by, and the source was pored over in all its stages, the developers shrugged the idea off. dA's own legal problems and money struggles also underlined the point that it wouldnt be profitable to a degree that was satisfactory for the original clients. soon other clients got wind of the project through back channels though, and it was reformed as the site itself grew, particularly in the fact that it was a gigantic pot of gold in the sense of being a tort suit target.

formally, we're taking it to docket now in the county of los angeles, a class action tort has been named against deviantart by a number of high level artists and their supporting agencies, various media groups and agencies whos materials currently litter deviantART, who, though notified repeatedly through the channels they provide and suggest, have done little to satisfactorily tackle the problem they face and may have underestimated its legal grounds and feasability of a succesful lawsuit on grounds of failing to properly enforce copyrights pertaining to its various codes of necessary enforcements and the various ways it is broken, and deviantART, Inc tacitly and willfully allowing for a situation to arise and profligate that not only allows for but encourages violations of copyrights as they are observed by the governing bodies of International Agreements and Localized Laws.

so, to deviant administration (for... ]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12354545/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12354545/ Tue, 27 Mar 2007 18:56:54 PDT
`opioid headed home sunday afternoon, and thankfully had no airport shenanigans on the way back!

aside the fiasco of getting her here with o'hare on weather strike and STL doing the same gig the following morning (she made it as the last flight before total cancels both legs!) the trip was nothing but happy lazy fun!

can't wait til she's back in may!



]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12269716/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12269716/ Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:23:01 PDT opioid should be arriving tonight from the canuckistan!

to say 'excited' would be putting it mildly, so would the word 'nervous' ...lol

but i've got a chore ahead, gotta undo all the damage ^Ghouldaddy and `plugge went and did!

bah. tonight can't roll in quick enough!

except the airport. i'm not a fan of that airport. maybe that part can go by really really fast.

so what disappearing act? i probably won't be too active for a few days or so! hee!

(last time i was at Lambert International i got stuck waiting almost 8 hours for my plane, with something like 4,000 or so airforce trainees and various other wandering christmas travellers who were dealing with the flights being all fubar'd. t'was not a blast.)

]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12248131/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12248131/ Mon, 19 Mar 2007 16:56:46 PDT

1. Occam's Razor : while occam's razor is a great little piece of idea, and certainly something we ought to try and live life by (at least in things we own and organizing all our things!) it is by no means a scientific fact or law, and treating it as such is to discard rationality of any sense (facing the preponderance of evidence that well, reality is not as simple as occam would describe it!) too many people i find try to argue against complicated answers and reasons using the 'science' of occam's razor. bzzt, wrongo kiddo!

2. Science is Fact: yeah, we wish it were that easy. Science is a research field long ago devised by the religious in order to prove the existence of god. (put that in yer book!) obviously, it hasn't had a lot of luck, and has made many a researcher a right nonbeliever in the process. that's all well in good, but it puts science in its place amongst the various things we believe in: just more theory. sure, this theory has far more technical solutions and serves to overwhelm us with arguement and rationality that it is law, but so do other religions. (yes, science is, more or less, a religion. no, you don't need a higher being to be part of a religion, you just gotta believe a lotta the same things as other people. faith in science is faith in something )

3. We're Ruining the Earth! : yeah right, this place is far more temperate for us then it was for the dinosaurs, do your research and turn al gore and his band of data fabricators and money seeking doomster scientists off. the IAEA Report has been dumped after its own payroll scientists, climatologists, et. al. admitted it was fixed and much of the data fabricated. this is in part why the literature is changing from Global Warming to Climate Change (bet you media zombies didn't even noticed them pulling that rug out from under your feet) as they face their supporting numbers dwindling, sort of like the vaporware their science fact is proving to be.

4. Meat is Murder! : not a chance. while some people can make the great leap and sustain themselves on meat substitutes instead of meat, for most it requires a shift in diet that would be more of a hassle (and have some short run downsides to physical health, as well as some longterms we're aware of, and more cropping up as the research catches up with us) then it's probably ever going to be worth. there are those who simpy can't eat meat for biological reasons, and that makes sense, we're not all the same (even if Vogue and the Nutrition Guides want you to think we are.) and don't all need the same things. but do remember, humans are a class of animals, not a class above them. animals often eat eachother, and don't think being an exception makes you any closer to god then dog.
- P.S. : the rational side of me is generally okay with vegetarianism when those taking part are informed and researched enough (and consulting real nutritionists, not magazines, tv hosts, or 'health stores') or have biological situations dictating a need. I do not, will not, can not, and plan not, to condone veeganism (or even tolerate it), EVER.

5. Over the Counter Vitamins are Safe : a collection of varied studies (from zero blinds, single blinds, double blinds and numerous different agencies, colleges, medical labs, et. al.) were recently weighed together and all consented to one thing: your over the counter multivitamins do more harm then good. (take that tom cruise!) this is especially true of those containing certain vitamins & minerals (especially the minerals) which the body should be allowed to string out its own cravings and limits on ( but, then again, most of us are so far lost in the world of social eating habits over survival eating habits, they couldn't place a craving if it struck'em in the face ) because hey, some of these are incredibly dangerous if you get too much. Of course, we're negating even more important points: most multivitamins have poor solubility and combine nutrients that cannot be direct mixed without counteracting eachother, every food we eat (including junk and liquid) has nutrients already involved which we much more readily process, and the most important of all... and i'll use myself as an example:
- Most people according to Nutritional Sheets only need so much Sodium (Straight Salt) a day. I, on the otherhand, need at least three times as much as the nutritional average because i process liquids at a substantially greater speed then most people.
- In Closing? unless you have a doctor saying take a specific supplement, you probably shouldn't be taking it, you might be looking at Liver Failure, Vision Problems, Cognitive Issues, Bone problems, and my personal favourite, Renal Failure.. to na... ]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12239375/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12239375/ Sun, 18 Mar 2007 23:19:27 PDT
i am far too

and just a tad bit nervous.. oi!



]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12198302/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12198302/ Thu, 15 Mar 2007 19:06:24 PDT
Syracuse Owned the Big East and the general play.

Like they always do. hence why they always go to the NCAA Finals.

Instead...

wtf.

DUKE!?

..ok so i'm not a big sports fan, but i started going to a sports bar awhile ago and.. its caught on... and hey, i love syracuse (teh city) so i kinda gotta roll over and root for the orange. (god i hate that color) at least they usually serve up a great season.

this season was no exception.

but some farts decided that whipping the pants off everyone else wasn't enough?

no wonder retard teams like Duke, ORU and those punks at New Mexico made it.

ok, i'm done venting now.

]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12150965/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12150965/ Mon, 12 Mar 2007 00:25:18 PDT
- climate change : thats a shocker given my past journals i know. but now i explain it. global warming as a man made artifice, is a myth. this is spin from scientists who do what they do best: shock, alarm, and awe. why? for more funding! the UN Report on Global Warming is also, bullshit, many of the scientists who worked on it stepped away or down after/during the work for universally the same reason. "data was adjusted to fit pre-existing notions/conclusions" basically, any data that disagreed with what the politicians and the rest of the goombas wanted the data to say, was adjusted to say it. the results are flawed, the results are fake, the results are lying to you. the truth: the climate is changing. it has always changed. earth is not static, nor is its weather cycles or patterns, especially on a day to day, year to year, even century to century basis. patterns only truly appear over massive timescales. (there are numerous years in recorded history where a season was skipped entirely, as proof of this.) as well, the original study before data was adjusted did confirm that as much as 60% of warming trends was a result of solar luminescence and radiation (confirmed by monitored temp variations on other near solar planets.) so. simply, i support continued research on climate change, the proper use of the term climate change (instead of doomsday catch phrases) and of course, how we can adjust our lives and systems to live through the changes with the highest level of survival and comfort.

