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First Generic to Copaxone Approved
April 16, 2015 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Glatopa (glatiramer acetate injection) 20mg/mL, an A-rated generic equivalent to Teva's Copaxone 20mg/mL. Glatopa is manufactured by Sandoz. Copaxone and is a disease-modifying drug that is indicated to treat patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. Copaxone 20mg/mL is administered as a daily subcutaneous (SC) injection. Launch plans for Glatopa are uncertain at this time.
Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of a recalled product may be reported to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting Program either online, by regular mail or by fax.
- Complete and submit the report Online: www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm
- Regular Mail or Fax: Download form www.fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178
Actual drug patent expiration dates and a availability of new medications are subject to change due to patent litigation, settlement agreements, additional patents, exclusivities, and final FDA approval. Distribution and availability of new medications at pharmacies may not occur immediately following FDA approval. Patients are advised to speak with their healthcare professional or pharmacist regarding appropriateness as well as actual availability.
*This is provided for information only. The reference to any medication above does not mean the medication is covered by your plan.


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Mondays and Threadless go together so wonderfully! This is Episode #15 of Coty Loves Threadless and this week, Magic Mushrooms by Ian Summers takes the cake as my Threadless Pick of the Week! I absolutely love this tee and I think you guys should check it out!  If you haven't yet, be sure to check out and vote for my TypeTees slogan submissions – I'm submitting one every day until I get printed! Every vote counts so vote for a slogan and help me get printed.
Coty Loves Threadless #15 on YouTube. Also, I'll give you a hug if you subscribe to me on YouTube!
Magic Mushrooms by Ian Summers is my Threadless Pick of the Week!

subset: commoncrawl


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Obama's voting plan sounds familiar
President Barack Obama's announcement Tuesday that he plans to create a new commission on voting problems felt a little familiar.
That's because there's already an election panel — the Election Assistance Commission – that was created to address the massive voting problems in another presidential contest: the one between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000.
Story Continued Below
( PHOTOS: Scenes from Obama State of the Union 2013)
But Obama had good reason not to tap that commission, since it's had so many problems over the years that neither the White House nor Congress bother to fill its vacancies anymore. That's right – the Bush vs. Gore commission has no commissioners.
To highlight his idea, Obama told the story of Desiline Victor, the 102-year-old Miami woman who waited for three hours to cast her ballot and then had to return after she was sent home.
"When any Americans – no matter where they live or what their party – are denied that right simply because they can't wait for five, six, seven hours just to cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals," Obama said. "We can fix this, and we will. The American people demand it. And so does our democracy."
Obama says he'll appoint the two top election attorneys he could find – the lawyers for his re-election effort and the Mitt Romney campaign – to run the panel.
Already, there are signs of resistance to Obama's new commission. Candice Miller (R-Mich.), chairwoman of the Committee on House Administration, said in a statement that elections are "a state issue" and that "there is not a Washington one-size-fits-all solution that will solve Florida's, or any other state's, problems."
There has always been an element of state resistance to the Election Assistance Commission, too – New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner warned that "the nation is at risk of losing the states as laboratories of democracy." But that was just the beginning of the commission's troubles.
The Election Assistance Commission started with the same ideals about voting rights and democracy that Obama cited Tuesday night. It was created to address a different set of problems, mainly the equipment disasters and the lack of standards that contributed to the breakdowns in Florida. But the basic goal was the same: make sure every eligible voter gets to vote.


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The Southwest Cape Coral Neighborhood Association's August meeting will be held Wednesday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m., in the Oasis Charter Elementary School Cafeteria in a forum-style format.
The guest speakers will be the 2013 mayoral candidates for the city of Cape Coral.
The candidates will each be allowed six minutes to introduce themselves and discuss their perspectives regarding those issues important to the residents of our city.
There will be a question-and-answer period after the last candidate has spoken.
All questions must be submitted, in writing, prior to the start of the meeting on the "Next Meeting" page on our website, www.swccna.com or emailed to us.


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Fury at possible AIG lawsuit
Remember when AIG took a $182 billion bailout only to turn around and hand out seven-figure bonuses to the same guys who tanked their company?
Grab the pitchforks — it gets better.
Story Continued Below
Today the insurance organization considered whether to join a lawsuit against the U.S. government over the terms of the bailout — saying the deal that saved the company cheated shareholders.
( Also on POLITICO: AIG ad thanks taxpayers for bailout)
After a media backlash, the board decided against joining the suit, The Associated Press reports.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner — who faced calls for his firing over the AIG bailout — and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke were furious when AIG was considering the move, according to one Democratic lawyer. Other officials inside the agencies were angered by the news, too, sources in the department told POLITICO.
Neil Barofsky, former inspector general for the Wall Street bailout said AIG's possible lawsuit would have been a "giant middle finger to the taxpayer."
( PHOTOS: Who won, lost with fiscal cliff deal)
One of President Barack Obama's top aides agreed: "Definition of Chutzpah: AIG, saved by taxpayers, contemplating suit," David Axelrod tweeted.
Many Treasury and Fed insiders have long believed the terms of the AIG bailout — which only wrapped in recent weeks — were far too generous, not too punitive as the lawsuit is expected to contend.
( Also on POLITICO: Silver lining: Delay in hitting debt limit)
This week, the AIG board will consider whether to join a $25 billion lawsuit over whether the terms of the bailout were unfair to shareholders, who claim they were deprived of billions of dollars.
AIG began airing ads in recent weeks that say "thank you" to Americans for the rescue — a sentiment AIG's CEO Robert H. Benmosche assured is sincere in a statement the company released Tuesday night.
"AIG has paid back its debt to America with a profit, and we mean it when we say thank you to the American people," said Benmosche.
He went on to explain that the company has no choice but to consider suing the government. "At the same time, the board of directors has fiduciary and legal obligations to the company and its shareholders to consider the demand served on us and respond in a fair, appropriate, and timely manner. Tomorrow's board meeting is about listening to all of the parties involved and gaining a thorough understanding of the issues. We anticipate making a decision in the next several weeks."
The Treasury and the Fed haven't released official responses to the news of the potential lawsuit, first reported by The New York Times.
One former administration official, who worked on the AIG bailout, was in a state of disbelief.
"I can't imagine that they will actually do it. Because whatever recovery they might possibly gain would be totally swamped by the enormous hit to their reputation," the former official said. "What I don't understand is why they have not ruled it out already. They have had plenty of opportunity to do so."


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The challenges facing HTC Corp (宏達電) are greater than just reinvigorating its brand image.
Poised to start selling its new flagship model at the end of this month as it tries to regain a foothold in the competitive smartphone business, the Taiwanese company said on Monday that pre-orders for the new HTC One had already surpassed sales of all its previous models on the local market, including the popular HTC Butterfly.
However, analysts said a shortage of components used in the latest model has made investors concerned about HTC's sales outlook this quarter and its ability to cut deals with key component suppliers.
There are also worries that delayed shipments of the new product might expose it to more competition from Samsung Electronics Co's newest flagship model, the Galaxy S4, which was launched on Thursday last week in New York, they added.
"Internally and externally, HTC is faced with more threats, but they are challenges it expects to see and confront," Hua Nan Securities Co (華南永昌投顧) chairman David Chu (儲祥生) told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday. "The smartphone market is getting more competitive. Only those with lots of financial resources can play the game."
HTC has vowed to stage a comeback by adopting fresh business strategies and increasing its marketing resources this year, after posting record low net profits of NT$3.9 billion (US$131.07 million) and NT$1 billion in the third and fourth quarters of last year respectively.
Chu said the company's marketing costs of about US$46 million last year were substantially smaller than the US$14 billion spent by Samsung and the US$1 billion spent by Apple Inc. Chu referred to the spending as a "resource game between corporate groups."
Last week, the Taoyuan-based company confirmed that shipments of the new HTC One would be delayed in certain markets, following market speculation that the firm is facing shortages of voice coil motors and compact camera modules due to low yield rates.
"HTC needs to secure support from supply chain partners," Chu said.
According to International Data Corp's statistics, Samsung's shipments expanded 129.1 percent to 215.8 million units last year with a market share of 30.3 percent, while Apple's shipments grew 46.9 percent to 135.9 million units with a market share of 19.1 percent.
In comparison, HTC's shipments contracted 25.2 percent to 32.6 million units last year and the company held a market share of 4.6 percent.
To regain the market share lost to Samsung and Apple, Chu said that HTC needs to offer products with more functions and competitive price tags.
However, another analyst believes the number of flagship models is another issue for HTC.
"Samsung rolls out a new flagship product once a year, but HTC last year rolled out more than three products [the HTC One series, HTC 8X and 8S Windows phones and the HTC Butterfly series], which confused customers about which is the best one and therefore lowered their brand loyalty," Taipei-based Fubon Securities Co (富邦證券) analyst Arthur Liao (廖顯毅) said.
Liao said HTC's current problem is not Samsung, but itself.
"If HTC could improve its product yield rate and avoid delaying shipments this time, the new HTC One might change its fate," he said.
Challenges are also arising in emerging markets, where HTC is facing an increasing number of rivals in the low-end segment.


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With us, the one thing that industrial consumers can rely on is finding mobility solutions that make no compromises when it comes to productivity and safety. We offer low-maintenance and extremely durable castors and wheels that perceptibly help to increase the efficiency of your processes and boost health protection. This is because our products are synonymous with improved ergonomics. It makes no difference whether in production, metal processing, the field of facility management or as an end user in industry – we have the perfect solution for you.
Thanks to their extremely simple installation, our castors and wheels make an excellent choice. Quick mounting solutions speed up your processes. Swivel bearings with long-life grease and grease nipples ensure easy maintenance, while bolted wheel axles guarantee uncomplicated wheel replacement.
During our development process, we never lose sight of our users' health. Our castors and wheels permit back-friendly use thanks to good manoeuvrability and low swivel resistance. An ergonomic directional and central locking system as well as easy-to-reach brakes also help to make life easier for your employees. We also supply electric drive systems for effortless moving of heavy goods, which ensure a healthier work environment and increased productivity.
Talk to us - we are happy to advise you
Herrlinghausen 75
42929 Wermelskirchen
Phone: +49 2196 99-0
Fax: +49 2196 99-221
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Joseph Hall, who was 10 at the time of the shooting, was found criminally responsible for second-degree murder following a trial that centered on his grasp of right and wrong.
He could be sent to a juvenile facility until he is 23.
The boy's white supremacist father Jeffrey Hall, 32, was a regional director of the National Socialist Movement in California.
He was shot at point-blank range with a .357 Magnum while he was sleeping on a sofa at the family home in May 2011.
Defence lawyers admitted that the boy had shot his father but argued he should not be held criminally responsible.
He initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity but that plea was withdrawn.
The defence then urged Judge Jean Leonard, sitting without a jury in Riverside, 60 miles from Los Angeles, to convict Hall of a lesser offence of voluntary manslaughter.
A psychologist told the court the boy had been conditioned to violence by years of physical, emotional and probable sexual abuse.
The boy himself said in a videotaped interview with police that he did not think he would get in trouble for shooting his father.
He described seeing an episode of the TV drama "Criminal Minds" in which a child killed an abusive father and was not arrested.
Prosecutor Michael Soccio told the court Jeffrey Hall was a loving father despite his neo-Nazi ties.
He said Joseph Hall, who lived with four siblings, shot his father because he thought he was planning to divorce his stepmother, to whom he was close.
The boy's younger sister said he had plotted the shooting days in advance.
Prosecutors also said the boy had a history of violence that dated back to kindergarten when he stabbed a teacher with a pencil.


