<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
  <channel>
    <title>icedmaple's Journals on Buzznet</title>
    <description><![CDATA[25; Geek. Total tomboy. No tact, no grace, no pretention. Says mean stuff without meaning it; never says nice stuff without really meaning it. Will hug anything that stands still long enough. Hates mySpace and goes Exorcist within 12 feet of tuna due to a violent allergy. Obsessive compulsive with music and has been known to have the same song on repeat for up to three days (and nights) without noticing. Unnaturally obsessed with the paranormal and WWII. Owns full US Marine uniform. Trainee psychic (but still sane, honest). Has been scared of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends since Gordon crashed in the early eighties; still can't look at the website aimed at children. Has the ability to break anything electrical JUST BY LOOKING AT IT. Oh yes. An expensive superpower indeed.

Co-creator of The-Camera-Obscura.net - a web project designed to elevate the online profiles of actors we admire, but feel are under-represented on the web. Check it out.]]></description>
    <link>http://icedmaple.buzznet.com/user/journal/</link>
    <language>en-us</language>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[Courage Campaign: save 18,000 same-sex marriages in California]]></title>
	      <link>http://icedmaple.buzznet.com/user/journal/3724291/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[<object width="400" height="302"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3089746&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3089746&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="never" width="400" height="302"><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="never"></object><br><a href="http://vimeo.com/3089746">"Fidelity": Don't Divorce...</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/couragecampaign">Courage Campaign</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.<br><br>couragecampaign.org/divorce<br><br>Ken Starr, who led the campaign to impeach President Bill Clinton, filed a legal brief last month -- on behalf of the "Yes on 8" campaign -- that would forcibly divorce 18,000 same-sex couples that were married in California last year before the passage of Prop 8.Watch "Fidelity" and sign our letter to the state Supreme Court. Tell the Supreme Court to invalidate Prop 8, reject Ken Starr's case, and let loving, committed couples marry. DEADLINE: Valentine's Day.<br><br>couragecampaign.org/divorce<br><br>This is an issue that is deeply important to me - please take the time to sign this petition - whether you are directly affected by it or not.<br><br>Don't let this man ban love.]]></description>
		  		  	<category>prop8</category>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>icedmaple</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2009-02-06T19:47:00Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[From QOTD: My response to 'Is it okay to write fanfiction about real people?']]></title>
	      <link>http://icedmaple.buzznet.com/user/journal/3489551/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[I just wanted to keep this here because I spent agest writing it and I think it's worth retaining.<br><br>In response to <a href="http://www.buzznet.com/groups/qotd/forum/topics/397241/qotd-wrong-write-real-people/">this </a>thread: <br><br>I haven't read the 60 pages of responses to this, yet, but I've read 11 and I feel a few things need to be cleared up about RPS convention:<br><br>1. The first rule of fanfic: NOBODY TALKS ABOUT FANFIC. 99% of writers - and readers - of fanfic, especially slash, are completely against the fiction being sent to/shown to/explained to the people being written about. The logic is that it's a basic courtesy not to make them feel awkward (or the writers, for that matter) while they are turning a blind eye to it. There are plans in progress to establish a hit squad for the next teenie who sends/hands out fanfiction to the people in it. I will be leading the team and arming the grenade before it is stuffed between said teenie's teeth.<br><br>2. While a lot of slashers would love to see their favourite pairing come out of the closet one day and announce their deep and enduring love, most of them (or, perhaps I should say 'us', but I'll come to that later) appreciate that there are genuine boundaries and that the majority of what is written ISN'T REAL. That is why most RPS fics contain disclaimer stating a such.<br><br>3. Even though it's amusing and we appreciate the approval of certain factions of bandom (many bands acknowledge and deliberately feed the slashers with good natured humour - see: Fall Out Boy, Cobra Starship, et al) it is generally discomforting when you write a story and suddenly Gabe Saporta is commenting on it. If you're reading this, and you've seen yourself in a fanfic, please don't tell us it's awesome. Or anything else, unless you'd like for it to be taken down. It's just plain Awkward. Yes. Capitalised. A.W.K.W.A.R.D. Imagine your mother walking in on you masturbating. Yes. Awkward.