- suicide, assisted and solo : sure, religiously speaking, most of the time, religions view suicide as a bad idea. this is fine for religion, but religion is not a government policy in many countries, and as such, these countries need to repeal suicide laws, particularly assisted suicide laws for the terminally ill/pained. suffering is not a lifestyle, and even the judaic faith recognizes that the extension of life in suffering is wrong. if someone wants to die, it makes more sense to offer safe means (if not even places) for this to be carried out, for the sake of minimizing harm to others, messes, and other issues (such as festering dead bodies stinking up neighborhoods, attracting unsavory insects and animals, etc.) i do believe part of such 'suicide centers' should be a proper, thorough psychological work up, to make sure that the issues leading the person to wish for suicide are not reasonably reconcilable, if a person is wanting to die due to situations and circumstances that can be solved, lets help them solve it. otherwise, the psychs would work to help them and family/friends to understand, accept, and deal with the suicide process.

- reform in power uses : sometimes, government mandates make sense. i'm hardcore on the side of phased tech change, even if the gov't has to give it a good kick in the ass to get going. leading cause i support? switching to low power lights. the coloration of the lights can be adjusted, so thats a moot point. we've made the switch in my appt. (we have 4 old high watt bulbs left to replace out of something like 30) and in 4 years, only 1 bulb has died. our power bill has dropped dramatically though, it is noticeable in savings (especially replacing the light bulbs we use often but rarely think of, such as the fridge light, the stove lights, bathroom lights, hall lights, office lights, etc.) as well, its time we did mandatory CRT phaseout. again, we made the total switch here in computers (we do have two CRT tv's left, but only my roommate uses one, the other is sorta.. decorative, since i do not watch television) my CRTs did die, my LCDs have not. the power difference is also noticeable. we're both dual screeners, so 4 large screens are on for extended amounts of time, and the wattage is about 15-20% of what the CRT is. again, massive drop on our power bills.
- it doesnt seem like a lot, but it is, swapping to LEDs and Fluorescents makes a massive power difference, and swapping a nation would solve huge problems in our power grids by simple nature of reducing demands (minimally, lighting takes up 60% of our power consumption, imagine dropping that portion by 90%. add in TVs and Computer Monitors, dropping those by 60% of their usage. we're talking probably an elimination of 75% of our electrical power consumption. this effects our oil reliance. far more of the oil we rely on is used in electrical power, not cars, a mass reduction in those oil/coal plants means saved cost and reduced emissions.) secondarily, LEDs and Fluorescents have longer lifespans, meaning resources for product production will be reduced drastically.

- infectious diseases research : this covers some that people forget about. things like Dengue Fever, Malaria, Lyme Disease, and a litan... ]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12075244/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/12075244/ Mon, 05 Mar 2007 23:55:11 PST
got new ink. "atlantic" on my left forearm in lowercase times new roman (bold) with a blue fade fill. i'll get pics on later. ~osprstock has a in-process foto online already. its the first part of a full forearm piece that will mural into the upper arm, back, etc. big tattoo, gonna be a long process.

i've considered tossing some ideas around for parts of the tattoo i don't have the stylistics to complete myself in design, and may do that with a few little contests on dA (winnar gets thar shit on mah skin! haha.)

i think the big change is i'm well, in a relationship now.

you can all pick your jaws/bodies off the ground. yeup! its another deviant ( right? ) and most of ya figured it out already (shouldn't be hard for anyone who hasn't yet, haha) and she'll be scootin' on out in a couple weeks for a visit. i'm a bit beside myself since its been so long since i've been involved in another person, but i'm mostly squishy with joy.

yeah i know, the idea of a happy killjoy is a weird thought for most of you, try not to dwell on it too long, it might cause brain damaging.

]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11832001/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11832001/ Thu, 15 Feb 2007 16:21:24 PST
And i can tell you what, crazy drivers are everywhere, so now for the stupidities.

Universally Stupid (Nationwide Bad Driving Habits)

Yield? I can't even spell it! - there's two special breeds of the yield-deficient, the first is the garden variety speed terror who encounters yield signs on regular streets and pretends they don't exist, these folks are your usual t-bone victims here in the central states, where yield signs are incredibly more common then the coasts. Conversely, blazing through is a good thing for the freeway yield, as one generally can slip into traffic coming down the on-ramp much better if they're going the same speed. This is where the "hey, thats a funny lookin stop sign" bunch come in... they stop for yields, always and forever, and generally fuck up on-ramps for awhile, and the slow lane of the freeway. someone drop a dictionary on their driver's seat already :\

Passed Out in the Passing Lane - huuu, i love these people. Admittedly, the coastal states are not as used to the idea that the "fast lane" is actually the #2 lane on a 3+ lane road, and that the #1 lane is the "passing lane" where .. well, unless you're passing someone ya fuckstick, ya shouldn't be there! I had to adapt to the whole idea myself after leaving southern california where, every lane is a free for all, but now fast lane riders irritate the utter crap outta me, and i've gone so far as to boost up in front of them and ease down enough to force them out via their own impatience.

It's a Rule, not a Guideline - speedlimits, we generally try to stay very close to them, a lil under, a lil over, but right around them. Then there's the special kind that floor it to the red, or put everyone else there by crawling along like slugs on salt licks. While the speed racers are more tolerable (since they're gone in the blink of an eye) the crawlers are nerve eaters and probably the most notorious of road rage inducing drive styles. (i admit i can go leadfoot a lot, usually in the wide open country or desert, where its me and the rigs, who're usually testing the aerodynamic capacities of their rigs at lightspeed.)

If your neck wasn't Rubber, i'd Break it. - we all know and love them, and generally we can all relate at least one time when we were one. I admit it, i'll slow down to check out the smear and guts of some recently deceased accident victim, and usually because the ten cars infront of me slowed down too, so i'm just generally stuck in place for the duration. but, short of something phenomenally cool and sickening, why slow down? there's nothing different about this fender-bender from the last 40 you crawled by so, move teh fuck on!

Extreme Multi-Tasking - Yanno, we can all inevitably do one or two other minor things while driving. sing along to the stereo, snack on fries, drink some sorta beverage, yammer on the handsfree headsets, smoking. but really, all at once is going too far. General Rule applies in a car; two hands, two things. This means zero other activities in a manual, you slow shifting punks. Us auto-magic pussies, we can usually get away with decently safe activity, but yanno the ones that go too far, doing three or four at once, or a really stupid one like.. text messaging, or reading, or .. my favourite: makeup. bitch, if you really cared to look good, you'd do it in the big ass mirror in the bathroom at home, or work, shit, even the damned bar and stores have them. mirrors are everywhere! they're especially frequent in those damn things they call bathrooms! that lil 3x5 postcard mirror is not your mascara checker, that's why you gotta cock your head five thousand special ways to check everything. fold that shit and go!

Blinker Plz?! - personal fav. no blinker. yanno the type, the only possible warning you get is the brief slowdown before they slam it and wing the right turn, usually sending you into a honking, careening swear fest, or an insurance claim. blinkerless mergers are another handy road rage phenomenon, as their desire to sneak into lanes is apparently so strong that, despite the fact they're in a big ass car, they think no blinker makes them stealthy bitches. hit the lil fuckin stick, and next time i won't speed up to fuck with your merge, k?

like the coloring book says, inside the fuckin' lines - yep, we all remember the kid who coul... ]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11780523/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11780523/ Mon, 12 Feb 2007 00:33:15 PST
while you're waiting, a teaser:

recent study showing the importance of Cosmic Rays (one called "Death Rays" when SciFi doom & gloom was all the rage.) in global cooling/warming trends.

the curious finding that everyone forgot: that the expulsion of greenhouse gasses at ground level cause the gasses to carry warm temperatures up into the atmosphere as they rise, where they are cooled/supercooled. the theory this leads to plays perfectly into the global cooling scare that reflected the 40 year cooling trend during the 20th century ( 40s to 80s ). if the expulsion is constantly increasing (as it was in the 40s-80s) it would actually lead to a lowered temp. equilibrium (the curious period of 1998-2005, when average global temperatures did not change at all) of expulsion rates causes no temp change despite the continuous rise of gasses. the lowering of expulsion ( all those other years ) allows for existing gasses (combined with natural phenomena to be discussed later) to increase global temperatures.

