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The Hibachi Chef
Posted 8 years agoThis is so weirdly depressing, and yet beautiful and serene at the same time. I'm not entirely sure why this exists, but... it moved me. Not far (I am fairly fat) but it still gave a decent sized nudge.
I'M NOT CRYING! YOU'RE CRYING! Shut up.
Posted 8 years agoLittle kitties... *tear*
When Life Gives You Presents
Posted 8 years agoLife: I got you a present! It's a headache!
Me: Oh, uh... thanks. I really, REALLY just don't know what to say. At all.
Life: Y-you... you don't like it?
Me: OH! No, no, I love it. I do! I've always wanted a headache. I was just telling all my friends how much I always wanted a headache.
Life: Awesome! Try it on!
Me: Right... now?
Life: Yeah! I wanna see how the headache looks on you.
Me: Oh, well, uh... I mean, I just washed my hair, and...
Life: *teary eyes*
Me: Okay. Fuck. Fine. I'll try on the headache.
*seconds later*
Life: HOW IS IT?!
Me: Great. Splintering. I... y'know, I can really feel each throb inside my skull like a rabid weasel pounding against the walls, trying to break free. Is this is an artisan headache? Because I've never had my head pound quite as bad as this.
Life: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! You like it!
And that's the story of my Saturday.
Me: Oh, uh... thanks. I really, REALLY just don't know what to say. At all.
Life: Y-you... you don't like it?
Me: OH! No, no, I love it. I do! I've always wanted a headache. I was just telling all my friends how much I always wanted a headache.
Life: Awesome! Try it on!
Me: Right... now?
Life: Yeah! I wanna see how the headache looks on you.
Me: Oh, well, uh... I mean, I just washed my hair, and...
Life: *teary eyes*
Me: Okay. Fuck. Fine. I'll try on the headache.
*seconds later*
Life: HOW IS IT?!
Me: Great. Splintering. I... y'know, I can really feel each throb inside my skull like a rabid weasel pounding against the walls, trying to break free. Is this is an artisan headache? Because I've never had my head pound quite as bad as this.
Life: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! You like it!
And that's the story of my Saturday.
A Perfect Computer/Work Desk Doesn't Exist
Posted 8 years agoWhy is buying a computer desk so damn hard? I've been looking for about a year now to try to find "the one". A computer desk that has all offers storage space, is reasonably wide (7-8ft), offers decent cable management and some storage, all while still being open ended enough you never feel cramped. Maybe a slight inward curve to it, but that's optional. I know. I'm asking for the possible.
After almost a year of looking I have come to realize that desk does not exist. The closest thing I found was to it is this but even it's not perfect. The gaudy "gamer green" color and the monitor shelf in the back are vile, but I like the rest of the desk shape otherwise.
This is the desk I have now. Bush Series A, 72". It's not terrible, and it does the job, but I really need more space and storage.
If you know of any truly bad ass desks... please let me know in the comments.
Also: WTF is this?
After almost a year of looking I have come to realize that desk does not exist. The closest thing I found was to it is this but even it's not perfect. The gaudy "gamer green" color and the monitor shelf in the back are vile, but I like the rest of the desk shape otherwise.
This is the desk I have now. Bush Series A, 72". It's not terrible, and it does the job, but I really need more space and storage.
If you know of any truly bad ass desks... please let me know in the comments.
Also: WTF is this?
Artist Signal Boost: Frolis
Posted 8 years ago
frolis has been uploading some truly amazing Digimon work that's seriously good. They deserve a +watch!Go check 'em out. Right now!
FA United - Fur Affinity Panels
Posted 8 years agoWe want to run some panels at FA United related to FA. We definitely feel that our own little convention needs more of an FA presence, so I figured we'd do a panel or two about FA, things we're working on behind-the-scenes and more.
I figured I'd toss the question out: what kind of FA-related panels would you like to see at FAU?
I figured I'd toss the question out: what kind of FA-related panels would you like to see at FAU?
Balto is the Harbinger of My Demise
Posted 8 years agoBalto. No other movie represents bad luck to me more than this film. I've tried watching this movie several times, and each time, something terrible has happened. I assure you the following is entirely true, as there are still living witnesses who can corroborate my tale.
The first time we tried watch to watch Balto, the moment we hit play, a fire alarm went off. Evacuate the building.
The second time we tried to watch Balto, the moment the introduction started, the ceiling literally started pooling with water... and it began raining indoors. Yep. Balto, the Harbinger of Fate, had caused the room above us to flood. Okay, probably just really weird crazy random happenstance, but...
The third time we tried to watch Balto we didn't make it past the opening scene before a loud thumping came from the apartment next us... followed by drywall flying across the room as the fists of a drunken, psychotic neighbor in the apartment next to us punched its way through the room. By the time he was done, there was a body-sized hole in the wall as our drunk, insane neighbors became an urban spelunker.