<br><br>4. Unless a girlfriend/wife/partner is a celebrity herself (see: Ashlee, Lyn-Z, Nicole) the general concensus and unwritten etiquette is to leave her out of it. Either by pretending she does not exist, or not including her as an active figure in the story (writing about her in reference only, or as an incidental character). Writing her as a main character or the protagonist for purposes of self-insertion (literally, the author using a character real or invented, to represent themselves and exist vicariously through them in the story - often known a 'Mary Sue' fic; see point 5) is widely frowned upon and generally only written by young, inexperienced writers who are particularly focused on the wishfulfilment/fantasy aspect of fanfiction. Most writers understand that although they are dating/married to the subject, they did not necessarily sign up for fame (see: Joe Trohman's fiancee, Marie, who has remained entirely out of the limelight).<br><br>5. Our old friend Mary Sue... 'Mary Sue' is the nickname given to a character, or type of story, where the author creates or uses a hyper-perfect avatar in order to live through them within the universe they are writing. This is generally sneered at by most readers and writers, and considered one of the earliest phases of writing, from which people will either develop or grow out of. Of course, some remain delusional, but this is by no means the norm or a respected area of fanfiction.<br><br>6. One of the biggest areas of conflict in fanfiction comes when people write stories focusing on what would be considered 'perversions' by the average, non-bigotted leyman. This would include stories focusing on child abuse, rape, murder and subjects of that ilk. Many would also include incest in that, but it is a larger subject which I have no contact with, as I am not involved with any RPS pairings that involve siblings. Although these subjects do exist, and are entitled to do so on the basis of freedom of speech, they take up a tiny, tiny percentage of the fic which is actually available. Many members of RPS bandom prefer to avoid them, feeling that they are disturbing in principle and offensive to those real people being written about. Some writers could undoubtely pull off a tastefully explored character-study in which an individual was placed in such situations, but these are rare and the sub-genre itself makes many of us very uncomfortable - after all, nobody wants to imply that they see those individuals as truly capable of carrying out a sexually motivated murder or the molestation of a child, or that we generally wish to imagine them being put through such an experience themselves. The vast majority of works are based on romantic or (consentual) sexual relationships between the characters and feature nothing more 'perverse' in any regard, than a bit of rimming.<br><br>7. What's the point of fanfic? Simply put, once you have ruled out wishfulfilment and fantasy fic, it's that inspiration bites and you are taken over with plot bunnies which breed, as bunnies are wont to do, like rabbits - filling your head with ideas and scenes and concepts that you can't help but share. It's simple inspiration - some of us want to write it, others want to read it, as long as the subjects are not genuinely offended by it, there's no harm in doing it.<br><br>For my own part, I've been writing fanfiction without really understanding it, from the age of around thirteen. I'm now twenty-six. It has always been guy-on-guy slash. I have no idea why - it just has; I have no interested in 'Gen' fic and I loathe 'het'. But as a writer who has put out stories sometimes reaching hundreds of thousands of words and literally hundreds of hours' of writing, editing and researching (you would not believe how much I research my fics, honestly) it's simply a hobby I enjoy. If I'm not writing I sit around twiddling my thumbs and wanting to put down the ideas which are inevitably swimming around my head.