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I mentioned before that I am in the process of digitizing thousands of negatives, including old glass negatives taken by my Great-grandmother Margaret Godfrey Jarvis Overson. Today, in developing some of the negatives I had photographed, I found several showing different grandmothers. I thought I would share those photos going back to my Great-great-grandmothers.
Here they are:
This is my Great-grandmother Margaret Godfrey Jarvis Overson (b. 1878, d. 1968)
This is my Great-grandmother Francis Ann Thomas Christensen (b. 1864, d. 1950)
This is my Great-great-grandmother Margaret Jarvis (b. 1857, d. 1934). She is surrounded by her daughters, including my Great-grandmother Margaret Godfrey Jarvis Overson (b. 1878, d. 1968) on the right in the back standing.
This is my Great-great-grandmother Mary Kjerstine Christensen Oveson (b. 1846, d. 1922)
This is my Grandmother Eva Margaret Overson Tanner (b. 1897, d. 1932)
Sunday, October 28, 2012
The Overson Negative Project -- Grandmothers
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text: I would like to go to the National in Oregon this summer. My wife won't ride and I can go but would like to find someone to ride out with. I live in the Western NY area and could take two weeks to do the trip. A IBA on the way out would be nice. Mostly camping works for me. ( I'm frugal, cheap) 500-700 a day???? open to suggestions. 65 years old. Anyone looking for the same? Reply here or PM me.


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Through the combined efforts of our active members, NCCPAP allows small CPA firms and the sole practitioner to have a greater community impact and presence. We give back through our local chapters and at the national level. From the Girl Scouts to local food banks to offering college scholarships, NCCPAP is an organization that values community.
We are an accomplished group of CPA professionals who recognize our work is never finished.
The same reason NCCPAP became an organization forty years ago still exists today.
Small CPA firms help the government collect a significant source of its revenue. Our role in helping the country is invaluable, at times can seem daunting, yet through our experiences we've learned it's always better to work together. NCCPAP exists because of you and for you.
NCCPAP is about providing camaraderie, impacting policy, maintaining high ethical standards and ensuring our profession's best practices are always improving. We are an accomplished group of CPA professionals who recognize our work is never finished. We have many different practices and we have many years of experience, but as the National Conference of CPA Practitioners, we are one collective, powerful voice.
We've Been There... A CPA Practice Just Like Yours. We've grown, we've merged, we've sold and we've bought practices. We all remember the time when we were just starting out. One of our members has gone through the same changes you find yourself in the midst of right now.
We Are There... Facing Daily Challenges Like You. Tax law continues to grow more complicated and so do our clients' situations. At NCCPAP, we have clients who live in different states and even different countries. We have clients who need us everyday and those who call us once a year. We know what technology to use and effective methods for client retention. We are practitioners dedicated to being our best and helping our fellow CPAs do the same.
Please contact us to learn more about membership or to find a local chapter near you.
The same reason NCCPAP became an organization over 35 years ago still exists today. In 1979 a group of Certified Public Accountants saw the unique challenges they faced as practitioners of smaller firms and knew they needed an organized format through which they could help and be helped by professionals just like them. Since that time, our membership has grown, the reach in what we offer has expanded, but our core purpose has remained the same. We welcome you to join us: the national organization representing and supporting practicing CPAs.
Colleagues, Not Competitors. From camaraderie to resources to attending NCCPAP events, our members know the value of each other. Has your tax research ever given you an answer, but your intuition told you there might be a better one? NCCPAP members collectively serve over one million clients and businesses throughout the United States. Sometimes you're serving a client facing tax issues outside your resident state and advising on a situation you never faced before. When you need to reach outside of your local NCCPAP chapter to find an answer, our online, members-only community will bring you instantly in touch with CPAs who can help you, even if geographically you are miles away.
Our advocacy work focuses on issues at the state and federal level, which affect small CPA firms and the middle-income and small business clients we diligently serve. Whether we're on Capitol Hill or meeting IRS representatives, NCCPAP members not only provide valuable advice to government officials and representatives, but insights which are valued. In fact, because we represent CPA firms who are "on the ground," NCCPAP members are often invited to weigh-in at Senate Roundtable discussions and IRS liaison meetings.
Use our name to help your practice thrive; we don't mind. In fact, that's one of the reasons we exist. When you take an active role in NCCPAP, it communicates to your clients that you care about your profession and staying current on our ever-changing tax code and financial reporting requirements. NCCPAP is the format by which the press can reach out to the practicing CPA. Many publications, like Bloomberg BNA's Daily Tax Report and Accounting Today publish our leaders' opinions because of the credibility of NCCPAP and its members. Publications know tax law discussions occurring today will impact how small CPA firms handle their clients' concerns tomorrow.
We don't want to waste your time on meaningless CPE courses, because we don't want to waste ours. We know that time away from your practice needs to be spent wisely. Our volunteer leadership, comprised entirely of practicing CPAs in small firms, takes the time to plan up-to-date CPE courses. Conveniently offered through our local chapters, we work to anticipate and present subjects of immediate value to our members.


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Bratislava, Slovakia, April 23, 2014 - She finished the last three seasons with championship titles from three different countries and then she said "it is enough."" />
Hatinova wins 3 titles in a row from 3 different countries and says good-bye
Bratislava, Slovakia, April 23, 2014 - She finished the last three seasons with championship titles from three different countries and then she said "it is enough." Former Slovakian national team middle-blocker Lucia Hatinova was a key member of the team of Doprastav Bratislava which claimed its third title in Slovakia's Extraliga in history and the first one from her native country for Hatinova.
The last match against the archrivals from Slavia Ekonomicka Univerzita Bratislava was emotional for the player with 78 caps in Slovakian jersey.
"I have decided that this will be my last season. It was my plan to finish at the age of 30. We won the league, which was my first title in my home country, so I cannot be any happier," elated Hatinova stated.
Last season she won Germany's national title with Schweriner SC and the year before she triumphed as champion of Austria with SVS Post Schwechat. Since 2008 the 1.89-cm-tall middle blocker has been a regular participant in the European Cups reaching the playoffs of the 2013 CEV Volleyball Champions League with Schweriner. In her career, Lucia also won the national cup of Romania in 2010, the national cup of Germany in 2013 and the national cup of Slovakia in 2014.
Volleyball is from now only history for the player born in Bratislava. For now she has no plans to come back as a coach or manager, but "you never know," as Hatinova somewhat enigmatically adds.


