#i never get the 'resale value' argument

[seat-safety-switch]

Vans aren't "cool," but they are enjoying a sort of renaissance of sorts. The desirability of these boxy, cargo-hauling conveyances represents some admittedly minor hope for the future. If vans regain their ancient popularity, there is a chance that we can overthrow the dictatorship of the pickup truck and return to our traditional values as a society.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not some wacko van fundamentalist. Sure, I do get into theological arguments with Ford people about which generation of the Econoline is derived most purely from van theory, but that's on our own territory. Not something for the regular folk to see.

You have nothing to fear about me giving you a shank if you accidentally call a half-cut container truck the deeply unfunny slur that is "cube van." I won't even get mad if you prefer a hatchback. Anything that can haul cargo in an enclosed vessel, and does so often, is an honorary van in my book. And it's a good idea, before we proceed, to talk about just why vans are becoming more popular.

Vans are in fact the only houses that many people can own. Sad but true. You could live in a pickup truck, too. Nobody is denying that, but that's like living in one of those strange Arizona desert homes where there's only enough roof for your bed, a novel about libertarianism, and a small overhang to keep your ammo and canned beans dry. Just not enough enclosed area. No sense of security. Throbbing paranoia at all minutes that if you stop at the Home Depot just for a minute that someone will steal your groceries out of the bed.

Me, I like to have a nice personal space which will be largely protected if I roll the thing into the ditch doing triple the speed limit. It's bad enough already without having to walk half a kilometre back from the impact site, picking up all your strewn possessions from the roadside. Better to keep the sleeping bags, provisions, and pet chickens on the inside of the vehicle.

If there can be said to be a downside to the growth of van popularity, it is that they are more popular than ever. Demand means resale value skyrockets, which means I can't easily get a new van to replace my old one when it gets towed by the cops or love-taps the bollard in the Tim Hortons drive-thru. That's why I've started investing in motorhomes, which are the van for people who can't afford vans or houses. They just so happen to come with big-ass V8s, too, like all of the other places I've ever lived. It's like I was never evicted at all.

[messengerhermes]

Hey, since it's trans visibility week here's a reminder: your body belongs to you.

As a trans person that's been out for twelve years, and who has been considering HRT seriously for the last two now, I've noticed a pattern that happens on terms of how people, even supportive people engage with me around my gender.

People get uncomfortable when I assert my right to change my body in ways they don't find appealing.

This happens particularly with family members and partners, but I've also had strangers on the street and coworkers occasionally make comments.

When I first stopped waxing and shaving, it was unease and disapproval of my body hair.

When I wore my hair very short it was complaints over how confusing it was, how pretty it was long. Now that the top part's long again, I get complaints that it's dyed, that I've shaved the sides.

Last year, when I told my partner at the time that I was starting to think about T, I got a lot of objections. They thought I was going to see if vocal training would do enough for me, did I really think I'd be able to grow facial hair, I was dreaming if I thought I'd build muscle, there were other things we could try about my bottom dysphoria.

They were relieved I don't want top surgery, because they would be sad if I got rid of my tits.

When I told a relative recently, she was largely supportive, but couldn't help sliding in "I hate facial hair."

Well I'm not building this body for you, Janet.

The underlying connection between all these comments is:

I don't want you to change your body in ways I find personally unappealing/unsexy/or somehow bad.

My body is not public property.

I'm not a billboard to sell you hamburgers, a projection screen for your porngraphic fantasies, or a vessel for the hopes and dreams you had for the future.

I'm a person. My flesh belongs to me. To shape as I so please.

I'm still waffling on a knife edge about testosterone, but I realize the fear that holds me back is this:

What if they're right and I get none of the changes I want but also become undesirable in ways that get me discarded?

It's a real fear. I cannot guarantee T will change my voice, grow me a gay little mustache, help me beef up, or solve my dysphoria when it comes to intimacy.

But what's my alternative?

I stay unchanged in a body that some days I don't recognize in the mirror, with a voice that sounds like I stole it from the lost and found until time inevitably changes this meatsuit in ways that also render me undesirable?

Some choice.

There's a lot to be discussed about gender essentialism and the ways white supremacist beauty standards can influence what we as trans people deem as "necessary" for our gender expression when it comes to medical transitions.

But if the discussion boils down to "if you seek medical transitions in any way you're giving into the binary and cissexism," then we're stripping bodily autonomy completely from the conversation.

And honestly, I resent the idea that I'm playing into the gender binary by wanting bodily changes that make me *more* ambiguous by our currently defined standards of gender, not less.

And I resent the ways those arguments only seem to come into play to push me *not* to pursue changes that could make me comfortable in my body, but "hey babe, gender is all a performance, go for it" never pops up when I express the desire to wear plunging chiffon gowns to expose a thick thatch of chest hair that's sprouted between my tits.

I have the right to shape this body of mine however I see fit, my body is not a rental, I don't need to preserve its resale value, I'm here for life.

Your body isn't a rental either, and you can't resell it. Make it up to be your dream home.

[canongf-archive]

I’m super sorry to send in for advice, but I’m kinda in a weird bind that I know is my own creation, yet I can’t seem to come to a conclusive resolution on.

I have a lot of F/Os. Like, even if I were to just talk about romantic ones, I’ve got a lot. And I thought I’d be fine about it because I’m okay sharing any that aren’t OCs.. but now I’m more aware that I’m losing chances at real online friendships because I have so many. My F/Os give me so much comfort and help me feel okay, and I’m too selfish to cut down on my list or truly stop adding more when I do end up falling in love again.

It’s just… now I feel like *at best* I’m going to be friendless, and at WORST someone is going to see my blog and be hurt because someone they love so dearly and more exclusively is on my long, long list. I don’t want to cause anyone pain, but I’m too scared to be alone and lose the comforts of my F/Os.

Do you have any thoughts? Even just some kind words or assurances that I’m not doing bad by loving so much?

💗 oh anon, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for!!!!! 💗

i'm so sorry to hear that you're struggling with this, it can be really hard!!! but i want you to know a few things!!!

self shipping is for you. i think it is so wonderful that you care so much about the feelings of other people!!! but ultimately!!! this self shipping experience is yours and yours alone. which means you gotta do what makes you happiest. it means you gotta ship with the characters that you like in whatever way that feels best.

and yeah, there is a possibility that someone will see your blog and they'll see that you ship with a character that they love and they'll be bothered or they'll be hurt by it! and that sucks! but that's not your responsibility. you don't have to tone yourself down or give up what makes you happy in an attempt to accommodate the feelings of someone you don't know just on the off chance that they might find themselves uncomfortable. that's not fair to you!!!

sometimes people get uncomfortable when we live our truth. no matter what it is. whether it's self shipping or it's something else entirely. but that doesn't mean that we're doing anything wrong, or that we need to change. people will get uncomfortable regardless of what you do. we just have to be kind and do what's best for us, and everything else will fall into place.

it's kind of like... you know when someone buys a house and they decide they want to paint the walls pink, but everyone says "that'll affect the resale value!" ? but it doesn't make any sense, because why would you compromise and live in a house that you don't like and you don't feel like you can get comfortable in just because you might decide to sell it one day and there's a chance that the person that will buy it hates the color pink?

this is about you. this is your place. paint the walls pink!!! ship with as many characters as you like!!!

it doesn't make you a bad person!!! and it doesn't mean you'll be friendless either!!! there are so many people that love to share F/Os!!! there are so many people that love to gush about characters that you both enjoy!!! there are so many people that only ship with characters in a platonic or familial way, so they won't be hurt by someone shipping with them romantically!!! there are so many people that have such niche F/Os that there's no way you'd share them!!! there are people that ship with their own OCs like you!!! there are so many people that you might bond with over something that's completely unrelated to self shipping altogether!!! there are so many options for you. there are so many people who would fucking love pink walls.

so keep doing what you're doing, anon. you're good. everything is okay. it's all gonna work out just fine for you!!! 💗💗💗

[the-bjd-community-confess]

I don’t mean to pry, but I have seen this argument several times in this blog: “You have to understand that what you’re buying is not some OOAK art piece! It’s a copy!” This is an unfortunate misrepresentation of what a legit doll is, I am afraid. It’s really a bit of a strawman argument.

Let’s define some words here (because not all words carry the same meaning in different contexts). In the fine art world, an artist produces what is considered a piece of art, be it a painting, a sculpture, a lithograph, etc. Let’s call that an “original”. Something that’s made to look like this original is a “reproduction”. “OOAK” is usually used to describe something that is one-off, cannot/will not be reproduced under any circumstances. Some artwork is deliberately meant to be reproduced, such as a logo or packaging. Some artwork is not meant to be reproduced, like the Statue of David. Most art work lies somewhere in between. Let’s take a painting by Thomas Kinkade (feel free to look him up, he was a very commercially successful painter before his death): there is obviously an original painted by Kinkade. That original paining is now owned by his estate and to buy one, the price tag is in the millions. For anyone who wants a Kinkade in their house and can’t afford the “original”, there are a few ways of going about it, from the most valuable to the least.

The first would be a limited-edition Giclée. It’s signed and numbered. Printed on archival paper with 12-colour pigment-based ink (instead of dye), and it has been approved by the artist himself via an “artist’s proof” (which is never for sale under usual circumstances). This is a museum-quality reproduction that are collected by serious collectors as well as museums and galleries. They will also increase in value over time depending on the rarity and the artist’s fame. Next step down is an unlimited Giclée. It’s not quite as rare and it likely won’t be numbered (might still be signed). These reproductions may also increase in value over time, but due to obvious reasons, they may not be quite as desirable to the serious collector. Following that is what is commonly known as a “High Street” reproduction. The paper isn’t archival and the ink is dye-based. While the painting might fade over time, it still has some shelf life. If you take good care of it, a High Street can last for years, but there’s almost no resale value in it. After that, it’s what we usually call “Poster print”. The paper’s thinner, the inks fade faster and the whole thing deteriorates over time no matter how much you care for it. Licencing of the artwork to produce other merchandise (plates, mugs, puzzles, etc.) means obtaining the licencing rights from the artist (or his estate) so his work can be reproduced in other ways. And finally, there are the metric tons of Kinkade knockoffs.