It was at this point we decided Balto was, in fact, the furred manifestation of the Ark of the Covenant. A force so powerful, so damning, so destructive... it must never be watched in my presence for the safety of myself and others.
The first time we tried watch to watch Balto, the moment we hit play, a fire alarm went off. Evacuate the building.
The second time we tried to watch Balto, the moment the introduction started, the ceiling literally started pooling with water... and it began raining indoors. Yep. Balto, the Harbinger of Fate, had caused the room above us to flood. Okay, probably just really weird crazy random happenstance, but...
The third time we tried to watch Balto we didn't make it past the opening scene before a loud thumping came from the apartment next us... followed by drywall flying across the room as the fists of a drunken, psychotic neighbor in the apartment next to us punched its way through the room. By the time he was done, there was a body-sized hole in the wall as our drunk, insane neighbors became an urban spelunker.
It was at this point we decided Balto was, in fact, the furred manifestation of the Ark of the Covenant. A force so powerful, so damning, so destructive... it must never be watched in my presence for the safety of myself and others.
Angered Couch Monster
Posted 8 years agoIf You Could Live ANYWHERE... Where'd You Go?
Posted 8 years agoBeen pondering that lately. If I could move anywhere in the world where would I choose to go? I love uncrowded beaches, but also love a cool, breezy climate. The less humidity the better, with temperatures high 50's, low-60's. A place that has a near-constant Spring-time atmosphere is ideal.
I lived in Vermont for a few years and loved the weather... except for the Winters. No, nobody needs 5ft snow drifts. Nobody. YOU HEAR THAT, MONTREAL? NOBODY! Vermont winters are only good for snowmobiling, and that's about it.
Living next to giant cascading mountains is a huge perk. When I lived in Kyrgyzstan we were on the foothills of the Ala-Too range. You'd wake up, make a cup of coffee and have and awesome view similar to this. Even on a bad day the view was breathtaking. I find the view both intimidating and relaxing as hell. Unless, that is, the mountains are on fire (which is something the Kyrgyz do for some reason -- like, hey, we get it, August is hot, we don't need to set a mountain range on fire to prove a point). "Burning mountains" may work as innuendo but it's terrible in real life. I also loved being in Garmisch, Germany, too. Even Chiemsee. Impossible to have bad day there. Well, not impossible, but extremely unlikely.
Part of me thinks Colorado would fit the bill, maybe Hawaii (though it's a bit humid). Seattle and Washington state is never a bad choice. And if I could, hell, I'd move back to Germany in a heartbeat were that an option (though my German is sehr schreckliche).
That said, I have no plans on moving, but I always kind of ponder where I'd go if I had all options available.
I lived in Vermont for a few years and loved the weather... except for the Winters. No, nobody needs 5ft snow drifts. Nobody. YOU HEAR THAT, MONTREAL? NOBODY! Vermont winters are only good for snowmobiling, and that's about it.
Living next to giant cascading mountains is a huge perk. When I lived in Kyrgyzstan we were on the foothills of the Ala-Too range. You'd wake up, make a cup of coffee and have and awesome view similar to this. Even on a bad day the view was breathtaking. I find the view both intimidating and relaxing as hell. Unless, that is, the mountains are on fire (which is something the Kyrgyz do for some reason -- like, hey, we get it, August is hot, we don't need to set a mountain range on fire to prove a point). "Burning mountains" may work as innuendo but it's terrible in real life. I also loved being in Garmisch, Germany, too. Even Chiemsee. Impossible to have bad day there. Well, not impossible, but extremely unlikely.
Part of me thinks Colorado would fit the bill, maybe Hawaii (though it's a bit humid). Seattle and Washington state is never a bad choice. And if I could, hell, I'd move back to Germany in a heartbeat were that an option (though my German is sehr schreckliche).
That said, I have no plans on moving, but I always kind of ponder where I'd go if I had all options available.
Savlonic - Epoch (The Living Tombstone's Remix)
Posted 8 years agoI just can't get enough of this song. <3
Beta Feedback Wanted
Posted 8 years agoLike the Beta? Hate the Beta? Feel free to send feedback, suggestions and ideas to me via opening a Trouble Ticket under "User Interface". I've been working on fixing a lot of issues, and have been relying on feedback to improve the look and feel of the Beta. Even if you think "Hey, I like this, but it could be better..." feel free to send me over your ideas (screenshots, Codepens or more). A lot of you out there are really talented individuals, and I'm open to your ideas. =)
(Before I get flooded, yes, we know custom thumbnails are STILL broken and we know we need a keyworld/filtering system! They're on the list!)
This past Beta update spent a lot more time cooking than intended as I had pretty much re-tootled almost every template on the site, but moving forward we'll be able to get out improvements at a faster rate.