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Big Score: Mission Athletecare Named The 2012 Sports Marketer Of The Year
By The Staff Of NYSportsJournalism.com
January 11, 2013: Based on voting by readers of NYSportsJournalism, Mission Athletecare has been named the Sports Marketer of the Year for 2012.
When it comes to sports and marketing, a lot of companies use a lot of athletes to endorse a lot of products.
But when it comes to using athletes in the research and development of those products — and also getting athletes to become partners in the company itself — New York-based Mission Athletecare plays on a special field of dreams.
Mission Athletecare has more than two dozen products in such areas as muscle care, foot care, anti-chafe, sunscreen and a new category they created, grip enhancement, all developed in conjunction with the athletes who not only inspired their creation and now use and endorse them, but also have a vested interest in the company itself. They are, as Mission Athletecare founder and president Josh Shaw calls them, "equity partners."
"The key for us is that it is always a team effort. There is not one person who we can say, 'That is the person who did it.' It really is a collective effort," said Josh Shaw, company founder and president. "And a big part of our success is the athlete/partners who work with us. Just look at what they did last year: Dwyane Wade won an NBA title; Serena Williams won the gold medal in the Summer Olympics, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open; Sergio Garcia won the Wyndham Championship on the PGA Tour and was on the European Team that won the Ryder Cup."
"We're honored to be considered among the best of the best in the sports industry." Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat said upon hearing that Mission Athletecare had been named Sports Marketer of the Year by the readers of NYSportsJournalism. "We're all-in at Mission Athletecare, and it's nice to be recognized for that. Shout out to my team in the corporate office at Mission: They're real champions in business and marketing."
"Love it! Look at who we were up against for this award — the Brooklyn Nets, U.S. Olympic Committee, Peyton Manning?!? You don't get higher profile than this group," said tennis champ Serena Williams regarding the other companies, leagues and people who were selected as being the best of 2012 by the staff and readers of NYSportsJournalism. "The fact we won this award says a lot about who we are, what we're doing in the market and the difference we're making in sports. I am very proud to be a co-founder and partner in Mission."
Mission Athletecare, founded in 2009, overcame potential setbacks due to the NBA lockout at the start of the 2011-12 season to make major inroads in its rookie season alliance with the league. As the official athletecare of the NBA, the company introduced Court Grip (applied to the bottoms of shoes to reduce slipping on the court) and Power Grip (used on the hands to reduce sweat and improve grip). The company also unveiled EnduraCool, a proprietary towel that provides instant and long-lasting cooling relief after being dipped in water.
Mission Athletecare also maximized official deals with Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Assn. to build its status as a pioneer, innovator and growth leader in the category of athlete care.
"Having league support enables us to reach a broader consumer base and gives us a great foundation when it comes to retail relationships, promotions, activation."
"Partnerships with the NBA, National Basketball Athletic Trainers Assn. and MLB have been phenomenal," said Shaw. "Getting a seal of approval from the leagues, getting their support, has been great in several dimensions. We have the athletes, which is huge for us in the area of authenticity. But having league support enables us to reach a broader consumer base and gives us a great foundation when it comes to retail relationships, promotions, activation.
"Consumers look at the league relationship we have with the NBA, with MLB and know that we have credence and authenticity," said Shaw.
It was a year of acclaim for Mission Atheltecare in many areas: The Wall Street Journal did a feature on the company's successful strategy of making athletes not just endorsers but also equity holders and active R&D participants. The Enduracool towel got national play on TV, magazines and news casts thanks to Serena Williams, Sergio Garcia, Dwight Howard and MMA icon Georges St-Pierre.
And Berlin Packaging, a full-service package designer and supplier, won the 2013 WorldStar Packaging Award for its work on the custom-designed Mission Athletecare Court Grip. Among the other winners for this year's prestigious award were Coca-Cola, Energizer, Samsung and Toshiba.
The company's roster of some 20 endorsers/equity partners come from across the spectrum of sports, also including Alonzo Mourning, Amanda Beard, Billy Jean King, Gretchen Bleiler, Brandon Jennings, Mia Hamm, Ryan Sheckler and David Wright.
"Our mission statement is very clear: We create solutions to problems that athletes face. If we continue that drum beat, maintain that focus and continue to raise the bar, we can continue to be named with the Under Armours, the Nikes," said Shaw. "We are a young business, but we can do more because we are more flexible, we are not as bureaucratic or politica. We have the ability to find innovations and solutions and bring them to market very quickly. We have the advantage of being one of the bigger players in the south of $100 million space with a platform of 20,000-plus retail locations and more than 20 elite athletes as partners/owners."
Mission Athletecare and its athletes also support The M Foundation, which honors high school athletes "who are exemplary role modes in their communities."
Products are available in such retailers as Dick's Sporting Goods, Modells, Sports Authority, Sport Chalet, Finish Line, Big 5 and Hibbett.
"If we continue that drumbeat, maintain that focus, and continue to raise the bar, we can continue to be named with the Under Armours, the Nikes."
"Here is a point that I am guilty of glossing over too quickly," said Shaw. "Creating a product for an elite athlete is one thing. Creating true solutions for athletes to use in the most rigorous of conditions is a whole other realm. It is not hard to say you have a solution for an athlete. There are lots of different solutions. But when you create a solution or solutions and the masses of athletes get it and understand it and use it, that is a hard model to create, but one that we have done and will continue to do."
Following a year that included the most watched Super Bowl in history, the Summer Olympics in London, the return of pro sports to Brooklyn and a lockout that cut the NHL season in half, NYSportsJournalism revisited all of the top sports business and marketing stories from 2012 and culled a list of ten companies, leagues, organizations and, in the case of Peyton Manning, a man who worked hard, played hard and set the standard for creativity, resilience and growth.
NYSportsJournalism, a network of Web destinations covering national sports marketing, business and advertising with an average of more than 50,000 visitors, also wants to congratulate the other nine companies, leagues and people who were named among the best of the year by the staff and readers:
Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, Century 21, Emirates Air Line, Major League Soccer, NBC Sports Group, Peyton Manning, Procter & Gamble, Under Armour, U.S. Olympic Committee.
Q&A: D-Wade, D-Howard, Serena Testify! Mission Athletecare Wins In Court Of Appeal
Back to Home Page


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Speaking of dated, two of Canada's six 'hottest clubs' half that long ago (including Canada's hottest) were in Edmonton, according to Billboard:
Funny, where's Vancouver?
(Since then, Billboard has confined the list to the U.S.)
Speaking of dated, two of Canada's six 'hottest clubs' half that long ago (including Canada's hottest) were in Edmonton, according to Billboard:
Funny, where's Vancouver?
(Since then, Billboard has confined the list to the U.S.)
Let's make Edmonton better.
"The only really positive thing one could say about Vancouver is, its not the rest of Canada." Oink (britishexpats.com)
^ Many of the clubs listed are casino anchors, if you weren't illiterate you'd know. Notably, neither of Edmonton's are.
And yes, it's old, as I already said "dated" and explained that Billboard has since confined their list to the U.S. (And it's only half as dated as noodle's completely unconfirmable anecdote from the Bill Smith era.)
But again, can't mighty Vancouver even get onto the list if it's that easy?
Let's make Edmonton better.
Oh, and you mean to say Vancouver can't even get onto a list with Boise ID?
Good point, expat. Good point.
Let's make Edmonton better.
So here are some more recent stats, which tell us basically what we already knew:
Like here among arenas we see 40 year old Rexall Place 3rd among Canadian arenas and 44 in the World for concert tickets, behind only Toronto and Montreal.
And here for clubs in 2015, Union Hall is ranked 11th in Canada, 179th in the World, while there is nothing from Vancouver even on the list.
And here for concert theatres, Edmonton's Jubilee is ranked 3rd in Canada and 58th in the World, while Vancouver's QE Theatre was 180th in the World with less than 25% the tickets sold (but at least it made the list, congrats Vanbandoned!)
What a brilliant scene in Vancouver! Double the population and humiliated in every category!
Let's make Edmonton better.
The Edmonton Event Centre wasn't a club & with Starlite they had a monopoly on their niches for a decade in a city of over a million people.
It's no surprise that given our dearth of decent venues in town the two that are most used will have high attendance & receipts vs Vancouver where there's more than two places to see a band with 500-5000 other people.
Also, hilarious that anyone would call the EEC a good live music venue. It's literally the worst place I've ever seen a band. The fact it was so successful is a dig on the scene in Edmonton. Nobody would have played there if they could have played literally anywhere else. Terrible, terrible, terrible.
Giving less of a damn than ever Can't laugh at the ignorant if you ignore them!
^ nice completely subjective counters.
Let's make Edmonton better.
Back to topic: here a horror story from the other hot market, Toronto. It is not that all millennials don't like owning home. It is that they can't put their feet on the first step of the ladder, even if they want to. Add to the details of the below story, the fact that many young adults these days have debt over-burden from student loans too, making it all but impossible to even think about house ownership.
Globe & Mail, 19-May-2016
Bidding war blues: 'Are you kidding me?'
It's time to be honest with millennials about their chances of owning a house in their city of choice.
You may be shut out of the market, even if you're hard-working and fortunate enough to have help from your parents. It's happening to Jessica Kushner, a 27-year-old who works as a subway train operator for the Toronto Transit Commission and lives at home. She wants to buy a house in the city with her fiancé, but hasn't been able to keep up with rising prices: ....
Ms. Kushner is new in her job and on a track that will see her earnings rise steadily over the next two years or so. She estimates she'll be earning at an annual rate of $60,000 to $70,000 by the end of this year (her fiancé earns a similar amount), with the variation accounted for by the number of hours she works. There's also help from her parents, which isn't unusual in the Toronto market these days.
And yet, the market doesn't seem to have room for her. "It's depressing," she says. "I'm working with this idea in my head that you work hard, pay your taxes and you get to live here [in Toronto]."
The two houses she and her fiancé tried for are in a midtown neighbourhood on the west side of the city. The first one was listed at $589,000 and sold for $730,000, while the second was listed at $749,000 and sold for $840,000. "By no means are these the houses I dreamed of living in," she said. "They're small, they need work, they have tiny lots. Only a few years ago, they were selling for less than half-a-million dollars."...
Ms. Kushner's living at home and says she saves almost all her paycheques after the cost of running her car. "I don't pay rent and I barely have time to spend money. I work almost 60 hours a week."
That's part of the reason she's not keen on renting – she feels she has sacrificed for a house and is ready to get on with the next phase of her life. She's also not big on condos, but is starting to think about them. Her flexibility ends at long commutes from way outside the city, as some of her colleagues at work do. "If I have to live at home forever, so be it," she said....
At some point this speculative escalation in housing prices is going to end very badly for a lot of people. The cracks are starting to show.
One crack is that obviously it has already hurt those first time buyers in the age range to buy a house. Ultimately, if the next generation can not afford to buy houses, then who will buy them? The current situation is not sustainable.
I don't know when or how long everything will take get back to a more sustainable situation or exactly how that will happen. In the meantime, I expect more people in that age range will leave places like Vancouver and Toronto and the growth of these cities will be constrained. This could be a great benefit to cities like Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa that are in the next tier.
Or they will simply transition to renting like in all the other globally competitive "mega-cities".
Perhaps it is time that we end our cultural infatuation with homeownership. It is an investment like any other. In hyper competitive property markets many people that lack a sufficient down payment and income to float a good mortgage rate may be better off investing that income elsewhere.
That is why I think the primary goal in these places should be pushing additional rental properties to market so that the cost of renting is lower than the total cost of mortgage afforded ownership.
Completely disagree. Housing, beside its financial benefits, is also a basic human need. Besides, a house provides utility functions that are hard to represent in financial risk-reward terms. The convenience of not worrying if you/your kids/pets might cause a damage to someone else's property. That unless your income prospects change you don't have to think about finding and moving to a new place every year/few years. The emotional attachment, the memories, you develop growing up in your home/neighborhood. Sure, renting won't kill you, but it is not all financial aspects.Perhaps it is time that we end our cultural infatuation with homeownership. It is an investment like any other.
What you miss there is the opportunity cost of capital. Rents, typically (though not always) are above the monthly mortgage costs, as the owner is recouping the cost of his/her investment. As such, for those who can't afford the down payment, their higher rent payment deprive them of extra savings, and the associate financial gains that compound over the long term. And that's why the article I posted above tells it like it is. Many millennials might never afford a house and the life-style their parents enjoyed.In hyper competitive property markets many people that lack a sufficient down payment and income to float a good mortgage rate may be better off investing that income elsewhere.
That is why I think the primary goal in these places should be pushing additional rental properties to market so that the cost of renting is lower than the total cost of mortgage afforded ownership.
It is also easy to attach your own value-laden baggage onto issues. Homeownership is something that makes north americans feel very emotional, hence why I termed it as our "infatuation".
There is nothing to suggest that renting can't take place over a long time. People can develop an attachment to their rental home, grow up there. They do it all over the rest of the world.
My point is that we need to think about renting versus owning as a financial decision, not an emotional or value-laden one. As you suggest, there may very well be a financial incentive to owning in some cases. In others, people could capitalize on their investment far more with other actions such as starting a businesses or making alternative investments.
Home ownership has protected people from inflationary pressures on housing. For instance in our case we had a $700 mortgage and if we were renting all this time our rent would likely be about $2,000 a month now.
"A man without land is nobody."
- Mordecai Richler
Let's make Edmonton better.
This research is not Canadian, but given our broader discussion on home ownership of millennials, I thought the stats can be informative:
Wall Street Journal, 22-May-2016
Homeownership Elusive for Young Adults Without College Degrees
...Renters ages 18 to 34 years old without student debt will need just over five years of additional savings to afford a 20% down payment for a starter home, defined as the median home at the bottom third of the market, according to research to be released Monday by Apartment List, a rental listing website. In comparison, it takes college grads with student loans about 10 years. For those who haven't graduated from college, the wait to buy a home swells to nearly 15.5 years...
...The report is based on a survey of 31,000 respondents and looks at how much people in each category are currently saving, coupled with how much they have already saved and are likely to receive from friends and family....
There is one sense in which those without degrees are handily outstripping their college-educated peers: thriftiness. College graduates make about $22,600 more than nongrads, but put only about 10% of that additional income toward savings, instead spending more on rent, dining out and travel.
In pricey cities, millennials without college degrees face nearly impossible odds being able to save for a home.
In San Jose, Calif., the second-most expensive city for starter homes after San Francisco, a young adult without a college degree would need to save for 48 years to afford a 20% down payment on a home, according to Apartment List. College grads with student debt would need to save for 15 years and those without debt would need to save for about 4.5 years....
...The homeownership rate for households headed by someone under 35 years old fell to 34% in the first quarter of this year, the lowest level since at least 1994, according to U.S. Census data....
Last edited by FamilyMan; 22-05-2016 at 11:13 AM.
Apologies for derailing this thread towards what millennials want, but really the advantage of what Edmonton offers, particularly for young adults, can be viewed much better in this context.
Here a survey of 19,000 21- to 36-year-old in 25 countries by ManpowerGroup:
The survey
Commentary from the Financial Times:
Job security is living the millennial dream
About 87 per cent said job security was a priority when looking for employment, second only to money (92 per cent) and well ahead of things like purpose and flexibility with which millennials are supposedly enamoured. Almost two-thirds intend to stay with their current employers for the next few years or longer.
For all the mythologising about job-hopping millennials, these survey results ring true. For one thing, it is psychologically scarring to come of age during a deep recession...
...The job mobility data bear this out. The frequency with which 18 to 29-year-olds in the UK switch employers has dropped by a third since its pre-crisis peak, according to the Resolution Foundation think-tank.
Meanwhile, those young people who do want to join the gig economy or become entrepreneurs face a practical problem that is hard to overcome without the help of wealthy parents.
The traditional permanent job contract is still the key that unlocks a range of lifes necessities. Without one, you will struggle in many countries to secure a loan, a mortgage, a mobile phone contract or even a room to rent.
...Inevitably, this burden of flexibility has fallen mostly on the workforces new arrivals, particularly in areas of continental Europe, where rigid laws protect workers already on the inside.
Even young people who secure permanent roles know that jobs for life are a thing of the past. They realise they could be laid off in another crisis and they know technology will disrupt the labour market in unpredictable ways. They also know they will need to work for longer than their parents because pensions will not go as far....
...Millennials are not the flighty freedom seekers that mythology would have us believe. When they do quit, it is probably because they want more job security, not less.
Things like "purpose" and "flexibility" have risen to the forefront simply because employers are less willing to offer competitive wages, and much less willing to offer job security.
Most millenials will be facing at least 3-5 years depending on their sector of contract work before getting a "real" (permanent full time employee) position. They will do the same work as the FTO, but for considerably less pay, few benefits, and no job security past the end of the contract.
That is the new normal. Entire sectors have adopted this practice, and now they compete with each other for employees using fluff like buzzwords about "purpose", or allowing flexible work hours (a no-brainer when most of these jobs can be done remotely anyway), or making their offices feel like a bachelor pad with video games, couches, and snacks.
Companies aren't doing these things because it is what millenials want the most, they are doing them because they are far cheaper than competing with permanent jobs and competitive wages.
Seems like things will become so expensive in Vancouver that it will become like the middle ages where only the rich own property and all of the serfs live in a spare room at their houses. The problem is that the mega rich from other countries are flooding to Vancouver and pushing up the prices. I expect this trend will continue as we continue to buy things made in other countries, reducing our pool of mega rich and increasing the amount of rich business owners from other countries. What will be the end result? A city where only multi millionaires can afford to live In? What does that mean for other Canadian cities and where will those pushed out move to? Only time will tell, but I think that the gap between the rich and the poor will become a physical one.
Not trying to be political here, I am not saying if this is good or bad, just saying.
Patrick Ryckman
Wrong thread I know....but just read the Journal article, something about Canadian women rating men from Edmonton as the "best dressed?" Is that a joke? As much I despise Hipsters - is Edmonton the most "Canadian Hipster" city? Like Edmonton is the hipster sister city to the US's Portland, Austin and Nashville?
Must be a hipster thing, ie, red pants, tight buttoned to the neck long sleeve shirts, suspenders, converse sneakers, whacked out head gear and ridiculous moustaches. In which the latter requires expensive oils, creams and lotions.
Edmonton has a very confusing hipster-to-pickup truck ratio.
Where have all the cowboys gone? | San Diego Reader
Last edited by KC; 09-07-2018 at 11:03 PM.
Old man rant.
I can never understand the hipster pretend getting back to natural theme.
The original beards and mops of hair were people simply not shaving, not getting hair cuts, and just letting it all grow. Not because it was fashionable but because it was one less thing to worry about, one less expense, and even kept your head and face warmer in these climes. You sheared once in awhile but frugally and without ever getting a new blade or anything like that.
Now beards are a fashion thing costing 100some bucks month in treatments, styling, hairdo's, expensive products, in an errant return to simple theme. Except, wait, this is NOT frugal.
Seems like the worst of both worlds. An unnecessary uncomfortable beard and unnecessary expense. All of which our emulated pioneering forefathers would not stop laughing at.
Oh, and the same people letting their facial hair grow are shaving their underarms, chest, *******, butts and pubes...hopefully not with the same shaving equipment.
Last edited by Replacement; 10-07-2018 at 12:23 AM.
"if god exists and he allowed that to happen, then its better that he doesn't exist"
They do waxing now by an esthetician. Costs a bit.
Last edited by Drumbones; 10-07-2018 at 12:36 AM.
This is all very rich to read.
Live and love... your neighbourhood.
And all very superficial.
Nisi Dominus Frustra