<br><br>As far as RPS is concerned, my pet pairing - or OTP - is between Joe and Patrick from Fall Out Boy, and I could spend hours explaining why; but I won't because I'm sure it would be boring (Google 'tin hat's guide' and their names for a highly tongue-in-cheek explanation). I only write the ship I do because I see plausibility in it - 'plausibility', however, should NOT be confused with 'fact' - I could see how it would work and I can imagine how they'd make sense together. That doesn't mean I genuinely believe they are, but it serves to create a plethora of concepts to explore. I never write detailed sex scenes and I always do my best to remain true to their real-life personalities - with the exception of that one element of homosexual tendencies (which in itself is something the band toys with on a regular basis anyway, down to including it in the video to Arms Race). <br><br>In conclusion, I suppose: no - writing real person fiction isn't 'wrong', but it can be executed badly and disrespectfully, although few of us would condone that. Many commenters on here have been very quick to judge, although they admit to never having read the works or only having read the truly atrocious kind found on Quizilla. My suggestion, as with anything else, would be to investigate it before you write it off. At the bottom of the Tin-Hat's Guide are recommendations of fanfics which are reasonably well-executed - if asked, I'm sure many shippers will make recommendations of their own.<br><br>At the end of the day, it's an outlet for creativity which brings a lot of enjoyment for millions of people the world over, when considered in its various forms. If the people in the fanfics wanted us to stop, and they said so publicly, then I like to think that most of us would adhere to their wishes. But while they are supporting or encouraging it, there really seems very little wrong with it, to me.]]></description>
		  		  	<category>fanfiction</category>
		  		  	<category>meta</category>
		  		  	<category>qotd</category>
		  		  	<category>slash</category>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>icedmaple</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2008-12-10T18:12:00Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[The new TAI song sounds exactly like...]]></title>
	      <link>http://icedmaple.buzznet.com/user/journal/2682041/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[...someone put 2005 on a CD.<br><br><br>]]></description>
		  		  	<category>the academy is...</category>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>icedmaple</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2008-07-14T22:53:00Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[Dear OCK Organisers: FUCK OFF.]]></title>
	      <link>http://icedmaple.buzznet.com/user/journal/2585141/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[Hands up if you received the OCK renewal email today.<br><br>Yeah, so did I. And it is SO FULL OF SHIT. This whole scheme is nothing but a rip-off. They're basically telling us that giving them more money over a longer period of time, and getting all out friends to give them (note: NOT THE BAND OR THE LABEL - THE FAN CLUB) money is what makes us the worthiest fans. Well, I call shenanigans and decided to haul them up on their bullshit. <br><br>This is what I was sent:<br><br>-----<br>Hey guys!&nbsp; So check it...<br><br>Overcast Kids is extending your chance to upgrade your status another 2<br>months as you know we have been trying something new by implementing<br>tiered membership levels. We’ve got Gold (new members), Platinum, and<br>Diamond status.&nbsp; Now I’m sure some of you are kinda bummed out because you<br>feel like you’re not going to get a chance to do cool stuff if you’re only<br>at the gold level – but don’t be!!!<br><br>Here’s why:<br><br>We (meaning myself, artist arena AND the FOB dudes) decided to break<br>memberships up into these different levels to protect not just the oldest<br>OCKs, but to protect ALL OCKs!!&nbsp; And the way we have it set up is so that<br>EVERYONE has a chance to move up the ranks to Platinum or Diamond status.<br>There are two ways to do this:<br><br>1. sort of like high school, every year you renew your membership, you<br>will automatically be bumped up a level. Just like you’re graduating from<br>freshman to sophomore year.<br><br>2. want to move up quicker? We’ve set up a program where you can refer<br>your friends/family/teachers (wait, no.. That would be kind of creepy) to<br>OCK. You will get credit every time you refer someone who signs up, and<br>after 10 credits, you get bumped up a rank! See, it ain’t so bad. There’s<br>tons of prizes and cool opportunities to go around for everyone, and I<br>promise that everyone will get a chance to take part in them!<br><br>Until the next time....<br><br>Xo danielle<br>------<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">My response:</span><br><br>I actually panic-bought my membership renewal a few months ago and was charged an extortionate amount of postage for an appallingly poor-quality bandana and a pathetic, out of focus re-printed photograph from years and years ago. You couldn't even be bothered to have it signed. From what I recall, I was charged $20 or so (almost as much as the membership) for postage and packing for an envelope that had $4.50 on the front. What did the rest of the money go on? Because it sure as hell wasn't the rest of that rubbish you sent in it. I guess the only option left is that it's a quick way of profiteering from the fans even more. Given the choice, you could have kept the cheap tat and I would have kept my postage.