So, Ravelry provides me with almost as much drama as my cop/paranormal shows.
I recently read on this blog some craaaazy talk from someone who probably considered himself a professional. And to email it via Ravelry just seems the height of whack-a-doo, y'know?
Go, read it! I'll wait!
See? How crazy was that? I don't really take personal sides on the issue. I mean, I bought it for those lacy stockings, but I never really considered the lack of sizing options on most of the patterns... But, I digress.
The blogger was just that, a blogger. I know something about life, really, and I know that most blogger.com pages are unaffiliated with large, consumer-controlling, life-changing corporations. Blogs were originally intended to be personal, as in one person detailing their life, their ideas, and their opinions in what was hopefully an attempt to either self-treat mental blocks/issue through anonymous venting, or to reach out and find other like minds to support them in their causes.
(The day we allowed others to comment on our ideas was a sad day for ego, but a terrific day for bullies whose area of influence had reached it's physical limits. But, again, I digress.)
Blogs are, in short, personal opinions. Replying to them is usually unnecessary and largely pointless. Forums are where people can go to openly disucss ideas. Scrawling a note in my online diary does not un-make what I've stated, or re-work my mind. However, apparently one designer from the recent issue of Vogue Knitting decided that his particular brand of venom would cow the blogger into retraction and then silence? So he sent a very nasty email?
How can this possibly be construed as professional conduct???
Some helpful tips for the future:
1.) It's a blog. Try to regard them all as text messages from teenagers, and of little account to the larger workings of the world. Granted, some of them are very influential, but try to judge this on a blog-by-blog basis. If this person wanted their idea broadcast to the nation, they are probably aware of faster, more widespread ways. (I judge this based on the fact that the person in question has the technical knowledge to blog, and obvious access to the internet.)
2.) It is unprofessional to attack bloggers. They are, by definition, the underdog, the little-person, the common man. Attacking bloggers is fruitless, and makes you look like a complete dork/jerk/asshat.
2.) When you are published in a book/magazine/newsletter, try to consider that you represent that work and the publication it is printed in. Think twice, no, think fifteen or sixteen times before you hit 'send'. And then don't hit it. It's safer not to respond until twitter picks up the problem, or you get a go-ahead from the publication, or your agent. The world might call you 'late to the game' but you'll have a fantastic chance to carefully compose your response to get the best possible reaction.
3.) When judged harshly, try defending your work instead of assaulting the critic. And don't throw your employers under the bus by saying it was their idea that you change your masterpiece. Don't admit that you felt a design detail that you included was unnecessary and unflattering. Explain either your reasons for the inclusion (i.e. 'The magazine felt my design needed something extra to make it pop', 'the editors felt that my design as originally submitted lacked the sense of whimsy they were going for, and nothing is more whimsical than a ruffle', etc.) or direct naysayers to the appropriate venue so their ideas will reach the publication responsible for their ire.
4.) Always refrain from personal attacks directed at someone you've never met. This includes phrases like "Doughball." Try also not to judge someone's worth based on their influence in the 'knitting world'. Are you saying that unpublished knitters have no worth? That's not good for your audience. As knitters, they are helping to carry this craft forward into the future. Saying that only publication of your designs vindicates your interest in the craft is not only untrue, but also not helpful to your future career.
Also, know that because you were a douchebag, I am considering sending a complaint of your conduct to your recent employers, and will definitely not purchase anything you are involved in ever again. And I'm telling all my friends. They may be few, but they have other friends, and they have other friends, and so on. So at the end, all 12 of us (or more) will have been influenced more by your negative and overblown response than we would have been by the original blog.
***Obviously these rules only apply to those who wish to appear professional and collected. If you want to flame peta, or go nuts about teen sexting, be my guest, but if you get published, try to keep what good reputation you gained by the process.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Simple Pleasures

Incidentally, viewing 13 episodes really gives you a fantastic chunk of time where your hands are unoccupied, freeing up that 13MBs of brain-space to open a new window and let you knit while you watch tv! I finished my socks this way, and am now trudging through several more inches of Husband's scarf. Really need to get paid, though, so I can order the SBJ pattern and have that at hand. Imagine! The garter stitch! Oh the simplicity!
Also! I recently picked up a new novel while visiting our local comic store (Comic Interlude . Highly recommended for that authentic geek feel, with towering piles of anime/comic related merchandise stacked so deep that they qualify as sub-par building materials and literally define the store's layout, and aisles so full of comic happiness that you have to walk single file around the the center pile o' swag, as if paying a strange homage to the ink-stained gods of stories past.) and have rediscovered the soul-glowing wonder that is: Reading a book you've never read before.
