Check this out! http://www.happyhentoys.com/ I thought the sale was only at a local store here, but it's not. 40% off plus free shipping on orders over 69!

Hi everyone.

I'm not to comfortable to posting something like this (fear of reprimand from the person ine question), but at the same time, I'm getitng fed up with no response. So... here I go...

The artist in question is Ashryn.

I asked for a comission from her over 3 years ago. At the time of her accepting, she hosted personal OpenCanvas sessions to draw them (I still have the event file). I wasn't able to pay in full at that time ($25 of $35), so she only did part of the comission. Perfectly nderstandable. However, I completed the payment 2 days after the session was hosted (I have a screenshot of my Paypal records verifying the sum of the 2 payments adding to $35. The initial payment of $25 was sent on 3/23/06, and the remaining $10 on 3/25/06).

Since then... The last response I received from her was near the end of july ... of last year (7/28/07), stating she had some new concepts for it and needed references again. I replied to that message with attached references, and even done somewhat regular nudges asking how it's going (I didn't spam her every day, more like one every couple of months... and even then, it was after the july message). Haven't received any response from her... at all. I even have her AIM handle, and she's not on it much... and if she is, it's not long enough to get a response in.

She has been somewhat active according to her last online time on DA (1 week ago), and has posted an entry in her own LJ (Dated 4/24/08).

I'm really getting fed up with (as Kahn from Star Trek II put it) "Eating static." I paid for the thing in full over 2 years ago, and haven't gotten any progress updates outside of the july e-mail.

I'm not sure what to do really. I can't ask for a refund, since every e-mail I've sent seems to be unheard, and I haven't received any updates (Not even a new concept sketch).

~NN

 I seriously would like to know wtf is going on with MSN and Yahoo today. I had issues yesterday with Yahoo but got on eventually. But today, both are not working. Is anyone else having issues getting on to Yahoo or MSN messenger?

Tags: msn and yahoo issues

Current Mood: content

From the Yahoo Group Republican_Humor

President Obama has promised to sign this, along with increase of taxes on all high rollers ( anyone making over $ 30,000/year) to 50% starting rate, up to 95% for those making over 100,000 in order to also create tax credits for those who don't earn at least $20,000 in their no-show jobs.



Washington, DC - Congress is considering sweeping legislation that will provide new benefits for many Americans.

The Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA) is being hailed as a major legislative goal by advocates of the millions of Americans who lack any real skills or ambition.

'Roughly 50 percent of Americans do not possess the competence and drive necessary to carve out a meaningful role for themselves in society,' said California Senator Barbara Boxer. 'We can no longer stand by and allow People of Inability to be ridiculed and passed over. With this legislation, employers will no longer be able to grant special favours to a small group of workers, simply because they have some idea of what they are doing.'

In a Capitol Hill press conference, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pointed to the success of the U.S. Postal Service, which has a long-standing policy of providing opportunity without regard to performance. Approximately 74 percent of postal employees lack any job skills, making this agency the single largest U.S. employer of Persons of Inability.

Private-sector industries with good records of non-discrimination against the Inept include retail sales (72%), the airline industry (68%), and home improvement 'warehouse' stores (65%).

At the state government level, the Department of Motor Vehicles also has an excellent record of hiring Persons of Inability (63%).

Under the Americans With No Abilities Act, more than 25 million 'middle man' positions will be created, with important-sounding titles but little real responsibility, thus providing an illusory sense of purpose and performance.

Mandatory non-performance-based raises and promotions will be given so as to guarantee upward mobility for even the most unremarkable employees. The legislation provides substantial tax breaks to corporations that promote a significant number of Persons of Inability into middle-management positions, and gives a tax credit to small and medium-sized businesses that agree to hire one clueless worker for every two talented hires.

Finally, the AWNAA contains tough new measures to make it more difficult to discriminate against the Non-abled, banning, for example, discriminatory interview questions such as, 'Do you have any skills or experience that relate to this job?'