the sun's importance in its radiation fluctuations, flare storms, etc., and their accountance for up to 60% of global warming/climate change (scientifically, the suns role is estimated at a still hearty 40%, with studies still trying to pin a precise number.)

the 5 billion years of core sampling that show drastically wild temperature, carbon-monoxide and carbon dioxide rates. albeit wild, they're intensely patterned (and the pattern fits today.)

the core sample dilemma: core samples give us accurate "era" records, but no specific records to account for anything less then 1,000 years at a time (nothing smaller can be recorded substantially or accurately via core sampling.

the second core sample dilemma: core samples cannot be yanked from everywhere on earth (for obvious reasons) which limits our understanding of region specific climate changes and variations.

the religious dilemma: varying religions account for wild weather phenomena (lights in the sky, great floods, etc.) that are not unlike today's psychotic weather phenomena. science's general leaning to dismiss religion may be discounting important records of meteorological data.

the dismissal dilemma: in the past, weather phenomena that makes the news today either did not meet a humanity capable of reporting it as widely, created conditions that killed off the humanity that could have reported/recorded it, or met a humanity already familiar with such weather, who felt no need to record it at all. (the 'new yorker syndrome' so to speak.) causing for inferred gaps in past accounts that could help us understand today's weather fluctuations (and our more ready ability to record and share data from around the world.)

the technology dilemma: tied into above, today's technology allows us unprecedented recording and sharing of meteorological data, giving us an almost unhindered view of the world events from day to day. this is a new phenomenon, where past weather occurrences would never reach further then local communities, and often were not even recorded by those communities, giving today's data a wild appearance in comparison to past data from eras less inclined to denote nature (or of course, in places no inhabited, but were not then.)

motive dilemma: while no clear motives are needed for scientific research, the conclusions and their aims are being utilized as tools, leading one to logically conclude funding pressures & inherent bias within the scientific community that does agree on the global warming theories. (and it is not a world wide consensus, as many former supporters of global warming are now abandoning ship, including the scientists themselves. and they have for some time, in the face of scientific and motive data.) what are the clear motives of each of these scientists and their groups, what aim for further funding do they have, what positive outcomes are they working towards, and of course, is this just the flipside of the global cooling scare that was utilized in the 70s and 80s to gain funding by scaring the shit out of governments and public?

nature dilemma: well, this speaks for itself: proper consideration of the full timeline available to us ( 5 billion years and growing, much thanks to russian deep core research. ) shows that there is a cycle for ice ages which is inclusive of extreme temperature changes, most importantly wild and drastic planet wide warming before ice ages can occur. side notes of course include modern day comparitive data to overall averages, such as ocean levels (which are incredibly low compared to the planet's over... ]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11735151/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11735151/ Thu, 15 Feb 2007 16:59:52 PST
amusingly, the myspace effect isn't even the reason people hate myspace. no single website is hated simply because its huge, there are specific reasons and actions and 'vibes' that sites have and most haters are able to cite them if actually afforded a chance (i.e. they're allowed to answer the question by someone who won't respond to the questions with instant counters, proving they really don't care to hear in the first place.

so, lets touch on the reasons i can gather (and possible solutions):

1. Censorship.
- it's almost subtle at times, but dA is highly censorious in both art form and argument (utilizing argument in its legit meaning, not in the sense of 'flame wars' or other hostile conversations. Artwork is also a form of argumentation, given the art has a meaning of any kind.) but, dA is censorious across the board. there's an instant confusion towards that since the word "deviant" is in the title of the company(site) in the sense that, to be devious is to divert from the status-quo, the mainstream, etcetera. while dA certainly does cater to mainstream arts, it takes a lot of issue with lesser mainstream/questionable arts.
- it makes sense (business-wise) to utilize censorship all over the site; the business model needs to be 'teen friendly' and thus, 'parent friendly' meaning, the general expectation of parents for 'acceptable content' has to be considered and argued for, which means eliminating things considered 'taboo' etcetera. while this works in business, this is anathema to art, and there is no logical 'middle ground'.
- that's the ultimate position that puts dA in its current state, as unacceptable to artists, and why it will probably stay there. censorship (even of things we hate) is still censorship, and needless to say, pisses people off, especially the sensitive, freedoms-loving artists sorts who think things like 'liability' and 'laws' are just a lot of hot air. they are generally right, dA has a grey zone effected by the internet itself (and proper disclaimers, etc.) which actually lifts a lot of liabilities off the corporate entity, but the flip side is dA is run by business sorts who often aren't willing to exploit that, or would prefer to exploit these possible dangers in order to validate censorious activities.
- solution? it's nothing short of drastic: replace the entire staff/corporate structure with art individuals, from the top to the bottom (and the change would have to start from the start to actually work, as in reverse, the bottom could be biased by the top's existing mandates and such and thus their willingness to enact change dulled/nulled by the time top changes, or even growing to resist a change of leadership altogether.) likely to happen? not a chance in hell.

2. staff activities.
- i'm friends with plenty of staff, so please don't blow off on me for these observations, especially since i am going to apply them in generalization and make no effort to waste time and breath in citing out all the exempt from every little point, if you're exempt, you won't even get miffed by what i say, if it bugs you, you're probably guilty of it in some way.
- i'll start with staff i spend the most time around and watching, the MN@. modern day IRC Ops and Forum Moderators, more or less, and, like forum mods and irc ops of yore.. about as bias, lazy, and such (and i'll admit, when i was an irc op on other networks, i had my lazy days, my biases, etc.. we all do) my favorite thing to watch (and exploit) is 'head turning' and 'blame skirting.' the head turning is done for just about any regular to a particular chat room, and is generally to be expected for rather valid reasons: long time, repeat members/consumers/etc are always treated 'better' due to their given experience with the rules, enforcement of them, and when it might be okay to slide in a violation or two.
- blame skirting. i see a lot of this, and it covers a lot of different activities. the biggest one is 'i was idle' ..this generally amounts to why people get away with repeat rule breaking over a period of time.. cause "hey, just because i'm in the room doesn't mean i'm in the room" ...right. i've seen some of the mn@ bust balls to try and keep up and do their job when they're supposed to, i've seen some pick up other mn@'s slack, and the rest just kinda... idle. in fact they idle so much and are generally so slow to respond, we should have the idleRPG bot join #mnadmin just to see how fast they rank up.
- solutions? well, there's a few things we can consider: more incentives/negative effects for... ]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11579246/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11579246/ Fri, 26 Jan 2007 17:45:32 PST
I just got word from my parents (where he was staying due to apartment restrictions & his age) that he passed along.

Mom said my dad has been 'crying his eyes out' ever since he found him. My cat took a strong affection to my dad, who's a sucker for pets and about looses it every time a pet dies. given my mother's propensity for hoarding pets (we had at any time 20-100 permanent pets on our property, varying from simple cats and dogs to more exotic creatures, like snakes, eels, sharks, frogs and turtles. even on occasions protected animals and 'wild' animals found home with us, a memorable example of this would be the golden eagle we cared for while he recovered and rehabilitated.)

Garfield is especially tough on the family, at 18 years, he was our longest lasting pet, and one of the strongest personalities we had. Few family memories can be retrieved without Garfield somehow working his way in, whether it be treeing himself at the start of a two day snow storm, or how he liked to sit and watch my dad do construction in and around the homes we lived in while he was with us, or his endearing habit of 'inspecting' whatever dad was working on when the old man took breaks; walking over to the work in progress (or completed piece) and sniffing around it slow and careful, as if everything needed his approval. and his more then 'un-catlike' demeanor; panting like a dog, never meowing (and rarely purring) his not so steady sense of balance, amusing antics and surprisingly lovable demeanor got him the nickname 'goofers' (he was a mishap prone cat, and seemed to enjoy entertaining everyone.)

:sigh: miss that cat already.