<br><br>The majority of fans I know gave up their memberships because of the new tiered scheme and I wish I hadn't bothered myself. It's a rip-off and I'm guessing this is why you've had to extend your offer period. The fact that you're now playing the, "Oh, but the band think it's cool" card to win the rest of the fans over is actually pretty insulting and makes me question whether they either a) really understand what you're doing or b) if they are more concerned about ripping off the kids than I ever expected.<br><br>What you provide for this money is pitiful. A website with content which is always leaked within a day of it being posted and the remote possibility that you might, one day, get 30 seconds across a table with the band? You don't even allow individual pictures anymore! Is that the best that can be done? Do you really think that this kind of clap-trap doesn't go unnoticed? It's even worse for the people outside of the US. We don't even have the option of being involved in the flyaways and videos and yet we still pay the same amount.<br><br>This entire concept and email smacks of desperation. It's unprofessionally, inarticulately written and offensive to anyone with any intelligence (do I need to remind you that not all of the band's fans are under fifteen?). You are actually implying that the 'best' fans are the ones who can con friends into spending money on your company, rather than the ones who will actually get their friends to go to concerts, buy the actual records and support them in the way a band should be supported. That's frankly disgusting.<br><br>I really hope that the band aren't involved the way you say they are, because I will have lost a lot of respect for them. I've certainly lost all respect for the Overcast Kids as an organisation and won't be renewing next year. Not unless something sincere is done to rectify the absolute crap we're being palmed off with at the moment.<br><br>I have worked in Business Development (Customer Service and Marketing) as an account manager for years and I'm actually starting to wonder if you have a single individual experienced in either field employed to work on this. If you do, I strongly suggest you show them the door and find a replacement, or this whole ship is going to sink pretty fast.<br><br>Sincerely,<br>Rosie.<br><br><br>----<br><br>If you're an OCK who got the email and is as pissed off as some of us are, don't just take it - TELL THEM SO. They are only going to get away with this is we let them. The fact that they're using the boys and saying they're all for it to make people think it's okay <span style="font-style: italic;">isn't okay</span>.<br><br>What they give us for our money - especially non-Americans - is absolutely shit and they're going to keep on ripping us off because they can and we'll take it.<br><br>Don't just sit there complaining to your friends - say something to the people who need to hear it.<br><br>----<br><br><b>Edit:</b> <a name="cutid2"></a>My question to Pete:<br><br>I'm only giving you this link because there isn't room to post the whole thing in the Question field:<br><br><a href="http://icedmaple.livejournal.com/325605.html">http://icedmaple.livejournal.com/32<wbr>5605.html</a><br><br>Are  you seriously supporting this? From the point of view of someone with a  lot of years' experience in customer service and marketing, this is an  insult to your fans and really poor PR. Do you seriously want the fans  thinking that you guys are encouraging the fanclub to rip them off and  sell you for what amounts to prizes? It's telling people that the most  worthy fans are the ones who can get their friends to spend money on  the fanclub, rather than being able to get people to shows or buy the  records.<br><br>Come ON, dude. That isn't the band I fell in love with.  The quality of the stuff they send us is so low I'd rather they kept it  and saved me the extortionate postage anyway.<br><br>Can you really  encourage people to shell out for this when you guys aren't even  touring and there are no meet and greets to go to (which we all know is  the main pull of the fanclub anyway - because overseas fans can't even  be included in flyaways)?<br><br>I want to believe in you guys' credibility but this kind of casting you in a bad light right now.<br><br>Say it ain't so...<br><br><br>---<br><br><b>Edit 2:</b> This is from my credit card statement - copied and pasted:<br><br>16 Apr 2008	ARTIST ARENA LLC	 - 	£25.89<br><br>Bearing  in mind that the dollar is routinely equivalent to just under half the  pound. That means they charged me around $50 for my membership, which  should cost $29.24 (and that is all they sent me a receipt for). The  other $20 was just postage on something that cost them $4.50 to send  me. Julie will confirm this - she was here when I received the envelope  (yep, envelope).<br>]]></description>
