| Christmas shopping |
[Nov. 23rd, 2009|06:24 pm] |
My nephew's first Christmas is coming up next month, and I want to get him something terrific as a gift. (I'd also like to get my sister something that might make her life easier. Maybe I should move in and do her housework for her. Or would that make her life more difficult?)
Anyway, so I lost five minutes on-line, clicking around, wondering what to get. (I'll probably just end up asking my sister for gift ideas, but you never know, I could come up with a terrific idea on my own. It's possible.) And I stumbled across Christmas gift baskets for dogs.
The storm puppy totally needs Christmas presents.
Speaking of holidays, Thanksgiving is this week. You know how you should spend it? WATCHING NINJA ASSASSIN!
Edited to add: I'd so like to give something like this.
Edited again for: Wait, or not. Their book baskets are "custom-made" but they select the books for you. I can run to the bookstore, choose the books I want, and just do it myself. Oh, duh. Hmm... |
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| Day of Remembrance |
[Nov. 21st, 2009|12:59 pm] |
The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder — like most anti-transgender murder cases — has yet to be solved.
This year, we remember Yasmin, Roberta Gavou, Noelia, Taysia Elzy, Michael Hunt, Kátia Otacílio Vilela, Mhtium Abululak, Alexa Rojas Castro, Cynthia Nicole, Marcela Cairo Souza, Aline Da Silva Ribeira, Caprice Curry, Rovilson Teixeira, Minja Kochis, “Víctor Manuel” Albor Camacho, “Juan Carlos” Guillén Bautista, Dayana Nicole Castillo García, Cita Solorzano, Camila Hernández Nieto, Daisy, Noor Azlan Khamis, Will Teixeira da Silva, „Ailton“ Correa Maia, Cristy, Puttalakshmi, Camila Pereira, Cris Francisco das Neves, Vicky Londoño Chavarría, Pequeña P, Miriam Nunes Lucas, Guimarães de Lima, „Wanderson Wanderley“ Teixeira da Rocha, Kirsi Ubrí, „Julio“ Avila Albarracín, Ebru Soykan (also referred to as Dilan Pirinc), Adriana Sánchez López, Virgen Castro Carrillo, Eda Yildirm, Sasha Estefania, Smail L., Ramya, Gisela “Roni” Galante, Melek K, Jimmy McCollough, Carneiro de Sousa, Jeva Padilla, Ramon Martinez, Juliana Martins, dos Santos, Fernanda Botelho, Jenifer, Diksy Jones, Tigresa de Souza Reis, Xiomaran Duras, Cagla, Foxy Ivy, Dara, “Pedro” Sánchez Pérez, Ketlin, Papucha, “La Luli”, Kelly (Frederick) Watson, Tanya Ardón, Catherine, Carla Regina Bento, Rafaele, Anita Fajardo Ríos, Luana, “Enrique Jhosvani” Guevara, Kamilla, Hadise, Vicki Hernández Castillo (Jonny Emelson Hernández), Valeria, Christopher Jermaine Scott, Violeta Vergara Conde, Terri Benally, Cesar Torres, “Judecir” Marinho de Oliveira, Fernanda Cerqueira da Silva, “Jesús Gerardo” Ávalos, Bianca, Beyonce (Eric) Lee, “Kleberson Allan” dos Anjos Santos, “Héctor Emilio” Maradiaga Snaider, La George (“Jorge” Eliecer Burbano), Kanan al Muthia, Tyli’a Mack, Paulina Ibarra, Carol de Souza, Samara da Silva, Kristina Muça, Fernanda Miranda Mata (“Jorge Samuel”), Sayda Reynieri (“Carlos” Reinieris Salomé), “Rusbel Antonio” Torres Jesús, Linsia C.C., Monserrat (”Elder Noe”) Maradiaga, Carolina (”Edwards José”) González, „Rômulo Emílio“ de Freitas, Andrea Waddell, „Tamires“ de Tal, Vimlesh, Meena, Kimberly (”Marco Andrés”) Medina Andrade, Katherine Noriega, Jessica Andreina, Destiny Lauren, Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, and all of those victims who haven't been identified, whose names we don't yet know. |
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| ITL |
[Nov. 21st, 2009|12:19 am] |
I tried to write something interesting here, I really did. But then I started passing out.
Gotta get more sleep.
Anyway, please enjoy ITL. |
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| "In This Land" |
[Nov. 14th, 2009|12:27 am] |
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Am I reading this correctly? I think the plot is taking a week off for a sex break. |
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| Update |
[Nov. 10th, 2009|06:25 pm] |
Okay, matthewhaldemantime.com should be back up soon.
Sorry about that.
I appreciate y'all's concern! It's great to know that you care, honestly. If my site went down and I were the only one who noticed, that would be even worse. |
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| Feedback |
[Nov. 7th, 2009|01:23 pm] |
I got a lot of great feedback all at once. I keep reading your messages and thinking, "Wow, what a terrific thing to say to someone!" You guys are great and I really appreciate your support.
