Lingering Madness

Oh dearest internet, how I have missed you. I promise to never, ever, ever let my mean computer separate us again!

So, long, dramatic story short-hard drive failed. Lost everything on my PC. All my bookmarks, icons, a considerable amount of music and ALL MY STAR TREK LINKS!!! I am not happy. I am, however, pleased that it was merely the HD. I've replaced it, reinstalled XP and am now in the process of reinstalling all my programs. What a freaking hassle. I really hope I can find the disks with my copies of Sony Vegas and Photoshop Elements. Oh, they would be such a loss.

Speaking of Sony Vegas, I highly doubt that my Halloween vid will be completed anytime soon. I'm in recovery mode and probably will not have any energy to spare for creativity. *le sigh*

I really need to get to bed. Well, I should. I most likely will not until I can actually find my copy of Vegas. However, I've had to rewrite half this post because I'm leaving out words or starting out saying one thing and finishing with another train of thought. NO COHERENCY! BAH!

Just found this gem on Yahoo!news. A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long. Full article here.

Just to be sure, what year is it?

Dear Spam mail,

Please stop offering to enlarge my penis.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Vagina Owner

I stumbled upon a prolific vid thief claiming stolen videos on Youtube. 

The list so far:

Jessie: Feel Good Drag, Animal I've Become, Over, The River

bradcpu: Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Living Dead Girl, Man or Animal

obsessive24: Promises, Blindfold

Wicked Amp: Slot A

Slayernator: Earshot

Vinnie: Let's get it started 

and these following vids that I couldn't figure out:

Duran Duran 'Wild Boys'

'Hotel of Horror' episodic vid with Fred/Wesley

'Satisfaction Megamix' that is watermarked with a K in the lower right corner.

I've also discovered that this thief has already been contacted by Jessie and has not made any move to take down the stolen vids. So, now I am activating the Bitch Tree. I tag everyone who reads this to annoy the asshat until the video's come down. I'm gathering my tar and heading out now.  


*EDIT* It worked. All stolen vids have been removed. Never underestimate the power of the Bitch Tree. =)

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This is an email I got from a friend today. A friend who knows I hate this kind of arrogant bullshit! Christian fanactics have a lot in common with Muslim Extremists. They are all arrogant assholes.

***I really kept my calm in my response when I really wanted to be a raging bitch and really call her out. I am really just sick of the arrogance. Christianity is the only self-promoting religious. All of the Jesus recruiters can kiss my ass. I don't knock on your door and spew my beliefs into your face. I have never once spammed my friends with Wiccan information or propaganda. The most is a simple 'Blessed Be' within a holiday card. Seriously, have a little respect.

First I want to acknowledge that many of my posts tend to be bitch-fests of late, and I apologize. When I'm tired I can't summon the energy to post happy thoughts. When I'm tired and pissed off, I have all the energy in the world. I will try to spread more sunshine throughout my posts. Not in this post, but maybe in my next.

The topic again is clip theft. The details are long so they're behind a cut ...

( here. )

Also, there are a two websites dealing with clip theft that I would like to mention. 

Video Elite-Fade to black ~Their mission statement: "We are the vidding community and we are tired of having our hard-earned video clips ripped off only to have the thieves claim ignorance. We want to have a place where all vidders, experienced and novice, can come to find information and tips on the video theft problem as well as a place to educate the new vidder with information and resources so they won't feel the need to just "take" from others."

Anti-Clip Theft Union~ Statement from site: "I for one, am sick of having beautifully edited music videos dissected and having their clips used for other videos with out the original vidders permission. Though vidders do not own the clips in their videos, nor should they claim to, the result of their editing skills created their own mini tribute to the rightful owners of the contents work."

So, I've had another exciting day so let me tell you all about it. 

*Warning: I am about to describe a horribly, detailed dental description. Pass this by if you can't gloat over my pain. For all others-Enjoy!*

So I woke up to a nice surprise yesterday when I discovered that I didn't have any water. *Frozen pipes!*

Well, this was fixed in relatively short order. But I still missed a day of work over this and had an okay day. 