]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11563793/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11563793/ Thu, 25 Jan 2007 11:08:17 PST
teh Awesome

Italy and Spain have both begun banning skinny models from the high fashion runways of Madrid and Milan (woo!) This is incredibly positive in my mind, and Spain's move to nationally ban models under the BMI Index of 18 (which pretty well covers about 60% of the victoria's secret models.) from the runways is even better.

To further that, they've decided to come down on sizing problems; the age old problem that no size 6 is the same as another company's size 6, etc. and require that by 2012 all stores in spain do not use mannequin displays where clothing under the US Equivalent of a size 6 is used. (Size 6 and up for displays only now) as well, the US Equivalent of Size 12 is to be removed from the "plus size" category and returned to its (rightful) place in Regular sizes.

Italy is right on Madrid's heels in the national aspect, and broke the ground for the rest of the world when Milan (amidst amusingly retarded controversy) banned ultraskinny models at a 2006 event.


whats so depressing?

British Modeling agencies have decided that 'it is not in our interest to ban skinny models'

needless to say, this is probably the dumbest thing the brits have done so far this year, and in its ability to continue to promote distorted body images & eating disorders, will probably reign high as a negative impact on british women's health, where the brits had an opportunity to imrpove the standard through the most influential channel: the high art of fashion.


more depressing?
italy and spain are two of the four top design nations (with france and brazil rounding the matter out) the idea that everyone cannot follow this example or accept it, when some of the best known models (and fashion agencies alike) were born & refined in these two nations, is inconceivably immature and a testament to how badly people want to hold on to old world ideals and continue to maintain this one last major bastion of repressive treatment towards women.


like any other rational guy, i like women who look good. and i love a good fashion show... but these ultrathin models? they aren't flattering anyone's outfits, or themselves at all. gain some weight girls.

P.S.. take a note from victoria's secret: Laetitia Casta, long heralded as one of the most strikingly gorgeous models to grace the runway and the magazines, was originally told "your teeth are awful, you're too heavy, too shy, and too short, to do this." ...she never lost any weight (she actually gained some during her modelling career with no reprisals) and never got her teeth fixed. she's still considered one of the best. Oh yeah! her BPI rarely dropped below 20

]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11512253/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11512253/ Sun, 21 Jan 2007 00:12:50 PST
Today's link chase sparked off a thought as i was reading the Wiki Article on Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" ..it was regarding Catcher's controversy, and the link related the 100 most challenged books from 1990 to 2000. As i read through the list, i had the satisifactory realization that; i've read at least 25% of the books listed this became an alarming realization to me, as i realized they were some of the seminal books in my life, wether it be education, creativity, growing up, et. al. these were the books that most strongly effected me, wether i just read them this year, or in 4th grade.

What killed me was the realization is I wasn't looking at the censorship of books, but the censorship of words. and to even further the point, the censorship of individuality. These books are variously censored/banned/blacklisted/etc, for the same series of things:

- inappropriate to age group
- racism/racist tones/ethnic stereotypes & jokes
- sexual themes, particularly homosexual themes.
- vulgar/controversial words & subjects
- violence (talking about, describing, advocating)
- religion (promoting, denouncing, etc... including wicca and such)
- anti-social themes (anti-family, etc.)

...it is these viewpoints that fundamentally make these books, and many people. we all carry various perceptions and viewpoints, judgements and assumptions that make us uniquely us in how we interact with the world, without these, we really become clones. censoring these things isn't the 'gateway' like one suggests alcohol and tobacco to be for illicit drugs, these things are the illicit drugs in their importance and impact.

and i realized i am a diehard for rfeedom of speech, especially in an art community. while deviantART does, as a corporate entity, have the right to censor everything that happens here (down to what you can and cannot say) i think they should refrain from excersizing that right altogether, even in the most extreme and offensive situations.

now, i'll make sense of that: many artists (of all forms) turn to eachother not just for help in learning to be better artists, but for ideas. Discussion and observation are the ultimate muses, the creations sparked by these muses are the most prosperous on our book shelves and art galleries of all. and i can back that historically, many, many artists grouped together (the bauhaus group, the de stijl group, the russian five, etc, etc, etc. it is simple attraction; had Liszt never met such people as Beethoven, Chopin, Salieri, Wagner, amongst countless others.. would he have been the seminal composer who rewrote the books on how we play the piano today? ..would he have had the same effect if he could not freely discuss things with these artists, had they been required to 'tone down' their conversations because certain issues may impact or touch of one of the other's feelings or beliefs? yeah, i doubt it to.

deviantArt, and all the other digital art communities of today, are the modern form of the coffee shop, the auditorium, the book store and classroom. attempting to leave us complacent and content around each other only means you're, very likely, to be killing artworks before they're ever born.

so, for arts sake folks, don't patsy to destruction and backwards censorship, be pricks. be bitches. be assholes. be argumentative. be hypocrites. be closed minded. be heretics. don't just be nice and flowery and open to everything (because face it, no one is truly open to everything, and i'll gladly prove it to anyone who thinks they are.) as if no one ever gets confrontational or emotional. we're a buncha fucking artists, wether it be the written, visual, or musical arts, and god damn it, we're high strung motherfuckers with very strong emotions and viewpoints and positions...

so fuckin' act like it, all the time, if anyone says otherwise? thank them kindly for being censorship promoting fuckheads and offer them a job application for the CIA or some other fucked up institution or organisation of your choice.

]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11443384/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11443384/ Mon, 15 Jan 2007 05:18:03 PST

lessons learned the hard way

fear of heights is perfectly rational - there are probably numerous occurences in my life that took me from a no fear idiot to a rail clinging pansy, but one sticks out. we had been building out the lower deck on our house into a full wrap around when we lived in the mountains. this resulted in a combination effort of bad omens. first off, the deck was done, without a rail, for some time. second, it was over rocks, dirt, and a fairly steep grade, as we lived well, on the side of a mountain! (to give you an idea, the garage was on the top floor and required the driveway to be built as a bridge/platform.) carelss kids will be.. careless kids, and my friend and i were progressively jumping off the deck and into the gravel below. working further along the deck as the height became greater as one went. well, around the 12-15 mark, i took a leap that went all sorts of wrong, and without much fanfare beside a 'oh shit' i found out that while gravel is great for traction, it does nothing for cushioning falls. that breathing is a precious thing, as my first thought was 'inhale! inhale! arg! inhale!' and that.. while that landing certainly hurt, (and my arm looked like it had been on the loosing end of a fight with a belt sander.) the real pain from failed flights of fancy is waking up the next day.

bees, they're only cute for so long. - my childhood best friend and i had a sick little 'wind down' from street hockey: we hit the flowering bushes behind the cul-de-sac we played on and started slap shooting the bumblebees and snails. well, bumblebees are incredibly docile lil fellers, you can usually handle them, pet them, and generally have fun with them at no fear of a sting. even so, the stings don't tend to hurt that much. wellll.. slap shooting bees in the spring time is a whole new story! twelve stings to my exposed legs later, i learned: safety in numbers really does mean something!

the best fight ending punch ever! - sure, there's the old knee to the crotch, ear boxing, gut slugs, and nose breakers. but nothing says 'the fucking end' like a good hard fist in the throat. i know, i've been on the receiving end of all of the above (cept no one's managed to break my nose, just bleed it.) and the one, and only one, that actually made me think 'winning isnt everything' was the fist to the throat.

maybe they invented rope for a reason - rock climbing is an exhilarating sport to say the least. it's hard work, not just physically but mentally, as one is always trying to balance and predicted their next few moves, because nothing sucks like getting halfway up the climb and realizing you can't go back, or forward. usually that's just a momentary panick because one overlooked a traverse or such that can easily fix the problem, and hey.. there's always the rope to save your ass! ..well, then there's those of us who participate in the (obviously retarded) sport of friction climbing. what's that? that is level 1-4 climbing (as level 5 climbing is impossible without the rope, but level 3 and 4 are 'strongly recommended' to be done with rope.) up the side of granite faces, boulders, etc.. without tools, ropes, etc. yep! all you got is the friction between your various body parts (and friction climbers can end up using just about every part of their body to get from point a to point b.) and the rocks. this is why we generally like granite, as it can have a very rough surface that gives a lot of friction off. even so, there comes a time when you find out how unforgiving those boulders you just clambered over are.. usually when your bouncing back down them in variously unflattering positions, seasoned liberally with equally ungraceful words.