* Mobile Navigation - Improving Mobile Navigation (we improved the dropdown/slider, but now we need to improve how things function and solidify the formatting of them -- doing this universally to support all devices visually can be the hard part at times).
* Formatting Guide - Adding a "formatting guide" to the bottom of any text entry boxes so you can get a quick "how to" guide for formatting text (think of how Reddit does it).
* Themes - Continuing to improve the formatting for our CSS LESS to make templating changes easier, as well as making re-adding themes back smoother. The templates changed so much previously that it (unfortunately) broke all the themes (hence why we removed them). CSS LESS makes it easier to re-add them, but we need to make sure we're 100% satisfied with the changes before adding them back.
* Other - Various cleanup of little things, like padding, widths or other minor issues.
(Before I get flooded, yes, we know custom thumbnails are STILL broken and we know we need a keyworld/filtering system! They're on the list!)
This past Beta update spent a lot more time cooking than intended as I had pretty much re-tootled almost every template on the site, but moving forward we'll be able to get out improvements at a faster rate.
Things I'm working on:
* User Navigation - Improving userpage navs readability and mobile-layouts for (see my Codepen WIP link here). It can still be kind of cluttered, especially for mobile.* Mobile Navigation - Improving Mobile Navigation (we improved the dropdown/slider, but now we need to improve how things function and solidify the formatting of them -- doing this universally to support all devices visually can be the hard part at times).
* Formatting Guide - Adding a "formatting guide" to the bottom of any text entry boxes so you can get a quick "how to" guide for formatting text (think of how Reddit does it).
* Themes - Continuing to improve the formatting for our CSS LESS to make templating changes easier, as well as making re-adding themes back smoother. The templates changed so much previously that it (unfortunately) broke all the themes (hence why we removed them). CSS LESS makes it easier to re-add them, but we need to make sure we're 100% satisfied with the changes before adding them back.
* Other - Various cleanup of little things, like padding, widths or other minor issues.
Chip from Beauty and the Beast
Posted 8 years agoOne thing that ALWAYS bothered me about Beauty and the Beast: Chip. Transformed into a tea cup, and he's missing a chunk from his head. The entire movie I always expected him to turn back into a human and BAMF! GAPING HEAD WOUND! Blood gushing everywhere.
I know it's just a character design but it never quite sat right with me.
I mean, in the entire time Beast was there he never bumped a servant transformed into plate onto the floor? Never sat on Tim the Couch or had an unfortunate accident? Or did he? Maybe that's really all the fine china that's left.
I know it's just a character design but it never quite sat right with me.
I mean, in the entire time Beast was there he never bumped a servant transformed into plate onto the floor? Never sat on Tim the Couch or had an unfortunate accident? Or did he? Maybe that's really all the fine china that's left.
It's Saturday! Have Some Yeens
Posted 8 years agoThe Business of .SUCKS
Posted 8 years agoTalking to 
arel and he pointed out, amusingly, that faunited.sucks was for sale for $250.
I had no idea .sucks was a Top Level Domain (TLD), let alone that faunited.sucks was available! And for the low, low price of $250. I decided to look into it, and interestingly enough, the default cost of all .sucks domains is $250. That's the flat rate for purchasing a brand new sucky domain name.
https://www.uniteddomains.com/new-t.....-registration/
Now, you're probably thinking "Yes, but what about the journal title?*" Well, I'm getting to that. See, companies and organizations generally want to prevent their brand from being smeared on sites with names like YourBusinessSucks.com. They're somewhat pro-active in trying to register or buy out sites like that which would make a domain like YourBusiness.sucks a viable interest. It doesn't make business sense to me (see the Streisand Effect) but I can understand why companies would still want to try.
In order to buy a Top Level Domain you'll need about $185,000. Pocket change, right? That's the price to purchase (and monetize) your own custom TLD. Okay, so we know these .sucks domains exist, we know the cost of .sucks, so the real question: how many? How many .sucks domains are out there? As of this writing: 8,108. That's the number of active .sucks domains according to Domain Tools.
http://research.domaintools.com/sta.....cs/tld-counts/
And at $250 a pop, that means the guy or gal who plunked down $185,000 to buy a TLD and sell .sucks domains has generated just over $2,000,000. Weirdly impressive.
* You may have also been thinking "I really want a grilled cheese sandwich" which would also have been an accurate statement.
arel and he pointed out, amusingly, that faunited.sucks was for sale for $250.I had no idea .sucks was a Top Level Domain (TLD), let alone that faunited.sucks was available! And for the low, low price of $250. I decided to look into it, and interestingly enough, the default cost of all .sucks domains is $250. That's the flat rate for purchasing a brand new sucky domain name.
https://www.uniteddomains.com/new-t.....-registration/
Now, you're probably thinking "Yes, but what about the journal title?*" Well, I'm getting to that. See, companies and organizations generally want to prevent their brand from being smeared on sites with names like YourBusinessSucks.com. They're somewhat pro-active in trying to register or buy out sites like that which would make a domain like YourBusiness.sucks a viable interest. It doesn't make business sense to me (see the Streisand Effect) but I can understand why companies would still want to try.