		  		  	<category>i call bullshit</category>
		  		  	<category>ock</category>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>icedmaple</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2008-06-26T21:14:00Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[Not if it had a face...]]></title>
	      <link>http://icedmaple.buzznet.com/user/journal/2573121/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[Vegetarianism, then: something I never really thought I'd gravitate to. To any extent.<br><br>However,
I've lately made the choice first to restrict the meat I eat to
ethically farmed sources, and more recently, I've stopped buying meat
products from the supermarket altogether. Don't get me wrong, I love
meat and seafood, I really do (especially the seafood) - there is
absolutely no squick behind this decision. I'm doing this because of
the way the animals are farmed and the greed of the meat industry
itself; there is an on-going pressure to force down meat prices so they
are virtually unsustainable for the farmers and inhumane for the
animals. I've chosen not to personally buy into that and help promote
farming on such an enormous scale, which is ultimately detrimental to
the farmers producing the end product anyway. (A recent programme here
in the UK revealed that the average chicken farmer selling mass-farmed
roasting chickens which would be sold for around £2.50 in the
supermarkets would only receive 3p per chicken.)<br><br>So, I've
started trying out the vegetarian substitutes (Quorn escalopes are not
my favourite :|) and figuring out for myself what exactly I'm going to
exclude from my diet, devising my own set of rules for acceptability.<br><br>I
have no problem with eating meat from small farms, where the animals
are at least treated with a certain respect and the sale of the produce
is generally fairer on the farmer (on-site farm shops=major bonus), but
living in London, as I do, finding and affording such products seems to
be relatively impossible. The fact that I'll be moving to Hove in East
Sussex, with my best friend Julie, will probably aid this to some
extent as the south coast is lined by countryside and not surrounded by
mile after mile of concrete.<br><br>I would love to have the same
self-sufficiency and respect for food sources promoted by Hugh
Fearnley-Whittingstall (one of our country's main proponents of eating
with conscience), but my chances of ever owning a small holding are
slim, and frankly, I'm too lazy - so I'm going to have to do this as a
lowly city dweller.<br><br>So my main rules will have to be:<br><br>- if it had a face, I'm not buying it from a supermarket (unless it's a jammy biscuit);<br>-
if it had a face, but I can be sure of the source and know that it was
generally ethically farmed, I will consider buying from respectable
local suppliers;<br>- if it contains egg (such as mayonnaise) it must be from free range (thank you Hellmanns);<br>-
where dairy is concerned, soya products are always preferrable,
however, vegetarian-approved cheese is also acceptable if necessary (I
haven't explored the cheese issue, as yet, but I already use soya milk
rather than dairy and have done for some time).<br><br>As I already
mentioned, shellfish - especially oysters and prawns - are my favourite
foods. They're a peculiarly ambiguous category, because they don't have
a face but they do seem to have greater cognitive activity than say, a
potato. For this reason, I'm going to categorise them under meat; which
means no 'fresh' packs from the supermarket. I generally only eat
oysters at restaurants anyway (which creates my next issue) but prawns
I will usually eat at least once a week; it'll be a strange change to
my diet to rule them out.<br><br>On the matter of restaurants, is it
okay to eat meat or fish at restaurants, as I haven't purchased the
original product myself? I suppose it's similar to the argument
presented by my vegan friend, Edge; on the matter of vegans purchasing
second-hand leather: it's acceptable because the individual has not
directly contributed to the original demand for the product.<br><br>I
think this is one to test when I next eat out at a restaurant and see
what I can find out from the staff and weigh it up in my conscience
then...<br><br>The thing is, <b>I am not calling myself a vegetarian</b>
- I want to make that clear, because I don't want to steal the thunder
of the people who do dedicate their lives to the lifestyle, as I have a
lot of respect for them (unless they call themselves 'pescatarians' or
'vegetarians who eat fish' in which case they can fuck off and die) and
I don't want to be a hypocrite. Friends like Edge and Matte who are