outsmartted by a plant! - for cacti fans and desert dwellers, there's a particular little cactus that's fairly famous, if not a celebrated prank. it's known as the 'paper cactus' for two reasons. the first is, instead of the typical barbs and spines cactus are famous for, it has thin, paper like croppings that imitate spines, but are totally harmless. the second is the kicker. as everyone is well aware a cactus gets its ouch from its spines.. the green, fleshy part is pretty tame. right? bzzt. the paper cactus has the usually harmless green stalk.. in appearance, but touching it produces cuts exactly like paper cuts! ..pain included. give one to that friend you hate.

dental pain, it really is the worst. - well now, me and my teeth, we have a sordid history of disagreements. i have perforated teeth, the type that are excruciatingly sensitive to temperatures because of tiny holes throughout the surface. as well, i was born with lower then normal enamel and it quickly wore ou... ]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11391324/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11391324/ Wed, 10 Jan 2007 19:45:40 PST
In these moments, i sometimes envy the drug cultures that i've oft associated with, but never partaken in. i have had some of the more profound conversations of my life, with people doped beyond cognizant recognition of their true surroundings, at least what is truth to me. in those wayward hours, as these moments are not fleeting, a glimpse into a deeper layer of the mind, and thusly, reality, is afforded me. as the 'straight' observer of these things, my participation is genuinely limited to the understanding my defective brain might afford.

there is only fleeting bits of light in these lucidly disjointed conversations, where, inevitably, we all reach the same summaries that whilst there may be more to life, it may be in the shadows, not the light.

it is these dark moments, whether through drugs, depression, or dire circumstance and long sleepless nights, that we reach these slow and drawn approximations of reality, of its darker nature and inevitably somber realizations, that we should bear more mind upon, for the light, it is the blinder, the inverted cape through which time and dimensions fold over their cherished secrets. from the light we should shrink, and offer only ugly faces and scowls of disproving. that bright spark at the end of every tunnel, is far too bright a shine for happy things to dwell within.

remain in the dark, and flourish amongst shadows.

in memory.

philip k. dick
william 'bill' hicks

]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11327394/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11327394/ Fri, 05 Jan 2007 16:49:10 PST
1. time restraints & a sudden interlude of social life.
2. working on retooling my styles and trying new tricks.
3. working on the websites and various design ideas.
4. spending more time reading studies and history.
5. writing again, working some plot outlines right now.

but, most importantly;
6. i'm fucking sick of my current style

in some ways expect elements of the style to stick around, the way my previous styles bled their way into that vector/cellshade crap. but it's time i paid more attention to roots and influence, as well as pushing the messages that intrigued me in art.

word of warning, my major loves, artistically, are:
- abstract, agitprop, minimalism, cubism, neoplasticism, dadaism, surrealism, art nouvaeu, vorticism

as well, expect writing to return, with a heavy emphasis on trying to communicate artistic trends and stylistics into written trends of my personal favouring, which again wears a warning;
absurdism (non sequiturs), dystopian/utopian fictions, postmodernist, stream of conscious, high expressionist, etc.

more or less i'm going to try and flip the influences and apply my artistic influences and appreciations to my writing, and my written influences and appreciations to art.. i doubt i can do it cleanly without stroking out, but it'll be nice to see what happens when i approach dystopian fiction with abstractive high expressionism in the vein of absurdist conscious streams.

hopefully that last part makes some sense to someone besides me.

]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11239911/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/11239911/ Sat, 30 Dec 2006 00:22:10 PST
then i opened one PDF file too many and firefox locked up.

oopsie.

well, i'll probably come back later and rewrite it, it was a goodie too the curious geography of lung cancer and its importance in finding the real numbers behind its causes, the possible culprit lurking beneath all our homes, and the laughably skewered death rates reported by statistical agencies, whether charitable, corporate or government. (the numbers don't add up )

the second part was a review of the ongoing 'greatest scam' known as high cholesterol and the medications that 'treat' it, the importance of 'ingredient awareness', the importance of cholesterol in your ability to remain amongst the living (let alone the functional) and the scapegoat victims of its scare (meat eaters rejoice, its all good news for you... vegetarians and vegans, i have some bad news.) and who precisely propagates and profits from its ongoing influence, and the near term plans for continuing the scam.

side notes were comparatives, for lung cancer, we had the roles of natural born radioactivity and the 'other' cancer source in our use of fire (we all know carcinogens, but there's more to this story). for cholesterol, we had the relatively well known scams perpetrated by the IPA and APA organizations and the corporations that hold weight over them.

unfortunately, i made the mistake of writing the journal as i researched and compared sources and references.. the lesson? don't have 4 PDF files from the internet open at once, firefox doesn't like it. or, at least write the damn journal in Word or something next time.

]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10837347/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10837347/ Fri, 24 Nov 2006 17:48:44 PST
"the worst kind of non-smokers, walk up to you and cough.

that's incredibly rude, and insensitive!

do you walk up to cripples and dance?!"

and another!

"i'd quit smoking, but i'm afraid i'd become a non-smoker."

]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10783077/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10783077/ Sun, 19 Nov 2006 21:51:04 PST
a place for people to be creative, to feed off eachother as inspirational choices, to assist eachother in improving and innovating within their chosen field of art. to take art both seriously, and playfully. to make connections within the industry, and of course, to make our desktops look cooler.

today, i don't see any of that here anymore. the art is generally unimproving, it is mostly the doodlings of sometimes hobbyists who only take art seriously long enough to react scathingly towards any critique given.

once upon a time, a 'rip' would be spotted and the community would be at the perpetrators throat, it was a veritable lynching situation at times. today? it's practically acceptable as long as one hides it within the right places.

the social side of the site has been redeveloped and deployed into a myspace like coalesce of uselessness. and while i admit to being very much a participant in all that, it doesn't mean i dont step back and feel a bit 'bleh' about it.

this site was once about deviants; the people behind art who took it seriously enough to code computer language around it (and just to make their desktop cool looking, at that!) amongst other things. now its just a social call with a gift shop.

for me, this site is a distraction, it is an impetus to creation and art, instead of an inspiration...

why in the hell am i still here.

]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10617424/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10617424/ Sat, 04 Nov 2006 19:03:26 PST
Okay, now that catchy topic title is out of the way on to the point.

i'm certain some of you figured this out by now, but obviously a lot of you didn't. (cause i've seemed to offend certain people along the way, they got huffy, took it personal, blah blah blah.) now, everyone hold your breath, hang on every word, cause i am gonna admit, i am a...

...

ready?

....

seriously, ready?!