text: I am fairly new to quilting. I have made a bargello quilt top and I am quite pleased with it. My dilema is how do I quilt it. I am still trying to learn freemotion quilting but not very good at it yet. I don't want to ruin quilt top can anyone please help me out with this. Thank you in advance.


text:
When we teamed up with NYC-based fashion label RUFFIAN to launch their first nail lacquer collection, we knew just who could help us choose the three high-style shades to feature in this exclusive collection: you. We asked for your color votes, and the results flooded in. This set of super-luxe polishes is fashion forward with a dash of daring—just how we like it. The high-gloss formula is also chip-resistant, so your mani will stay put for days. Now that's what we call a team effort, and a gorgeous one at that.
I got this with my BB points. The bottles ended up being small but what great polish! The picture does not do the colors justice. The one that looks bluish in the picture is actually purple. The gray one is actually a greenish silver. The other one is right on. Just gorgeous colors! I have never had an actual one coat polish before. This is one coat. It is the smoothest application I've ever had. The one problem - and it's kind of a big one - the wear time is typical. After a couple of days I put another coat on to get another few days out of it. It doesn't dry. It will be dry on top but will still 'ding' 24 hours later. So just use one coat and go with that. Still 5 stars from me. I never repurchase the same polish but I will get more of these.5
I finally decided to use Hedgefund. It's a deep olive with a gold wash. The gold wash is a lovely subtle accent. No fear of glitter club kid. I was disappointed that it did chip rather quickly. I can't say that I'm a fan of this shade, but it works as a neutral despite being a dark hue. Summer posh when you want an elegant reserved color.2
When I first tried the red ruffian nail polish I was thrilled: it is really easy to use. The polish runs softly and it is more even than other brands (you dont have to struggle to get the salon look). It also lasted over a week without loosing its shine. I got a bit tired of the color and I decided to change it, and that is when the problems started: taking it off was very difficult. I am not sure if I like this or not.


text:
Earth & Space Science: Session 4
Session 4. The Engine That Drives the Earth
Learning Goals
During this session, you will have an opportunity to build understandings to help you:
- Compare and contrast different types of volcanoes and volcanic eruptions
- Relate the occurrence of volcanoes and earthquakes to the location of plate boundaries
- Describe the nature of plate boundaries and how plates move relative to one another
- Appreciate how knowledge of volcanoes and earthquakes can inform our understandings of the mechanisms underlying plate tectonics
Video Overview
What do the lush, tropical islands of Hawaii have in common with the barren, cool summits of the Cascade Mountains in the northwestern United States? Both provide dramatic evidence of plate tectonics in the form of volcanoes and earthquakes. In this session, we investigate how these phenomena are connected to the movement of plates. As we examine what happens at and between plate boundaries, our focus shifts to the mechanisms deep within the Earth that drive what we observe at its surface.
Video Outline
The beautiful islands of Hawaii harbor a mystery. Evidence found on each of the eight major islands indicates that they all grew from the seafloor by volcanic eruptions. Yet, when visiting Hawaii today, we can see that only one of the islands is home to an active volcano. What happened? What shut down the other Hawaiian volcanoes? And what does this tell us about how the Earth functions?
We join volcanologists Dr. Dave Sherrod and Dr. Chuck Blay to investigate the nature of volcanoes and volcanic eruptions. Our hosts, Britt and Joe, along with geophysicist Dr. Michael Manga, invite us to use everyday items like a can of soda to understand the forces involved. Our focus shifts to examine how tectonic plates move relative to one another and what happens when plates interact at boundaries. One famous example — the San Andreas Fault in California — is described by geologist Dr. Keith Klepeis as we consider the causes and effects of earthquakes. Then, the mystery of the extinction of the Hawaiian volcanoes is unraveled as our scientists describe evidence supporting the hotspot story of Hawaii's formation. Finally Dr. Andy Kurtz introduces us to Hawaii's newest volcano, which is still underwater. These explorations ultimately lead us to theorize about the mechanisms of plate movement.
During the program, interviews with students uncover their ideas about volcanoes. We visit Ariel Owen's sixth graders at the Foothills Middle School in Walnut Creek, California, and listen in as they discover the connections between plate boundaries and the occurrence of volcanoes and earthquakes using a computer-based curriculum.