both vegan, H and Jay, who have each been vegetarian for, if I recall,
over a decade, have been my main inspiration in this, and I appreciate
their support.<br><br>Perhaps, instead, this deserves its own name? We’ll go with <b>ethivore</b>, for now.<br><br>So, this is kind of a big thing for me, so I've actually decided to <a href="http://notifithadaface.wordpress.com">blog</a> the process and record my experiences of exploring vegetarian products,
recipes and finding respectable sources. I'm not sure whether it will
be of interest to anyone, but it makes sense to separate it from my
regular journals.<br><br><br>The ultimate concern here, is to not
actively contribute to the meat industry - human beings are designed to
consume meat, that's how we've evolved, but we did not evolve because
of factory farming.]]></description>
		  		  	<category>ethivore</category>
		  		  	<category>food</category>
		  		  	<category>not if it had a face</category>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>icedmaple</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2008-06-24T19:24:00Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[This Deliberate Life - HeyChris and Jay from HRE get up to mischief.]]></title>
	      <link>http://icedmaple.buzznet.com/user/journal/2288181/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[A lot of people on here probably know that I run the street team for a band called Holy Roman Empire. What they might not know is that the band is partially made up of ex-members of Arma Angelus, Shai Hulud and Stabbed by Words - all of which have some significance to pre-FOB era Pete, Joe and Andy.<br><br>Now, over the last year, Jay, their guitarist, and I have become good friends* and today, in between arguing about the best kind of casual footwear, he linked me to a radio show a good friend of his just launched. You probably know that guy as HeyChris. So, on the first show he did, Chris asked Jay to be his special guest and what resulted was an hour or two of absolute hilarity, reminiscing on the good old days in the band when Jay got to "sleep" with the "Princess", their drummer wanted to play 'I'll show you mine' and planes flew into buildings... <br><br>It really is an awesome show which can be listened to via archived podcast, and you'll probably hear a few things about P-We and the Arma years that you never knew. And you'll laugh your arses off, I promise.<br><br>You can IM Chris during the show when it's happening live (the Jay show aired on 22 April), or call in, and so far it sounds like a lot of people want Jay back on there for more antics.<br><br><center><a href="http://www.podcastfearless.com/dellife/index.php?page=2">YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY CHECK IT OUT</a></center><br><br><br>And when you've done that, you may as well go and <a href="http://www.myspace.com/holyromanempire">check out his band</a>, too. Happy listening!<br><br><br><br>(*no, I swear I'm not bragging, we just are and usually I filter shit if I even mention the guys so people can't bitch at me for it)]]></description>
		  		  	<category>heychris</category>
		  		  	<category>holy roman empire</category>
		  		  	<category>jay jancetic</category>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>icedmaple</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2008-05-01T14:10:00Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[A message from Gabe Saporta (WARNING: DISTURBING IMAGES OF ANIMAL SUFFERING)]]></title>
	      <link>http://icedmaple.buzznet.com/user/journal/2216921/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[This is one of the few times you will see me rally for a cause. But I hope you all will take the time to read and sign this. It really is sad to see that in 2008 things like this are still happening. Thanks guys.<br><br>- Gabe<br><br>THIS WILL TAKE A MINUTE OF YOUR TIME AND WILL SAVE A CREATURE AND HOPEFULLY REMOVE THIS SO-CALLED "ARTIST"!!!<br><br>In 2007, the 'artist' Guillermo Vargas Habacuc, took a dog from the street, he tied him to a rope in an art gallery, starving him to death.<br><br>For several days, the 'artist' and the visitors of the exhibition have watched emotionless the shameful 'masterpiece' based on the dog's agony, until eventually he died.<br><br><center><img src="http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n118/icedmaple/image1.jpg"><center><br><br><br><img src="http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n118/icedmaple/image2.jpg"><br><img src="http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n118/icedmaple/image3.jpg"><br><img src="http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n118/icedmaple/image5.jpg"><br><img src="http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n118/icedmaple/image4.jpg"><br><img src="http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n118/icedmaple/image6.jpg"><br><br>Does it look like art to you?