pamelab

[pamelab]

I want you to remember:

The fascists hate you too and they just will pretend otherwise until after they've killed the rest of us, before they turn on you.

[pamelab]

Executive orders do not change the Constitution or laws passed in Congress.

Push back. Use your voice. Stay engaged.

DO NOT SUBMIT IN ADVANCE.

There are more of us than them.

[pamelab]

Aaron Freeman

"According to the law of the conservation of energy, not a bit of you is gone; you're just less orderly."

Hard to believe it’s been over a year since Wayne left us. I miss him. And yet he’s everything, everywhere, all at once. ❤️

[pamelab]

Word for 2025

[pamelab]

My word for 2024–MEND

[pamelab]

i think this is probably one of the best rat videos i've ever seen and you all need to see it. just look at that calm beast

[pamelab]

If it weren’t for the crocheted dog I’d have probably just thought she had a twin lol

[pamelab]

ARE YOU SHITTING ME

[pamelab]

Adam Conover: So the writers strike is finally over, and I'm so happy to tell you that...

Full transcript of text on images below the cut!

And we changed not just our industry for ourselves, but for every writer who comes after us. And I am…so proud of us. 

Thank you to every writer who made this victory happen, and thank you, thank you, to every fellow worker who stood with us. 

We are gonna stand with you as well because what this proves is that when workers stand together, we win. 

And now…LET’S GET BACK TO WRITING.

[video ID: Adam Conover summarizes the terms of the 2023 WGA Contract that ended a 148-day strike.

So the writers strike is finally over, and I'm so happy to tell you that...WE FUCKING WON.

These are all things that they swore to us five months ago they would never give us in a million years. But we went on strike and we hung together until they were forced to come to the table and meet our demands. 

Contract Summary

This is the contract that we just spent the last 148 days fighting for. And lemme tell you what’s in it: 

a guarantee that a minimum number of writers be hired on every show, 

comedy-variety writers like me be paid [equally on streaming and TV],

provisions that mean better pay for screenwriters, 

better pension and health for writing teams, 

script fees for staff writers for the first time, 

and protections against AI.

AI Protections

AI can’t write scripts, edit scripts, or undermine our rights and credits.

Success-Based Residuals

And we won a success-based residual! So for the first time, when more people watch a movie or TV show on streaming, the writer that created it will make more money, too.

---

And we changed not just our industry for ourselves, but for every writer who comes after us. And I am…so proud of us. 

Thank you to every writer who made this victory happen, and thank you, thank you, to every fellow worker who stood with us. 

We are gonna stand with you as well because what this proves is that when workers stand together, we win. 

And now…LET’S GET BACK TO WRITING. [/end video ID]

[pamelab]

[pamelab]

Yesterday I learned a lesson.

Although the blanket had been ready for a couple of months now, I was only able to gift it yesterday to my pregnant friend.

A few days prior, I was hesitant about giving a hand-made gift.

What if it was not appropriate? What if it was too much? What if she dislikes the color or the pattern? What if she already has too many blankets? What if it ends up fraying or pilling quickly? What if the fibers trigger some weird allergies? What if it sends the wrong message?

So many what-ifs...Some of them ridiculous, I know. I was seriously contemplating only gifting the special lactation cookies she loved. In the end, since the blanket was taking up storage space and I didn't want to waste my efforts, I wrapped it up and gifted it.

My friend loved it. She even messaged me later that evening to personally let me know how touched she was that I hand-knitted a blanket for her baby. She told me that she will treasure that blanket.

I gave an unevenly-stitched fragile blanket, and instead, my friend received a thoughtful loved-filled gift.

Sometimes we need another set of eyes to remind us of the beauty in what we do.

Sure, my stitches would never be as even as a machine's. But every stitch is accompanied by love, prayers and best wishes for her baby. A machine could have easily produced the same-sized blanket in a matter of minutes. Still, each moment working on that blanket was meaningfully spent for someone special. I didn't just create an item. It was a lovingly crafted message of love from me to a dear friend.

We crafters are often our own worst critics. Sometimes we become too obsessed with perfection that it hinders us from communicating our love.

Perhaps next time, rather than focus on the little imperfections, I should step back and see the whole of what I created.

[pamelab]

Mermaid Avenue Socks

Pattern Summer Lee Designs

Yarn Gingersnap Coastal Fingering Yarn

Loved this yarn and I’ve wanted to make this pattern for awhile.

[pamelab]

forget fast fashion in 2023 the only viral trend i wanna see is workers unionizing

[pamelab]

A lot of you have been asking how you can help the WGA and SAG members on strike and the other crew who are out of a job until shooting starts again. Here's a link to ways to help.

[pamelab]

A note to all creatives:

Right now, you have to be a team player. You cannot complain about AI being used to fuck over your industry and then turn around and use it on somebody else’s industry.

No AI book covers. No making funny little videos using deepfakes to make an actor say stuff they never did. No AI translation of your book. No AI audiobooks. No AI generated moodboards or fancasts or any of that shit. No feeding someone else’s unfinished work into Chat GPT “because you just want to know how it ends*” (what the fuck is wrong with you?). No playing around with AI generated 3D assets you can’t ascertain the origin of. None of it. And stop using AI filters on your selfies or ESPECIALLY using AI on somebody else’s photo or artwork.

We are at a crossroad and at a time of historically shitty conditions for working artists across ALL creative fields, and we gotta stick together. And you know what? Not only is standing up for other artists against exploitation and theft the morally correct thing to do, it’s also the professionally smartest thing to do, too. Because the corporations will fuck you over too, and then they do it’s your peers that will hold you up. And we have a long memory.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking “your peers” are only the people in your own industry. Writers can’t succeed without artists, editors, translators, etc making their books a reality. Illustrators depend on writers and editors for work. Video creators co-exist with voice actors and animators and people who do 3D rendering etc. If you piss off everyone else but the ones who do the exact same job you do, congratulations! You’ve just sunk your career.

Always remember: the artists who succeed in this career path, the ones who get hired or are sought after for commissions or collaboration, they aren’t the super talented “fuck you I got mine” types. They’re the one who show up to do the work and are easy to get along with.

And they especially are not scabs.

*that’s not even how it ends that’s a statistically likely and creatively boring way for it to end. Why would you even want to read that.

[pamelab]

ALT

don’t forget during the WGA strike that animation is not covered under the WGA deals and as a result animation has gotten the shortest possible end of the stick in under-staffing, under-paying, and generally turning the field into gig employment.

please sign the petition here for Disney to recognize animation production workers as a union and reblog this post!

[pamelab]

If you want to know what the SAG-AFTRA strike is about, watch this video.

(I'm a SAG-AFTRA member as well, having played me on television from time to time. So I'm doubly on strike.)