Don't blame me for your poor interpersonal communication skills. There's more to interacting with people than name-calling and pedantic rants. Using “I” statements and expressing needs one can usually shut up a nattering nabob of negativity effectively or even win them over to your side.


Or play the martyr or enter into a shouting match or go drill sergeant on their sorry ass and reduce them to tears. Nah, I statements work better. Or tell them to berate a comic truly deserving of being commented upon; like mine. Or just call them pathetic and mean.

Cue Taylor Swift.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYa1eI1hpDE

Riiiiiight…

In the old days we got comments by commenting on the work of others and building up a recipricol commenting community like that. You make friends of the other artists and want to see their next update and they yours.

Aaaand other commenters come along by various means. I always found that engaging author notes helped convert a reader to a commenter:

-No notes makes the ppage look unloved or that the author doesn't care either way.
-Notes with arrogance makes the creator look like they don't need any.
-Repossesses to commentators in the comments is a good thing, it encourages people to have a conversation, makes people think that the creator cares about what they post.
-If you ask for critical comments in your author notes you may get some, but it could also put people off thinking they have to “perform”…

I don't think there's any rule or fool proof method to getting comments, just as long as you don't look too desperate (i.e. “I NEED comments, please, please please!”), and you appear friendly, open and funny or whatever.

- You're still a contrarian. ^_^

————-

The above sounds like dating advice… I suppose it's the same principal.

Indeed =/
So leaving that bunch of nonsense aside,
I apparently have to be dragged to my parents or a week. I'm taking my computer this time, leaving it here with my grandmothers usual house sitter bothers me. I still find it kind of stupid that I can't just stay here while she's is away. I'm pretty sure it's not hard to take care of dogs. But whatevs, there's cats at my parents, and decent food. Huzzah

Lonnehart wrote:
“I'll take a guess… if she's running at you straight like a mother wild pig protecing her piglet, then she wants you off the sheet. :) ”

It's not quite that. More like persistent nudging at my feet.

ozoneocean wrote:
“@Hippie- It maaaaay be down to sugar…? Brains need a crapload of simple energy from sugars. Maybe if you've got some sweet juice or something, apricot nectar?”

What the heck, is that something most Australians just keep around the house? Sounds amazing. All we ever have at my house is orange juice.

kawaiidaigakusei wrote:
“Russian History tiring? That has to be an exciting topic from Rasputin to the KGB. Just watch ”An American Tail“ during your study breaks.

Oh my gosh! I absolutely love rabbits especially when just lay on their back with all their paws in the air. My rabbit would do that when she was in a state of pure bliss. Perhaps the Juliet and Annie have already marked their territory? Rabbits mark their territory with the bottom of their chin.”

Oh, I didn't mean that it's dull. Just that studying any subject for a long period of time makes me sleepy.

I have never seen my rabbits lie on their backs! They often throw themselves onto their sides as if they are trying to roll onto their backs but can't quite make it, though.

bravo1102 wrote:
“Serfs get oppressed, serf rebellion, pretend tsar; repeat. Interspersed with boyars vs tsar and palace coup with strong willed German princess with a bevy of young officer lovers. (That's the whole 18th century right there) ”

Ha, I don't imagine my professor would appreciate it if that was all I wrote.
It's just Russian History since 1917 this semester, actually…did everything before that last semester. Also, you forgot about all the Dmitris during the Time of Troubles (unless that's what you meant by pretend tsar)! That has to be one of my favourite episodes in Russian History.

I bu apricot nectar sometimes. It's delicious! ^_^
…not as delicious as it used to be though, nor are apricots in general.

And that's not just an adult ageing perception thing either, it's a fact due to the way apricots are grown and produced commercially. Apparently for an apricot tree to start producing really good quality, tasty fruit it has to be pretty old and well established. So in these days of massively large scale farming volume means everything, taste is irrelevant when you simply need several tons of fruit for use in various processed foods so plantations are full of young trees with fruit that has barely more flavour than a potato. :(

Apricot nectar is mostly ok because the concentrated form of the apricots, plus the food acids and added sugars sort of approximate the taste of full flavour apricots and not the mega farm potato tasting things it's actually made from.

Great. Just realized that at the end of this month I'll be 42 years old. I'd rather not be old. I can only hope that before my time on this world is up that they find the cure to aging and a way to restore the body's youth…. though not too much. I don't want to end up a baby. %)

40 isn't as old as it used to be Lonne. All my best friends are 40+ ad they're still like kids, they even LOOK like they're still in their 20s! Slim, fit, young faced, fun, into cool stuff…

And yet I see young 20 year olds barely out of their teens with extra weight, conservative interests, tastes, hairstyle, fashion, all 100% copied from their parents and their parents parents, by the time they're in their mid 30s they're like someone 30 years older.