True to form, the novel I currently am savoring is Hellboy: Fire Wolves, and it's pretty awesome. Of course, Hellboy is usually awesome, and when writers are so taken with Mike Mignola's characters and world that they themselves are deemed worthy of contributing....well, it helps a lot. My only fear is that Poor Mr. Lebbon will find himself succumbing to that ever-present societal undercurrent of underdog vs. world stories, and give Hellboy a romantic interlude with the damsel in distress. I hate that.
Also! I recently picked up a new novel while visiting our local comic store (Comic Interlude . Highly recommended for that authentic geek feel, with towering piles of anime/comic related merchandise stacked so deep that they qualify as sub-par building materials and literally define the store's layout, and aisles so full of comic happiness that you have to walk single file around the the center pile o' swag, as if paying a strange homage to the ink-stained gods of stories past.) and have rediscovered the soul-glowing wonder that is: Reading a book you've never read before.
True to form, the novel I currently am savoring is Hellboy: Fire Wolves, and it's pretty awesome. Of course, Hellboy is usually awesome, and when writers are so taken with Mike Mignola's characters and world that they themselves are deemed worthy of contributing....well, it helps a lot. My only fear is that Poor Mr. Lebbon will find himself succumbing to that ever-present societal undercurrent of underdog vs. world stories, and give Hellboy a romantic interlude with the damsel in distress. I hate that.
(And let me take a moment to eyeball you in an intimidating manner, Del Toro. You have stained the world I love, and will never be forgiven. Also, WTF with Pan's Labyrinth? You need mental help, and I almost hope you never get it, so your twisted visions will drag you into a strange new level of torment from which there is no escape. I mean, yes, Mignola is teh awesum, but you're like the cruel bigger kid that, recognizing within your primitive perception a kind of beauty you can't achieve on your own, gloms onto the artistic child and drags them into your rounds, having them kick the victims after you've pushed them into the mud and stolen their ice-cream money. Then you twist your features into that manic smile, declare "We're so the best of friends!" in that screeching howl you use when you are happy and, using one crooked paw to steer/drag your accomlice with you, you begin plotting your next assault. We all see it, and we hope to whatever powers that be that the artistic one escapes your 'friendship' before their talent turns ugly-by-association.)
Hellboy is undeniably cool, but I find I can't accept the possibility of him having 'flings'. By his very nature and origin, he a lonely and long-haul type of guy (however long or short that 'haul' may be), so I find the possibility of throwing a random damsel into the mix mildly disgusting. Also, Del Toro, Hellboy practically raised Liz, in a definite big-brother fashion. Again, you need to seek psychiatric care.
Hellboy is undeniably cool, but I find I can't accept the possibility of him having 'flings'. By his very nature and origin, he a lonely and long-haul type of guy (however long or short that 'haul' may be), so I find the possibility of throwing a random damsel into the mix mildly disgusting. Also, Del Toro, Hellboy practically raised Liz, in a definite big-brother fashion. Again, you need to seek psychiatric care.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Because I do not yet control space-time
Do you know that I have funny stories about my work, but I feel I can't share them with you?
I would love to go into great detail about these, but I fear this outlet is not anonymous enough to protect the sensitive eyes of possible clients.
I will give you the short version:
I work in advertising, assisting the completion of up to 5 publications at a time. One of these is weekly, and printed a full 4 days prior to the date printed on the cover. Our deadlines for each issue fall in the previous week, to ensure that we have enough time to organize a layout, arrange for any ad changes, and to give us a small overnight cushion between printing and shipping.
On a day when my boss was absent, I recieved a call from an upset client, claiming a problem with the hot-off-the-presses issue. I whipped out my copy, bracing myself for a copy error that listed a wrong number, email, contact name, etcetera. Expecting something huge and evil that could seriously affect a client's business, right?
Wrong.
"Alright, I've got my copy open in front of me. What can I do for you?"
The client wants in this issue.
I am shocked. How can...? What? Surely not. Surely there is just a confusion of issue dates and they want in next week.
Wrong.
The client discussed the matter with my boss, and was assured they could be in the issue of their choosing.
Oh crap. This is bad. Did I miss a call? I am now frantically scrabbling through my desk. Looking for an overlooked post-it, or email, or blood trail with message scrawled in life-juice.
Customer is becoming upset. This issue should include their ad. What can I do about this? (They are becoming upset, probably, at my quiet freak-out, instead of smooth explanations. I've worked on that since then.)