In order to buy a Top Level Domain you'll need about $185,000. Pocket change, right? That's the price to purchase (and monetize) your own custom TLD. Okay, so we know these .sucks domains exist, we know the cost of .sucks, so the real question: how many? How many .sucks domains are out there? As of this writing: 8,108. That's the number of active .sucks domains according to Domain Tools.
http://research.domaintools.com/sta.....cs/tld-counts/
And at $250 a pop, that means the guy or gal who plunked down $185,000 to buy a TLD and sell .sucks domains has generated just over $2,000,000. Weirdly impressive.
* You may have also been thinking "I really want a grilled cheese sandwich" which would also have been an accurate statement.
An Apology
Posted 8 years agoI want to post a bit of a public apology. I've been working my ass off on the Beta UI (spending upwards of 10-12 hours a day going back and forth on things), reading user reports, fixing quirks, problems, looking over feedback and reviewing everything that's been brought up. We're working on a new Beta version that (quite literally) involved pretty much every single last page updated, revised, re-done. Still not perfect, and still has a long ways to go, but it's pretty much ready for mass consumption.
This entire project has taken far longer than it should. When the UI revisions first started they've gone through dozens of attempts, reboots, changes, tweaks, modifications, cursing of the gods, failures, midnight screaming marathons and shouting at the scream while shoving Crab Rangoon my mouth. I wear many hats when it comes to FA, and "UI designer" was not one I expected, but I had to take up the mantle. And... I didn't pick up that mantle until late in the game. And I didn't get decent at it until even later. Many of the revisions which are being implemented beta side should have come out years ago, but didn't.
I just want to publicly admit that I dropped the ball, and I recognize that. My goal was to have everything completed last year, but... as you all know, nothing quite went right for me OR the site in 2016. Massive delays and nasty, horrible, no good things e'rywhere. But I'm working on fixing it, and the new Beta is shaping up quite nicely.
I also want to give props to
ierrored for his early FA UI tweaks. It was his tweaks which got me to start really working on FA's UI more trying to implement some of his tweaks, and things into FA. But what started as a project in my spare time grew into something far more as time went on.
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/8093761/
I've been reading the majority of feedback, criticism, compliments and scathing posts of "Y U DO DIS?!" and processing it. I don't always like what I read, but you always have to be willing to take a punch to the neck to learn to correct the error of your ways. So if you're using the Beta, and you've given feedback, my appreciation! It's still not perfect, but once we update the Beta next, I think you'll see a lot of progress.
Anyway, some new things coming to the UI:
Lightboxes - http://i.imgur.com/ikCQtgK.jpg
On a smaller screen? Somebody upload something that doesn't quite fit? Click the image to have it perfectly formatted to fit your screen and to view the image directly.
Submission Used: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/18708409/
[Spoiler] Tags - http://i.imgur.com/miE9u2j.png
Spoilt tags... because sometimes you want to talk about King Joffrey's extreme longing for pie without giving away the plot. Just mouse over (or click on mobile) to reveal the text.It also has the side-effect of making the the post look like the CIA redacted information, but y'know, the CIA's not about to reveal the status of the XCOM project to just about anyone.
This entire project has taken far longer than it should. When the UI revisions first started they've gone through dozens of attempts, reboots, changes, tweaks, modifications, cursing of the gods, failures, midnight screaming marathons and shouting at the scream while shoving Crab Rangoon my mouth. I wear many hats when it comes to FA, and "UI designer" was not one I expected, but I had to take up the mantle. And... I didn't pick up that mantle until late in the game. And I didn't get decent at it until even later. Many of the revisions which are being implemented beta side should have come out years ago, but didn't.
I just want to publicly admit that I dropped the ball, and I recognize that. My goal was to have everything completed last year, but... as you all know, nothing quite went right for me OR the site in 2016. Massive delays and nasty, horrible, no good things e'rywhere. But I'm working on fixing it, and the new Beta is shaping up quite nicely.
I also want to give props to
ierrored for his early FA UI tweaks. It was his tweaks which got me to start really working on FA's UI more trying to implement some of his tweaks, and things into FA. But what started as a project in my spare time grew into something far more as time went on.https://www.furaffinity.net/view/8093761/
I've been reading the majority of feedback, criticism, compliments and scathing posts of "Y U DO DIS?!" and processing it. I don't always like what I read, but you always have to be willing to take a punch to the neck to learn to correct the error of your ways. So if you're using the Beta, and you've given feedback, my appreciation! It's still not perfect, but once we update the Beta next, I think you'll see a lot of progress.