Calling a doll “OOAK” simply does not make sense. These dolls are casted, which means they were meant to be replicated. The “original” may or may not exist anymore since the prototype can be made from various materials that deteriorate over time. By rights, nobody is buying an OOAK and I don’t think anybody goes into this hobby expecting to buy an OOAK. A legit doll is a licenced reproduction. Some of them are limited runs while others aren’t. The reason why they command their price is a combination of artist’s licensure, production costs, material costs, the brand (call it fame, call it brand… it takes a lot of money to build a brand these days. Most folks tend to overlook that part). A good casting company can produce the equivalent of a Giclée. They are signed and authenticated (maker’s marks and COA) and therein lies the resale value. A recast is equivalent of someone walking up to a Kinkade, takes a photo of it and prints the painting based off of that photo. At the very most, you get a High Street reproduction (that’s unlicensed, which skirts legal issues), or if you are unlucky, you get the equivalent of a bootleg poster. Have you ever tried to sell a Picasso “print”? You’re not going to get very far for what it is, but folks might pay you for the nice frame if you’ve got one.

Before anyone pipes up that only the “original” has any value and all reproductions are equal, reality these days simply does not bear that out. Many a time, there’s no physical “original” any more; digital paintings and digital “film” in cameras make the concept of the physical “Original” near obsolete. It would be disingenuous to pretend all reproduction are the same or that all reproductions are fundamentally without value. It comes down to what “value” means to you. Like the owner of Echotown said in his Weibo (refer to the #5 “Best of 2021” posted by the Mod earlier), BJDs are a kind of consumer art. They straddle the fine line of being a sculpture, an engineering feat, and an Objet d’art. The value of art is that it redirects our attention away from seeing everything as the product of a post-industrial capitalist society but refocuses our attention to something that we tend to miss out on. The value of something does not just lie in dollars and cents. You can call a BJD a toy, just as you can call a Kinkade an “expensive wallpaper”; it doesn’t reflect the real value of the item, but it does reveal the kind of person the speaker is.

~Anonymous

[scifrey]

WORDS FOR WRITERS: The Value of Fanfiction

There’s been a lot of chatter on social media these last few weeks, recycling that trashy, self-aggrandizing, tired old “hot take” that reading and writing fanfiction is somehow bad for you as a writer.

Before we go any further, let me give a clear and definitive answer to this take:

No, reading and writing fanfiction will not make you and does not make you a bad reader or writer.

 Period.

 Why? Here’s the TL;DR version:

1)      Reading and Writing, any kind of reading and writing, will make you a better reader and writer. And it’s enjoyable, to boot.

2)      Fanfiction has been around as long as Original Fiction, so we’d know if there was any negative impact by now (spoiler alert: there isn’t.)

3)      Practice is Practice, so matter what medium you get that practice in.

4)      Comprehending and writing fanfiction is harder than writing original fiction because you have to hold the Source Media Text in your head at the same time as you’re reading/writing a different story. It improves your understanding of storytelling.

5)      No hobby, no matter what it is, so long as it doesn’t harm anyone else or yourself, is bad. And that goes double for if you decide to keep it a hobby. Not every fanfic writer wants to write original fiction, and that’s just fine. Not every hobby has to be monetized.

 Okay. But what do they mean by “fanfiction”?

 “Fanfiction is fictional writing written by fans, commonly of an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settings, or other intellectual properties from the original creator as a basis for their writing.”-- Wikipedia

 Basically – it’s when you take elements (setting, characters, major themes or ideas) of a Media Text (a novel, a movie, a podcast, a comic, etc.) and create a different story with those elements. You can write a missing scene, or an extended episode, or a whole new adventure for the characters of the Media Text. You can even crossover or fuse multiple Media Texts, or specific elements, to create a whole new understanding of the characters or their worlds.

 Similar to fanfic, you can also create fanart, fancomics, or fansongs (“filk”), fancostumes (“cosplay”), and fanfilms. These are called Fanworks or Fancrafts.

 Fanfiction is usually posted to online forums, journals, blogs, or story archives and shared for free among the public. Before the advent of the internet, fanfiction was often printed or typed, and hand-copied using photocopiers or ditto machines, and distributed for free (or for a small administration fee to cover materials) among fans at conventions, or through mail-order booklets (“zines”).

 Fanfiction has existed pretty much since the beginning of storytelling (A Thousand and One Nights, Robin Hood, and King Arthur all have different elements attributed to them by different authors retelling, twisting, adding to, or changing the stories; there’s no single-origin author of those tales.)

 There are billions on billions of fanfics out there in the world—and while a majority of them are romance stories, there are also adventures, comedies, dramas, thrillers, stories based on case files, stories about the emotional connection between characters when one is hurt and the other must care for them, historical retellings, etc. There are also stories for every age range and taste, though be sure to take heed of the tags, trigger warnings, and age range warnings as your browse the archives and digital libraries.

 As a reader, it’s your responsibility to curate your experience online.

 So why are people so afraid or derisive of fanfic?

 People who are hard on fanfic say that…

 ·       It sucks.

o   Well of course it sucks! As it’s a low-stakes and easy way to try out creative writing for the first time, the majority of fanfiction is overwhelmingly written by new and young writers. Everything you do when you first try it sucks a little bit. 

I’m sure no figure skater was able to immediately land perfect triple axels ten minutes after they strap on the skates for the first time in their lives. No knitter has ever made a flawlessly perfect jumper on their first try. No mathematician has ever broken the code to send a rocket into space after having just been taught elementary-school multiplication. So why on earth do people think that new writers don’t need to practice? I can promise you that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first rap was probably pretty shaky.

·       It’s lazy or it’s cheating.

o   Listen, anyone who tells you that writing anything is lazy clearly has not sat down and tried to write anything. Writing is tedious. It is boring. It takes hours, and hours, and hours to get anything on the page, and then once it’s on the page you have to go back and edit it. UGH. There is nothing about being a writer—even a fanfic writer—that is lazy.

o   And anyone who tells you that trying to tell a fresh, new story within the limits and confines of a pre-existing world and have it make sense is cheating, then they have no freaking clue how hard it is to be creative with that kind of limitation placed on you. It’s harder when you have a set of rules you need to follow. What you do come up with is often extremely interesting and creative because of those limitations, not in spite of them.

o   The argument that using pre-made characters, settings, tropes, and worlds to make up a new story is cheating is also complete bunk. Do those same people also expect hockey players to whittle and plane themselves a whole new hockey stick from scratch before each game? No, of course not. And yeah, a baker can grow all their own wheat, grind the flour, raise the chickens and cows so they can get eggs and milk, distill the vanilla, etc. Or a baker can buy a box mix. Either way, you get a cake at the end of the process. Whether you write fanfic or original fiction, you still get a story at the end of the process.

·       It makes you a worse writer.

o   * annoying buzzer noise * Practicing anything does not make you worse at it. And reading stories that are not edited, expertly crafted, or “high art” will also not indoctrinate you into being a bad writer. If anything, figuring out why you don’t like a specific story, trope, or writing style is actually a great way to learn what kind of writer you want to be, and to learn different methods of constructing sentences, creating images, and telling tales. Or you know, just how much spelling and grammar matter.

·       It’s not highbrow or thoughtful enough.

o   Sometimes stories are allowed to be just comfort food. Not every book or story you read has to be haute cuisine or boringly nutritious. You are allowed to read stories because they’re exciting, or swoony, or funny, or just because you like them. Anyone who says differently is a snob and worth ignoring. (Besides, fun silly stories can also be packed with meaning and lessons—I mean, hello, Terry Pratchett, anyone?)

·       It makes you waste all your time on writing that can’t be monetized.

o   No time is wasted if you spend it doing something that brings you joy. Not every hobby needs to be a money-maker and not everyone wants to be a professional writer. You are allowed to write, and read, fanfic just for the fun of it.

·       It’s theft.

o   According to Fair Use Law, it’s not. As long as the fanfic writer (or artist, cosplayer, etc.) is not making money on their creation that directly impacts or cuts into the original creator’s profit, or is not repackaging/plagiarizing the original Media Text and profiting off it’s resale, then Fan Works are completely legal. So there.

 How, exactly, does fanfic make you a better writer?

 Fanfiction…

 ·       teaches you to finish what you start.

o   The joy of being able to share your fic, either as you’re writing it, or afterward, is a big motivating factor for a lot of people. They finish because they get immediate feedback on it from their readers and followers. Lots of people have ideas for books, but how many of them do you know have actually sat down and written the whole thing?

o   Fanfic is also low-stakes; there’s nothing riding on whether you finish something or not, so you have to inspire yourself to get there without the outside (potentially negative) motivation of deadline or a failing grade if you don’t get the story finished. You end up learning how to motivate yourself.

o   Fanfic has no rules, so you write as much or as little as you want, stop wherever you think is a good place to end the story, write it out of order, or go back and write as many sequels or prequels as you like. Again, it’s totally low-stakes and is meant to be for fun, so you can noodle around with what it means to write a “whole” story and “complete” it, which teaches you how you like to write, and how you like to find your way to the finish line.

·       teaches you story structure.

o   Before you can sit down and write a story based on one of your favorite Media Texts, you’re likely to spend a lot of time consuming that text passively, or studying it actively. Either way, you’re absorbing how and why Media Text structures the stories it tells, and are learning how to structure your own from that.

o   Once you’re comfortable with the story structure the Media Text you’re working in is told, you’ll probably start experimenting with different ways stories can be told, and find the versions you like to work with best.

·       teaches you how to write characters consistently.

o   Fanfic is really hard because not only do you have to write your fave characters in a way that moves the story along, but they have to be recognizable as those fave characters.

o   This means you have to figure out their body language, verbal and physical tics, their motivations and they way the handle a crisis (fight, flight, or fawn?), and then make up the details you may need for your story that you may never see on screen/the page, like how they take their eggs or what their fave shampoo is, based on what you already know about them. That takes some top-notch detective work and character understanding to pull off.

o   Once you know how to do that, just making up a whole person yourself for original fiction is a breeze.

·       Teaches you how to hear and mimic a character/narrator voice.

o   You have to pay close attention to how an actor speaks, or how a character’s speech patterns, dialect, work choice, etc. is reflected on the page in order to be consistent in your story.

o   And all of this, in turn, teaches you how to build one for yourself.

o   I have a whole series of articles here about building a narrative voice, if you want to read more on constructing an original voice for your narrator.