Well, today I awake to a waterfall in my basement (which is now flooded). So, it is 10:13 in the morning, and I am off work again with a plumber and my landlord crawling through my basement trying to fix a shattered pipe. And I have to miss another exciting day of work.

Oh, the fun I'm having.

There is a situation on one of the forums I visit and I thought I would open a discussion about it here. 

It's been brought to my attention that certain vidders post their work begging and pleading for feedback. This is done by yelling in all caps or with the addition of guilt, such as, 'I have no feedback, I guess you don't like me so I'm leaving'. This last tactic, of course, results in a varied amount of 'Oh no, I was busy, here's my feedback or so sorry, I love your vids, don't go' blah blah blah. I've only seen this from newbies so far and I've got to say, they've got us wrapped around their little fingers. 

Well, I'm cutting the cord!

I admit, I usually don't leave fb if I don't like the vid. Even if there is something I do like, but the majority sucked in my opinion, I remain silent. I feel that to speak out about what I didn't like will have me being slammed as someone who flames and as mean. Well, I don't and I'm not! 

When did honest fb become extinct? When did we start walking on eggshells around tender newbies? 

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that we should insult, ridicule or belittle fledgling vidders. But I am saying that we should not respond with *love* *squeals* or *jaw-dropping envy* when the video is crap just to keep someone's feelings from being hurt. 

We post our videos in forums and on lj's to recieve FB from those who have more experience. To learn whether or not we did well or if we need to work on something more. It's a learning experience. There are vidders that I love and who always amaze me with their skill, but I do not always like their vids. We hit the mark with one vid and with our next we miss big. It's never constant, it's never always wonderful. Perfection is never the goal. Improvement is. If we can learn from FB and criticism then we can improve. It will be visible from our first video to our last. If you can see no difference in style or technique from your first and last video's then you haven't learned a thing.

I don't know what else to say on this topic, so I open the floor. I would love to hear what you all have to say on this subject. Whether you agree or not, your opinion matters and I would be glad to hear it.

Three reboots and one very long conversation with a Dell technician later. . . And I Still Can't Play A Damn DVD!!!! 

F*ing DRM A$$holes! 

*headdesk*

Just kill me now. Please. Do it. DO IT!!!

Off to sleep now with visions of operating disks floating in my head. (they're taunting me)

*Update*

Installed *this* codec package and my dvd's are now playing. *dances with joy*

So, I've had a very frustrating two days. Let me tell you all quickly about it. I updated my 'Windows Media Player 10' to the new 'WMP11'. It's sleek and sharp and sexy. Yeah, it sucked me in with it's shine. However, last night I put in a dvd to convert and it wouldn't play. Not just in WMP,  but Sonic, Real Player and MediaCenter all refused to play the disc stating *problem with digital copyright protection*. I head over to Windows update and their solution is to pay for a decoder that I already have. 

NFW!!!

I nose around the net a bit and discover this little rant and the proverbial lightbulb explodes above my head. So, I do a system restore and nothing. I do another. Zip. I delete WMP from my pc and still nothing!!!! I do believe this is a violation of so many of my rights.  This makes me fume with indignation. Where the hell does MS get off telling me *like an errant child* that I cannot play my purchased content on my pc? 

I really just want to spread the word and warn everyone about the upgrade to 'WMP11' and to say 'Don't Do It'!!! I will now have to reboot my 3 month old pc to try and retrieve my rights.

So, I've got a real rant prepared for this evening's edition of WTF?

I've had an interesting week and a half and have taken the time to contemplate the events that occurred and am now ready to share in a semi-calm fashion, that which has irritated, frustrated and pissed me off to no end. So, strap in and prepare for one hell of a bitch-fest!

First, let me say that I will be naming names and making accusations and will be making sweeping generalizations. And I won't be apologizing for any of it! 

( If you want to hear all about it, then clickity-click. )