Anyway, some new things coming to the UI:
Lightboxes - http://i.imgur.com/ikCQtgK.jpg
On a smaller screen? Somebody upload something that doesn't quite fit? Click the image to have it perfectly formatted to fit your screen and to view the image directly.
Submission Used: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/18708409/
[Spoiler] Tags - http://i.imgur.com/miE9u2j.png
Spoilt tags... because sometimes you want to talk about King Joffrey's extreme longing for pie without giving away the plot. Just mouse over (or click on mobile) to reveal the text.It also has the side-effect of making the the post look like the CIA redacted information, but y'know, the CIA's not about to reveal the status of the XCOM project to just about anyone.
Horse Squeaky Toy
Posted 8 years agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-fluUQApO8
Not going to lie. I laughed so hard I almost threw up. XD Oh my god, I'm crying... literally.
EDIT: The video is blocked from embedding so they can sell it. Poop. Either way, link is available. It's worth watching.
Ave Maria Otamatone
Posted 8 years agoAMAA - Ask Me Almost Anything
Posted 8 years agoDoing an AMA today here on FA. If you'd like to ask me pretty much anything... go for it. =) I am here to answer.
NOTE: As per usual, keep it civil, keep drama out of the door, be respectful (even if you don't like me!).
NOTE: As per usual, keep it civil, keep drama out of the door, be respectful (even if you don't like me!).
My Personal Hell
Posted 8 years agoMy personal hell? Stuck in a dark room, unable to see... but all I can hear for the rest of eternity is the stirring sound of mac and cheese.
Respecting Artists
Posted 9 years agoWhen you tell an artist they're not worth the price of a commission...
... you're telling that artist the time, money, energy, dedication and years of refinement they've put into their craft is meaningless. You're ultimately comparing them to the equivalent of fast food. Why go for a nice steak dinner when you can get a meat-like circular patty object for $1 over at the fast food joint? That's what you just boiled them down to.
When you tell an artist that "So and so charges less than half of what you do..."
... you're telling the artist they're basically an object to you, and that you're more interested in getting a "deal" than you are getting something unique and one of a kind. Something a person put time, effort, energy and thought into.
When you tell an artist "I know you charge $100 for a commission, but I think you're worth $10..."
... you're telling that artist to go fuck themselves. You're stripping them of the dignity and respect they deserve.
If you don't like the price of art, if you don't respect the effort, energy and a person's time investment, then don't say anything. If you legitimately feel an artist charges too much that's fine, but don't insult them. If they're not getting commissions at their rates they'll lower them.
Some artists are fast, some are slow. Some artists are starting out, some have years of practice and have really honed their skill. But regardless of quality, an artist can easily put 5, 10 or more hours into a picture -- a picture they're doing for you. All that time takes away from then doing personal art, projects, having fun, hanging with friends. You're asking the person to give up their personal time and dedicate it to you. Consider that a moment. If you ask somebody to devote 10 hours of their personal life to working on a commission for you, but then tell them their time isn't worth but a dollar an hour... how much of a slap in the face is that to them?
You wouldn't work for $1 an hour. Don't expect other people to do the same.
... you're telling that artist the time, money, energy, dedication and years of refinement they've put into their craft is meaningless. You're ultimately comparing them to the equivalent of fast food. Why go for a nice steak dinner when you can get a meat-like circular patty object for $1 over at the fast food joint? That's what you just boiled them down to.
When you tell an artist that "So and so charges less than half of what you do..."
... you're telling the artist they're basically an object to you, and that you're more interested in getting a "deal" than you are getting something unique and one of a kind. Something a person put time, effort, energy and thought into.
When you tell an artist "I know you charge $100 for a commission, but I think you're worth $10..."
... you're telling that artist to go fuck themselves. You're stripping them of the dignity and respect they deserve.
If you don't like the price of art, if you don't respect the effort, energy and a person's time investment, then don't say anything. If you legitimately feel an artist charges too much that's fine, but don't insult them. If they're not getting commissions at their rates they'll lower them.
Some artists are fast, some are slow. Some artists are starting out, some have years of practice and have really honed their skill. But regardless of quality, an artist can easily put 5, 10 or more hours into a picture -- a picture they're doing for you. All that time takes away from then doing personal art, projects, having fun, hanging with friends. You're asking the person to give up their personal time and dedicate it to you. Consider that a moment. If you ask somebody to devote 10 hours of their personal life to working on a commission for you, but then tell them their time isn't worth but a dollar an hour... how much of a slap in the face is that to them?
You wouldn't work for $1 an hour. Don't expect other people to do the same.