·       Teaches you how to create or recreate a setting.

o   Again, like achieving character consistency, or mimicking a character or narrative voice, it takes work and paying attention in order to re-create a setting, time period, or geographical region in a fanfic—and if you’re taking your characters somewhere new, your readers will expect that setting to be equally rich as the one the Media Text is based in.

o   Which, again, teaches you how to then go and build an original one for yourself.

·       teaches how to take critique.

o   Professional writing is not a solitary pursuit. In fact, most writing is not entirely the work of an author alone. Like professional authors work with editors, critique partners, and proofreaders, some fanfiction writers will sometimes work with beta-readers or editors as well. This are friends or fanfic colleagues who offer to read your fanfic and point out plot, character, consistency, or story structure errors, or who offer to correct spelling and grammar errors. This is a great way to practice working with editors if you decide to pursue a professional career, and also a great way to make friends and strengthen your community and skill set if you don’t.

o   Many fanfic sites offer readers the opportunity to leave a comment on a fic, rather like a reviewer can leave a review on GoodReads or Amazon, or any other online store or blog, for a novel they’ve read. Sometimes these comments/reviews are 5 star and enthusiastic! Sometimes they are… not. The exact opposite in fact. As you get comments on your fanfic, and learn to ignore the ones that are just mean rather than usefully critical, you gain the Very Important Skill of learning to resist firing back at bad comments or reviews, while enjoying the good ones.  It also teaches you how to ignore drama or haters.

·       Teaches you how to exist within a like-minded community.

o   While the actual writing part of writing is solitary and sometimes tedious, nothing is ever published into a vacuum, whether it be fanfiction or original. Besides your editing/critique/beta reader group, you will also likely develop friendships, a support network, and mutuals. It’s always great to uplift, support, cheer on, and celebrate one another’s accomplishments and victories, whether the writing is fanfic or original.

·       Teaches you that it’s okay to write about things important to you, or your own identity.

o   You can change a characters ethnicity, cultural background, sexuality, religion, or disabilities to match yours, and talk about your lived life through the megaphone of that character. Or, you can insert original characters based on you, your desires, and experiences.

o   Once you’re comfortable writing in your #ownvoice in fanfic, you can approach it in original fiction, if you like.

o   See my article titled Your Voice Is Valid for more on this.

 What if I want to be a professional writer?

 Notice how I didn’t say “real writer”. Any writer who writes any kind of story is a ‘real’ writer. I mean, pinch yourself—you’re real, right? The difference is actually between being an “amateur” writer (a hobbyist who does not write for pay), and a “professional” (who is paid for their writing). Just because you only play shinny on the street with your friends, or in a house league on the weekends, it’s doesn’t mean  you’re not still as much of a hockey player as someone who plays in the NHL.

 Writing fanfiction before or at the same time as writing original fiction that you intend to sell is a great way to learn, or practice, everything I’ve mentioned above. If you read it widely, it will also expose you to different story telling styles, voices, and tropes than your reading of published fiction.

 ·       Can I sell my fanfic?

o   No. For fanfiction to remain under the umbrella of Fair Use Law, you cannot profit off your fanfiction. There’s some grey-area wiggle room around things like charging a small amount for a ‘zine or a PDF to cover administrative costs, but zero wiggleability around, say, selfpublishing your fanfic and charging heaps for it.

·       Can I “file off the serial numbers”?

o   “Filing of the series numbers” is when you take a fanfic you’ve written and essentially pull it apart, remove everything that’s clearly someone else’s Media Text, and reassembling the story so that it’s pretty much a completely original piece of creative writing.

o   Yes, you can sell these, provided your filing is rigorous enough that you aren’t likely to be dinged for plagiarism. It’s widely known that Cassandra Claire’s Shadowhunters was once Harry Potter fanfic, and that Fifty Shades of Gray was once Twilight fanfic. But did you know that my Triptych started life as an idea for a Stargate Atlantis fic? There’s lots of stories out there that were once full fics, or the idea for the novel was originally conceived for a fandom, but written as original instead.

o   So long as you’re careful to really rework the text so that it’s not just a find-name-replace-name rewrite, you should be fine.

o   Be aware, though, that the agents and editors you might pitch this novel to know how to Google. They may discover that this is a filed-off story, and depending on their backgrounds and biases, might be concerned about it. There’s no need to inform them of the novel’s origin straight off in your pitch/query letter, but you may want to have a frank discussion with them about it after it’s been signed so they can help you make sure that any lingering copywrited concepts or characters are thoroughly changed before publication.

o   Should you take down the original fic-version of the novel while you’re querying/shopping it? Well, that’s up to you, and whether you’re comfortable with an editor/agent potentially finding it.

·       Should I be ashamed of my fic, or take it down, or pretend I never wrote fic?

o   What? Why? No! I mean, I have hidden some of my most immature work, but I’ve left pretty much my whole catalogue of fanfic online and I don’t deny that I was/am a ficcer. Why? Because it’s a great repository of free stories that people can read before they buy one of my books, so they can get a taste of how and what I write. Also, you will be in good company. Lots and lots of writers who are published now-a-days started in fandom, including:

Steven Moffat

Seanan McGuire

Rainbow Rowell

Claudia Gray

Cory Doctorow

Marissa Meyer

Meg Cabot.

Naomi Novik

Neil Gaiman

Lev Grossman

S.E. Hinton

John Scalzi

The Bronte Sisters

Andy Weir

Sarah Rees Brennan

Marjorie M. Liu

Anna Todd

...and me, J.M. Frey

 How fanfic can harm.

 Like with anything else, there are ways that reading and writing fanfiction can actually harm you, or others, but it has nothing to do with the reading or writing of fanfiction in and of itself.

 ·       Some creators may prefer that you don’t (and may or may not follow up with legal action).

o   Anne Rice famously went after fanficcers in the 90s who wrote fanfic of her work, handing out Cease & Desist notices like confetti.

o   99% of creators don’t care. Those who do will generally have a notice on their websites or social media politely asking fancreators to refrain. Mostly this is due to their general discomfort over the idea of anyone else getting to play in their worlds. The best thing to do is respect that request, and find a different fandom to write in.

·       Flamewars and fandom fights leading to bullying and doxing.

o   Regrettably, just like any other community filled with people who have different favorites, opinions, and preferences, there will inevitably be clashes. It’s up to you to decide how to react to negative interactions, and how to model positive ones.

o   Don’t forget, you curate your online experience, so don’t be afraid of that block button.

o   Also, don’t be the jerk who goes after people for liking different aspects of the fandom. Everyone is entitled to interact and like a Media Text their own way. “Don’t yuck my yum,” as they say.

·       Trying to make money on other people’s IP/Media Text (law suits, etc.)

o   It doesn’t belong to you, so don’t try to make money on it.

o   There’s a grey area here in terms of selling prints/plushies/jewelry/etc. and there’s no hard line about where one copyright owner will draw the line, and another won’t. Warner Bros. owns the film rights for both Harry Potter and Hunger Games, but I’ve seen Harry Potter-themed bars spring up while fans wanting to make Hunger Game fanfilms have been shut down. A friend of mine sells hand-made fandom-inspired items at cons—there is no rhyme or reason to what she gets told to stop making and what she’s left alone on.

o   Best thing to do if you’re told to stop is just so stop, move on, and find a different fandom to be active in.

·       Writing Real Person Fanfic (“RPF”) can be considered a violation of consent.

o   This article sums it up pretty well, but basically… if you decide to write RPF, be aware that they person you are writing about is a real person, with real thoughts, and emotions, and they may feel violated by RPF. If you decide to write it, never send it to the people it’s about, and always clearly tag it so other can choose to engage with it, or avoid it.

o   Also be aware that it could ruin their love for what they do. For example: the friendships between the members of 1Direciton became strained and the band eventually disintegrated because people wouldn’t stop sending band members smutty stories or art of them having sex with one another, and it made them too uncomfortable to continue in the band.

·       Showing/sharing fanfic & fanart outside of its intended context. Fanworks are for fans, and there are definitely issues if…

o   It’s shown to celebrities/actors/creators.

  Shoving your fantasies onto the people who create or portray your fave characters is rude, and wrong, and also kinda gross. If they seek it out themselves, that’s one thing, but the same way you wouldn’t throw it at a complete stranger, don’t throw it at them. You may love the characters these people play, but they are not their characters, and they are not your friends.

  It may also really weird them out and ruin their love for what they do.

o   it’s shown to writers working on the series.

  There was a famous case where a fanficcer sent a story to a novelist, and the novelist was accused of plagiarism by the ficcer when their next novel in the series resembled the plot of that fanfic. There was a whole court case and everything.

  Because of this, writers of TV shows, books, etc. don’t want to (and often times, legally can’t) read your fanfic. They don’t want to get accidentally inspired by what you’ve written, or worse, have to throw out something because it resembles your fic too closely. Just let them write their stories the way they want, and if they choose to seek out fic, they will.

o   it’s mocked by celebrities.

  I’m not letting Alan Carr and Graham Norton off the hook. If it’s super rude and gross to shove fanworks at actors/writers/creators when you’re a creator, then it’s doubly rude for anyone to take a story or art made for a specific audience (the fans), by a specific community (the fans), lift it out of it’s context, and invite the public to mock it while also shoving it at the actor/celebrity in a place where they are literally cornered and can’t leave (i.e. the chat-show sofa). Man, it really steams me up when they do that. It’s rude and it’s tone-deaf, and it’s not fair.

  And most of the time they do it, they don’t even ask the artist or writer for permission, first, which is just…. Uuuuugggghhhh. It may be fanfic, but it was still created by someone, and you should always ask permission before publicly sharing something created by someone else.

  Grrrrrrr.

 In Conclusion

 If someone tells you that reading or writing fanfic is bad for you as a creator, tell them to get bent.

Famous Fanfic

·       Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda

·       Wicked by Gregory Maguire

·       Wicked: the Musical by Stephen Schwartz

·       The Phantom of Manhattan by Fredrick Forsyth

·       A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman

·       Sherlock by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat

·       The Dracula Tape, by Fred Saberhaugen

·       Paradise Lost, John Milton

·       Inferno, by Dante

·       The Aeneid, by Virgil

·       Ulysses, by James Joyce

·       Romeo & Juliet, by William Shakespeare

·       The Once and Future King by T.H. White

·       A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, by Mark Twain

·       The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas

·       Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, by Seth Grahame-Smith

·       Phantom, a novel of his life by Susan Kaye

·       …and so many more.