.....

satirist.

yep, most of these journals are the product of satirical consideration of 'hot topics' (they got nice pants, btw.) and other topics that generally instigate arguments and the like. to dumb it down; the shit fox news and cnn LOVE to tie any broadcast into (ratings baby). certainly, i expect to be offensive, it's part of the point actually; if i wasn't angering people, than i would probably find all of you tolerable, level headed human beings and just shut the fuck up and move on.

seriously, it's THAT easy to shut me up. astonishing, neh? well, again, some of you long figured that much out. when the conversation stays in even tones and respectable words, conclusions tend to be fast with me. try and prove me wrong? it's a never ending round of satirical, offensive berating loosely tied together with the factual, and the opinionated, but always the sensible, logical, and topical.

how did i get to be this way? confessions and revealings time!

i've been through a surprisingly large amount of personal revelations and experiences in the past decade; a suicide attempt, an engagement (two, actually), countless breakups (including the engagements), friends dying in a large variety of methods (murder, accidental, suicide, cancer, doctors screwing up, et. al.) friends marrying, divorcing, the birth of nephews, nieces, the death of family ( a niece, grandparents, cousin, a second cousin on 9/11, etc. ) family divorces and marriages, a whole host of disasters (squalls, monsoons, earthquakes, whiteouts, forest fires, viral epidemics, droughts, tornadoes, a couple floods... etc) and, as some are aware, i was at ground zero before the dust even settled. (oh, i've also spent so god damn much time in airplanes i've experienced a few choice events; severe turbulence, engine loss, plane being struck by lightening, system failures, and my personal favorite, sudden loss of altitude!) i've even been privy to the experience of people trying to kill me (and really meaning it!) i am still, in awe, of the fact i have (knock on wood) survived all this, and more interestingly to me, never been in a car accident (i've even been stuck in a capsized raft on rapids, taken some nasty rock climbing falls, but never so much as a fender bender, phew!)

during all that, i've lost a lot of myself, gained new considerations, views, and values. the things i've lost i do certainly miss; emotional range (i remotely remember feeling things i can no longer feel) some color vision, a lot of my sense of smell (haha), and the ability to be particularly active and .. sporty (how i miss snow skiing!)

what i gained, i do love; a much stronger respect for the views of others (the religious actually notice this most; i'm pro-religion and spirituality, despite my lack of it. but, i admit, i bloody hate the majority of churches.) a far more open mind to damn near everything, and the ability to retain my open opinions and beliefs no matter how much i'm faced with adversity for it (whether it be a battle of wits, or a battle of fists.)

above all, i've learned to face all of life with a sense of humor. to some that can become incredibly offensive; there are few words i wont use, things i wont say, stereotypes i wont play (or prey) on, i will go to extremes in contrast and comparative, i will switch sides at the drop of a dime, and above all else; i'll never step away from the viewpoint that i am an observer in serious life, and only a participant in the fun. this detachment does play heavy in debate and argument; people find it difficult to deal with the fact i talk to talk, i pick my battles, i play whatever position will keep it going, and i'll manipulate any conversation i'm in to go where i want it to (and i'm, no pride or ego in this; very good at doing so.)

i think, what most are aggravated by, is that i'm a successful person with this headstrong, bullshit spewing personality. i make good money, i live nicely, drive a nice car, have a job that pays well and is incredibly fun (and i got without the pre-requisite college education) and i often seem to take it all for granted. and i do, i have worked for what i have, all of it, i still struggle, maybe... ]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10465326/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10465326/ Sat, 21 Oct 2006 12:01:16 PDT
Certain religions tend to get along with other religions, anyone who's spent time in religiously diverse places can usually spot the occurrence fairly well.

but there's three "religions" that get along and by most thought processes, shouldn't. That would be Agnostics, Atheists, and Jews. Of course, we can all sorta see why they shouldn't get along, particularly the more traditional, Orthodox, Haredi and Hasidic, to get real specific. Just the same, they all get along surprisingly well, especially during theological conversations, where they ought to be tearing eachother's throats out.

Than again, there's something to be said for why the Agnostics and Atheists are so much more tolerant and kind towards jews than well, anyone else. I personally think I understand it; Jews practice and promote an extreme level of morality, tolerance, kindness and general manners. Since the Jewish faith spends very little time in consideration of the afterlife (olam haba) and the rules and bylines of it are fairly well considered in their faith anyways (their version of hell, gehinom, is a temporary place in the soul's ascendance, leaving little to fear beyond temporary pain and strife before moving forward in olam haba to gan eden) and some forms of Judaism focus their considerations for the Tanakh's commentary on the possibility of no afterlife. In the sense that the jews are far more concerned with their life here on earth, as they are taught to be, they often fall in line with the views of the atheists and agnostics; what we do now matters most to us now, not after we die.

So, the argument works in reverse as well, with jewish tolerance (and jewish humor) jews find much common ground with most agnostics and atheists; least of which would be a cynic's world view. of course, the argument might make one think catholics would get along with these three groups too (they are cynical, after all) but there's the great big rift above: catholics love reminding you about hell (not quite so much as a protestant, but you hear it a lot just the same) in fact, i'll put it to the form of a jewish joke:

a Priest walks up to a jew, an agnostic and an atheist and proclaims "you're all going to hell!"

the agnostic replies "where is hell?" the atheist replies "what is hell?" the jew smiles and replies "i'll just be passing through, you'll be stuck there."

(explanation for those who don't understand the jewish reply: gehinom, the closest equivalent to hell in the jewish faith, is a temporary place; the longest you can be stuck there is a year)


of course, atheists, agnostics and jews all have the common brotherhood of being minority groups that are often made light of, spoken of in derogative ways, et. al. and i might be reading more in to why they get along than the simple reasoning of 'hey, i know how you feel.'


P.S. i noticed journal's suddenly have started spellchecking themselves: but they don't recognize the words, Hasidic, Tanakh, Gehinom, Ascendance, Olam Haba, Gan, and Haredi.

amusingly, jew and jewish are marked mis-spelled if not capitalized, but the capitalized versions are not suggested corrections

]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10350405/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10350405/ Tue, 10 Oct 2006 17:25:40 PDT
numerous colonial empires of the past still own and operate lands they are not native too ( HAI BRITAIN! )

northern europe apparently didn't learn much from the world war era, as they're still practicing thinly veiled racism and cultural elitism as a whole (more so people than governments.)

'if it aint in my continent, it ain't my issue' is a great way to let darker skinned people die and skirt the blame, don't you think?

'my country doesnt need to risk it's people's lives and money for other country's problems' ..because the whole of europe is only a few euros from devolving into a third world disaster, right? and hey, who need's to care about the world, aside global warming?

oh shit! third world countries still have to go through their own industrial era on their way up... whatsat mean? they'll contribute to global warming! better start giving a shit before norway's got tropical forests!


i didnt know cultural and technological advancement's side effect was myopia.

]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10266595/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10266595/ Tue, 03 Oct 2006 01:06:35 PDT
the war in iraq.
- a long time coming. i think the international community is generally taking a heatedly selfish and isolationist position in regards to iraq as well; they're treating it the same way they treated africa: they're just dark skinned war mongers. of course, you can cover that opinion in whatever guise you like, but the down to the core position is the same worthless arguement that would justify ignoring a neighbour abusing their children or spouse. i do not support bush, the reasons he publicized and utilized to enter the war were truely shakey, inconclusive and ultimately; minor. these were actions that would have been better handled by a geneva court than a war, but that does not negate taking down sadam and his happy band of cohorts.
- history lesson: when hussien first entered, he did so by betraying the current leader whom had held him in high esteem; he also did so by executing much of the existing high command of iraq. this position continued throughout his time in power; terroristic actions that were closely mirrored on the stalinesque position of 'rule by fear' of course, one could argue a country made up of the groups that make up iraq damn near needs that sorta rule, but it really doesn't hold water. i'm a die hard believer in the sanctity of life, most importantly; the long term sanctity. saddam's rule was about disgarding such things, and the state of his nation was the proof.
- i believe in the long term, we are as a world in for a long, hard road in rebuilding iraq, and helping it rise to a better life for its people. i believe that is in line with succesful government changes, historically, for governments to improve, they had to endure horrible, long periods of internal strife, no one knows this as well as countries like russia, china, afghanistan (who sadly were set back quite severely in the past two decades.) georgia, hungary, the ukraine, etc. i think younger nations, such as the united states, can see it, but may not comprehend it, and that the younger generations, who weren't really able to grow up with the slow implosion of the ussr, and who've usually not been taught of the incredible hardships all the nations its demise spawned have faced, and continue to face, do not realize the patience, and the incredibly depressing reality that is faced to right the wrongs of nations like iraq, this is a long, grueling process, it will claim lives, it will ruin others, and i'm fairly convinced, i won't live to see its greatest achievements of reconstruction, but i believe that the wheels have been set into motion, and that things will slowly progress into better times, sadly it cannot help those already here, except to hope for their children.