text:
Event Archive - HARRIS GILMORE & THE MOJOS
Sat. September 22nd 2012 @ Upper Deck (in the Gorge Travelodge) (No Minors)
Event CategoriesMusic: Jazz/Blues, Reggae/Ska/Dub
ReviewsNo articles have been linked to this profile
HARRIS GILMORE & THE MOJOS (Blues and Reggae)
HARRIS GILMORE AND THE MOJOS burn up the stage with hard driving blues, funky reggae, and fiery jams. But that's not all, oh no! Talk about genre bending, HARRIS and the band mix things up with strange, wonderful, and sometimes just weird combinations of musical genres; THE MOJOS could be pounding out a down and dirty blues cover, like "Wang D... more info


text:
New SMOS validation instruments ready for action
With SMOS set to launch in November, preparations for the long-term monitoring and validation of the mission's data are moving ahead as three new purpose-built instruments are now ready to ship to key European validation sites.
ESA's Earth Explorer Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission will make observations of soil moisture over Earth's landmasses and salinity over the oceans. Data from the mission will result in global soil moisture maps at least every three days and maps of ocean salinity every thirty days. This will contribute to a better understanding of Earth's water cycle, help improve weather and climate models and also have practical uses in areas such as agriculture and water resource management.
To ensure that SMOS is delivering accurate and reliable data, in situ measurements will be taken in the field and then compared with data from the satellite. This type of validation forms an important component of the mission.
As part of the long-term validation programme three radiometers, called Elbara (L-band radiometer) and built by Gamma Remote Sensing in Switzerland, are about to be shipped to three separate validation sites.
Like the innovative SMOS Microwave Imaging Radiometer using Aperture Synthesis (MIRAS), the validation radiometers operate at
L-band (1.4 GHz/21 cm wavelength) and measure in two polarisations.
These radiometers will be key in validating soil moisture data. The sites they are being shipped to typically display different types of soil and vegetation cover. The instruments will start taking soil moisture measurements this summer.
One of the instruments will go to a validation site that belongs to the University of Munich in the Upper Danube catchment, close to Lake Ammersee in Germany. The site is used by a number of research institutes for a variety of experiments. The University of Munich maintains a micrometeorological station at the site and has been collecting soil moisture measurements since 2003. In addition, the Bavarian Environmental Agency also maintains a micrometeorological station as well as a lysimeter, which is used to measure evapotranspiration from the soil and vegetation system. Although the dominant vegetation is grass, which is cultivated on a regular basis, it is possible to have the site cultivated according to the requirements of the experiments.
The second instrument will go to the University of Valencia's validation site called the Valencia Anchor Site in Spain. Here the radiometer will continuously monitor vineyards and bare soil in continuation of similar previous campaigns. Vineyards and bare soil account for about 75% of this region in the Utiel-Requena plateau.
The third Elbara radiometer will go to a site in Sodankylä in Finland. The site is home to a number of weather, hydrological and environmental monitoring networks and specialised research stations. The area is located in northern Finland, north of the Arctic Circle and it is a good representation of boreal forest and the sub-Arctic environment. This validation site is owned by the Finnish Meteorological Institute's Arctic Research Centre.
The Elbara instruments will be mounted on towers at a height of about 10 m. The instruments include an automated elevation scan system that allows for scene observations under different incidence angles, as well as sky measurements – crucial for the instrument calibration.
Careful consideration was taken in selecting these validation sites with the help of the SMOS Science Advisory Group. The three sites each represent a different but common type of vegetation cover to maximise the efficiency of the validation programme.


text:
What You Need to Know about Facebook Timeline for Pages
If you have a Facebook Page, you most likely have heard about the switch to the "Timeline" layout. You may have even taken a look at the Preview of what your Page looks like in Timeline mode. You have until March 30 to make adjustments to your Page before the Timeline will be rolled out for everyone.
You can try the preview and then, when you've made the necessary adjustments, publish your Timeline ahead of schedule. Realize that once the Timeline is published, you can't go back to the old version. In any case, everyone will have the Timeline layout on March 30. Just click the blue Preview button to get started.
Once you click the Preview button, you may have to toggle back to your personal profile rather than being logged in as your Page. To do so, on the right sidebar, click the Use Facebook as "your name" hyperlink and you see the Timeline preview. The Start Tour button will give you a good overview.
Here are the major highlights about the switch to Timeline.
Your cover photo on Facebook's Timeline
The Timeline Cover Photo is the central part of your Facebook branding. The default landing tab is now no longer available (more on that later), and you need to have a well-designed cover photo to showcase your Page. But there are some restrictions as to what you can and can't have on your cover photo.
Per Facebook, your cover photo can't contain:
Any call to action such as "Click Like" or share our page
Anything about your prices or a promotion
Contact information like your phone number, address, or website
This makes your cover photo more challenging. But use the space to tell your story with pictures and maybe some words. Make sure you are adhering to the guidelines.
The picture you use for the cover photo must be a minimum of 399 pixels across (most standard photos are) and the maximum dimensions are 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels high. The profile picture is now reduced to 180 pixels x 180 pixels. If you were using a longer profile picture before, the thumbnail will still appear in your profile picture but you may want to update that for the future.
Timeline custom tabs and applications
There is no longer a Default Landing Tab option for Timelines. But if you have added Applications to your Page, they are still there and they appear right below your cover photo. You now have 12 Applications you can showcase but only the 4 applications that you move to the top row will appear prominently. You cannot change the position of the Photos so technically you only have 3 Applications that you have control over in that top row. If you have more than 12 Applications, they will be hidden.
You can have calls to action in your Custom Tab Images or Custom Tab Names to draw more attention to your offer or application. Notice Macy's "Win a Million" tab title and also FB Marketing All-in-One for Dummies image "Download your FREE chapter today!"
If you do have a custom tab on your Page, the size is now wider, increasing from 520 pixels across to 810 pixels across.
Content and layout with Timeline
Facebook is emphasizing telling your story with the Timeline. You now have more flexibility with how your Page looks and what you want to highlight. You can pin images to the top of the page for 7 days, highlight a story to make it larger, and add Milestones.
Pinning a story to the top of the page will make this story more visible for anyone visiting your page. Choose something you want people to notice.
Highlight a story by clicking on the star icon and it will then span across the Timeline and be noticeable for people scrolling through your Timeline. Unfortunately, at this writing, it appears that a story cannot be both pinned and highlighted.
Timeline's Admin Panel and new message feature
When you do officially make the switch to the Timeline, you see the Admin Panel at the top of your Page when you log in. Obviously this is only visible to you as the Admin. The information here is very similar to what you had before, but it is more prominent.
Another new feature with Timelines is the ability for a Page to get messages from their Fans. The Message button is enabled by default so if you want to disable private messaging navigate to the Manage Permissions area by clicking the admin settings hyperlink. Messages can only be initiated by a Fan. They cannot be initiated by the Page to a Fan. The Page can reply to a message first sent in to the Page, but cannot send out private messages to all the fans.
Now that you are familiar with the Timeline changes, take some time to add all the necessary elements to your Page Timeline. Once your new Timeline looks good, click the green Publish Now button. Remember, there is no turning back! But Timeline will be here sooner or later, so why not get your Page up and telling your story to the world?


text: So, I have this thing when I go to conventions or concerts or really anywhere that involves me sitting in lines for an excessive amount of time; I draw little sketches. I then give those sketches away to folks who seem to like them (at least, that is my sincere hope). Here are the few I did this weekend while visiting Emerald City Comicon. Thanks so much to anyone who was kind enough to take one home.