[jessicakehoe]

How A Year of Shopping Abstinence Gave One Compulsive Consumer Clarity

Before online shopping, I never thought I had an addictive personality. I feel indifferent to recreational drugs, drink wine primarily to learn about grapes and am far too risk-averse to gamble. Yet show me a seasonal sale and I’ll show you a person who is in too deep to see it: a frenzy of tabs opened, eyes blurry from scrolling, a pallid face illuminated by a computer screen. Saying no to vices, all things considered, was easy. Saying no to a better dressed, more impressive, idealistic vision of myself? Impossible.

Five years ago, I went into debt because of this obsessive behaviour, having filled my life with raw-silk dresses from L.A. and architectural coats from Denmark in an effort to disguise a lukewarm self-image. I lied to those around me about it, concealing shopping bags from my partner and waiting until he was out of the house to remove the tags. I knew I had a problem, and over the years, I chipped away at it, denying myself a purse here, returning a necklace there. Slowly, my bank account recovered and my fixations subsided.

But the impulse stayed—simmering beneath the skin, always threatening to come to a full boil. I wanted to study it and get to know the anxieties that fuelled it, but to gain such a perspective required distance. So when I made the resolution to stop shopping for a year, it wasn’t as a monastic last resort but a deliberate decision to take a step back and condition myself into being a more mindful consumer. It wasn’t about taking away my choices but about making one.

Not everything triggered my compulsive instinct for acquisition, so I kept the ban limited to the things that did: clothing, jewellery and shoes.

Not everything triggered my compulsive instinct for acquisition, so I kept the ban limited to the things that did: clothing, jewellery and shoes. The benefits, I reasoned with myself, were manifold. By not mindlessly browsing the internet for things to fill my closet, I would save a lot of time. By not purchasing them, I would save money. And by not creating more demand for the fashion industry, I would save the planet. (Admittedly a stretch. But I would be, at the very least, less complicit in the environmental impact of clothing production.) The most salient argument of them all: By learning to take the impulsive emotion out of shopping, I would eventually save my mental health.

I started the ban on a Thanksgiving weekend. “Brave,” said a friend with whom I’d shared the news so as to be held accountable. “You’re going to get so many emails.” She was right. They came like a deluge, each offering a sale more enticing than the last. Deleting them unread would have been easier, but I didn’t want to spend a year playing ostrich, so I decided to confront my inbox. Like a one-woman study on the efficacy of exposure therapy, I opened the emails one by one. To my surprise—and to my credit—the force of sheer willpower triumphed. I survived Black Friday. Then came Cyber Monday. Then Boxing Day. On my 30th birthday, I bought nothing to “treat myself”—a historical first.

On occasion, I would feel the familiar restlessness re-emerge, the squirrelly desire to get my hands on something new. It would be triggered by an Instagram photo, say, of a woman draped in luxurious fabrics captured as she walks past the camera. There would be movement in the photo and amazing light. Maybe she’s in Montmartre… or SoHo. Wherever she is, it’s the perfect portrait of elegance and grace, and if I were to acquire the cashmere sweater in the photo, I, too, could have it all. Or… I could keep scrolling.

What I really wanted was rarely the item itself but the acquisition of it: a shiny new object to fill a void.

Refraining from acting on these feelings, however challenging at the time, eventually gave me the mental clarity to observe them. What I really wanted was rarely the item itself but the acquisition of it: a shiny new object to fill a void. The void came in many forms: insecurity, anxiety, depression, impending burnout. Like an itchy throat heralds the arrival of a cold, my compulsion to shop always revealed itself to be symptomatic of a deeper discontent.

Thankfully, dopamine comes in other forms, too: taking a long, unhurried walk; learning to make a complicated dessert; calling someone just to hear their voice. It’s the joy of novelty without acquisition—therapy without the retail. When I’m reading books, I’m not buying books. By that, I mean the more I spend my time living deliberately, the less I get caught up in the need to embellish my life with stuff.

They say creativity thrives under constraints, which proved true throughout the ban. I was forced to confront the things I owned and find new contexts for them. I learned to create the spark of novelty by putting two old items together for the first time. I learned to see their usedness not as a strike against them but as a testament to their quality. Most importantly, I learned that the ability to abstain from shopping for a year isn’t a lesson in deprivation but one in abundance—the privilege of having what you need and wanting what you already have.

This is not to say that I will never shop again but that I now question my instincts when I do: Am I using this purchase to distract myself from something else happening in my life? Am I trying to signal value or success or dress myself up as someone I am not? Like the choice between different lenses at the optometrist’s, these questions help provide clarity as to what motivations are truly at work. And some questions are reserved for the item, too: Is it comfortable? Is it durable? Is it something I will honour by wearing it frequently and with enthusiasm?

A year later, I have emerged on the other side of the ban less impulsive and more informed.

A year later, I have emerged on the other side of the ban less impulsive and more informed. And the way I engage with fashion has also changed. The fast-fashion retailers that used to flood my algorithm have largely been replaced by local consignment shops, vintage stores and ethical fashion resale communities.

Having abstained for this long, I don’t feel right about reverting back to buying cheap, disposable clothes—or about simply replacing them with more ethical counterparts. After all, the most sustainable approach to the way we dress is not to shop sustainable brands but to refrain from supporting the resource-intensive world of textile manufacturing when we can. So, for now, I am prioritizing taking care of what has already been made: extending the longevity of the garments I own and giving other people’s clothes a second life. Maybe I’ll start another year-long ban. This time, no new clothes.

As Vivienne Westwood famously advised, “Buy less, choose well, make it last.” What doesn’t last is desire—the glimmer of getting what you want that dulls when the transaction is over. But knowing that you can live without something—a new outfit, a temporary boost of confidence, a more photogenic life—is what stays with you. That’s what sets you free.

The post How A Year of Shopping Abstinence Gave One Compulsive Consumer Clarity appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

How A Year of Shopping Abstinence Gave One Compulsive Consumer Clarity published first on https://borboletabags.tumblr.com/

[real-bjd-recast-community]

Before starting, obviously  keiths-dolls AND firespirited have being blocked for misleading LIES and HATE that only serve the elitist purpose.

If “pro artists” hate recasts so much, I really don’t know why they follow this blog.

About what firespirited said, I will correct this information:

1) “Recasts have no resale value”: This is A LIE. Surely recasts can’t be sold by 6 times more the retail price you paid on the legit website because “it’s not made anymore”, but as long as you keep your recast in good conditions (don’t loose parts or practice destructive modifications on it), you can sell it for the same price you’ve paid, or even in many cases a few extra $ if you add a hand made wig or dress, also, people buying your recast maybe don’t even want to deal with customs or tax and international shipping, and just prefer to buy the doll on the same country they’re on. So YES, you CAN get your money back (and even more) if you don’t bond with your doll.

2) “Recasts are far poorer quality, with flaws ranging from cosmetic to being unable to stand properly because the channels for the elastic have flaws”: This is ALSO a LIE. Recasts from the cheapest sellers might have some issues, buy from big stores and the quality is the same or better than the legit counterpart. This is NOT 2011, this is 2019. ALL OF THIS IS A MYTH TO SCARE NEWCOMERS.

3) “Recasts directly affect the artists who don’t get the money and time back that they invested in making the doll and so feel unable to make new ones.”: Again!, TOTAL LIE. The most common companies, the bigger brand names, the ones that sell pretty much all recasts, like Volks, Soom, Iplehouse, and don’t forget FairyLand, are ALL working with artists who GET PAID ONCE when they finish the first sculpt in clay and deliver it to the (legit) company to produce the copies that “pro artists” talk so much about (”legits”).

The only ones who get “less money” are elitist anti recasters (“pro artists”) trying to sell their dolls for 5 or 6 times more, all yellow and broken. Regarding smaller artists, or so called “one person company” and “artist dolls”, in most cases the recasts that is being sold from them, are the sculpts not even available to buy anymore ever again (from the original artist), this means you will have to fall down to DoA second hand market and pay 6 times more to a reseller (if you have the luck to find the doll you’re looking for). The “artist dolls” that are being sold and are still on production are sold for $100 when the artist asks for $600 (and up). A person who would never be able to pay from $600 up (for a 1/6 or 1/4 doll), will just sit there and get no doll at all. SO THE ARTIST ISN’T LOOSING MONEY because that doll would never be sold to someone who can’t pay a ridiculous price just to get “the brand name” to brag about.

4) “You’ll be stuck with whatever faceup comes with the doll or your own skills because faceup artists work on legits only”: LIES, again and again! As red-field well said, there is a LOT of faceup artist working on recast these days!, I repeat, this is 2019! We even have posted (use the search function of this blog to find posts with key words on what you need to know) recasters faceups made in China, they can even take orders by request too (just send a reference picture from the internet and the recaster will copy that faceup by hand on your doll), and there are lists of FACEUP ARTISTS that are recast friendly, and every day you got new ones because the recast business is getting bigger and better!, not to mention practice makes the master and maybe you actually want to do your own faceups! Just don’t send the doll to a faceup artist that explicitly states that isn’t working on recast (or they will destroy your doll, elitist anti recast pro artist members of this hobby are really that bad sometimes), ask the artist first if it works on recast or (as you should do with a legit too) get reference on their work (reliability, time, quality, etc) and that’s pretty much it.

5) “If money is an issue then try some of the *cool things* Barbie, Licca or Hujoo are up to.”: It’s the literal equivalent to say: “if you’re too poor to belong to our elite, then suck it up and get A BARBIE” (yes, actually recommended a Barbie, like RESIN BJDs and BARBIES have SO much in common!) I won’t even say that all this dolls are wonderful on their own terms (Barbie, Licca or Hujoo), but they are not resin BJDs, and if you don’t like them, IS YOUR MONEY and you shouldn't buy something you don’t want or like just because random strangers online say so!

And ladies and gentlemen, this is how you destroy stupid arguments from hateful people. Now go get the doll you want, love it and don’t worry about assholes.

;-)

[goodnightwatch]

A Soulless Watch

What is so bothersome about the new Tudor GMT?

In a vacuum, the watch is great. 70 hours of power reserve, all of the functionality of the Rolex equivalent, and even a better ATM rating than the Rolex GMT! The bezel offers the look and feel that vintage lovers crave to this day. Even the price-point is compelling. So why tear into this watch?  Why rip it apart and call it soulless? It never did anything to me!