'As a Non-abled person, I can't be expected to keep up with people who have something going for them,' said Mary Lou Gertz, who lost her position as a lug-nut twister at the GM plant in Flint , Michigan , due to her inability to remember rightey tightey, lefty loosey. 'This new law should be real good for people like me,'Gertz added. With the passage of this bill, Gertz and millions of other untalented citizens will finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Said Senator Dick Durban (D-IL): 'As a Senator with no abilities, I believe the same privileges that elected officials enjoy ought to be extended to every American with no abilities. It is our duty as lawmakers to provide each and every American citizen, regardless of his or her adequacy, with some sort of space to take up in this great nation and a good salary for doing so.'

I was advised to post about this person by a few friends, and I hope I'm doing this right :).

I recently decided to start taking commissions over on Wajas (a pet type site) just to get used to doing so again as I haven't done any in a couple years.

Anyway, my first commissioner was Faed, user #46760, and Lulltide on Deviantart.

She requested a full sized commission of her dog, a headshot which she wanted in the quality of my $30-35 range. We haggled the price down a bit to $25 whith the addition of one of the pet things on the site.

This agreement was made around April 18th or so and I made it clear to her that I had finals coming up (I am a Senior in college with a December graduation) and then I was moving into an apartment. I also made it clear that I'd never done an English Springer Spaniel, or anything close to it in my life.

The whole conversation between us can be found here:
http://windseeker03.livejournal.com/89324.html?thread=232428#t232428

I kept getting pms from her asking about progress, and the tone of them indicated that she wanted the picture sooner rather than later, so I finished it, asking what she thought, and that it coud be changed.

That's where the content of this entry comes in:
http://windseeker03.livejournal.com/89324.html

So, I responded, taking the advice given to me by the commentors in the above entry.

My response was:
"Okay, a few things,

I see where you're at on the mistakes and such, I had a few other artists give me some constructive crits. I am, as I have said before, perfectly willing to bo back and fix those. I like learning as much as the next person. I will say some of them are due to the fact that I am legally blind, which I mentioned in my commissions thread, such as the tilt of the head/ muzzle, etc. It is extremely difficult for me to see detail when there are strong contrasts (in this case the white and dark dog markings) right next to each other. None of the mistakes were there on purpose or from mere laziness. Often I need those with better sight to point things out to me before I myself see them. If you want to read more on the blindness stuff, go here:
http://windseeker.deviantart.com/journal/8191857/ Also, the fact that I had a very limited opportunity to actually work on this piece, with the impression that you wanted it sooner rather than later, at which point I would have had more opportunity to refine it, especially since this is a subject I have never done or attempted before.

Second, it seems a bit odd that you would give me that thorough critique and then be suddenly uninterested in my fixing it, when I have made it clear I would do so.

Third, considering the number of hours, at best guess, I would say at least 6, and that is at the very least, I put into this picture, I will not be refunding the half payment you made. Going by that math, I was paid less than half minimum wage, and is equivalent to $2 an hour, at the most, since I'm pretty sure it took more than 6 hours of work. I think I should be paid for the time I put in it already, and the work I have already done is worth at least the $12.50."

and her reply was this:
"I, myself, find it a bit odd that you would blame it all on your blindness when you have such wonderful, flawless wolf artwork. Just because you've never drawn [specifically] and English Springer Spaniel, doesn't mean you don't know how to draw canine eyes and correct proportions. But with your explaination of your blindness and the reason for your mistakes, you're pretty much telling my that you /can't/ fix it.

Also, I wrote more then once that I wasn't rushing you just because I messaged you. I wanted you to take all the time you needed to create a quality piece that I would be able to print and hang on my wall.

When I asked for my money back, it's because I felt like I paid for something I didn't get, not out of spite or some other childish reason. To me, you're getting paid for practicing, not for a commission...so by all means, enjoy your free $12.50. You know how much people love throwing away their hard earned cash. :)"

As one of my commentors to that entry said, "I just love how she tries to tell you that just because you have several awsome looking pictures, that it suddenly means you MUST be able to duplicate every piece of them 100% of the time 100% perfectly. Obviously this person doesn't know anything about what it is to actualy create something more than once. :/"

I strongly suggest anyone not take commissions from her because her apparently lack of understanding of knowing how to do different art subjects is blatant, as well as her complete lack of wanting to be patient and work with me to fix the stated issues with the picture.

