Last week, a thread on Ravelry turned in a heated discussion on whether yarnbombing (the practice of knitters or crocheters covering something with something they've made) is vandalism. I posted my opinion on Twitter, which -- with its 140 character limit -- wasn't really enough space to adequately convey my thoughts on the subject.
I meant to return to the subject on my blog much sooner, but I had other things to say or get to first. So, on to the topic at hand.
Vandalism: willful or malicious destruction or defacement of public or private property
(from the Merriam-Webster dictionary)
The latest example (at least in Philadelphia) is that a knitter took it upon herself to knit a giant pink sweater and put it on the Rocky statue that stands in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. To be clear, this knitter was NOT the sculptor the Rocky statue. She does not OWN the Rocky statue. She decided that it was fine to change the statue's appearance because she wanted to.
Never mind the fact that if the yarn she used was made of wool, it would attract bugs. Or if the yarn she used was acrylic, it would contain oils that would get on the statue and could potentially damage it.
And yarnbombers have taken to doing this to trees, public transit seats, pretty much anything they want to.
Which bring me to my next point... the sheer sense of entitlement.
What the hell gives them the right? "Oh hey, I'm a knitter/crocheter, and I feel like this pole, subway seat, bike rack, parking meter pole, NEEDS a cosy. So here it is!" Um, no. JUST NO.
When people with cans of spray-paint do the exact same thing, it's called vandalism, it's a crime, and it's punishable by jail time. Because these people have yarn and needles instead, some people in the crafting community think it's cute, creative, and should be encouraged? The only time we DON'T call the spray-paint artists "vandals" is when they do a mural in a place that was specially selected for that purpose. And guess what - knitters and crocheters have a place and time for practising their art. And it ISN'T on other people's private property (or public property, in which case my tax money is paying to cut this "yarnbombing" down, and that really pisses me off).
In the words of one of my friends, as we were discussing this, the other day, "If I was into macaroni art, and I decided to do a macaroni art picture on the front of your house without your permission, would that be okay?"
Showing posts with label venting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label venting. Show all posts
12 April 2011
10 April 2011
My beef with ESPN: The Magazine
For years, I have subscribed to ESPN: The Magazine. In fact, if memory serves, I have subscribed to it pretty regularly since its inception in 1998. I'm not willing to swear that I was an inaugural subscriber whose subscription has NEVER lapsed, but I know that I HAVE been pretty regular with my subscription renewals. And I know that I've given my fair share of gift subscriptions over the years.
I'm not quite sure how or why, but my most recent subscription ended in April (it's usually around the holidays). I always renew my subscription and Dale's/Mom's at the same time, plus anyone else's who I might be throwing in. At Christmas, I gave Dale the annual piece of paper (the gift subscription is technically Dale's, and Mom steals it every other week) that promised a renewal.
Because things have been so hectic lately and I've got some things on my mind (as you may have noticed), I hadn't really noticed that my ESPN renewal notice hadn't come. Every once in awhile I'd wonder about it, then I'd think "maybe it did come and I paid it, and I just can't remember - I HAVE been preoccupied with other things," but then it would slip my mind and I'd forget to look it up later.
But then come March, the magazine stopped coming. So I emailed ESPN with the pertinent details. A week later, I was informed of the reason I never got a renewal notice. "In May of 2010 you had requested that we stop mailing promotions. Once this was changed on your account, it also changed your status for being
mailed renewals."
What? Really???? Do you not WANT people to renew their subscriptions???? I wrote back and explained the ridiculousness of this policy, in addition to asking them to looking up my record as a subscriber, my record for giving gift subscriptions, and politely but firmly requesting that I be given the holiday subscription rate (which is half that of the regular rate).
I'm not quite sure how or why, but my most recent subscription ended in April (it's usually around the holidays). I always renew my subscription and Dale's/Mom's at the same time, plus anyone else's who I might be throwing in. At Christmas, I gave Dale the annual piece of paper (the gift subscription is technically Dale's, and Mom steals it every other week) that promised a renewal.
Because things have been so hectic lately and I've got some things on my mind (as you may have noticed), I hadn't really noticed that my ESPN renewal notice hadn't come. Every once in awhile I'd wonder about it, then I'd think "maybe it did come and I paid it, and I just can't remember - I HAVE been preoccupied with other things," but then it would slip my mind and I'd forget to look it up later.
But then come March, the magazine stopped coming. So I emailed ESPN with the pertinent details. A week later, I was informed of the reason I never got a renewal notice. "In May of 2010 you had requested that we stop mailing promotions. Once this was changed on your account, it also changed your status for being
mailed renewals."
What? Really???? Do you not WANT people to renew their subscriptions???? I wrote back and explained the ridiculousness of this policy, in addition to asking them to looking up my record as a subscriber, my record for giving gift subscriptions, and politely but firmly requesting that I be given the holiday subscription rate (which is half that of the regular rate).
It took (another week), but now I have been told that, "Your subscription and gift subscription renewal(s) has been entered on our files for the number of issues you requested. You will receive an invoice in the near future. Upon receipt of your payment, your subscription will continue for the full number of issues ordered. We have honored the holiday pricing for the gifts. We are sorry for the inconvenience this has caused."
So now I have to wait to receive an invoice, wait for them to receive the payment, and then everyone can start getting magazines again. All because I didn't want to receive "promotions."
17 January 2010
World-Wide Need
It is times like these that kind of drive me crazy: an earthquake in Haiti, a tsunami in Thailand, an earthquake in China, etc. The pictures are horrifying, the loss is unimaginable, and the news coverage is non-stop. And then it starts: celebrities suddenly crawl out of the woodwork to tell you how to help. They let you know what they are doing, how much they are donating, and to whom.