I am still kicking files apart, for all the world like an addict seeking out that final "in case" hit. People could be getting shot and I would be shaking the computer in an attempt to jostle some information on this client into functionality. What to do? Should I offer a reconciliatory free ad? Do I have that authority? Was it even our fault? Wait....wait a second.
"When did you discuss this with my boss?"
Last month, it seems. And again, a week or so ago. Did they tell anyone they wanted the ad then?
No. The decision had not been made at the time. It was made this morning.
Oh. Relief, like a sweet breath of air in space. Now I simply have to find a way to gently explain our processes to this person.
"I am terribly sorry, but as I told you, I am looking at the finished issue now."
Yes, they are aware. They'd like to be in this issue. Still perturbed, but very professional and direct.
"Um...my apologies, but the issue is printed, and being distributed. I can get you into the next issue without any problem."
Nope, that would require a new decision. Can we simply not slide them in? (Now, I am grateful that this person is still trying cajoling tactics. Sometimes people are angry when they have ad-emergencies.)
I am sorry, but it is not physically possible to go back, put your request in, and then print all the current issues to include your placement. Why, you ask?
See title.
This is seriously like calling your old high-school and telling them that you secretly wanted to be in cheerleading, so can they arrange that? You'd like your photos taken in high-school and distributed in your senior yearbook.
I would love to go into great detail about these, but I fear this outlet is not anonymous enough to protect the sensitive eyes of possible clients.
I will give you the short version:
I work in advertising, assisting the completion of up to 5 publications at a time. One of these is weekly, and printed a full 4 days prior to the date printed on the cover. Our deadlines for each issue fall in the previous week, to ensure that we have enough time to organize a layout, arrange for any ad changes, and to give us a small overnight cushion between printing and shipping.
On a day when my boss was absent, I recieved a call from an upset client, claiming a problem with the hot-off-the-presses issue. I whipped out my copy, bracing myself for a copy error that listed a wrong number, email, contact name, etcetera. Expecting something huge and evil that could seriously affect a client's business, right?
Wrong.
"Alright, I've got my copy open in front of me. What can I do for you?"
The client wants in this issue.
I am shocked. How can...? What? Surely not. Surely there is just a confusion of issue dates and they want in next week.
Wrong.
The client discussed the matter with my boss, and was assured they could be in the issue of their choosing.
Oh crap. This is bad. Did I miss a call? I am now frantically scrabbling through my desk. Looking for an overlooked post-it, or email, or blood trail with message scrawled in life-juice.
Customer is becoming upset. This issue should include their ad. What can I do about this? (They are becoming upset, probably, at my quiet freak-out, instead of smooth explanations. I've worked on that since then.)
I am still kicking files apart, for all the world like an addict seeking out that final "in case" hit. People could be getting shot and I would be shaking the computer in an attempt to jostle some information on this client into functionality. What to do? Should I offer a reconciliatory free ad? Do I have that authority? Was it even our fault? Wait....wait a second.
"When did you discuss this with my boss?"
Last month, it seems. And again, a week or so ago. Did they tell anyone they wanted the ad then?
No. The decision had not been made at the time. It was made this morning.
Oh. Relief, like a sweet breath of air in space. Now I simply have to find a way to gently explain our processes to this person.
"I am terribly sorry, but as I told you, I am looking at the finished issue now."
Yes, they are aware. They'd like to be in this issue. Still perturbed, but very professional and direct.
"Um...my apologies, but the issue is printed, and being distributed. I can get you into the next issue without any problem."
Nope, that would require a new decision. Can we simply not slide them in? (Now, I am grateful that this person is still trying cajoling tactics. Sometimes people are angry when they have ad-emergencies.)
I am sorry, but it is not physically possible to go back, put your request in, and then print all the current issues to include your placement. Why, you ask?
See title.
This is seriously like calling your old high-school and telling them that you secretly wanted to be in cheerleading, so can they arrange that? You'd like your photos taken in high-school and distributed in your senior yearbook.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
"You can create any wondrous item whose prerequisites you meet. Enchanting a wondrous item takes one day for each 1,000 gp in its price. To enchant a wondrous item, you must spend 1/25 of the item's price in XP and use up raw materials costing half of this price."
In translation, making a wondrous item requires not only raw materials and special skills, but a healthy chunk of your own personal experience/existence.
In translation, making a wondrous item requires not only raw materials and special skills, but a healthy chunk of your own personal experience/existence.