I've got a little way to go before i hit 40 but aside from hairline issues meaning I go for the jason statham look there ain't a lot old about me. okay i dodn't listen to the shit on the radio but I still listen to up and coming bands and such like, as well as old crusty bands who refuse to grow up.

@ozone: What are “conservative interests”?

Somewhere in the last century, there were expectations put in place that measured whether a person had reached adulthood. I believe it is: a car, a salaried job, marriage, a mortgage on a home, kids. Then later on the things judged are a larger home, a smartphone, an even better car, a 401K retirement plan, and children who are accepted to the best universities.

Looking at how I am spending my twenties, living in apartments, traveling, and working atypical jobs, I am far from rich and unable to check off many of the “measures of success”, yet I feel I have been living a life rich with education and worldly experiences.

A lot of it has to do with the government expecting us to be full fledged and financially independent adults by the time we are twenty-three. But even then, maturity is really relative to the person sitting next to you. I feel way older than I did in my early twenties, but compared to my parents when they were my age, I am still a kid.

I guess we should consider ourselves lucky. Way back in the beginning (when we warred with the other offshoot of humanity called the Neanderthal) our life expectancy was about 30 years. We could expect death by disease, predation, or being murdered by our fellow man…

Now we can expect to die from natural wear and tear. I'm pretty sure our maximum life expectancy under the most optimal conditions is around 125 years.

So why do I think 40 is old? Well… I actually think 35 is old. After that age any attempt at having children has a greater risk of that child having a deformity or two… There's some research somewhere that suggests that old men who attempt to have children at 70 have a high chance at having children with dwarfism.

Ugh… my father keeps urging me to get married. And it doesn't matter who. Unfortunately, my chance has passed for that. What woman of childbearing age and in her right mind would marry a 40+ year old guy who isn't very rich and well off?
Or maybe I just feel older than I should if I'm going to think that way…

Lonnehart wrote: So why do I think 40 is old? Well… I actually think 35 is old. After that age any attempt at having children has a greater risk of that child having a deformity or two… There's some research somewhere that suggests that old men who attempt to have children at 70 have a high chance at having children with dwarfism.

Ugh… my father keeps urging me to get married. And it doesn't matter who.

What is wrong with dwarfism? They make for excellent subject matter in Velasquez's Baroque paintings and it can lead to a career starring in Game of Thrones. I once went to a bar in Manilla in the Philippines called “Hobbit House” where every employee was a little person and it was Tolkien themed.

The age factor seems more pressing for women than men because there is a biological reason to have children early. You are thinking about this at forty-two, I can vouche for myself when I say women begin thinking this way much earlier, like twenty-two. Younger women have much more options. By the time a woman has reached a certain age, the dating pool gets smaller. Men are like wine, age is not a deal breaker and the dating pool generally remains the same.

I had no idea men were pressured by their parents to get married, too! Also that they do not stop until it happens.

Huahh~Lucky me, I don't have to care about age differences when dating~
I don't want any children anyway soooo~ saucy
My first boyfriend was 18 years older than me, kinda makes age gaps not be an issue anymore.
Though from experience, older doesn't always mean wiser .__.
As for parents pressing for marriage weirdness, yeah…my mom's been doing that recently .__.
it makes me nervous.

Lonnehart wrote:

What woman of childbearing age and in her right mind would marry a 40+ year old guy who isn't very rich and well off?

Do you remember Hyena Hell? She's a very attractive punky sorta gal that used to be around the forums a lot a few years ago, did a great black and white inked comic called “the Hub”.
Anyway, her partner is 50+, he's not rich or well off, QUITE the opposite, not even especially handsome. She's a good looking young woman herself in her late 20s, talented, amazingly intelligent and well educated.

So age doesn't really matter that much Lonne. It's just about how much you like someone, the interests you share etc.

As for potential health problems of potential kids- you cross that bridge when and if you come to it.