text:
It's no secret that I often forget about my Blogger account, as it only receives one or two posts a year these days. So any of you watchers who might want more frequent updates and artwork go check out my Tumblr blog. The Tumblr blog went up last month, and that's where most of my updates and blog posts will be, as well as many scraps and sketches that don't make it to my DeviantArt gallery. Go check it out and follow me if you'd like:
Friday, April 11, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Winter 2014 Commissions
I recently opened for commissions on Deviantart. I'm not posting all of them there, so here are most of them. Many of the requests turned out to be "mature" requests, so I will not post those here, though you can check any of them out at my "mature" blog - http://brendancorrismaturetoonblog.blogspot.com/
More to come!
More to come!
Posted by Brendan Corris at 2:23 PM No comments:
Monday, December 30, 2013
My Complete Deviantart Artwork Review!
This year marks my fifth full year on DA, so to celebrate, I'm reviewing everything I've drawn and posted here since I first signed up. I have mixed emotions about my gallery, so let's get 'em all out. First I'll go over how I feel about each year. Since I've been organizing my artwork folders on my computer since back in high school, I still organize them by school years (September-August) rather than traditional years. Now that that's clarified, here's the rundown.
The past year. I started off strong, drawing some of the best stuff in my gallery in fall of 2012, but come 2013 most of my work has been very disappointing for me. I don't know, it's a combo of not feeling the spark I did in previous years and just not putting as much into the drawings, as well as just plain suckage. While I've still drawn a handful of pictures I like a lot, some just seem to come out decent at best. My "Hyrule's Most Heinous" series and caricature pieces have been letting me down severely. Hopefully I'll get out of this art slump soon and start producing good shit again.
Probably my best year for artwork. I posted a lot of my favorite pieces at this time. The Nintendo Villains picture, Gaming Bookmarks series and the caricatures from this year remain some of my favorite works, among others. I would still use mostly work from this year in a showcase of my best stuff.
I certainly improved, but this is when production of art began a gradual slow-down that would only get worse with time, and this is the year that I drew pretty much nothing but softcore porn. The summer prior I had uploaded my first internet-posted "mature" piece, and with the over-the-top positive feedback, it went to my head and I drew a handful a month. They're all pretty much the same generic concept – just a different character with my sexy-mod body, but I learned that any smut would beat-out any regular picture regardless of quality. After this year the bulk of my fans just wanted to see these drawings and didn't give a damn about my other stuff and it's stayed quite like that since, even though I barely post artwork like that anymore. I damn the day I uploaded "mature" art to the internet.
This was when I first started posting art on DA. I went into it just posting all my old work from 2007-then, all drawings of my original characters. Between 06-09 I made a lot of comics and characters and was drawing barely anything besides them up to that point. I didn't post all of my creations up as I thought it would be too many, so I posted what were my favorites at the time. Coincidentally, I had drawn those characters so much by then that I finally had my fill of them at that point, hence the sudden absence of original characters. By 2010 I was putting up my first internet-posted fanart pieces, and began coloring digitally. Most of my drawings were pretty ugly at this time, but it was a good progressive period where I really began experimenting with drawing things I'd never drawn before. Oh yeah, and of course I began getting more fans once I started drawing fan art. I really would like to create my own stuff again, as I always have ideas brewing in my head, but I can never find the time or dedication to do anything like that these days. Hopefully soon…
Now, time for a brief sum-up of each individual drawing I've posted on DA. I'll list them from newest to oldest. My descriptions for each can only be brief, as this entry would be longer than a Webster's dictionary if I had to write an in-depth opinion on each of the hundreds of pieces I've done. The ratings will all be relevant, meaning when I say a picture gets a perfect score, I'm saying a perfect score for my work and potential, not in comparison to anybody else's work. I will rate them from 1-5 (one being the lowest, and 5 being the best), though if it truly breaks the boundaries of suckage, let's give it the big ol' zero it deserves.
Tron Bonne – On another Misadventure November 2013 5 – I love it. Probably my best of 2013
Creature from the Black Lagoon October 2013 4 – Best in the series
The Wolf Man October 2013 3 – Decent
Dracula October 2013 2 – Decent coloring but awkward design
Frankenstein October 2013 2 – Slightly boring & awkward/ could be more extreme
Skadi September 2013 4 – I like it a lot, not much going on, though
Barbara n' the Good Guys September 2013 3 – Looks good but unoriginal as hell
HMH – Volvagia September 2013 3 – Decent
HMH – Shadow Beast August 2013 3 – Decent
HMH – Gohma August 2013 2 – Looks OK but lacks detail and substance
HMH – Dodongo August 2013 4 – Better than most HMH
HMH – Wizzrobe August 2013 3 – Decent
HMH – Dead Hand July 2013 1 – Bad coloring, pose and detail – It sucks
HMH – Gyorg July 2013 3 – Decent
Mean Girls July 2013 2 – There's an awkward mix of levels of cartoony among the girls
HMH – Manhandla July 2013 4 – Better and more original than most HMH
Hot Fi July 2013 2 – It's just my generic curvy mod on Fi
HMH – Gerudo Tribe June 2013 3 – Decent but a little sloppy
HMH – Poe June 2013 3 – Decent
HMH – Moblin May 2013 3 – Pretty good but a little noticeably rushed
HMH – Lizalfos May 2013 4 – Pretty good
HMH – Octorok May 2013 3 –Decent
Princess Shroob May 2013 4 – Usual perv-mod, sexier than usual, though
Jonathan Jones May 2013 5 – I like the way everything came out here
Geno May 2013 4 – Pretty good, could be more extreme, though
Valentina May 2013 4 – Pretty good, I like the coloring in the BG
Booster May 2013 4 – Pretty good, but the BG is pretty sloppy
Croco May 2013 4 – Pretty good
Leah March 2013 4 – Pretty Good
Grobyc February 2013 3 – Decent
Harle February 2013 3 – Decent
Skelly February 2013 4 – Pretty Good
NeoFio February 2013 4 – Pretty Good
Pudgy Bunny February 2013 4 – I like it
Han & Chewie February 2013 3 – Decent though the toon-ness seems forced
Kid January 2013 3 – Decent
Rugrats December 2012 4 – Pretty good, looks appealing
Skops the Scorpion November 2012 5 – I love it
The Eeevil Mr. Dark November 2012 4 – Would be great if the arms weren't awkward
Wreck-It Ralph November 2012 5 – Pretty good except the rushed text
NTMW – Tex Hex November 2012 5 – Exactly as I pictured it
Nosferatu October 2012 4 – Pretty good
Mario & Luigi – Partners in Time October 2012 5 – Came out better than I planned
Mario & Luigi – Superstar Saga October 2012 5 – Awesome except the empty BG areas
The People of Bluffington July 2012 4 – Fun
Aaah! Real Monsters July 2012 3 – Awkwardly positioned and sloppy lines
Super Mario Bros. 3 Bookmark July 2012 5 – Best Koopalings picture I've done yet
Super Mario Bookmark July 2012 4 – Mostly good except some minor details
Donkey Kong Country 2 Bookmark July 2012 5 – I love it
Bonk's Adventure Bookmark July 2012 4 – Sort of awkward placement
Mega Man Bookmark April 2012 5 – Love the designs and coloring job
Panel de Pon Bookmark April 2012 5 – Love the way the designs came out
Clash of the Titans for bascalot666 April 2012 4 – Pretty damn good for a request
Mother 3 Bookmark March 2012 3 – Awkward spacing and not too interesting
Earthbound Bookmark March 2012 4 – Pretty good
Wind Waker Bookmark March 2012 3 – Most designs are rather boring
Pretty Little Pannels March 2012 3 – A little sloppy but overall it looks decent
Skyward Sword Bookmark March 2012 5 – They all came out how I wanted them to
John Goodman March 2012 5 – I love the way this one came out
Ayla March 2012 3 – Pretty decent
PBS Kids Support – Sesame Street February 2012 4 – Pretty good
The Dark Side of Clay Fighter 2 February 2012 3 – Nice perspective but crappy line work
PBS Kids Support – Super Why! February 2012 4 – Pretty good
Necra February 2012 3 – Drawn her a lot, only a decent one
I Pity the Fool February 2012 4 – Pretty decent
Bill Cosby February 2012 0 – Worst drawing in my gallery. Came out so baD
I'll Be Back February 2012 5 – Came out well
Mean Green Mother from Outer Space February 2012 5 – Nice coloring and line work
Bill Murray February 2012 4 – Pretty decent
Edith Up February 2012 5 – Came out just how I planned
Betilla and the Nymphs Series February 2012 2 – Some are decent. The Voodoo Mama one sucks
Betilla and the Bodacious Nymphs February 2012 3 – Ok, Kinda ugly lines, though, and simple colors
T. Hawk January 2012 2 – Came out rather awkward
Bruce Lee January 2012 4 – Pretty decent
Nintendo Villains January 2012 5 – Best picture I've ever drawn
The Wet Bandits November 2011 4 – Pretty good
Wyrm November 2011 3 – A little awkward but still decent
Mona's Wedgie October 2011 2 – Rushed and it shows
Weird Al Yankovic October 2011 3 – The BG pictures could have been better
Earthworm Jim October 2011 4 – Would be 5 if PWHN didn't mess up the flow of the picture
PH – Boom-Boom September 2011 4 – Pretty good
PH – Bullet Bill September 2011 4 – One of the better ones
PH – Blaarg September 2011 4 – One of the best in the series
PH – Ptooie September 2011 3 – It's OK
PH – Beezo September 2011 3 – It's OK
PH – Sumo Bros. September 2011 4 – Pretty good
PH – Albatoss and Bob-omb September 2011 3 – It's OK
PH – Buzzy Beetle September 2011 3 – Not the best
PH – Wiggler September 2011 4 – One of my favorites in the series
PH – Bloober September 2011 4 – Pretty good
PH – Shoe Goomba September 2011 4 – Pretty good
PH – Rex September 2011 4 – One of my favorites in the series
PH – The Bros. September 2011 3 – It's OK. Sledge is the best one
PH – Koopa Troopas September 2011 3 – It's OK
PH – Pidget September 2011 4 – One of the more interesting pictures
PH – Magikoopa September 2011 3 – It's OK
PH – Rocky Wrench September 2011 4 – Pretty good
PH – Thwomp September 2011 5 – Best in the Plumber Haters series
PH – Birdo September 2011 3 – It's OK
PH – Chargin' Chuck September 2011 4 – Pretty Good
PH – Tweeter September 2011 4 – Pretty good
PH – Dino Rhino September 2011 3 – It's OK
PH – Dry Bones September 2011 3 – It's OK
PH – Lakitu September 2011 3 – It's OK
Horny Dixie August 2011 4 – Came out well but pretty ridiculous
Lil' Head Hunters August 2011 2 – Decent drawing but shitty BG, quality and too much eemptiness
Stripe's Mob July 2011 2- Good concept but could have been better
Molly Ringwald July 2011 3 – Not too bad but not too great
Rumble in the Doom Ship July 2011 4 – Pretty good for its time
Bucky O'Hare July 2011 2 – Nothing Special
Darkwing Duck July 2011 4 – Pretty good for its time
Warrior Warts June 2011 2 – So-so
Double Trouble June 2011 2 – Decent
Bobbing for Bubbles June 2011 3 – OK
Mac Attack June 2011 3 – OK
The Blue Bomber June 2011 2 – Decent
Born on the Bayou June 2011 3 – OK
Numskull June 2011 3 – OK
The Ninja Dragon June 2011 2 – Decent
Eat Garlic, Evil Doers June 2011 3 – OK
TOGA! TOGA! June 2011 3 – OK
Brinstar Babe June 2011 3 – OK
Eat Up Those Power Pills June 2011 2 – Decent
Excuuuse Me, Princess June 2011 3 – OK
Hooked on the Brothers June 2011 3 – Pretty good
Ninja Gaiden III May 2011 4 – Very good for its time
Smurfalicious May 2011 4 – Usual sexy-mod, OK
Medli April 2011 2 – I will never get why this picture's so popular
Darunia and the Gorons April 2011 3 – Decent drawings but shitty quality and BG
Nabooru and Her Gerudos April 2011 3 – Average
Malon's Massive Milk Jugs April 2011 3 – Average
Ruto's Big Blue Booty April 2011 3 – Average
Zelda, Super Sexy Princess April 2011 3 – Average
The Dark Queen March 2011 3 – Average
The Adventures of Lolo March 2011 4 – One of the better ones from that time
Paul Bunyan March 2011 4 – Best one from that winter