africa.
- i read about this general area of the world alot; russia, middle east, eastern europe and africa. these are incredibly depressing histories to follow, and i'll admit, i'm often damn near driven to giving up and giving in to isolationism, to focusing on my life, and only how the events of the day effect me. but i'll never manage that, it is simply beyond me to ignore my equals; and everyone has that equal right to a better life, especially those who're yet to come. africa is obviously a place where we can only become numbly overwhelmed as we view the wars currently being fought on the continent, from civil, tribal, ethnic and those against famine and disease. generally, africa is fucked, and the best quote i ever heard to describe africa was "god has left africa" and looking at the continent, if i were to believe in god, i may be inclined to believe that quote were true.
- and i think we've paid too much hot aired lip service to africa's problems, and that in general, the modern world is fully and totally guilty of racism against this continent. we have treated africa like a charity ball; bono makes it a talking point, and so do the rest of these pontificating celebrities; they go into safe zones with big media herds, make a show of their support, and leave. no one is treating this as a long term effort to better them; we're just patronizing an entire continent with food drops and second hand shirts. and that's the most shameful bullshit i have ever witnessed. stop trying to pat these poor people on the head and start breaking their governments down, forcing these backwards, useless nations to push forward instead of stagnate in severe greed and tribal strife. we need to stop being patsies to assholes like chuck fucking taylor, because that entire continent is run by his like minds, and it -is- the civilised world's fault for standing idly by like your mocha latte and drive through health food is really more valuable than some black kid's life.
- donating dollars, drugs and t... ]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10194133/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10194133/ Tue, 26 Sep 2006 15:08:22 PDT
I would encourage people to posit their own possible answers (but always word yourself as speaking from your own view/opinion.)

I storngly do want $core to bring the answers many people are asking for (but don't waste our time with skirts, shadows and shades. keep it straight, keep it direct; if it does not pertain directly, it doesn't need to be mentioned. oh, and the NDA, by your own staff, only applied to one series of events that have long since ended.)

Of course, everyone else; feel free to add on your own questions or spread these around: the more places they're seen, the harder it can be to avoid. but, for the love of common sense; keep the questions on point, legitimate, and do not fill it full of sarcasm, leads, and traps. be responsible with this, for once in your lives.


anyway! here goes my questions:


Corporate (the INC.)

01. Does deviantART maintain a quarterly series of thought out and planned objectives? are these objectives researched, well planned and forecasted? what actions are taken when specific goals are repeatedly exceeded or not met at all? are pre-planned contingencies considered at all?

02. Does deviantART track specific features, tools, site sections and subsite's utilization of revenue, resources, volunteers and such? are all these things plus revenue generation tracked individually for revenue generating sections of the site? are these statistics weighed against eachother, forecasted or handled in any manner, pre or post completion? based on results, are plans set and created to handle revision, restructuring, phasing out or further development of these properties according to how their real results weigh against goals and forecasts?

03. does dA consult professionals in regards to staffing forecasting, scheduling and the like? if not, what expierence does internals taff have in directly handling these things? are volunteer staff held to any real goals, policies and punishments for failure to meet or abide by them? what about administration and paid staff?

04. with PHP having peaked in its development cycle, and now on the down end of its lifespan, are plans made for the movement of dA to a new platform? what transitional phasing has been laid out? what stability of features can the community at large expect? what platform is dA planning to move to, if not decided, what platforms are being considered? ( i.e. flex on rails, ruby on rails, .net, etc )

05. In elaboration on question 4, does dA plan to move outside closed source coding? does dA have any intention to utilize community interest in developing new features from outside, or improving existing features by allowing users a testing only SDK (a stripped full copy of the site, devoid of users/deviations/etc.) Given the ability to contain security threats when issuing open access, what other arguements does dA have against open sourcing their community's backend, if there is no plan to go open source. if planning to go open source, what benefits does dA expect to realize?

06. With greater competition from small, niche set art sites, combined with the larger threat of major social networks, what plan does dA have to compete? has dA considered the Long-Tail charting and the benefits of realizing the potentials available in its consideration? Does dA have any plans to expand the company's ability to exploit revenue opportunities through further development of existing revenue properties, as well as possible targetted property development for larger trendings in it's user base? does dA track trends within its user base to any degree and plan for these trends?

07. With the growing popularity of full media sites, such as YouTube, the media incorporations in MySpace, et. al., what plans does dA have for expanding into a competitive positioning, an ability to support both video and audio submissions? if in planning, at what stage is this? has dA considered the profussion of disregard for copyrights within other major communities, and the general realization that these large sites are not fully capable of 'proactive' enforcement, as dA often tries to do, and that this inability to act in advance of report is not entirely a legally endangering occurence?

The Community (still staff geared.)

01. To what extent are the rules reviewed and weighed on their effectiveness? are steps taken to revise rules under an actual plan, statistical research or the properly balanced and weighted expirence of all staff who face that specific rule (no bias being given from staff who do not) ? what steps are taken to avoid 'selective enforcement' and to properly punish this form of favouritism when it occurs? does Administration take action to oversee all incidents of pun... ]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10167393/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10167393/ Sat, 23 Sep 2006 23:26:32 PDT
who are indecline? indecline is at the core, a graffiti loving bunch of fellas with cameras. but they dived into a new venture some time ago that exploded all over the internet and the news like a bad episode of bukkake (read; all of them.) it begs to say; what precisely are the indecline guys trying to do with their movies, such as the bumfights series, let alone the spinoffs and side projects.

what's on the videos mostly speaks for itself, a very crude level of artistic study, but the point of the study is never fully explained by the film-makers; is it a simple act of aesthetics: to show people doing the most insane, stupid, or downright offensive things possible for the laughs, looks and squirms? i will admit, i've a fairly strong stomach for things but there are things within these videos that defy me and make me physically ill enough to have to look away.. but like everyone else watching this slowly growing grab bag of clips, i'm always coming back for more.

though i may boycott the bumfights portion of their work now, once and for all. while i enjoyed bumfights mostly for the fun of watching people fight, and the fascination of treating the rest like a study in human dynamics, depravity and all other things it comments on in our cultures, the most recent isntallment of bumfights reached a new low in self abuse, embarassments and the like with a stunt that seemed innocent enough, but the damage done by it was severe.

not to take away for those who watch bumfights and have not yet watched, but i'll cover the offending clip inside the movie: some kids taking their bmx bikes and jumping into a man made ravine ( about twnty thirty feet wide and the same deep, dirt sided and scantily covered in brush. something like three or more feet of sludge water at the bottom. ) aside the stupidity and likelyhood of getting a mean stomach infection if they accidentally gulp the water, it seems innocent enough. well, one kid screws up royally. he pulls the jump in and cants forward pretty hard, going in ontop of his bike. water's too shallow to permit such a thing without damage. and he surfaces seemingly okay, than pulls his leg out of the water: it's been split open from ankle to knee, very deeply, the calf muscle is pretty much seperated from the bone. the video cuts and comes to when they've gotten him out, and his leg is pretty much annihilated from the knee down, the trauma's massive and he isnt even feeling the pain.

while all things in bumfights reach extremes that make you question the film makers motives (or the brains of the participants.) this one reached a new height; no account was taken for the possibilities of what happend; this kid is stuck with surgery, rehabilitation and all that for a long time to come, if he survives what that sludge that got into his leg may well contain. the odds he's also battling infections and the mean side effects of our meanest antibiotics are almost guaranteed.

do i blame indecline over it? not wholly; this was a stupid stunt by a bunch of stupid kids, someone just happend to have a camera. what worries me? not the first time i've seen stunts like this, nor the first i've seen them end badly. what does that mean? these sorts of things no longer serve like warnings and red flags, kids, even adults, see these blatant warnings about how dumb it is and how horribly wrong it can do and still do them.. and this almost destroys films like these ability to hide behind the justification of a study of our cultural and social defects and ailments for a positive purpose.. this was just plain sickening.


i still recommend bumfights 1 &2 and indecline, volume 1. but, bumfights 3 was sorta blah and 4 was the one that pushed the line beyond: when the boys on the jackass films do what they do, they do it prepared and often with real professionals nearby (and their own expierence has fairly turned them into unintentional pros now.) and a real medic nearby when the odds for injury justify it. one-offing similar stunts as an ill-prepared fanboy will not end well, and bumfights often serves as proof.