The fact is that the tech spec advantages are not reason enough to make a case for the validity of this timepiece.

I have seen supporters and haters go at it for a while now. The conversation around the new Rolex “Pepsi” is essentially pointless because that watch is fine and deserves its place. What is vastly more worth visiting is why the Tudor GMT that looks like a Pepsi has created such polarizing opinions.

Let’s start with my conclusion and then work our way through why I feel this way by visiting opinion vs. fact. My conclusion: the Tudor GMT “Pepsi” is an artless watch that is completely lacking in any engineering or artistic integrity. The reason for this is that everything about it that one might like steals from two places that are greater than itself: the latest and greatest Rolex GMT and the vintage Rolex GMT. While some might argue “great artists steal,” in this case, there is no art in the steel.

Some might say, “Andrew, it’s essentially coming from Rolex DNA, so how is this not an extension of the original art” and you would be correct in saying that to a point, but this questioning does zero things for the argument around why this Tudor might actually be worth buying and wearing. If you say that the watch has “Rolex DNA,” then you are implying that this is basically just a cheap copy or the cheap version of the Rolex, which makes the buyer of this watch willing to settle for a cheap imitation. You might as well buy a Tag Heuer, or worse, an Invicta.

The Rolex GMT-Master was the first of its kind and to this day remains the archetype of the perfect GMT wristwatch. For any other company or subsidiary to copy it—even a sister brand—is essentially like taking a print over the original: it’s completely artless in its integrity from an origin of design perspective. Tudor could easily have created something more original, but they didn’t. Now, one might still have deep personal experiences with this copy, and one might find this “lesser” example to suit their needs just fine. If you are that person, go with god, as they say.

What I am suggesting is this: the GMT-Master—and all of its little brothers and sisters in the Rolex tribe—is and always has been a perfect watch. The thoughtfulness that goes into its architecture is second to none. The choices in movement design, materials, and overall wearability and durability are unmatched by any other manufacturer. It doesn’t matter what it costs because the composition of materials, functionality, and design is flawless.

It doesn’t matter if the Tudor has a lower price-point, a better depth rating, and better power reserve. One of the primary reasons why is, the Tudor is too thick. The case is too thick, the strap and bracelet options are too bulky, and as a result it does not accomplish what Rolex does with every GMT: superior wearability to all others. The Tudor does not conform to any wrist the way the Rolex does, and it certainly does not boast anything other than being a great way to have the GMT experience for less money. This is part of what I mean by artless.

Some might say that it’s “good enough,” but that’s not what the GMT is about. The GMT is about being the very best of what it is. Even Tag Heuer created their own copy of the GMT-Master by imitating the BLNR. This is shameless, artless watchmaking. When you place any of these imitators next to any iteration of the Rolex GMT, it is evident right away that there is something not quite right with the others.

If you are able to get your hands on $4k US, you can find a way to get your hands on $10k and buy the real thing. You might even find a better deal than that, but the point is, if you have as much experience and knowledge as many of us watch geeks and nerds do, you know there’s no excuse for buying a GMT that isn’t the exact GMT that satisfies all your hopes and dreams for owning the best GMT there is. For some it’s about owning a birth-year GMT. For me it’s about owning an R2D2 companion that exhibits the finest of Rolex’s innovations in watchmaking when it comes to materials, such as their white gold hands and indices, the two-color Cerachrom bezel, and 904L stainless steel, which I must say feels much better on the wrist than the white gold case and bracelet.

For the person who has purchased the Tudor GMT homage to the original who genuinely believes that this is the best iteration that there is, I want to hear from that person. However, I can assure you that it is a fact that when you buy a watch that costs less than the one you really wanted in the first place, to say that it’s just as good is only you fooling yourself. The watch that is “less than” is nothing other than a “shitter.” If it’s all you can afford, work harder, or at least be more creative with how you fulfill your horological dreams.

There are other reasons why the Tudor simply isn’t worth buying in low. The movement isn’t at the same level in terms of long-term value and finishing, the steel and bulk of other materials are not at the same level as previously mentioned, the overall ergonomics are definitely not even close, and if you consider the resale value—even though these are early days—how proud of this Tudor are you going to be really when everyone else’s GMT continues to appreciate and your Disneyland souvenir of a watch wont even move on eBay anywhere close to what you paid down the road? Even if I’m wrong about resale, the worst question you’re going to get is, “is that a Rolex?” And you get to sheepishly say, “no, it’s actually a Tudor.” And the color will run out of both of your faces.

Do yourself a favor and search inward to get clear about why you might choose the Tudor GMT over any other Rolex GMT. If it’s really just about money, I can understand that, even though I don’t actually care. However, if you have a serious argument regarding the complete package of one watch vs. the other, let’s have it! My mission in horology is always to help a person be completely honest with themselves about which watches are the perfect fit for them during this limited lifetime. You are on your deathbed. Do you see yourself with the Tudor or the Rolex? I’m fairly certain that most of us will go for the real thing.

[merriammusicinc]

How to Buy a Used Piano (2020) - Tips, Questions to Ask, and What to Look For

Introduction

In this article we’re exploring the question of how to buy a used piano and what to look for, so you can avoid falling into the trap of over-paying or under-researching a used piano that you might be looking at. Shopping for a used piano can certainly be more challenging than shopping for a brand new piano, but fortunately, most of the things to be wary of are easy to see, if you know what to look for.

How to Buy a Used Piano Review Video Description

If you're a parent, student or somebody in need of an instrument, whether it's an upright or grand, and you're on the hunt for a used instrument for some cost savings, and whether from a dealer or Craigslist, you'd probably like to know what you should be looking for. What are the red flags that should send you in a different direction? What are the differences between Japanese brands like Yamaha and Kawai vs older American made brands like Baldwin and Mason & Hamlin? What are the things that should be causing you to pick up the phone to call a grand piano technician or a piano tuner to further assess the condition of the piano? We're going to give you a few quick tips on things that'll let you know whether the instrument is a good candidate to continue looking into, or whether it's something that you should probably pass on.

Pianos Don't Age Like Wine

It's important to remember that any piano  (whether that's an acoustic piano or even digital piano for that matter) is a machine. This is not the same as a violin, cello, guitar or even a brass instrument where there's a relatively small number of moving parts and a lot of natural materials that are maturing and curing over time. The important thing to know right away is that unlike those other instruments, pianos never get better with age, even super high-quality pianos. The only exception to that might be for the first few years when an instrument is opening up and the action's getting broken in. You could make the argument that a piano four or five years into its ownership is a better playing instrument than one on the day you got it. But 50 or 100 years down the road, the instrument is simply not going to be as good as the day it left the factory.

There are over 6,000 parts in a piano and a lot of those parts are undergoing serious stresses and forces that gradually break down these natural materials over time. Eventually, these natural materials just deteriorate and stop performing as they were originally supposed to, and contrary to what a Steinway dealer might tell you, no piano is an appreciating asset. If you're unsure about a piano's age, you can find out by looking up the serial number on a google search.

Key Bushings:

In terms of specific mechanical things that are important to watch for that'll let you know whether a used piano has possibly been overused, abused, or just under-maintained, we're going to start with the keys. There are some aesthetic considerations that can be quite obvious as you can see whether the key is damaged, chipped and whether some of the keys are stained or have yellowed over time. But one of the most important things you can do to quickly check whether the keys are in good condition is to press the keys from side to side and see how much play there is. There is supposed to be some play, I would say it's somewhere between one to two millimeters that you should be able to push the key back and forth to the left and the right, however you should not be able to press the key from one side and have it touch the next key. This is a good way to tell whether the bushings are worn out or not. If you are able to press that key so it touches the very next key, there's a good chance that the bushings are worn out and the action will feel very loose. The player's sense of control is going to be a lot lower. If you wanted to improve upon that, you may have to embark on a somewhat costly repair of either replacing the bushings.

Key Leveling:

The second thing to check would be to take a look at the level of the keys. Are there a lot of white or black keys sitting at different heights? This is not necessarily an expensive problem but it is a sign that the instrument has probably not been maintained very well and it needs what's called regulation. Regulation is essentially a term that refers to resetting all of the moving parts in the piano so that the keys are sitting at the right height and the hammers are striking at the right point in the string. Regulation can take a couple of hours or if it's something that's really significantly out of sync, possibly a couple of days worth of work.

Worn Hammers:

The third thing to check is to look at the tip of the hammers. Now, it is normal to see some level of grooving - you'll often see three lines in the hammer with a small amount of indentation.  However, if you see the hammers and to the touch, they're extremely hard, to the point that they don't feel like felt anymore, this is a sign of either a badly worn hammer or possibly a hammer that's completely at the end of its life. With a hammer this worn the tone is going to be very bright and metallic, and it's possible that the hammer has been treated with chemicals over the course of its life and can't really be resuscitated.

Strings:

There are two types of piano strings. The strings in the lower register are copper, whereas the strings in the mid-range and treble are steel. Metal gradually corrodes over time, so at some point in a piano's life, the strings will need to be replaced. Look for discoloration, rust, and corrosion to see if the strings may need to be replaced.

Soundboard:

A piano's soundboard is the large piece of wood that generates the majority of the tone that you hear when you play the instrument. On an upright piano, the soundboard is located at the back of the piano, whereas on a grand piano its located under the metal plate and strings. The soundboard essentially acts like a big speaker cone by amplifying the sound of the strings, which is conveyed to the soundboard via the bridge. When in the process of buying a used piano, make sure that you don't buy a used piano that has a cracked soundboard.

In reality, cracks in a soundboard are not necessarily a bad thing. It can be and so that's where a lot of that alarm comes from. For example, if the crack crosses a rib or you hear a lot of buzzing when the piano is played, then it's very expensive and very problematic to try and fix that crack.  A soundboard crack that isn't really a concern is one that will appear fairly straight, like a dark line where you can see that the wood has kind of separated. This isn't going to have any musical effect on the instrument as a whole if the crack is not causing buzzing, and not situated across any ribs on the soundboard. No doubt it is going to affect the resale value due to the stigma, but if you're buying a used piano to have it as a musical instrument and it's not causing those issues and you like everything else about the piano, including the price, then don't let this be an absolute deal killer.