Mandy said something that elicited a longer response, so I'm posting it here, in case anyone else is interested.
I think part of the reason I love reading your stuff is your absolute optimism about life in general. I suppose it's possible that you don't really feel that way in your own life, but I find it hard to believe that you write it with so much passion and don't actually feel it. Thank you for expressing it and putting into words things I would like to express.
I thank you heartily.
In my regular daily life, I try to be a positive person, to speak positively, etc. So there's that. But I also make a deliberate attempt to keep my writing positive, for a few sometimes overlapping reasons:
1. I, personally, enjoy happy endings.
2. Particularly when I was writing about real people, it bothered me to write about actual people suffering for my entertainment and readers' consumption. (Okay, so I love "Sucker" anyway. I have problems.)
3. I'm writing fiction, so why not make things pleasant? Why not write a good time? If I get to paint my own portrait of the world, I want it to be an uplifting one.
4. Fiction is an escape. It's better to escape to a happy place than a grim one.
5. Readers tell me that they take away messages from my work. I'd rather leave them with a positive one than a negative one.
6. Readers turn to my work for comfort, for an escape, for a break from their sometimes painful lives. I want to offer them a positive place to turn to.
7. A lot of people re-read. I'd rather people repeatedly encounter a good time than a bad one.
8. I'm putting my words out into the world. I'd rather contribute something positive than something negative.
Basically (if you'll forgive me for taking this seriously for a minute) I think that it's the socially responsible thing to do.
I've been writing for all of my life. Hour after hour after hour, day after day after day. I find it healthier for me personally if I spend that time enjoying life, celebrating love, etc. And I'm no longer writing in a vacuum, no longer writing for my eyes only. Now that I have consumers, readers, what I write affects other people. I'd rather have a positive effect than a negative one. I'd rather elicit smiles and laughter than memories of pain.
Which brings us to the rest of Mandy's comment:
I am not a writer, so I look to others to explain how I feel adequately; you are always at the top of my list. At the end of Living there is a comment about the joy some people get from just living (please forgive me if it is misquoted, but that is the gist of it) and I try to remember that when things aren't going my way. It helps me to remember and count my blessings.
Comments like that one (and thank you for the amazing compliment) are exactly what I'm talking about. Everything that we encounter in life is something that we risk ingesting/digesting. Sure, you might read my work and let it slide right off of your brain and forget all about it by tomorrow. But there's always the chance that it'll stick with you. And if it does? I consider it my responsibility to try to make a positive impact. |
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| ITL |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|07:44 pm] |
ITL: discuss!
Also, just a reminder for those of you who missed it, there's a new ITL short story up called "The Bridge." I don't know what compels me to do these things; I just do them.
Gotta run! Have a good weekend! |
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| ! |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|04:55 pm] |
Brian just tweeted:
Matt where r u?
I'M RIGHT HERE! RIGHT HERE! HERE! HERE! I'M RIGHT HERE! |
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| ITL |
[Oct. 31st, 2009|01:42 am] |
And now it's time for an ITL open thread!
You start. I have to go find something to eat. |
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| Celebrities get PAID! Or not. |
[Oct. 30th, 2009|08:41 pm] |
There's a South Korean idol group named DBSK, also known as TVXQ.
After debuting in December of 2003, DBSK conquered South Korea for a while, then moved on to Japan:
From Wikipedia:
-fifth non-Japanese Asian artist and the first male foreign group to have a number-one single on the chart
-set a new record, becoming the first foreign artist to have three singles debut atop the chart
-extended their record, making them the first foreign artist to have six number-one singles on the Oricon
Anything else interesting about DBSK?
Again from Wikipedia:
-In 2008, TVXQ made it in the Guinness World Records for having the world's largest official fan club.
-Cassiopeia, the band's official fan club, claimed of having more than 800,000 official members just in Korea.
-the group was also listed in the world record book as the most photographed celebrity in the world.
Most photographed celebrity in the world! Wow, they sound really popular!
Not with their own company.
1. TVXQ has received $0 from their album sales till July 2008, and a very small amount after.
Before the fifth modification that the company made with their contract, it stated that the profit from albums and singles with sales less than 500,000 copies would go 100% to SM Entertainment, which left the members with nothing. There has been no Korean album that have exceeded 500,000 album sales between the time of TVXQ's debut and their 4th album Mirotic, which was the first album in Korea to sell over 500,000 albums for a long time.
On July 1 2008, the company changed the contract so each member would get 1% from album sales that exceeded 200,000 copies. For albums that are below that number, they are paid 0.6% to nothing. Through these terms, TVXQ has not earned a single cent since February 2009.
2. TVXQ has received $0 from sales of concert DVD's and albums with recordings from concerts.
The contract stated that the members are not entitled to get any profit from concert DVD's and "live" albums.
3. TVXQ received $0 from their appearances in TV programs.
In the contract, the members do not have a right to receive the shares made from appearances on television programs if they are featured in only one episode or if their appearance is temporary. SM has kept all the profit from TV shows where TVXQ were guests.