]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10152107/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10152107/ Fri, 22 Sep 2006 12:47:22 PDT and what i'm saying, is more of the same, but i'm elaborating on some points i haven't often touched on; motives and strange bedfellows.


01. government warming
- global warming. the debate is probably hotter than the surface of the sun; for all the wrong reasons. the scientific community at large is still looking at the data and scratching their heads: what's happening with temperatures on earth are not new, but because we dont have percision month to month or year to year (let alone decade to decade) information on all the factors that led to the past CO and CO2 spikes (and all the others before it) in earth's history; we're not quite sure wether it's going faster, slower, or just the same. inevitably it doesnt matter: what is happening right now is a trademark earth event: the CO/CO2 levels spike hard at the beginning stages of an iceage, the coorelation is simple: the greenhouse effect spikes itself (past reasons we dont know, since the timetable has an overall pattern that's pretty solid, so it wasn't anomalous factors, such as human cause) for a period of time (nearly killing all oxygen breathing, land dwelling life in the process.) than suddenly drops out as temperatures plummet: the way the ice floes worked out their grooves on our lands we know that somehow the greenhouse spikes instigate localized/regional cooling events that begin trapping the CO/CO2, apparently the process compounds itself to the point the greenhouse gasses drop so much and so fast it throws earth right into an ice age event. (but not before melting all the ice on the planet's surface, every single time; what's important to note is geologic history of the poles includes cylical periods of icing, melting, tropical climes, than back to icing.) so.. we understand what's going is in the macro view; normal. but since we have no choice but to observe the micro (day to day) of these events, we're now left scratching our heads (and in many cases, screaming doom)
- so, where's the governments of the world get into this? they play off the doomsayers fueling the enviromental movements; these people's message justifies heavy handed taxation, reduction of rights, et. al., under the guise that we can stop the greenhouse gas spikes and ice age events (the truth about global warming: it will probably kill us all; even if man wasn't a factor in it; what the enviro crazies arent telling their minions is they're trying to alter earth's cycles, something they try to say they are against; but without a sudden and drastic manmade shift in earth's cycles, earth will possibly kill the race off as a whole when the CO chokes most of us to death (or slams fetility rates down and birth defects up; oh, another symptom of the increased greenhouse gasses? rising suicide rates.) and the ice age freezes out the rest.
- so basically, the people who think they're fighting the governments and corporations about global warming and their policies (or lack of) are actually helping the governments and corporations justify tax, price and rights gouging; all over an event that is widely accepted and documented as a normal part of earth's cycles. (you can debate the 'speed of actualization' and such things, effects of mankind and whatnot, but when you get to the very core of this, one thing will not change: greenhouse gasses will rise and spike, ice ages will follow, no matter what we do or dont pump into the skies and oceans.)


02. the feast of famine.
- ahhh, a favourite of my own: we're gonna procreate ourselves to starvation: not bloody likely. people are and will continue to be starving; true. the population is around a point where production of food struggles to keep up; true. what's interesting is how fast this topic was quieted down to promote free-range and organic foods: free-range meats and organic foods require an incredibly larger amount of space to produce an incredibly smaller amount of food: promoting this phobic food style is basically only feeding into the famine (hell, if the craze keeps up, i'll be able to validly blame the chemophobic organic-foodophiles for starving africa.) what you know about regular foods; plants are "genetically altered" and meats are "hormonally modified" ...true? yes. harmful? not likely. proof? we've been using the genetic modification process that is most common to food for 6,000 years; on what food, preytell? wheat; the one i guarantee we all eat everyday, and all wheat that ecists is genetically modified; organic/ "non-frankenfood" wheat hasnt roamed the earth for a few thousand years now.
- how's this patsying? to corporations: mega-corps are behind the latest influx of free-range meats and organic foods, why? they can charge a premium to help you "pres... ]]> `killjoy http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10096897/ http://killjoy.deviantart.com/journal/10096897/ Sun, 17 Sep 2006 01:03:21 PDT

1. no god, no afterlife, why morals?
- because a lack of permanent existence doesn't justify a lack of ethical behavior during your short lifespan. and those of you hoping and praying for an afterlife had best realize that its even worse for you; god may forgive all, but there's always the possibility those you transgressed might want to have a word or two with you, and they've got all of eternity to hunt you down and stick it to you.

2. why am i so damn anti-protest, etc?
- because they're blatantly counterproductive. protesting only works if they're formulated militias performing armed overthrows; and even that has an iffy success ratio. oh, one other way worked; getting the other side so worked up they kill people, that tends to do the trick in a pinch (the 7/40 protests are a great example, for those who know.)

3. why hatin' on the greenpeace?
- ineffective sellouts. greenpeace's founders have all left the organization because they no longer agree with the organization; in many's words: "they've gone political, not enviromental" ..nuff said.

4. PETA.
- fucking. i shouldn't even have to say anything more than; these people kill dogs, thousands of dogs every year.

5. charities in general
- most are dishonest bastardly crooked bullshit corporate whacks. and if you dont believe me, check the charity trackers out and see how much their top dogs get PAID.

6. *ians & *ics
- yep, those crazy christians/mormons/catholics/islamics/etc. religion i respect.. but many of the followers (and indeed, many of the entire spin off groups of catholicism... and if you're not a theology major dont argue this with me; christianity spun off catholicism, it just got to keep the name.) have straight gone off the deepend of things. Tool's last album was about this, infact.

7. television
- old position: quality program gets the axe, bullshit gets the green. news isnt newsworthy, music videos arent played, kids programming might as well be adult, and on and on. this shit's boycott worthy, and i've been boycotting it for 6 years. read a book with your tv time people, seriously. and if you think you cant have quality time with a significant other infront of a good book, that somehow the tv and the couch are better: you obviously live very uncomfortable lives and your relationship is doomed to failure.

8. relationships!
- speaking of those, i havent had one in awhile? multiple reasons: bitter bastard (thats me!), intolerance towards people (me again), no drive to (three for three!). nope, not blaming society for my singleness; its my own damn reactions to society that are to blame.

9. incest
- lots of you will trip on me for this one; but in the terms of consenting adults, i got no beef with incest. i would require DNA tests for any possible genetic issues that could turn up in children (its proven incest only spawns genetic probelms in families already prone to those specific genetic diseases/syndromes/etc) but beyond that, to each their own. (my position here could be a product of being adopted, being raised so far after my brother and sister that i was more or less an only child, or the fact i think a distant cousin of mine is really hot.)

10. do good things.
- i may not seem like the nicest, most respectful of people, but my ass does the little things; i help coworkers, i tip the waitress and the bar tender, i hold doors open, i dont block intersections, i stay in the slow lane when i'm not passing, i say please, may i and thank you. i bless people when they sneeze (in german so it doesnt seem so formal), i dont raise my voice (even when arguing), and i try to keep the vulgarity to a minimum (thats taking a lot of work). do i thinkeveryone else should do the same? fucking damn right i do, and i WILL think less of you if you can't at least do those little things and common courtesies that make people's days a little safer, a little easier, and a little brighter.

11. because they do matter.
- there's an incredible amount of people around here who don't think the internatinal community has a right getting involved in national matters. if that were true? there'd be no international community, would there! ..every country that's dealing with hellish leadership/crime/debt/disease/etc, deserves help; even if they dont act like they want it. (national pride is a schilly thing; a wonderfully PC excuse for xenophobia, more or less.) thats nice and all, since it never seems like the help helps? next number to continue:

12. have patience!
- all good things take go... ]]> `killjoy