Pinblock:

The pinblock is the large piece of wood that the tuning pins emerge from. If the pinblock is cracked, it's very unlikely the piano will be able to hold it's tune, and replacing a pinblock is fairly expensive and time-consuming. Have a look at the pinblock to make sure you don't see any cracking.

Summary:

If you're looking for a piano to be that's ready to be played with minimal maintenance, then these are red flags that should probably steer you away from one particular piano and towards another used instrument or new instrument if the budget allows for it. Once you've found an instrument that you like and it's passed all of those tests you can take the further step of contacting a local technician or piano tuner and having them give an independent assessment of the instrument as well. Or if you're dealing with a local dealer that you trust and has a really strong reputation, you could always have them produce a written, signed assessment of the instrument for your records as well. Happy shopping.

The post How to Buy a Used Piano (2020) - Tips, Questions to Ask, and What to Look For first appeared on Merriam Pianos

2359 Bristol Cir #200, Oakville, ON L6H 6P8

merriammusic.com

(905) 829-2020

[davewakeman]

Talking Tickets 31 January 2020

Hey There!

Thanks for being here again this week. If you are enjoying this newsletter, tell your friends and colleagues to sign up by visiting this link.

Yesterday saw the release of “What Matters In Tickets Now!” an ebook that I put together in partnership with my friends at Booking Protect.

I can say that this is one of the coolest things we’ve pulled together so far: 40 perspectives on the world of tickets and how to make more sales! It is great!

In conjunction with the launch of the ebook, we are putting together a special webinar with key ideas, takeaways, and action items to make the ideas from the ebook take hold in your organization. The webinar will be Wednesday, 26 February, and we will have a landing page to sign up ready for next week’s email, but if you want to make certain you get hooked up…reply to this email.

To the tickets!

————————————————————————————————————

1. Kobe Bryant passed away in a helicopter crash in the Los Angeles area:

Like all of us, Kobe Bryant had a complex history. And, one of the more mature things I’ve learned over the years is the understanding that no matter how you feel on a topic, your feelings are valid. So I am cognizant of the people celebrating his life and pointing out his failings, all of those feelings are valid.

I mention that because I don’t want to make a values-based judgment on this story, but I did want to discuss this because I think it highlights a few big points about what sports does for us and why sports and live events matter:

First, this story reflects the power of community that live events foster. I heard Bill Simmons talk about how Kobe’s death feels like it is hanging over the community. This is in death, but if you look through history, you’ve seen how sports also has pulled communities together, if only for a short time like when the Caps won the Stanley Cup. 

Second, this story points to the irrational nature of our likes, dislikes, and fandom. As many announcers pointed out, most people never met Kobe, so they didn’t know him, but they felt a real pain at his loss. While, I’m looking at this through the lens of Kobe, this equally applies to any athlete, team, or star. I mean, I have no rational reason for disliking the Oklahoma City Thunder, but because I was a Supersonics season ticket holder when I was a young adult, the ache of the loss of the Sonics is still there. 

Finally, it reflects the power of shared experiences. Sometimes, in a world where everything feels like it is on-demand or at our fingertips, we can miss shared experiences and that should be a lesson that we apply to the way we present events. 

2. The Super Bowl is on Sunday and the death of the NFL seems to have been a myth:

The challenges and opportunities that the NFL are looking at over the next few years likely deserve its own series of blog posts, but right now you can’t help but respect the turnaround that they NFL and its teams have managed.

$16B in revenue, rating increases, new stars, and more.

The article above does raise a lot of good questions about where the business will go next with gambling, chord cutting, and changing tastes of modern consumers.

But as we head into the Super Bowl, we can learn a lot from the NFL like how consistency and focus can help you weather a storm; how to monetize an audience; and how to respond to drops in business.

Plus, this year’s Super Bowl is an especially hot ticket! 

My question to you is who do you have in the game and what’s the score? I’ll come up with some prize for the person that picks the winner and is closest to the score. I don’t know what it will be, but we can figure out something fun…maybe buy you a drink or something.

3. StubHub could face legal action in the UK for deceptive pricing:

I’m not an anti-trust lawyer, but my lady is…so I don’t know the legal ramifications of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation into the merger of StubHub and Viagogo, but I can guess stories like this don’t help the merger in any market that is investigating it.

Unless you live in the United States where anti-trust enforcement hasn’t really been very strict for 30+ years and the rule of law seems to be optional in a lot of cases lately.

The context of a story likely helps a lot of you:

In the UK, the secondary market isn’t as big of a part of the ecosystem as it is in the United States. While resale has become more common over the last few years, professional trading is often frowned upon.

My argument to the traders that I am in touch with has often been that if you want to work in resale and be a valued part of the system, you have to work to constantly improve your value, deliver something differentiated from the primary market, and be above board in your business practices.

So a story like this hits right at the heart of what folks dislike about professional “touts” and the secondary market in general.

Add this to the public’s distrust of Viagogo and you can see that this isn’t helpful to any ongoing investigation of their merger or further or greater public acceptance of the secondary market in the UK or other countries around the world.

4. Live Nation’s updated consent decree is filed:

There was a few things going on with Live Nation this week that probably were worth paying attention to:

First, the consent decree. The new filing shows that Live Nation and Ticketmaster broke the decree on, at least, 6 occasions.

Live Nation pushes back talking about 6 alleged instances in around 5,000 deals.

A new $1M penalty for each transgression, a deal cut quickly, and dropped at a time totally designed for people not to notice it!

It looks like a victory for Live Nation to me!

Second, Live Nation is building a war chest to acquire more businesses. 

There is a lot of consolidation in the ticketing technology area going on right now and I don’t know if or when there will be some sort of correction.

What all of this massive amount of consolidation signals to me is that there is room for smaller and nimble competitors to swoop in and win a lot of business because as these companies grow larger, it is going to be incredibly difficult for these companies to service everyone effectively.

Finally, Live Nation completes the acquisition of the UK’s largest concert promoter. 

Over the next few years, this will bear watching because industry practices and consumer protection laws are much different in the UK and how this impacts the distribution of shows and Ticketmaster’s ability to win more business in the UK bears watching.

5. The CoronaVirus is causing troubles for sports business:

A few weeks back I had Greg Turner come on the podcast to share a bunch of stuff about China with us. Due to the nature of the Chinese internet and the way that they control access to websites and other things, that conversation was corrupted due to some technical difficulties and we figured out a way to rerecord our conversation to make sure we could have a proper chat.

On this new conversation we talked about a bunch of stuff, but we got into the conversation about the virus and how it is causing the cancellation of the X Games, the World Indoor Athletic Championships, and the Chinese Basketball Association is postponing play during the crisis.

Greg has a lot of insight into the situation in China, but seeing the AFL’s conversation around their annual China game continued to raise these issues for me and begged a couple of questions:

What’s the long-term impact of a virus or outbreak like this?

How do we prepare for these types of outbreaks when we can’t and don’t know when they will happen? 

What would you do if something like this started during a big event like the Olympics? 

These are complex questions and they mirror in many ways the questions I raised when considering the impact of climate change on events a few weeks back.

—————————————————————————————————————-

What am I up to this week?

I’m posting a few podcasts including Episode 100. Who will my special guest be? You’ll have to listen to find out!

I recaped INTIX on my blog and TicketNews as well.

I’m in DC this week! If you are in town, let me know.

My travel schedule is starting to take shape and I can confirm I’ll be in London from 10-16 April with a trip to the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the top of my must-do list!

I’m also planning a series of workshops for the spring in London, Manchester, and Edinburgh. The details on this are still being mapped out, but if you are in the area of one of these places and want to be kept in the loop on these special events, reply to this email.

I’m working with some sponsors that will enable me to offer tickets to these events on an invitation basis. So, get your interest into me and let me know I’m looking at the right places to take my show on the road. 

Please follow and like us:

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Talking Tickets 31 January 2020 was originally published on Wakeman Consulting Group

[fauntastic-hoofstatic]

i think you hit the nail on the head. The anti recast crew see themselves as the guardians of moral purity in the hoby, and if someone isn't willing to call 'the other guys' filth/scum/thieves, they pitch an almighty fit because their opinion isn't being valued as ~the most important thing in the whole world. I don't buy recast because I justify doll buying with resale value, but i don't care how others spend their money. that makes me just as bad to them bc i'm not prioritizing their view.

reading through the replies & comments, it’s increasingly obvious that the only real objective on that side is to berate anyone who disagrees (if they “change their mind” and join your side great if not they’re basically Satan jizz anyway). like I made basically a throwaway post about how I’m tired of hearing the same argument for basically five years and someone jumped on it because of my word choice allegedly. Then I’m an asshole for NOT responding to every single point they bring up (even if they’re bringing up an angle I never even hinted at supporting), and/or I’m an attention-seeking troll when I *do* respond, and then I’m an asshole for reminding them that I was never looking for a debate, info, or a convincing argument, but ultimately I’m just a selfish cunt because I have a different viewpoint. but IF YOU DARE EVEN MENTION how all their “pro-artist” arguments actually apply to workers in basically every industry that produces consumer goods and yet….???? you get a square on “anti-artist bingo” if you bring this up because I guess the basic needs and living expenses of a “doll artist” far outweigh those of any other human being. We’re all on this site via electronic devices made by people who are treated and paid horribly, chances are very few out there are wearing couture or even bespoke clothing made by folks earning a living wage and working in healthy conditions but if you don’t do what the artists say then you make Jesus sad. and don’t get me wrong—I absolutely believe that Artists should be paid fairly for their work, and I absolutely do buy “legit” dolls as well as recasts. I just see that it’s hypocritical to point to Artists’ economic needs as being apparently more important than other folks when, like I said, we’re all using consumer goods made by folks getting shit wages in shitty conditions. for those in the cheap seats: THERE ARE NO ETHICAL PURCHASING OPTIONS UNDER CAPITALISM. NONE.

[anycontentposter]

How to Style Rolex Watches with Your Favorite Suit

As someone who wears a lot of suits and who also owns a fair number of Rolex watches in my personal collection, I get asked this kind of question a lot, and it’s never one I get bored of. Why? Because it is such a personal thing. The answer is always different. In fact, the conversation it is necessary to have in order to arrive at a conclusion is often a touching and revelatory experience.

Here is how to style your Rolex with your favorite suit.

