(no subject)
Holy crap, I'm LJing.
That walk was much needed, one of those that clears the mind. I typically abhor snow, but there is some gentle comfort in the silence of a snow-covered landscape at bizarre hours of the morning.
First order of business - Birth Control. Oh god. After the third irregular menses in the year, and for... other reasons, I decided to finally go on the pill. And I am having the most miserable time of my life.
Pregnancy rattled my body less than this. My stomach is upset, I'm cramping (and in...unmentionable places too. OW.), my boobs are sore, I'm breaking out. It's like... MASSIVE PMS ALL AT ONCE. I really hope this does not last long. Because...wow.
Alright. So. The premise of the A_B community is well-founded. It is, in theory, to protect buyers and sellers against potential problems. But instead, it becomes this cesspool of drama. Why are comments not screened? Sure it may be work, but with something as precious as reputation, the only responses that should be acceptable on posts there are those that provide factual evidence towards the problem at hand or the original artist (or customer)'s defense. Instead, it has become a "LET'S BEAT THE DEAD HORSE HERE" type of community, in which one person has a problem (legit or not), and a gang of people go "OH GHOD THAT IS SO NOT FAIR. LET'S SPREAD THE HATE SO NOBODY ELSE HAS TIHS PROBLEM." often times without even knowing whether or not the original poster is entirely truthful. It's disturbing to say the least.
Not to mention - how many posters there have very little knowledge of how art works as a business outside of the furry fandom. Furries take for granted that their art is typically received very quickly. Many completely toss out the cost of good materials. Factoring commissions into taxes is almost unheard of. But they will do anything they can to compare doing art to a mundane job, completely disregarding what things such as a down payment is for. And while $200 may seem like a lot of money to your average furry, people will shell out far larger Non-Refundable down payments for a portrait. A portrait that is nothing more than a photograph copied into traditional media. Heck, there's an etsy shop that does very well for itself - they have "templates" and request for you to send an image of your child in a particular pose. And then, they overlay the image into the art program and paint the child into the template picture. This is digital, and then printed on a canvas. And they charge (and people pay) $600-700 for this.
And then they turn around and complain that the Artist is being almighty. Even if they are, they have every right to be! They have a talent, they have art that other people want. They're not vending machines, and don't deserve to have what they do cheapened by people who don't want to pay that kind of money.
What we artists do is a -favor- to the community, especially at the prices we charge.
It makes me stop to honestly think about why I do business in a community where art has become as cheapened as it has.
Bah. End Rant.
Also, this song has been stuck in my head this evening.
Alanis Morisette's "Joining You"
Dear Darlin,
Your mom, my friend
Left a message on my machine
She was frantic
Saying you were talking crazy.
That you wanted to do away with yourself.
Guess she thought I would be the perfect resort
Because we've had this inexplicable connection since our youth
And yes, they're in shock
They are panicked
You and your chronic
Them and their drama
You this embarrassment
Us in the middle of this delusion.
If we were our bodies,
If we were our futures,
If we were our defenses,
I'd be joining you.
If we were our culture,
If we were our leaders,
If we were our denials,
I'd be joining you.
I remember vividly a day years ago,
We were camping.
You knew more than you thought you should know.
You said "I don't want ever to be brainwashed"
And you were mind-boggling, you were intense.
You were uncomfortable in your own skin.
You were thirsty,
But mostly you were beautiful.
If we were our name-tags,
If we were our rejections,
If we were our outcomes,
I'd be joining you.
If we were our indignities,
If we were our successes,
If we were our emotions,
I'd be joining you.
You and I, we're like four year olds.
We want to know why, and how come about everything.
We want to reveal ourselves at will, and speak our minds.
And never talk small talk and be intuitive,
And question mightily, and find God my tortured beacon.
We need to find like-minded companions.
If we were their condemnations,
If we were their projections,
If we were our paranoias, I'd be joining you.
If we were our incomes,
If we were our obsessions,
If we were our afflictions, I'd be joining you.
We need a reflection,
We need a really good memory.
Feel free to call me a little more often.