Even Ravelry, a site I normally love and adore, has gotten into the act. Designers can tag their designs with special tags, and if one purchases such a tagged pattern a designated portion of the proceeds goes to a Haitian relief effort of the designer's choice. A person searching for a pattern can even filter for the special tag!
Before you keep reading, let me be as clear as I can be. I have nothing but the utmost empathy for what people most be going through in those situations. Obviously, I have not gone through a natural disaster of that magnitude. The closest I have experienced is the Missouri Floods of 1993, which was plenty for me, thankyouverymuch. And before you ask, yes, I participated a great deal in the clean-up efforts. I can only imagine what it must be like for people who have lost their entire families, for people who can't find their families, for people who have lost everything they have ever owned, and for people who now literally have nothing but the clothes on their back. Truly, it's unimaginable.
However, what disturbs me about the outpouring of "Help Haiti/China/Thailand/etc." campaigns is that there is a ridiculous amount of suffering and death on a daily basis that goes largely unnoticed by these same celebrities, media outlets, and dare I say it, Ravelry Powers That Be. For instance:
I'm not saying that people shouldn't give aid to Haitians right now. I'm not saying that they aren't deserving of prayer and compassion. Of course they are.
What I AM doing is imploring you to give aid to other, equally worthy causes every other day. They aren't as sexy, they won't make the news every day for two weeks straight, they won't have star-power backing them up; I can almost guarantee you that. That's kind of what makes the fight so special and meaningful. It's what will make you have so much passion for the cause later.
So, now that I've implored you to help, here's how you can:
My favourite HIV/AIDS sites/charities:
How to help with clean drinking water:
How to help eliminate malaria:
Information on North Korea's plight:
Even Ravelry, a site I normally love and adore, has gotten into the act. Designers can tag their designs with special tags, and if one purchases such a tagged pattern a designated portion of the proceeds goes to a Haitian relief effort of the designer's choice. A person searching for a pattern can even filter for the special tag!
Before you keep reading, let me be as clear as I can be. I have nothing but the utmost empathy for what people most be going through in those situations. Obviously, I have not gone through a natural disaster of that magnitude. The closest I have experienced is the Missouri Floods of 1993, which was plenty for me, thankyouverymuch. And before you ask, yes, I participated a great deal in the clean-up efforts. I can only imagine what it must be like for people who have lost their entire families, for people who can't find their families, for people who have lost everything they have ever owned, and for people who now literally have nothing but the clothes on their back. Truly, it's unimaginable.
However, what disturbs me about the outpouring of "Help Haiti/China/Thailand/etc." campaigns is that there is a ridiculous amount of suffering and death on a daily basis that goes largely unnoticed by these same celebrities, media outlets, and dare I say it, Ravelry Powers That Be. For instance:
- Approximately 8,500 people die every day of AIDS-related complications
- Approximately 4,500 people die every day because they don't have clean drinking water
- Approximately 2,700 people die every day of malaria
- Approximately 33% of North Koreans are malnourished
I'm not saying that people shouldn't give aid to Haitians right now. I'm not saying that they aren't deserving of prayer and compassion. Of course they are.
What I AM doing is imploring you to give aid to other, equally worthy causes every other day. They aren't as sexy, they won't make the news every day for two weeks straight, they won't have star-power backing them up; I can almost guarantee you that. That's kind of what makes the fight so special and meaningful. It's what will make you have so much passion for the cause later.
So, now that I've implored you to help, here's how you can:
My favourite HIV/AIDS sites/charities:
How to help with clean drinking water:
How to help eliminate malaria:
Information on North Korea's plight:
28 June 2009
Because of everything else going on in my life, I'm probably taking this a bit more seriously than I need to, and I'm aware I'm taking things to heart that I shouldn't be.
However...
I am completely fucking over the Twitter thing. If you want me to know what's going on in your life, I hope you blog about it (or, you know, text me, call me, email me, write me a good old-fashioned letter). Because as of about five minutes ago, I've deleted all Twitter feeds from my Google Reader.
I find it annoying to read more replies than things of actual content that make sense to me without having to click through and reverse engineer a thread. I find it annoying to have to click through to read the end of the long twitter post. I find it annoying to have to click through to see a pic that someone has posted. It's all too fucking annoying and I'm over it.
ETA: Another example that pisses me off. Recently, a friend apparently Twittered about something. Since the Twitter feed doesn't happen in real time on Google Reader, I read all of the replies to the event before I read about the actual event from the person. Now, in this case, it didn't much matter. But if it was about an important event, I'd want to hear about it from the original source first.
Also, I just realised that I'm going to have to add back Mikey's Twitter feed or my mom will kill me.
However...
I am completely fucking over the Twitter thing. If you want me to know what's going on in your life, I hope you blog about it (or, you know, text me, call me, email me, write me a good old-fashioned letter). Because as of about five minutes ago, I've deleted all Twitter feeds from my Google Reader.
I find it annoying to read more replies than things of actual content that make sense to me without having to click through and reverse engineer a thread. I find it annoying to have to click through to read the end of the long twitter post. I find it annoying to have to click through to see a pic that someone has posted. It's all too fucking annoying and I'm over it.
ETA: Another example that pisses me off. Recently, a friend apparently Twittered about something. Since the Twitter feed doesn't happen in real time on Google Reader, I read all of the replies to the event before I read about the actual event from the person. Now, in this case, it didn't much matter. But if it was about an important event, I'd want to hear about it from the original source first.
Also, I just realised that I'm going to have to add back Mikey's Twitter feed or my mom will kill me.
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