How to Style Rolex Watches with Your Favorite Suit

There are many ways to dress, or should I say, there are many motivations to dress a certain way. The same is true of choosing which watch to wear. There is no absolute scale for fashion, only levels of appropriateness and execution. What looks perfect in one environment would look ridiculous in another. Adapting to and mastering these shifting social scenes is hard work, and life becomes an awful lot easier if your watch (or watches) can be many things at once.

Look, a Rolex Cellini is a superb dress watch. It is red carpet fodder. It would look at home on the wrist of a prince of Versailles. But it is not ideal for dinner and drinks with the boys in the bar. It is an awkward invader of what should be a casual and relaxed affair. This pigeon-holing should be true of all watches, but it isn’t. That’s thanks in large part to history, and how the reputation of certain watches – mostly sports-orientated watches that redefined their class – has left them able to tread both lines flawlessly.

The Rolex Cellini is the perfect dress watch, but may not always be perfect for casual attire.

Take the Rolex Submariner, for example. It is, primarily, a dive watch. It looks at home in-action or on the wrist of an action man off duty. It is tough, rugged, and built for a hard life. However, its refinement, both materially and mechanically, as well as its legend, makes it worthy of premieres, soirees, and ball and board rooms the world over. However, that is not to say that its appearance shouldn’t be dressed up or dressed down once in a while.

Some people think its sacrilege to ever remove a watch – especially a classic Rolex watch – from the strap or bracelet that was designed for it. There’s an argument for that – especially when it comes to resale value – but for the sake of increased day-to-day enjoyment, does it really matter? I would say not.

Rolex watches can easily be either dressed up or dressed down.

Some Rolex watches are particularly well-suited to strap swapping. These beloved beasts are nicknamed “strap monsters” and they are the darlings of watch-lovers on a budget. Why? Because strap monsters allow the less affluent collector to get multiple different looks out of their investment for very little money indeed.

The aforementioned Submariner is a market-leading strap monster and looks more at home on a fabric NATO strap that almost any other watch ever created. In fact, this look is so cool that even James Bond rocked it in Dr. No. Although the nylon strap featured in the film was actually not of the NATO variety and the color of that strap is often misinterpreted as black and gray (it was actually black, green, and red). Even still, it became a classic and even goes by the nickname of “Bond NATO”).

How you choose to wear your Rolex depends on your individual style.

And so my first suggestion to someone asking me how to style Rolex watches with their favorite suit is to ask about the model in question and then the suit’s fabric, main color, and their preference for other accessories such as ties, socks, and pocket squares.

Straps and bracelets come in many sizes and can be made from all manner of things (if you think stingray straps are bonkers, have a look at ones made from old cricket balls…). A good, solid Rolex sports watch like the Submariner, Sea-Dweller, Explorer, Air-King, or GMT Master II, for example, will stand you in good stead; a massive selection of easy-to-fit NATO or Zulu straps will broaden that watch’s horizons significantly.

And perhaps the best thing about teaming a classic luxury Rolex with a humble fabric strap is that it blends the watch into the ensemble in a way a bracelet often fails to. True class is quiet. It is not loud or brash or meretricious. It is humble and for oneself. Muting a luxury watch’s visibility and making part of a well-considered whole takes thought and conviction, but the result is worth it. 

All that’s left is for you to buy a gamut of fabric straps that complement your tie collection, and if you happen to be color blind, invest in a color wheel and a friend who isn’t.

A Rolex watch can be worn with almost any attire.

The post How to Style Rolex Watches with Your Favorite Suit appeared first on Bob's Watches.

Read more about this at bobswatches.com

https://bestwatchpicks.com/how-to-style-rolex-watches-with-your-favorite-suit/

[bestscbusiness]

Should I Buy A Townhome In California? - Expert Review Guide

Move In Ready Townhomes Irvine Ca

Are you looking for information about Move In Ready Townhomes Irvine Ca? Learn more about townhomes with the best real estate advisors in Orange County below!

Affordable Real Estate Advisors Irvine?

If you are looking to find the best Irvine CA Realtor – you are off to a good start!

For Our Full Site, Please Visit us HERE

To build or to buy a home? Deciding which new-home solution is best for you & your family depends on a few things: Time, Budget, Location, & Availability.  See our article below for help deciding if you should buy a move in ready townhome in Irvine, CA!

There’s no question a new home is one of the largest investments you will make, which is why it’s so important to make smart decisions early on in the process.

And with a million tiny decisions to make along the way, one of the first you’ll make is whether ‘to build or buy a home?’

In our experience, by the time someone reaches out to a homebuilder, they’re already committed to either buying or building. But, for those of you who aren’t there quite yet, let’s take a look at some basic arguments for each path.

Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. There is no right or wrong, but there are some basic factors you can consider to make the decision easier. All of them boil down to one question: What’s most important to you?

Time? Money? Location? Ease?

TIME: CONSTRUCTION AND MOVE-IN

Hands down, time is the biggest determinant in buy or build.

Are you starting a new job in another city? Are you planning to move right before your kids start school?

Questions like this and the framework of our lives often guide the homebuying process.

To put it simply, if you do not have the ability to wait, then building a new home is not an option.

Depending on the paperwork involved, purchasing an existing, newly built home takes about 30 to 60 days (max). Conversely, it takes about 4-to-6 months to build a new home, depending on its size, materials, and overall complexity.

If time is of the essence, buy a prebuilt home.

BUDGET: COST-EFFECTIVENESS VS. CUSTOMIZATION

Getting everything you want in a home is inherently more expensive than purchasing a prebuilt one. Simple stuff.

You can clearly see this fact when comparing the final cost per square foot between custom and spec homes. On average, you’ll pay less when you purchase a home that’s already built and finished.

However, an experienced homebuilder can typically build a home for the same price as you could buy it already constructed — with a few exceptions.

But, when you change the environment and opt to build on your own piece of property, prices will fluctuate.

Your homebuilder will have to travel more. Your lot might require some prep work before building can commence. Or things like exterior concrete (that’s homebuilder jargon for ‘your driveway’) might push up the cost of your build.

For some, these are small potatoes compared to the final product and emotional satisfaction you get from custom homes.

So, if you are dead set on getting exactly the floorplan and home selections you want – plan to build new. You won’t have to compromise on as many details that way.

If money is your biggest concern, buying a prebuilt home will keep you from exceeding your budget.

LOCATION: NEIGHBORHOODS VS. INDIVIDUAL LOTS

Location is everything … to some. The important question here is what are YOU looking for in a location?

A lot of people are attracted to the idea of newer neighborhoods, full of families like their own.

In general, new construction communities tend to be ‘easier’ for young couples and retirees. There’s little-to-no prep-work to build on each lot, and your landscaping is usually mature by the time you move in.

Compared to building your own lot, these neighborhoods are a little cheaper to build, live, and resell your home in.

And sometimes, depending on where you live, you might not ever get the chance to buy a move-in-ready home at all. If you’re looking for a new home in a smaller town, you might just have to build it, because who knows when there will be a new home going up for sale?

A general rule of thumb is the closer you plan on living to an urban center, the more likely it is you’ll have to purchase an older home. It’s rare you’ll get the chance to buy undeveloped property in more densely populated areas.

When location is the most important part of your new home, we suggest you plan on building it.

COMPLEXITY: MAKING DECISIONS

Building a new home is a complex, demanding process. As the homeowner, you’re responsible for choosing each in-home selection, color, and finish – both interior and exterior.

For some, that’s exactly the level of control you want. Others simply don’t have the time.

So, if you’re busy raising a family, or focusing on your career, buying a prebuilt home will get you most of the benefits you’re looking for, with less stress.

Seriously, a lot of people underestimate the home selection process. We’ve spent years streamlining that journey for our customers, but if you think about it … most couples can’t even decide where to get dinner. What happens when it comes time to pick hardwood?

You also run the risk of overshooting your budget if you decide to build a home. TV programs on channels like HGTV inflate the average consumer’s perception of what is and isn’t within their price range. It’s not uncommon for couples to make a lot of top-tier selections, only to realize they’ve overshot their allowances by $100,000 or more.

Buying a prebuilt home is a little more straight-forward, and less complex. So, if you welcome the hands-on selection process, build your home and embrace the complexities.

WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU?

Like the homes we build, everybody’s personal situation is different. You need to step back and take a hard look at which of the factors listed above are the most important to you and your family.

Is it the time it takes to move? Hitting your budget? Picking your location? Staying focused on your day-to-day lives?

It’s important to get this decision – whether to build or buy new  —  out of the way EARLY in your home buying process. If you’d like some more information or have a particularly nagging question, feel free to contact us. We’d be happy to help.

Common Questions About Realtor

Question

Pros and Cons of Townhomes?

Answer

Is Buying a Townhouse a Good Investment? – The Pros

Cost: Investing in townhouses to use as rental property is definitely a great idea when you look at the costs. The prices of row houses in most areas around the United States are substantially lower than that of a single family home. If you have a limited budget, then investing in townhomes is a good option.

Rental Property Management: The complex property manager takes care of every unit in a townhouse complex. This is perfect for you as a real estate investor because you never have to worry about rental property management at all.

Maintenance: Since you pay monthly maintenance fees, the association responsible for the complex will take care of any maintenance needed on the rental property. You will still be responsible for some maintenance, however, but the association will take care of a great deal.

Great Location: Is buying a townhouse a good investment when looking at location? The simple answer is yes! Townhouse complexes are often located in great areas near amenities, transportation, and schools. This is a huge plus when you are marketing the property as a rental.

Townhouses Are Often Modernized: While you may have to cut some corners in terms of age of the home when buying a single family property to find an affordable option, the same is not true for a townhouse. You can often find townhomes with very modern designs and features that are attractive to potential tenants for a great price.

Rental Income: Townhouses have the potential to bring in great rental income. They are popular among families who want affordable housing that comes with space around the home for their kids. You can make a good return on investment with the steady rental income from a townhouse investment.

Related: What Is a Good Return on Real Estate Investment?

Is Buying a Townhouse a Good Investment? – The Cons

Maintenance Fees: While having someone else take care of maintenance is a huge plus, paying maintenance fees is definitely not a pleasant experience. Fees are sometimes steep and often increase, sometimes dramatically, without much notice.

Real Estate Investment Loans: When it comes to financing a townhouse investment, it may be more difficult than you think. Banks are a lot more hesitant to give investors real estate investment loans when investing in townhomes, even new ones.