Childhood Irrational Fears
Posted 9 years agoI often think about the irrational fears I had as a child, some of which were so ridiculous and outlandish that I can't understand how they left me damn near paralyzed. But as a child, irrationality is the name of the game as you've had no real life experiences to gauge fact from fiction. I mean, after all, (spoiler alert!) I used to think a morbidly obese fat man with an army of toy making elves used to fly across the world in the span of less than 24 hours.
What were your fears?
The Skeletons in the Air Vents
When I was a child I used to believe skeletons lived inside air conditioning vents, but they'd ONLY come out at night and ONLY when I was walking on the carpet. I was convinced that simply walking past an air vent would caused a chilly, bony hand to dart out and grab me by the ankles... pulling me into the vents to my ultimate demise. The only defense was curling up inside my blanket as if (somehow) a mass produced comforter would protect me from the undead.
To this day when I get random chills at night I instinctively pull my feet under the covers (as if it'd help).
The Ghoulies
In the mid-80's a horror-comedy movie about impish demons came out that, as a child, had one of the most frightening posters a kid could image - devilish imps crawling out of toilets. I totally admit, the notion of this to a tiny Neerlet at the age of 5 was one of the most terrifying things my little brain could think of. Demons that attacked you when you shit? What could be worse? Answer: air conditioning skeletons. Whenever I had to poo, I would always be grabbing the bathroom sink to help me launch off the john at the first sign of impending toiletry danger.
http://cdn3-www.comingsoon.net/asse.....ulies2Feat.jpg
Come to think of it, my childhood fears mostly seemed to stem about monsters crawling OUT of things. But to a kid that's pretty terrifying.
What were your fears?
The Skeletons in the Air Vents
When I was a child I used to believe skeletons lived inside air conditioning vents, but they'd ONLY come out at night and ONLY when I was walking on the carpet. I was convinced that simply walking past an air vent would caused a chilly, bony hand to dart out and grab me by the ankles... pulling me into the vents to my ultimate demise. The only defense was curling up inside my blanket as if (somehow) a mass produced comforter would protect me from the undead.
To this day when I get random chills at night I instinctively pull my feet under the covers (as if it'd help).
The Ghoulies
In the mid-80's a horror-comedy movie about impish demons came out that, as a child, had one of the most frightening posters a kid could image - devilish imps crawling out of toilets. I totally admit, the notion of this to a tiny Neerlet at the age of 5 was one of the most terrifying things my little brain could think of. Demons that attacked you when you shit? What could be worse? Answer: air conditioning skeletons. Whenever I had to poo, I would always be grabbing the bathroom sink to help me launch off the john at the first sign of impending toiletry danger.
http://cdn3-www.comingsoon.net/asse.....ulies2Feat.jpg
Come to think of it, my childhood fears mostly seemed to stem about monsters crawling OUT of things. But to a kid that's pretty terrifying.
Man Uses A Live African Cheetah As A Pillow
Posted 9 years agoPaddington Company Response
Posted 9 years agoThe Paddington Company has asked that I post the following response they sent to me (and I will oblige them).
Dear Dragoneer,
As a person who has been responsible for looking after the well-being of Paddington Bear for over 40 years I would like to respond to your post and offer some background to the notice you received from our infringement advisers Surelock.
Paddington Bear is a well-loved character that originated in a series of children’s books, the first of which was published in the UK in 1958. These books are available in over 40 languages and there have been three television series and one movie to date featuring him. The movie released in 2014 is the No1 top grossing family feature film ever produced by a non-Hollywood Studio. He has a lot of fans around the world and because of Paddington’s long heritage those fans can be both adults and children.
As the owner of the IP rights we are very diligent in taking down unauthorized commercial use and inappropriate use of Paddington where we find it. At the same time we respect the right of fans to enjoy Paddington and share that enjoyment through social media. We would never write to someone saying that they cannot post a picture of themselves dressed up as Paddington or standing in front of a poster of Paddington Bear. We welcome that sort of non-commercial activity. However, we do object very strongly when people start associating Paddington with pornography or depicting Paddington in pornographic poses. If as an adult you want to view pornography that is your right but it is not your right to publish pornographic images of characters created by others for the entertainment of children. Such use does not constitute fair dealing.
You have chosen to make both pornographic images and regular fan images available through the one site hence our notice covering all images on your site. If they had been on separate sites then only the pornographic site would have received the notice from us. You have a lot of Paddington images on the site including many pornographic ones and to go through your site image by image to determine which is acceptable and which is offensive is impractical, especially as they change constantly. If you remove the pornographic images then you will find that this problem is easily resolved and you will not hear further from us or Surelock.
I hope that you and your bloggers will understand our wanting to protect Paddington’s many fans, especially children, from pornographic imagery that would be considered offensive to the majority of Paddington’s fans.
