No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on November 13, 2014

Recently an Internet denizen who has been making some people’s lives a living hëll was revealed to be an up and coming author with lots of promise. They were up for an award when this all went down. There have been explanations and excuses as to their behavior. There have been cries for understanding and don’t do to them what they so gleefully did to others because it is mean.

It was bad behavior on their part and that doesn’t just get a pass.

In another groups of fandom there is an individual who’s narcissism has caused long-term health detriment for a whole bunch of people. They have supposedly apologized for past behavior and promise not to do it again and then do the exact same behaviors in another fandom. They have been using their mental health as their excuse for their bad behavior.

Mental illness is not an excuse. It might be an explanation for the bad behavior and once the individual has acknowledged that they have an illness that is exacerbated by certain activities, shouldn’t they avoid those rather than changing names when they change fandoms?

Then there are the ‘fans’, and I use the term loosely, who go onto social media and do nothing but whine and complain about the thing that they supposedly love so much. This seriously crosses the line when they start harassing the people who create the thing that they love. When other people working on the project have to say on their twitter feeds that people should stop being so mean to others, you know there is some serious bad behavior going on.

I honestly don’t care about your race, creed, religion, sexuality, or health issues when it comes to bad behavior. Bad behavior cannot be excused.

I don’t like it when people attack Peter. This is a direct attack on him not on the things he has written. Don’t like what he wrote? OK. Don’t like what he wrote and decides that you are going to make his life miserable? Not cool. Plus it really doesn’t upset Peter but it does me. They don’t know the man the way I do and I can accept that. Honestly if one can’t say it to his face, then don’t say it. Rather simple if you ask me.

That bad behavior can hide behind the mask of the Internet is disturbing to me. And even more disturbing is that this is now considered the norm for things.

So let’s not reward bad behavior. Let’s not let excuses for the behavior give a free pass to continue that bad behavior. We teach our children good behavior from bad behavior why can’t we hold ourselves to the same standards.

Let’s try to make sure that good behavior becomes the norm.

I am grateful for everyone on the Internet who does work at being a good citizen of the web.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 12, 2014

In the kerfuffle of Peter getting home, I didn’t have my morning coffee yesterday morning so by the afternoon I felt very off.

I chalked it up to Caroline being home for Veteran’s Day (And Thank YOU to all the Veterans who read my blog. Know that you are appreciated year ‘round not just on one specific day), Peter getting home after an adventure of flight and not the good kind since he spent over 12 hours in the airport trying to get home, and the fact that both cars are in the shop so if we go somewhere, we legged it.

The van won’t start for reasons surpassing understanding. We just had to have the line from the gas tank to the engine replaced because it was spilling gas. So I got it home from the shop but nothing since. The truck’s parking break sort of broke and the engine developed a scary rubbing metal on metal sound. This was last Thursday and we might get the truck back today if we are lucky.

The positive is that we are within walking distance of the village so Caroline has been able to attend her flute lessons. We can get to the library. I can get basic staples like bread, milk, and eggs. So this situation is not dire or critical more annoying than anything else.

This morning I awoke to a glorious headache that didn’t make any sense until I opened up the coffee pot to see that I had made coffee but forgot to drink coffee.

I am now working on rectifying the situation.

Peter is home and the house feels more balanced, for lack of a better word, than it has since he left. Inky came over to him for pets last night which is the first time she has done that. She is pretty much a domesticated cat at this point. Still a big ol’ scaredy cat that runs at her own shadow but she is getting better about that too.

I did enjoy the 200th episode of Supernatural probably more than I should. The artist vision line just got me giggling and I don’t think I stopped for most of the episode. I think the writers did just about the right amount of meta in the whole thing. And the ending was just perfect. Peter said he would have been interested to watch that episode with a bunch of fans just to hear the reaction. Please keep it spoiler free in comments since not everyone has seen it yet.

It’s very foggy this morning. I can see across the street but not down the block.

Sherlock Holmes is in the public domain except for 10 stories published after 1923. I hadn’t realized that the Doyle estate’s argument consisted of the idea that the characters were not fully formed until all the stories were published and therefor the characters were not in public domain until the last story slips out of copyright which would be 2023 I believe. And I think three stories will enter the public domain as of the end of this year. However that does not mean that the BBC Sherlock is in public domain nor are the characters from Elementary.

Today I declare as laundry day and putting things away day. I think I’ll start with the laundry.

I am grateful for people who can simplify legal language so a layman can understand what is going on.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 11, 2014

Side note: I haven’t had this computer in two weeks and I totally forgot how to operate it having used my iBook those two weeks.

Halloween is done so it is now onto the next thing on the list.

I have four I would like to get done by the end of the year. One commissioned piece and three special projects.

I am also teaching Caroline doll making the way that Wendy Froud taught me. She is having fun with it.

I am also thinking of making my Dragon Con list now and working on it over the year rather than just the summer.

Of course I have thought all these things before but haven’t brought as much to fruition as I would like.

So I am going to start to keep a log of what I want to do and how much of it is done.

I also want to go into the city and see if I can find a match for a fabric I want for a certain puppet.

And I need to find doll wigs that will fit the puppets I want to make.

I need to find a good 24mm eye supplier with some variations in color esp. the blues. I could paint my own if I knew a good supply of the blanks.

I need to play with some new materials that are opening possibilities for new puppets.

I need to do some research on a couple of things related to the puppets I want to build.

I need to figure out what I am doing at Puppet Slam next year. Might be another Doctor Who sketch or it might be this wacky idea that hasn’t quite come clear yet but it is getting there.

I need to teach Caroline how to sew. She has a million ideas for what she wants to do. She just needs the basic skills to get started.

Then there are all the sewing projects in my head.

Too many ideas and not enough time. Not a bad place to be.

I am so very grateful that Peter finally made it home.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 10, 2014

Being the last episode of the first season of Capaldi’s Doctor long may he reign.

I really have a lot of mixed feeling about this one.

Acting was top notch. The nods to Classic Doctor Who hit the right notes. The end is still making me think.

But it didn’t hit it out of the park. Maybe a double if I squint. And I honestly can’t tell you why this episode sits like a bad piece of potato in my gut.

Most of what I want to talk about is in the spoiler zone so it will be behind the cut. (more…)

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 9, 2014

If you asked either Karen or me where we met, I think we would have been hard pressed to tell you. It was at some convention at some point in our lives. We were part of some group and ended up talking and ended up becoming friends.

She was one of my convention buddies that I saw occasionally outside the convention circuit. We shared a lot of fandoms together.

Karen was one of those special people who always had a smile on her face and a song in her heart. Even if you were not feeling at your best, you would find yourself smiling after talking to her. Joyous is the one word I would use to describe her.

We would occasionally check in on each other. We comments on things on each other’s social media. I think we both figured we would have time to catch up at the next convention or whatever, so we didn’t keep as close in touch as we might have and I regret that.

She passed away in her sleep is really all we know.

She will be missed by many and there will be a Karen sized hole at conventions now.

My sympathies to her family and friends.

I am grateful that Karen was my friend.

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