4. For other ways of getting profit, SM subtracts the total amount with all the expenses that the company has paid for them, including clothing, salary of company staff, stage preparation, rent, food expenses, and etc., which only leaves a fraction for the members of TVXQ.
As for all other sources of income, the contract says that the members do not get the full "net income", but only get a percentage of it. The contract states that the "net income" is the profit remaining after deducting their operating costs, which is the money that the company spends on them. The operating costs include expenses that are to be covered by the employer, such as salaries of the staff (manager, clothing coordinators, makeup artists, dance coordinators, back dancers, etc.), performance stages, living expenses which include water and electricity bills, travel expenses which include plane tickets, and meal expenses. The company might add something in addition to deduct more from the net income. |
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| ITL |
[Oct. 24th, 2009|03:27 am] |
This "In This Land" open thread is dedicated to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) pagansrock.
"In This Land." Comments? Questions? Dude, did we just see Hitari again? |
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| Hate Crimes Legislation Heads to President Obama’s Desk |
[Oct. 23rd, 2009|02:08 pm] |
Yesterday, from the Matthew Shepard Foundation:
Today, the United States Senate took an historic step toward ensuring justice for the victims of hate crimes targeted for violence due to their sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.
"Dennis and I are extremely proud of the Senate for once again passing this historic measure of protection for victims of these brutal crimes,” said Judy Shepard, president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation Board. “Knowing that the president will sign it, unlike his predecessor, has made all the hard work this year to pass it worthwhile. Hate crimes continue to affect far too many Americans who are simply trying to live their lives honestly, and they need to know that their government will protect them from violence, and provide appropriate justice for victims and their families."
By voting overwhelmingly to extend to these often-targeted Americans our nation’s decades-old bias crime legislation, senators sent the message that hate crimes will not go unpunished, and local governments and law enforcement agencies will not run out of financial resources to provide justice to these victims and their loved ones.
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act was attached earlier this year to the annual Defense Department spending bill, and Thursday’s 68-29 Senate vote to approve the final House-Senate compromise on the defense bill now sends this important law enforcement provision to President Obama, who has vowed to sign it.
Under the legislation, federal prosecutors could step in to try violent hate-crime cases if local authorities cannot or will not secure an appropriate conviction. It also opens up federal funding for law enforcement to handle the typically high cost of investigation and judicial proceedings in such cases, and would make grants available for training and prevention programs at the local level.
The act is named to honor Matthew Shepard as well as James Byrd, an African-American resident of Texas brutally dragged to death in 1998 in a notorious hate crime. Matthew’s parents Dennis and Judy Shepard have campaigned for the legislation’s passage for more than a decade since their son’s murder in Laramie, Wyoming, in 1998 in an anti-gay hate crime.
The Matthew Shepard Foundation applauds Congress and President Obama for their steady and successful efforts throughout 2009 to bring the legislation to this point. We eagerly anticipate its final enactment and wish to thank the countless organizations and individuals who have worked tirelessly for its passage. |
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| ITL |
[Oct. 16th, 2009|11:38 pm] |
ITL is up.
My sincere apologies to those of you waiting to hear back from me about the gift subscriptions. I'll get that sorted out tomorrow.
Just realized that next Friday is my birthday.
So. Xio Voe's tripping, but Orinakin's on it. |
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| Mmm... |
[Oct. 15th, 2009|07:27 pm] |
Dear Person or People Who Invented Cough Drops,
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Matthew |
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| Note to self |
[Oct. 14th, 2009|06:36 pm] |
Hey, Matthew!
Today's WEDNESDAY.
Not Thursday.
I repeat, today is Wednesday.
No, really.
You're welcome. |
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| Open thread |
[Oct. 10th, 2009|12:18 pm] |
"In This Land"
Bade and Orinakin
The Backstreet Boys: This Is Us
Halloween costumes
Which shade of purple (soft and pale, bright and bold, deep and plummy) you like best
Whether "plummy" is a word and whether or not it's okay to make up words
Anything else
Discuss! |
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| Yay |
[Oct. 7th, 2009|03:04 pm] |
Spent yesterday and today swigging DayQuil.
At work, threw up, was in a completely inopportune place, had to swallow it back down.
Birthday's this month, will not be able to take the day off in any way.
Actually have much larger problems than all of the above, but not free to discuss.
Just...would love a break. |
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| Right now |
[Oct. 5th, 2009|04:08 am] |
Backstreet Boys.
This Is Us.
Buy it. Buy it now. Now!
Buy it because it's awesome. Buy it for the Backstreet Boys. Buy it for my sake. Buy it because I'm asking you to. Buy it because we have to keep the dream alive, people! |
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| Hi |
[Oct. 3rd, 2009|07:49 pm] |
I've started (and left unfinished) about half-a-dozen LiveJournal and Twitter messages today. I keep deleting them for various reasons, but then I come back to start another one. Apparently, I want to say hi to y'all, and won't be satisfied until I've made contact.
So: HELLO!
How are you doing this weekend? |
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