Nicholas
Paddington and Company
I am following up with the letter to ask if they would be willing to work with us. I greatly respect the time they put into the response (even if I don't agree with all of it). I'm hopping we, as a community, can work with them to properly come up with a solution.
I do, however, want to address one comment. "You have chosen to make both pornographic images and regular fan images available through the one site hence our notice covering all images on your site." Fur Affinity's content is 100% user driven. The site does not control, direct or encourage users to create content of any particular nature, even if I would love to tell people "Draw more dragons" directly as a site mandate. A community driven by user uploads comes with certain risks because of that, and as such we can not monitor and personally curate each and every upload due to the sheer size of the community.
Dear Dragoneer,
As a person who has been responsible for looking after the well-being of Paddington Bear for over 40 years I would like to respond to your post and offer some background to the notice you received from our infringement advisers Surelock.
Paddington Bear is a well-loved character that originated in a series of children’s books, the first of which was published in the UK in 1958. These books are available in over 40 languages and there have been three television series and one movie to date featuring him. The movie released in 2014 is the No1 top grossing family feature film ever produced by a non-Hollywood Studio. He has a lot of fans around the world and because of Paddington’s long heritage those fans can be both adults and children.
As the owner of the IP rights we are very diligent in taking down unauthorized commercial use and inappropriate use of Paddington where we find it. At the same time we respect the right of fans to enjoy Paddington and share that enjoyment through social media. We would never write to someone saying that they cannot post a picture of themselves dressed up as Paddington or standing in front of a poster of Paddington Bear. We welcome that sort of non-commercial activity. However, we do object very strongly when people start associating Paddington with pornography or depicting Paddington in pornographic poses. If as an adult you want to view pornography that is your right but it is not your right to publish pornographic images of characters created by others for the entertainment of children. Such use does not constitute fair dealing.
You have chosen to make both pornographic images and regular fan images available through the one site hence our notice covering all images on your site. If they had been on separate sites then only the pornographic site would have received the notice from us. You have a lot of Paddington images on the site including many pornographic ones and to go through your site image by image to determine which is acceptable and which is offensive is impractical, especially as they change constantly. If you remove the pornographic images then you will find that this problem is easily resolved and you will not hear further from us or Surelock.
I hope that you and your bloggers will understand our wanting to protect Paddington’s many fans, especially children, from pornographic imagery that would be considered offensive to the majority of Paddington’s fans.
Nicholas
Paddington and Company
I am following up with the letter to ask if they would be willing to work with us. I greatly respect the time they put into the response (even if I don't agree with all of it). I'm hopping we, as a community, can work with them to properly come up with a solution.
I do, however, want to address one comment. "You have chosen to make both pornographic images and regular fan images available through the one site hence our notice covering all images on your site." Fur Affinity's content is 100% user driven. The site does not control, direct or encourage users to create content of any particular nature, even if I would love to tell people "Draw more dragons" directly as a site mandate. A community driven by user uploads comes with certain risks because of that, and as such we can not monitor and personally curate each and every upload due to the sheer size of the community.
FA Has a Telegram Chat Group!
Posted 9 years agoInterested in chatting it up with fellow fuzzballs, sharing awesome FA art finds or general FA chat? Feel free to join our Telegram group. =3
https://telegram.me/joinchat/BpQ9zE.....vkcioeeHQbWgUg
https://telegram.me/joinchat/BpQ9zE.....vkcioeeHQbWgUg
DMCA Overreach
Posted 9 years agoFirst and foremost, a disclaimer of sorts: due to law, I am obligated to take action on content when reported under the DMCA. I may not always agree with it, but by law we have to process the submissions and take action. There are many parts of being an admin I'm not always happy with, but most of the rules and polices the site has is to protect the overall greater whole of the community.
That said: I am against aggressive overreach and abuse of the DMCA system. And i have no problem calling out those who abuse the legal system for their own personal gain, and will do so now:
Fur Affinity was recently contacted by Surelock, a group who represents the Paddington Company and Studio Canal. They had requested Fur Affinity remove /all/ content featuring the character from the site. Read: ALL CONTENT. Not just adult art, but *ALL* content of Paddington across the board. As in: Paddington is not a character who can be drawn in fan art, can not be drawn out of respect, can must be untouched. Period. End of story.
I understand companies often have a precarious stance when it comes to protecting their intellectual property. Fanart, for many, can be both a blessing and curse. Some companies have outright learned to embrace the fandoms, most notably Hasbro and the Bronies.
But Surelock, in my view, vastly overstepped the limits of what is acceptable.
I told them send a DMCA which contained links to the images, as per compliance with the law.