Contra March 2011 2 – Could have been better
GI Jill February 2011 4 – I drew her a lot years ago. Average
Yoshi and Oogtar February 2011 3 – Average
Ninja Gaiden II February 2011 2 – Shitty background and decent characters
The Koopa Kids February 2011 4 – Big upgrade from the year before
Hot Brat Ashley 3 February 2011 4 – Best of that series
Melodia from Silver Hawks January 2011 2 – Could have been better
Doki-Doki Panic – Mama January 2011 3 – OK
Doki-Doki Panic – Lina January 2011 4 – Pretty good
Doki-Doki Panic – Lina & Mama January 2011 3 – OK
Mega Man X2 Bosses January 2011 4 – Pretty good for its time
DKC2 Collab Art December 2010 3 – Pretty OK
Sexy Mona Poses December 2010 4 – Pretty damn good for its time
Hot Brat Ashley 2 December 2010 3 – OK but bad lines and quality with very cheesy text
Hot Brat Ashley December 2010 3 – We get it
Santa's Little Helpers December 2010 3 – Not the best but decent
Suzie Q October 2010 5 – Drew her a lot, this is the best one I did of her
Firestarter – Charlie's Power October 2010 5 – Best pic of 2010-2011. I still like this one
Donkey Kong October 2010 4 – Pretty damn good for its time
Free Zone vs. Randal Flagg October 2010 4 – Very good for the time but bad placement
Nadine Cross October 2010 2 – Nothing to write home about
The Dancing Spectres September 2010 1 – It looks pretty ass-tastic
By the Power of Greyskull September 2010 3 – Pretty decent. I need to do more MOTU art
NYA! It's Bowyer September 2010 2 – NYA! It's shit.
Sexy Mona 2 September 2010 3 – OK
Sexy Mona 1 September 2010 4 – Very good for its time
The WarioWare Crew August 2010 3 – Decent but too empty and badly placed
Clayfighter August 2010 3 – The drawings are decent but the presentation and placement sucks
Kim-Wu July 2010 4 – Finished this then but I know I posted it later
The X-Men July 2010 3 – Another "lots of characters standing around" pictures
Mega Man X Bosses July 2010 4 – Best of these big character pictures
The Neutrinos June 2010 2 – Cool concept but ugly artwork
Succubus June 2010 1 – Sloppy and awkwardly designed
Koranot June 2010 4 – Best drawing of that summer
Gaibon June 2010 2 – Not so great picture and a cluttered mess
Duckie June 2010 2 – Sloppy and another cluttered mess
Carrie White June 2010 1 – It really sucks
Slogra June 2010 2 – See "Gaibon" description
The Neverhood May 2010 4 – surprisingly good for its time
Lydia Deetz May 2010 1 – Sloppy and boring
Nintendo Ladies May 2010 2 – Mostly recycled older drawings and bad layout
The Golden Girls May 2010 4 – Pretty good for its time
Dixie Kong May 2010 2 – Nothing special with a shitty background
Snake Rattle n Roll May 2010 2 – Cool concept but pretty ugly
Castlevania May 2010 3 – Ugly lines and coloring but decent
Little Mac vs. Mike Tyson May 2010 3 – Decent foreground, shitty background
Young Love – Ness and Paula May 2010 2 – It sucks
Bonk & Za May 2010 2 – Sort of decent but not too great
Link Saves Hyrule May 2010 2 – Sort of decent
Bubble Bobble May 2010 3 – Average
TMNT Bad Guys May 2010 3 – Mediocre drawings slapped on a bad BG
Channel 6 News Team April 2010 3 – Pretty OK for its time
Freddy & Jayson April 2010 4 – Possibly the best thing that month
Space Sucks April 2010 4 – Also possibly the best thing that month
Mona Lisa April 2010 3 – Not too bad
The 80s April 2010 2 – Could have been much better
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles April 2010 3 – A little awkward but decent
Mondo Gecko April 2010 3 – Not too bad
Wily Kit & Wily Kat April 2010 2 – Sloppy
Rocksteady & Bebop April 2010 3 – Not too bad
Stupid – Main Cast March 2010 4 – Pretty damn good for back then
Witch Doctor March 2010 2 – Not very great but not terrible
Spinthra – Boss Monsters March 2010 3 – Mostly pretty good
Spinthra – Main Cast March 2010 2 – I've drawn Spinthra so much, these are only OK
RTR – Pippy March 2010 2 – Nothing special
RTR – Tony March 2010 2 – Not a particularly amazing one of him
RTR – Dave March 2010 3 – Decent one of him
RTR – Clarissa March 2010 4 – Pretty good one of her
RTR – Rick March 2010 3 – Drawn him a lot, only an average one
Mr. Funnyman – The Pin Pals March 2010 2 – Not the best ones of them
Mr. Funnyman – The Funnymen March 2010 4 – Adventurer's the best drawing here
Stupid – Other Beasts March 2010 4 – Pretty good
Stupid – Other That Things March 2010 3 – Average
Stupid – The Beasts March 2010 3 – Decent drawings of them
Stupid – The That Things March 2010 3 – Pretty OK
Jordan Cochran February 2010 1 – It sucks
The Koopalings February 2010 1 – It sucks ass
Rocky January 2010 5 – Very good
MC Hammer & Vanilla Ice January 2010 5 – Very good
Jack Nicholson January 2010 5 – Very good
War of the Food Mascots January 2010 2 – Funny concept but shitty artwork
Herb and Rex January 2010 2 – Nothing special
Super Mario Bros. December 2009 1 – Shitty BG and pretty shitty FG
Ninja Gaiden December 2009 2 – Decent concept but sloppy as all hell
Nintendo Villains 2009 December 2009 2 – Best not remembered
The Grinch December 2009 2 – Decent drawing but bad quality and shitty BG
Karen December 2009 2 – Nothing special
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer December 2009 2 – Also nothing special
Rick the Raptor – Main Cast November 2009 3 – Pretty good for the time
Horror Classics October 2009 3 – Pretty good for back then
Me October 2009 3 – Not too bad. That is what I looked like then
Kar-In September 2009 2 – Not too great
Lost Vikings September 2009 3 – Not too bad for back then
The Legend of Zelda 2008 3 – Pretty good for back then
Jess 2008 2 – Badly drawn but it sort of resembles her
McGangsters 2008 2 – Funny but badly drawn
Razaar and Tokka 2008 3 – Pretty OK for back then
Redhead 2008 3 – Pretty decent
Rockin' 2008 3 – Pretty Decent
Random Girl 2008 4 – Very good for its time
Spinthra – The Weird Sisters 2008 2 – Decent for its time
Spinthra – Hell Hound 2008 2 – Decent for its time
Spinthra – Grendel 2008 3 – Decent for its time
Spinthra – Headless Horseman 2008 1 – Awkwardly drawn
Spinthra – Cyclops 2008 2 – Decent for its time
Spinthra – Charybdis 2008 2 – Decent for its time
Spinthra – Dragon 2008 2 – Decent for its time
Spinthra – Minotaur 2008 2 – Decent for its time
Spinthra – Manticore and Wyvern 2008 2 – Decent for its time
Spinthra – Medusa 2008 3 – Decent for its time
Spinthra – Duke 2008 2 – Decent for its time
Spinthra – Temptress Form 2008 3 – Still pretty good
Spinthra (all character pictures of her) 2008 2 – Decent pictures but ugly lines/color
Spinthra Poses 2008 3 – Good for its time
The Curses of Spinthra 2008 3 – Good for its time but the sky coloring sucks
Rick the Raptor – Clarissa in White 2008 3 – Pretty good for its time
Rick the Raptor – Pippy 2008 2 – Decent for its time
Rick the Raptor – Cave People 2008 2 – Decent for its time
Rick the Raptor – Tony 2008 2 – Decent for its time
Rick the Raptor – Dave 2008 2 – Decent for its time
Rick the Raptor – Clarissa 2008 2 – Decent for its time
Rick the Raptor – Rick 2008 2 – Decent for its time
MFM – 4 – Fossil Feud 2008 4 – Damn good for its time
MFM – 3 – Grime Time 2008 5 – Really damn good for its time
MFM – 2 – Oh, Canada 2008 5 – Really damn good for its time
MFM – 1 – The Intro 2008 4 – Damn good for its time
Mr. Funnyman (all shorts) 2007 4 – Not drawn very well but great humor
Mr. Funnyman Episode 1 (all pages) 2007 4 – Drawings are bad but I still love the jokes
MFM – Fossil Fuel 2007 2 – Decent for its time
MFM – Slime Disease 2007 3 – Decent for its time
MFM – Mooseler 2007 2 – Decent for its time
MFM – Electro Gator 2007 2 – Decent for its time
MFM – Bush Gardens 2007 2 – Decent for its time
MFM – Pin Head 2007 2 – Decent for what it is
MFM – Mr. Funnyman and Adventurer 2007 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – That Thing Concert 2008 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – Scarlet Poses 2007 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – Scarlet 2007 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – Bears Guy Poses 2007 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – Bears Guy 2007 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – Horns Guy Poses 2007 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – Horns Guy 2007 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – Lasher Poses 2007 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – Lasher 2007 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – Dopey Poses 2007 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – Dopey 2007 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – Weirdo Poses 2007 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – Weirdo 2007 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – Stupid Poses 2007 2 – Decent for its time
Stupid – Stupid 2007 2 – Decent for its time
There were a handful of pictures (all pin-ups from '10-'11 of course) that were removed by deviant complaints. Some of these pictures were up no longer than a day before reported as offensive, but I might as well rate them anyway. At the time I got really mad they were removed due to the abundance of similar pictures by other artists and really bizarre and unsettling pictures one can find while browsing DA, but in retrospect I don't give much of a damn as it was just porn and it can all be found on my "Mature Toon Blog" anyway. There's already more than enough of that riffraff in my gallery.
Ashley Owns You October 2011 4 – Pretty good. Don't get why only 1 of these was offensive…
Penny the Cutie October 2011 4 – It actually came out pretty good
Horny Dixie 2 August 2011 3 – Not as good as the other one and pretty ridiculous
Tetra's Pirate Booty May 2011 4 – Pretty silly but it came out pretty damn good
Saria the Kokiri Cutie April 2011 4 – The quality's bad but I thought it was the best in the OoT series
I think that's all of them. Maybe I'm forgetting some…?
And now that I've summed up my review of my own artwork, let me sum up my thoughts and feelings toward Deviantart, the website, and the DA community. To start, Deviantart is a great idea – a place for aspiring artists to get noticed or see how audiences will respond to their work. Unfortunately, there are many flaws in the site that pretty much leave it almost nothing at all like how it was intended to be. First and foremost, as a little bit of advice to any new faces here at DA, this is not a good place to see how the world will perceive your work as DA mostly seems to pull in a select few types of people, most of which includes Pokemon/Mario/Zelda/Nintendo fans, Sonic fans, furries, fans of Cartoon Network/Disney Channel/Nickelodeon, people who look for nothing but pin-ups and softcore porn, and people who are into oddball cartoon fetishes. Now don't get defensive, I'm not attacking or judging any of you. I don't do that. I am, however, pointing out that typically works that do not feature any of the previously mentioned subject matter will not get anywhere near as much attention as those that do, whereas on other sites or when showing your artwork to people in person, you will find that many of those ignored works on DA will become big hits. Fan art reigns supreme on DA, and more specifically fan art of popular cartoon shows and video games. This works for me I guess, since after drawing almost nothing but my original characters from 2006-2009, I got so bored of drawing them I entered a phase of drawing almost only fan art and I haven't recovered yet. As for original characters go, they will generally be totally ignored, even by most of one's dedicated watchers. The only chance original characters really have of becoming popular on DA is if it's a hot chick who has no story at all besides being sexy, or a "fan OC", which is anything from fake Mario princesses or Yoshies, Sonic OCs, alterations of existing cartoon characters, etc. which, sorry to offend you if it applies, I do not consider original characters at all, just merely an alteration of somebody else's character due to the artist either staying in their safety zone or just being uncontrollably obsessed with their fandom. So, yeah, that's the way the cookie crumbles when it comes to favorites and page views.