<br><br><div style="text-align: left;">But this is not all ... the prestigious Visual Arts Biennial of the Central American decided that the 'installation' was actually art, so that Guillermo Vargas Habacuc has been invited to repeat his cruel action for the biennial of 2008.<br><br><br><br>Let's STOP HIM!!!!!<br><br>Click on the following link :<br><br>http://www. petitiononline. com/ea6gk/petition-sign. html<br>(Petition Link)<br><br>or<br><br>http://www. petitiononline. com/13031953/petition. html<br>(Alternate Link )<br>or just copy it in your browser to sign a petion to stop him to do it again, then digit the name Guillermo Vargas Habacuc to find the petition to sign.<br><br>Please do it.<br><br>It's free of charge and it will only take 1 minute to save the life of an innocent creature.<br><br>Please also send this to as many contact as you can... Let's stop him!!!<br><br>If you want to double check all the above information you can google the name of the 'artist' to see all I have just said corresponds to truth.<br><br><br><br>Thank you<br></div><br>    </center></center>]]></description>
		  		  	<category>animal rights</category>
		  		  	<category>gabe saporta</category>
		  		  	<category>petitions</category>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>icedmaple</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2008-04-19T08:26:00Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[If You Win It, It's Yours. End of.]]></title>
	      <link>http://icedmaple.buzznet.com/user/journal/1867051/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[So, Joe is understandably <a href="http://www.friendsorenemies.com/web/foe/journals/theoneandonlyjoetrohman//entry/1865161/">a bit pissed</a> about the dude who won the Civic not keeping it. Therefore, all the FOB fans in the world are running around crying <strike>MARRY ME PEET!</strike> FOUL! FOUL! BURN THE HERETIC! <br><br>Now, I wish - as much as anyone else - that a genuine fan who would have loved it and called it <strike>Ryan</strike> George had won that car. It would have been a nice little <span style="font-style: italic;">awww</span> moment, as some rich college brat won an unattractive motorvehicle signed by Pete Wentz, that fat dude and the two from the backing band. It would. Warm fuzzies, fluffy MySpace pooches and cupcakes all around.<br><br>But it wasn't. The guy who won it was a dude with a family who took his perfectly legitimate winnings, and exchanged them for something he could make better use of. Which to me, sounds like a reasonable idea. The car dealer he made the exchange with is now recouping the cost of the guy's chosen SUV in auctioning the Civic.<br><br>And the fans? The fans are absolutely appalled that neither of them donated the entire $30,000 to charity.<br><br>Yes, the kids think that by rights, this money belongs to charity.<br><br>I'm sorry, but no. A man had a stroke of luck, and he used his good fortune to his advantage. How do any of us know his financial situation? Maybe he was desperately in need of a new car for his five kids? I'm always being told that Americans REALLY, REALLY, HONESTLY NEED GIGANTIC GAS-GUZZLING MEGA-CARS, OKAY? because their public transport sucks. So maybe the win was a damn stroke of luck for him and his family.<br><br>So, if we assume for a minute that the guy now in possession of the car - the dealer, who has already parted with money in the shape of the SUV - is the person now responsible, do we expect him to give his entire earnings to charity? In the current US climate? Would you give away $30,000 to charity right now?<br><br><br>Don't get me wrong: I find it disappointing that someone who'd really appreciate the car didn't get to drive it away. But expecting someone - either of these guys - to give fairly and legitimately obtained revenue to charity just because everyone else is jealous that they didn't win (but wants Joe to like them by agreeing with him in his pissy mood) is plain ridiculous.<br><br>I believe that 95% of us would 'give it a go' in a competition, and if we won the prize we couldn't directly use, sell it on or profit from it however we legitimately could. The greatest sin this man has committed is <span style="font-style: italic;">possibly</span> not appreciating the illegible silver sharpie on the doors. He probably never really expected to win. And how do any of us know that he didn't actually <i>totally fucking love</i> the car and wanted to keep it, but simply couldn't justify it when it provided an opportunity to provide a more practical form of transport for his kids?<br><br><br>I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll have reason to say it again, but so many of the kids who call themselves Fall Out Boy fans are nasty, self-centred, irrational little cunts. A lot of the people making wild, judgemental comments over there are adults. <br><br>Fucking hell.<br><br>Why do we have to share the planet with idiots?]]></description>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>icedmaple</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2008-02-21T15:12:00Z</dc:date>