As part of the DMCA, the company requested removal of submissions which used the word "Paddington" but otherwise had no relationship to the character (one such image was a babyfur wearing a diaper, and "paddington" was wordplay on the "padding" of diaper, no relation to the character or the IP). They demanded removal of submissions of people's characters dressed up in Paddington-style clothes (art of "cosplay", wherein the clothing worn wasn't even a 1:1 match for what Paddington wore). In others, Surelock/Studio Canal demanded we remove people's content of people who were, quite literally, simply standing in front of the movie poster who were in line to see the film. Photos of people in public spaces with "Paddington" posters in the background.
Apparently, Surelock/Studio Canal does not even want Furries to be seen in any relationship to this film.
To me, that's unacceptable. Purely unacceptable.
I get that a company would want to remove the pornographic element from a character such as Paddington from the Internet. I get that. But to outright go "Nope, you can't even show a picture of you standing in line at the movies where a Paddington poster is seen in the background" is, well, it's fucking ridiculous.
As you might imagine, I doubt Surelock and Studio Canal are going after Twitter and Imgur, demanding they remove photos of people standing in front of movie posters, people who enjoyed the movie or perhaps have a Paddington stuffed bear they took a photo of. Again, I get them wanting to distance themselves from porn, but Surelock and Studio Canal took the route of "Scorched Earth".
While I doubt anyone from the studios will read my words: I respect you decision to want to distance yourselves from the pornographic elements, but to outright blanket bomb regular images, fans and artists who are drawing proper fanart of a character they do love is tasteless a movie as the work you claim to despise.
PS: Yes, I've already had threats that if I don't comply and bend over backwards for them they're going to take this to the top of IMVU and try to get me fired. To that I say: I do not care. I will comply with the law because I am legally obligated to do so, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to call overreach and outright blanket censorship. Really? Is a photo of a furry standing in line at a movie theater, standing in front of Paddington movie poster, really hurting you as a company?
PSS: You should check out all the pics of us and Zootopia. We're freakin' fabulous.
That said: I am against aggressive overreach and abuse of the DMCA system. And i have no problem calling out those who abuse the legal system for their own personal gain, and will do so now:
Fur Affinity was recently contacted by Surelock, a group who represents the Paddington Company and Studio Canal. They had requested Fur Affinity remove /all/ content featuring the character from the site. Read: ALL CONTENT. Not just adult art, but *ALL* content of Paddington across the board. As in: Paddington is not a character who can be drawn in fan art, can not be drawn out of respect, can must be untouched. Period. End of story.
I understand companies often have a precarious stance when it comes to protecting their intellectual property. Fanart, for many, can be both a blessing and curse. Some companies have outright learned to embrace the fandoms, most notably Hasbro and the Bronies.
But Surelock, in my view, vastly overstepped the limits of what is acceptable.
I told them send a DMCA which contained links to the images, as per compliance with the law.
As part of the DMCA, the company requested removal of submissions which used the word "Paddington" but otherwise had no relationship to the character (one such image was a babyfur wearing a diaper, and "paddington" was wordplay on the "padding" of diaper, no relation to the character or the IP). They demanded removal of submissions of people's characters dressed up in Paddington-style clothes (art of "cosplay", wherein the clothing worn wasn't even a 1:1 match for what Paddington wore). In others, Surelock/Studio Canal demanded we remove people's content of people who were, quite literally, simply standing in front of the movie poster who were in line to see the film. Photos of people in public spaces with "Paddington" posters in the background.
Apparently, Surelock/Studio Canal does not even want Furries to be seen in any relationship to this film.
To me, that's unacceptable. Purely unacceptable.
I get that a company would want to remove the pornographic element from a character such as Paddington from the Internet. I get that. But to outright go "Nope, you can't even show a picture of you standing in line at the movies where a Paddington poster is seen in the background" is, well, it's fucking ridiculous.
As you might imagine, I doubt Surelock and Studio Canal are going after Twitter and Imgur, demanding they remove photos of people standing in front of movie posters, people who enjoyed the movie or perhaps have a Paddington stuffed bear they took a photo of. Again, I get them wanting to distance themselves from porn, but Surelock and Studio Canal took the route of "Scorched Earth".
While I doubt anyone from the studios will read my words: I respect you decision to want to distance yourselves from the pornographic elements, but to outright blanket bomb regular images, fans and artists who are drawing proper fanart of a character they do love is tasteless a movie as the work you claim to despise.
PS: Yes, I've already had threats that if I don't comply and bend over backwards for them they're going to take this to the top of IMVU and try to get me fired. To that I say: I do not care. I will comply with the law because I am legally obligated to do so, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to call overreach and outright blanket censorship. Really? Is a photo of a furry standing in line at a movie theater, standing in front of Paddington movie poster, really hurting you as a company?
PSS: You should check out all the pics of us and Zootopia. We're freakin' fabulous.