@hippie-
You can fill in the meaning yourself there :)
Anyway, what I meant was interests that aren't too imaginative and fairly typical… Kawaii outlines the soprt of thing I mean… But you know those sorts of men who seem to only be able to talk about watching sport on TV, going fishing, playing golf, fixing their car, their mortgage, their children in school, their drinking, what was on TV last night… kill me now -_-
And women who mainly talk about their children, cooking, what as on TV last night, the current popular novel (50 shades of grey etc), their medical iissues…

Fine, I GET people need to talk about common interests and those are common because they're either simple societal expectations or they're imitated from their parents, or influenced by other friends, or they're things that are common because we're all human (kids, medical, food), but that's also what limits their being that interesting. I'd rather know about the unusual things people do, their special interests, their hobbies, the things that aren't common.

I've come to believe that buying a house is what makes people dull. :P When someone starts talking about baseboards I completely shut down.
The other day I was studying in Starbucks and ended up leaving because the women next to me talked about bathroom renovations for a solid hour an I just couldn't stand it any more.


Also, I miss Hyena Hell. One of the best artists DD ever had, I think. Not to mention a really nice person.

Hahaha! Banes has a new house now and he's renovating the bathroom! ^_^
But he's gussying it up for renting and doesn't talk about the details, just the fact that he's doing it. I think the difference is that he has wider interests so he doesn't obsess like other people tend to do.

I wish HH were around again too! Glad Katch is back though :)
Hyena Hell moved back to New Orleans, her jobs don't pay as much there so she hasn't got the free time or the energy for comics that she had while in North Carolina. Their money goes to paying rent and paying to support the huge family of dogs they own

I stayed with her and her partner Marek for a week back in 2011 at their house in New Orleans.
-She has a much deeper voice than you'd expect!

LOL, like my being here makes any great difference XD I deleted most of my comics~
I'm still trying to decide whether I have the time to create something new or to try and redo my old ones~ *shrug*

The trick is to push a ahead and keep building on the bones of the old stuff.
It feels fresher to toss out older stuff and start new or do new versions of it, but you get better and build up a more impressive body of work by sticking with stuff I find.
That way you build up a real history and a timeline in the work, as well as giving your work a preseance on the web that you can only get through time.

I did it with my bunnies, those can stay. But the other stuff just made me cringe every time I saw it XD
it needed death.

Did someone say rennovations to the house … where to start … Tiles, tiles everywhere. So many tiles … pale terracotta coloured sandstone tiles with underfloor heating. New kitchen … lovely white cupboards and black granite benchtop, even one of those cool corner cupboards where the shelves swivel out in a figure eight motion so you can use all the space in the corner. And the tap … with extending swivelhead motion and spray setting. Finally the spice rack has arrived, so we're putting that up this weekend inside walk-in pantry. Exciting stuff. Then to finish the tiling of the ‘hallway’ (it's an open-plan, split level house, so hallway is the wrong description really … cat-walk almost), and then we can finish the room down the bottom by installing the luthier's workbench and storage shelves. Oh, I could just go on and one about our home rennovations … and I will another time (mwah, ha hah!), but I need to make another cup of home-roasted, organic, fair-trade, shade-grown, hand-picked by a collective of Mayan farmers, home-blended coffee … and then take some photos of Playmobil having sex.

heh… the only time I think of “home improvement” is Christmas… when I weaponize the house in case some strange old fat guy with a sack and a reindeer driven sleigh tries to break into my home. %)

Age. there's a random thread on it.

I don't think the issue is age (outside the physical realm - cuz there's an unavoidable reality there) as much as it is flexibility. I can flex and so it's easier for me to deal with change, even if that means: fuck off. Flexing is not a widespread talent at any age, but your pegged as “old” if you racked up some years and can't flex. rather disingenuous, that.

Interests? Interests will change over time - and it doesn't have to be much time. But it's control that's always the pull. At age 2, most folks start finding control entirely appealing. And it doesn't take long to see that money = some ability for control. But money is a double-edged sword: true - the more you have, the more buying options you have, but then the more you're occuppied with keeping the money because there's always someone else who thinks they have dibs: government, charities, family members (read: kids). I don't have so much that there's too much grief for me. That, and I have a very convincing scowl when need be. And then there's the death voice.

Another thing, still in line with flex, is: What are you learning? If you haven't tried something new and personally challenging within the last 12 months, you're in a rut. and you're not aging well, however old you are. (I recommend Duolingo, if you want to try learning a new language).

I've had to write thesis papers. I've had a variety of jobs. I've raised kids. I've done home improvements. Lotso hobbies. Hands down, kids are the most challenging. rewarding. interesting. exhausting. If you don't regularly hang out at some point with some one a decade younger than you, then you have no perspective to judge people a decade older than you. imo. And if you don't tend to something that needs tending (family members; pets; gardens) – something Alive, then you are looking at the world only through a set of very ME-blinkers. Your perspective is a one in 7.078 billion (according to Wikipedia). Not much cred there, but - hey - maybe you're that discordant, Jesus-like voice we've all been waiting for.