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		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[Fanfic]]></title>
	      <link>http://icedmaple.buzznet.com/user/journal/1762211/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[I'd usually keep this off of FOE out of respect for the dudes in it, but someone took the time to give Joe a link to Hedonism (which I'm oh, so very sure he's interested in, of course) so I may as well just go ahead.<br><br>This is a list of my FOB fanfic posted to date.<br><br>Have fun.<br><br>(And if you know you're in this fic and you still read it, you're a braver dude than me.)<br><br>---<br><br><font size="4"><b><u>Bandom</u></b></font><b><br><br>Pairing:</b> Joe Trohman/Patrick Stump<b><br><br><a href="http://community.livejournal.com/damagereport/6368.html">The World's Not Waiting</a></b> - (R, max) - c. 4,000 per chapter. <b>Work In Progress</b>.<b><br>Plot Summary:</b> Sixteen-year-old Joe Trohman has spent months trying to work up the courage to talk to the kid who works at his local bookstore, and after a chance meeting almost ruins everything, Patrick is recruited for Joe's new band. As an awkward friendship grows into something more, the boys are beset with obstacles; including Pete. (AU Timeline - Andy as founder member.)<b><br>Themes:</b> first love, coming out, family, friendships, jealousy, angst, homophobia, music career.<b><br>Era:</b> Duration of FOB's career.<br><br><b><a href="http://community.livejournal.com/damagereport/7866.html">Hedonism</a></b> - (R) - c. 27,300 words; three parts. <b>Complete</b>.<b><br>Plot summary:</b> <i>"People started to filter away, glancing back with looks of disbelief at the mess and the men in the midst of it all."</i>For years, Pete and Patrick have hidden their private relationship with public girlfriends - but people change, and as things begin to fall apart, Joe finds himself stuck with a choice between settling for real life, or risking all of it for a second chance on a teenage crush.<b><br>Themes:</b> angst, relationships, adultery, tour life.<b><br>Era:</b> Honda Civic Tour.<b><br><br><a href="http://community.livejournal.com/damagereport/8943.html">The Cure to Growing Older</a></b> - (PG-13) - c. 26,000 words; three parts. <b>Complete</b>.<br><b>Plot summary:</b> <i>AU.</i> The Trohman family never moved to Ohio, and a five-year-old Joe first meets Patrick in kindergarten. Not everyone is too happy with the way their friendship develops and the inevitable awkwardness it creates - least of all the boys themselves.<br><b>Themes:</b> growing up, angst, childhood, self-discovery, minor homophobia.<b><br>Era:</b> Kindergarten to late teens.<b><br><br><a href="http://community.livejournal.com/damagereport/9995.html">Capture the Phrases</a></b> - (PG-13) - c. 10,000 words. <b>Complete</b>.<b><br>Plot summary:</b> Patrick is baffled when a mystery admirer begins leaving him notes; but as he begins to respond and he starts to fall for the anonymous benefactor, he remains oblivious to the motives of the people around him.<b><br>Themes:</b> stalking, humour, crushes, friendships, angst.<b><br>Era:</b> Early FOB/Note Wars.<br><br>---<b><br><br>Pairing:</b> Pete/Patrick<br><br><b><a href="http://community.livejournal.com/damagereport/6129.html">In Between Arms</a></b>- (PG-13) - c. 9,100 words. <b>Complete</b>.<b><br>Plot summary:</b> WWII AU. <i>In retrospect, Peter could see that the beginning of their quirky, out-of-balance friendship was already the beginning of the end.</i> Long after the war has ended, Pete remembers the past he is hiding from - and the people who brought him to where he is now; alone in New York in the early 50s.<b><br>Themes:</b> war, history, forbidden love, death?, poetry.<b><br>Era:</b> WWII/1950s.]]></description>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>icedmaple</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2008-02-02T11:49:00Z</dc:date>
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		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[Heath Ledger is dead.]]></title>
	      <link>http://icedmaple.buzznet.com/user/journal/1703511/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[<a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/actor-heath-ledger-is-found-dead/">I'm still in shock.</a>]]></description>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>icedmaple</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2008-01-22T14:22:00Z</dc:date>
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