This recipe is out of The Zen Monastery Cookbook, which is a really good cookbook if you're into Buddhism or simple vegetarian cooking.

Tofu-Basil Spread (with B's notes)

2 lbs tofu
2 garlic cloves, peeled (but I always just use a couple of spoonfuls of the chopped stuff that comes in a jar)
2 Tbs. lemon juice (important not to "eyeball" this particular ingredient, unless your eyeball is really good!)
1/4 cup or more of fresh basil, or 2 tsp. or more dried basil
1 tsp. salt (optional)

Also optional: chopped veggies! Esp. grated zucchini, chopped tomatoes, or diced avocados.

1. Combine half-pound tofu and the garlic, lemon juice, basil and salt in a food processor until mixture is smooth.

2. Mash the remaining tofu together with the blend from Step 1. Add the optional vegetables. Mix together well and chill (the spread, that is, although you can chill too if you want).

More of B's notes: I ALWAYS do the chopped tomatoes- that is my favorite variation. I use a blender- I don't have a food processor. Sounds suspiciously like something someone who actually cooks would have. ;)

Also, I usually half this recipe, and then it makes about three meals (eaten on crackers alongside a salad) for me, although I have served it quite successfully at parties, too. And everyone's like "this is TOFU spread?!"

Finally, I find this recipe is best made at least one night before you intend to eat it, as that gives the flavors time to better permeate through the tofu.

EDIT: I use firm or semi-firm tofu for this. You could use silken, too, and then you probably wouldn't want to mash it up as much, but the grocery I shop at most often doesn't sell silken.

Tags: high protein, vegan

I was wondering - has anyone here had any negative transcations with an artist by the name of TigerBlack?

The reason I ask is because a friend of mine (who'll remain anonymous, but he's someone I trust and have worked with for several years on numerous occassions without any problems), has had some bad experiences with this artist. (he'd post here himself, but he does not have an LJ account, so I'm posting this inquiry for him).

About a year ago, he commissioned TigerBlack for a commissioned piece and paid the amount in full. However, he (my friend) has yet to see any progress in regards to the image he had commissioned (even though TigerBlack had said he had started work upon it early on in the transaction). And it isn't like my friend hadn't attempted to get ahold of the artist in all this time to find out what was taking so long - quite the contrary. However, every time the artist was contacted, my friend would receive anything from excuses behind why the piece has yet to be started/completed,  to blatant insults pertaining to his (my friend's) choice in artwork.

So, I'm wondering - if anyone has had any run ins with him - is this TigerBlack's norm when it comes to commissioned work?

2-3 leaves of basil (or any other herbs)
1 egg
splash of milk
butter

Whisk egg and milk until well incorporated.
Julienne up a couple of leaves of basil.
Melt butter in pan using low heat.
Toss in basil for 15 seconds.
On low heat, so as to cook the eggs slowly with whisking, pour in egg/milk mixture. Cook until done, but still soft (not runny).
Soft scramble these eggs.
Serve on a nice, thick slice of whole-grain toast.

This is mainly for inertiastar
and anyone else who has basil in need of something good.

Ingredients

* 2 cups fresh packed basil leaves (packed means, stuff them into a measure cup and press them down with your hand; it's not a precise measurement)
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/4 cup pine nuts (if you don't have pine nuts, you can use walnuts or hazelnuts)
* 3 garlic cloves, finely minced (or 1 tablespoon of prepared minced garlic)
* 1 tablespoon "fruit fresh" or 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Fruit fresh is available at most grocery stores where canning supplied like pectin and pickling salt are sold. It is basically a form of citric acid / vitamin C, that helps prevent the pesto from turning brown upon exposure to the air.
* 1/4 cup Olive oil. It should be the "extra virgin" variety, not the ordinary cooking olive oil. If it is extra virgin, it will say that on the label: see the photo for an example of extra virgin (at left) next to cooking olive oil (at right).

Makes about 1 cup or prepared basil Pesto!



And that is it! You're done! It should look like the photo at right -->

Secret Tip:

Adding 1 teaspoon of sugar or Splenda to the batch really seems to bring the flavor alive. Try it and see!

The pesto will keep in refrigerator for about a week, or you can freeze it and it will last for 3 to 6 months.