So, for most users, DA is more just a fan site where fans go to collect artwork about the game/show/movie/etc. they love. Other site related aspects also support this observation such as "deviant stamps", which are created to litter a page with things you like or believe for all to see. This fan-club aspect really takes the credibility away from it being an art appreciation site. Click any fan art as it is and you will see most comments being about the media that the subject matter is from rather than critiques, compliments or criticism of the actual drawing and how it was done. Most users seem to not have a real interest in or knowledge of art themselves on this site and just browse it to see different people draw their favorite characters. A pretty good example of how most users on DA are more fans than artists or critics is when you see that common "critique" on a fanart piece saying "it doesn't look like the original character" or "the color here is wrong". This implies that these people think artists only draw things in an attempt to exactly recreate the original. If all artists were drawing fanart just to duplicate the official work, why even bother looking at fanart then? That's a beef I have with many popular fanartists on DA – they draw the pictures looking exactly like the original with no stylization, originality or personality at all. The most interesting fan art works are the very original and unique takes on the character that you wouldn't see anybody else draw. If I wanted to see the official style I'd Google the official artwork. Real, honest and truly understanding critiques are few and far between. Most critiques left by DA users you see really boil down to "I like it" or "I hate it". There's rarely an actual awareness of skill, understanding of the style, lines, coloring, design, layout, or any other artistic aspects that somebody who truly understands the field would look for. Rather it's usually just "This is amazing. I love it!", "This is ugly. I hate it", or "This is good but in the official work the eyes are blue…" and so on. So, yeah, beginners don't expect valid critiques good or bad of your work.
There are handfuls of ways DA has attempted to let artist's work reach audiences which I feel are good ideas. Daily Deviations is a good feature, limiting users to only be accepted once in a span of months to help promote great artists on DA. I usually discover some amazing artists through this feature, and since everybody sees it at the bottom of their pages, it really helps the work get noticed. My Nintendo Villains piece was featured years ago and it brought swarms of new fans to my page. The "Most Popular" section, seen when first logging in, is not as reliable for finding truly great artists and underappreciated work. A select handful of artists, most of which specialize in drawing practically the same thing over and over every day, are always featured there with their new work, as they are the most popular users on DA. This page usually features cute photos of animals, drawings of colorful-furred and haired dogs and ponies, chibi stuff, softcore porn, pokemon, sonic the hedgehog OCs, photo manipulations and "pixel art" consisting of smiley faces and bouncing shapes. While you still will find a handful of good works there every day, most of what is featured there is silly or generic nonsense that accumulates far more favorites than it deserves. Scroll down a bit or go to page two and you will notice drastic decreases in skill, and an increase in porn. Deviant Groups are a good idea, although usually catering to the "collecting pictures of your fandom" aspect. Nonetheless, groups are a good way not only to get your own art noticed by those who would probably like it, but also a good way to see good artists you would otherwise never find. Being an admin at a Nintendo group (though none of us have had much time for it this past year) I have discovered plenty of great artists with diverse and interesting styles. The initial sight of your fandom done in a unique way you find interesting is usually enough to pull one into your whole gallery, so in that way, the fan art aspect can be quite good. The "More Like This" feature they added in this past year, however, I am not a fan of. While I do like DA's attempts to show other artist's work, an artist's deviation is there to be admired or observed on its own. The user clicked that thumbnail to view that picture, not to view other works by other artists. It also ties into the fandom aspect saying "if you like this picture because Mario happens to be in it, then like every other picture of Mario". Also, with the many bizarre drawings and perverted fetishes that people post frequently on DA, there's a very good chance that things that could easily offend viewers which other users drew could pop up on your own deviation, making you look bad (you get some very strange pictures in this section coming up sometimes). This feature more or less takes away from the observing aspect of DA and turns it into something more like Google Image Search or Tumblr.
Before jumping into what I like about this community, let me mention the final, and possibly most annoying, flaw in DA. A problem I, myself, and many other DA users I have known come by is fans that seem to be convinced that you are drawing your work for them. They constantly throw suggestions and requests your way even when you state you are not taking any, they constantly harass you when you are not drawing artwork of the things they like, and they constantly ask you "when are you going to draw 'this' again?". I have seen this escalate to authentic stalker status before with a friend of mine. Many of these artists will also comment on your pictures saying "I wish you drew 'so and so' doing this, or looking more like that", or "I hope you draw 'this'". These people come off more like spoiled brats who honestly can't grasp the concept of somebody drawing a picture without them, whoever the hell they may be, in mind, which is funny since usually the artist doesn't even know them. These same kinds of people seem to love telling artists that their work "offends them". I had somebody tell me a Mario and Luigi drawing I did offended them. Seriously, if you get offended by Mario and Luigi, you're insane, and also, I really don't give a damn if some nameless nobody I will never meet happened to get offended by a drawing I did, so don't bother telling me. It's not going to make me apologize for drawing a damn picture. It just comes down to more of DA's users just being selfish brats who expect the world to be made to their liking. There is plenty of strange and offensive material on DA. If you don't like it, simply don't click it. The site does give you fair warning with a thumbnail, after all.
Now for the good stuff. DA has definitely done its job in getting my artwork exposed to some audiences. I've gotten the usual expected response by users on DA, the praise and fans, and I won't lie, it makes us all feel a little good to be praised. I've gotten my share of bashing and trolling, though sadly it's pretty much always just blind, biased and senseless anger as opposed to useful or respectable criticism (most DA praise or criticism is extremely biased). I've even seen many people sharing my artwork with others via other sites such as Tumblr and Facebook. So, yeah, it did what I joined DA for. It helped get my artwork out there in the world. Aside from getting my artwork noticed and establishing a fan base for it, it also got me acquainted with other artists and fans who have become trusted critics and good conversationalists. Through Deviantart I have also discovered many artists whose work I enjoy and interest/inspire me.
For my many years I have been on DA I have, much to my delight, accumulated a not-too-shabby number of fans. However, comments views and favorites help me realize that most of these fans, rather than honestly admiring or being interested in my style, are more so fans of certain things I draw or have drawn. While there certainly isn't anything wrong with that, everyone is entitled to like what he or she likes, it is a bit disappointing that there are few people who genuinely like the same kind of wacky and bizarre art I like to draw, but more so there are just lots of people who really like certain video games I've happened to draw art for, or, mostly, people who just like the way I draw "sexy" women. I've been trying to keep my DA page mostly PG (or more like PG13) in the past couple of years to be friendlier to all audiences and keep my page viewable for most age groups, though I suppose my constant swearing and overall creepy or off-putting art kind of helps destroy that family-friendly aspect a bit.
So, yeah, there is a lot that isn't too great here on DA, but it's still a fun page to update and check up on frequently, and I have built a pretty large community of fans here, so I'd say my joining DA five years ago was for the best, and I'm glad I did. Stay tuned for more artwork and open commission slots come late January! And thanks to all the fans and watchers who have supported me and my artwork over the years. If not for you guys I probably wouldn't draw half as much as I do. You guys rock.
As for the commissions, here's how they will be done – After I announce I am open for commissions and say how many slots are free, I will accept the first requests of that matching number. Let's say, hypothetically, I announce there are 10 open commission spaces. Then the very first ten people to contact me will get those spots. If one cannot pay then that space will free up and be given to the next person in line, or in this case, the 11th person who contacted me. Shortly after all the slots are filled, I will put out a journal saying that the spots have been filled and commissions are temporarily closed. As I said, I will DEFINITELY be open for commissions in late January.
All commissions will cost $30.00 (or the equivalent to 30 US dollars in your country of residence). You may ask for whatever you like, whether it is a lone character, a group, a scene, fan art, original characters, general ideas, or whatever. It will be in full color. While I will not make too many rules or restrictions, please understand beforehand that there are things I will turn down your request for. There are certain things I just don't want to draw, don't want my name attached to or just plain really don't like, but rather than try to make a list of those few things and scare people away, let me just leave it at a warning in advance so nobody gets too let down if I refuse a commission. Also don't let this scare you, I will draw almost anything you'd like, this is just in case something is suggested that I decide I will not want to draw.
No special cases can be made. It doesn't matter how long you may have been asking about commissions or how much you like my art, if you don't claim a slot before all the others are filled, you do not get a drawing. It's not fair to anyone else if special cases are made as it just automatically deducts the chance of a viewer getting a commission. Simply put – everyone, regardless of who you are, must claim a slot when they open the same way everybody else does.
As of now, only one commission is allowed per person. If business is scarce, then I will allow up to three commissions per person, but it all depends on how well I do.
Finally, when you receive your commissioned work, please do not post it as a deviation on your DA page. When I did commissions in the past many users did that. Deviantart is a place to show off your own artwork. Even if I am given credit in the description, it is not your artwork and therefore I will have it reported and removed from your gallery. If you'd like to post it, use Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, or any like sites so your friends can see, but try to always give me credit, and let others know where to go to ask for commissions, as it will get me more business and I appreciate that. If I like a commission I've done enough or think it came out exceptionally well then I will post it in my own gallery with creative rights going to you with a link to your page. However, I may not be posting all commissions on my DA account. If I did not post your picture, please don't take it personally, and please keep in mind that you are still free to post the image on other websites if you desire.
Posted by Brendan Corris at 10:12 AM No comments:
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