To age or not to age. What's your option? Isn't there only one? I say go for the aging, but try to keep every muscle as flexible as you can.

oh - and if you bore someone: Really - is that a concern? The lovely thing with aging is that “oh dear - am I boring?” becomes less of a concern the more you rack up the experiences.

I know there are some ducks older than me (tho' not bravo - right, kid?), but I gotta tell you, keep those physical/mental/emotional muscles as well flexed as you can, and the world will always offer more marvels to embrace.

It's lovely.

Oh no…I finished all the episodes of Marple on Netflix without realizing it. Just decided to watch one to relax because I don't have another exam until Monday, and they were all gone. : (


So I don't know if I'm getting girlier or just growing into myself, but I've suddenly started to like wearing dresses and skirts and stuff. Two years ago I didn't own a single dress.


@Katch: My bunnies look a bit like your cartoon bunnies! I have a black one and a white one.

@Hippie:

Oh do they? XD Now I want pictures~
Perhaps they are the real life Nu and Me!

Well, they're not quite the same. Romeo has some brown bits.

Awww~ they're so cute X3

@Hippie

This was my beautiful Rabbit friend, she is definitely one of the greatest friends I have ever had the chance to meet in this life. I once saw a Black rabbit in the pet shop, we made eye contact for a short time. I would get a black rabbit one day and name it either The Black Rabbit of Inle, Blackavar or Campion. You named your rabbits Romeo and Juliet? That is so sweet!

Whenever I am asked if I am a dog or cat person, I say that I am neither. I am a rabbit person through and through. This does not mean that I do not enjoy cat or dog people, it just seems that I get along with the personality types of people who like or who have had a rabbit companion sometime in their lifetime. Once I find out someone has owned a rabbit, it explains a lot about the nature of our friendship.

I've had bunnies. One called Cynthia- she was all light, smokey grey, with dark grey nose, ears, and a dark grey badge shaped patch in the middle of her back.
Peter rabbit was the most social. He wanted to be friends with cats. Very, very aggressive bunny too.

—-

What I hate about aging is my fingernails and facial hair growing. My nails at least grow at a constant rate, but they never fricken stop! And if I don't cut them they simply become sharper and sharper, because that must be how they wear as they grow. Hate them!
Facial hair changes speed to its own rhythm. I can avoid shaving for 5 days till I look scruffy sometimes, other times it's only a single day!

The hair on my head is getting longer though! No big deal for most people, but mine has always stopped just past the shoulders and no more. But now it keeps going! I only brush it while washing it, when using conditioner. -stops it breaking etc.

Man, I'm really being old and booring now…

Speaking of old and hair though, my grandfather on my mum's side went bald on top quite young and stayed that way till he got into his late 60s, then his hair came back again. When he died in his 90s he had more hair than in his 30s!

- this was something I only discovered after he died. I was talking to my mum about him and she always remembered him being bald on top, but I always remembered him with hair there… so we looked through old photos, and sure enough as he got older his hair started to come back, very strange and X-files type photo survey! And no, it wasn't a wig or impalnts etc, just his own old man snow white hair on his own liverspotted scalp.

I've never had a bunny, though I had a whole eye to eye conversation with one at a petstore once. It was a Lionhead bunny. I had never even heard of one before, they are the cutest little things. I wanted to take it home but the house is kind of full with two dogs, two fish and (soon to be) three cats.

ozoneocean wrote:“Facial hair changes speed to its own rhythm. I can avoid shaving for 5 days till I look scruffy sometimes, other times it's only a single day!”

It was for this reason that I wondered why men have not thought about waxing their faces more often. It would definitely cut down on having to shave daily, leaves the face smoother and not like sandpaper. Also, no cuts, blood or problems with razor burn.

Oh, and waxing does hurt, but ten minutes of pain is worth three months of not having to shave. Of course, ripping the hair out of the follicle gives rise to the chance that the hair will never grow back again and beards are awesome. There is also the idea that having the ability to grow a beard is manly and waxing takes away that masculinity like Delilah took away Samson's hair.

Katch wrote:“I've never had a bunny, though I had a whole eye to eye conversation with one at a petstore once. It was a Lionhead bunny. I had never even heard of one before, they are the cutest little things.”

Yes, I have had eye to eye conversations in pet stores. One with an adorable Shih Tsu and another with an Oranda goldfish.