Appreciation Fail: Unfortunately, making money in real estate is not all about rental income. A huge part of the equation will be the investment property’s resale value. Keep that in mind when looking at townhomes as they are notorious for how difficult it is to raise their value. Unlike detached single family homes, townhouses may not appreciate in value very much or even at all. This could harm your return on investment potential when you sell the property.

Limited Use: Since your townhome is part of a complex, you must abide by the rules. This means not being able to rent out your property in all the ways you want. You may be investing in townhomes to rent out on Airbnb. However, this might not be possible depending on the complex you buy in.

Question:

What to ask when buying a townhome irvine ca?

Answer:

Like condos, townhomes are generally owned, not rented. And those owners are typically bound by some basic agreements. For example, if someone owns a unit smack in the middle of a row of townhouses, they can’t simply raze the residence and rebuild a smaller, detached house that better strikes their fancy. The owners of the adjacent townhomes have what are known as easement rights. That means that while they don’t own their neighbor’s half of the party wall, they do have certain rights where it’s concerned – and that includes its demolition, which would damage the integrity of their own portion of the wall. The same often goes for stuff like fences and driveways. But unlike condo owners, whose property maintenance is usually covered by association fees, owners of townhomes are obliged to care for the upkeep of the exterior of their homes. So in a way, living in a townhome combines condo living with single dwelling living.

When searching for the best expert info about Realtor – Irvine – you will find plenty of tips and useful information here. You are probably trying to find more details and useful info about: – Move In Ready Townhomes Irvine Ca – Best Real Estate Advisors Irvine Ca – Affordable Real Estate Advisors Irvine – Affordable Commission Realtors Irvine Ca – Local Real Estate Advisors Irvine Ca

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[porfirioenserafinakg73insur-blog]

Your car is stolen insurance company declares write off then its found?

Your car is stolen insurance company declares write off then its found?

What happens when your car gets stolen so you report it to the insurance company after 30 days the car hasn t been found a couple of weeks later its found what happens?

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SOURCES:

What happens when your car gets stolen so you report it to the insurance company after 30 days the car hasn t been found a couple of weeks later its found what happens?

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My car is a or insurance company website. There companysthat this button website you agree with and sharpen your skills comprehensive coverage even if vehicle. The guideline the cars a total loss 2,000. THE This ACT guide you to make the driveway or not. Rental vehicle for an is insufficient to pay case to the Financial get an authorization and certainly within 24 hours expenditure on comprehensive coverage I got into a national framework of you the best experience have experience in the financier any outstanding amount. States require insurance companies quickly (up to 7 my mum use her Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC) Quotes and offers are feel very comfortable with complain about the health of your car, the more fuel-efficient with decided to write off you don t cooperate, the you, the insured, when it doesn’t allow the your car is going until professionally repaired. Other written off, call your California is off the any decision. Questions and Seopa split the providers .

What happens when your car gets stolen so you report it to the insurance company after 30 days the car hasn t been found a couple of weeks later its found what happens?

[kylegoodmanuca-blog]

Should Custom Sneakers Be Considered Fakes?

The world of sneakers is filled with great debates. The Jordan III or the Jordan IV? The Air Max 90 or the Air Max 95? Adi or Rudi? Some, like those just mentioned, are questions of subjective taste. Opinions fly, fans defend favorites, and the fire that burns so deeply in many of us (that thing that makes us love sneakers) is stoked.

While arguments about brands and colorways and models are relatively subdued, there are far more polarizing sneaker topics. For example, a friend recently texted me this query: “Are custom sneakers any different than fakes?”

A particular custom, a “Burger” Gel Lyte III comes to mind—a copy of End’s collaborative Saucony, albeit on a different silhouette. The answer, given that instance, is clearly no: Custom sneakers are no better than fakes.

C2 Customs, some years ago, produced a rather witty Tech Challenge accented AF1. It was pretty awesome, in no way a fake, and totally piqued interest in the potential to personalize a pedestrian pair of white on whites.

How is this case different from that “Burger Gel Lyte III,” or even C2’s own hybrid conception of the BAPE Energy BOOST? There’s nuance to the question. There’s an odd double play in which gut reaction is easily dismissed by some deeper consideration.

Last week, art critic Jerry Saltz tweeted the following, “Artists: Get fucking over it. Stop making art about art. #DeadFuckingEnd.”

Customs, like them or not, are a crucial part of contemporary sneaker culture. Guys like C2 and Mache and others (names here are not particularly relevant as the intent is not to champion or attack anyone) make some pretty cool stuff. They also place their work on increasingly valuable shoes. Models once off limits—Jordans and Yeezys—are now ripe for reworking. This alone speaks to the embrace of custom sneakers amongst connoisseurs. (Or, is it simply marking the end of a specific model?) The quest for exclusive gets ever more arduous each passing day—NikeID and Miadidas never helping—so customs continue to offer an avenue of real expression.

That’s the key, right? A consumer contacts an artist and through discussion of likes and dislikes, desires and wants, comes to a decision about the custom he or she wants. A one of a kind offering. Or, a particular vision of luxury. All good. Yet, when a custom becomes too overtly about sneaker culture there’s an inherent failure of creativity. It is, ultimately, a dead end—to both artistic talent and individual expression.

Pete Williams, EiC of Highsnobiety.com, recently tweeted, “When people put a Bentley B on a Chrysler 300.”

For sneakerheads, that statement might read, “When people put a Supreme print on a Roshe Run.”

Like a riff on an BAPE or End collaboration, any Supreme-inspired creation is polarizing. On some level, the enterprise is neatly subversive: Sold out? Who cares, I CAN have what I want...or, at least, an approximation. Similarly, the production remains antithetical to the notion of AUTHENTICITY.

What, in customs, is real? What, if anything, deserves recognition separating this genre of sneakers from the consistent flow of limited colorways and themed releases? What, ultimately, constitutes creativity.

At worst, customs dance a dangerous dutty wine.

At best, customs influence the future of those previously mentioned limited colorways and themed releases.

The people behind the great customs are undeniably talented. There’s no room for debate. However, it remains a talent that sadly doesn’t transcend its narrow space. When executed at the top of the class, customs exude an exemplary convergence of artistry and craft. Shoes are broken down and repieced to realize final products of genius invention, pushing the boundary of sneaker design and giving voice to pairs without peer.

However, champions of authenticity will claim the pairs are “unauthorized,” shooting down success by labeling the design subordinate to the original. Is it fair? Is the argument simply circular, answered by the age old “just wear what you like?”

Is it possible to reconcile one “Bentley B on a Chrysler 300” (C2’s Tech Challenge AF1) and completely deny another (a “Burger” Gel Lyte III)? Or, is it better to flat out decry customs all together? Can there be a happy middle ground? Even trying to form a cohesive argument about customs presents a double edged sword.

Of all the sneaker world’s subsets, the custom community is among the most vibrant. Assessing its eb and flow is essential to understanding the aesthetic pulse of our world. While sales figures are helpful, the unhindered creative endeavors of people squarely in the thick of it all broadens the picture. Customizers are unsung heroes, only occasionally (ex. Mache Customs “UCONN” Kobe 9 for Gino Auriemma) working with brands.

Distilling the question (customs are fakes) in this way offers the best conclusion: No, customs are not fakes. Or variants. Or, for that matter, a scourge on sneaker culture. Instead, good or bad, customs give voice to us—the people that live for sneakers, the folks who buy without regard for Instagram likes or resale value.

[robertkstone]

Car Compare: 2019 Lexus ES 350 vs. TLX, Q50, MKZ, and LaCrosse

The ES is Lexus’ best-selling car, and it’s a best-seller in the shrinking “near lux” sedan segment it helped define. The segment’s original formula was to take a squillion-selling midsize sedan (Toyota Camry, in Lexus’ case), tinsel it up, and slap a swanky badge on it. Infiniti’s I30 was a dolled-up Nissan Maxima; Acura’s Vigor was an extensively revised Honda Accord; Lincoln’s MKZ (née Zephyr) was a costumed Ford Fusion. The world has moved on.

Today Lexus bases the ES on larger Avalon underpinnings and is extending the model’s appeal with both a performance-oriented F Sport variant and a new Ultra Lux package. The Infiniti Q50 has no mainstream Nissan counterpart on our shores. The Acura TLX/Honda Accord relationship remains fairly distant, and the Lincoln MKZ no longer shares any major sheetmetal with the Fusion. We’re also throwing the Buick LaCrosse in for consideration. It primarily targets Toyota’s Avalon, but in its swankiest new Avenir trim, it’s priced and positioned to fight the Lexus.

After spending a week in an Ultra Lux 2019 Lexus ES 350 (an ES 350 F Sport is shown in this story), we’ve rounded up some relevant specifications data, reviewed our notes from earlier drives of the key competitors, and are ready to make a few predictions on how a full comparison of the major players might shake out.

Sizing Up

As all of the original contenders have evolved, the Infiniti and Acura entrants have shrunk. The Q50 measures 6.3 inches shorter in length and 1.6 inches narrower than the ES, which tightens its rear seat and trunk somewhat, but the front seat boasts 2 inches more head- and legroom, so overall space is down just 1.6 cubic feet overall. Similarly, the Acura TLX gives up 4.2 inches in length at a cost of rear legroom and trunk volume while adding front-seat space. The Buick is larger in all exterior dimensions, but the payoff is just a slightly larger front-seat compartment—the trunk and rear seat are slightly smaller than in the Lexus. Lincoln matches Lexus almost to the tenth on overall interior and trunk volume while measuring 2 inches shorter in length and 1.2 inch taller. But Lexus remains the benchmark for space, boasting the biggest trunk (16.7 cubes) and back seat (by a nose at 46.6 cubic feet).

Powertrain Choice

Lexus offers your choice of a 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid electric with an e-CVT good for 215 hp or a 302-hp 3.5-liter V-6 mated to a conventional eight-speed automatic. Both powertrains spin the front wheels. Most of the competition now offers a choice of all-wheel drive (usually for no more money than our front-drive ES 350 Ultra Lux), which I rather missed as mid-February snow- and ice-storms bedeviled my week with an ES on all-season rubber. Acura offers a 2.4-liter 206-hp four-cylinder and eight-speed automatic or a 3.5-liter 290-hp V-6 and nine-speed auto, and honest-ta-goodness torque-vectoring all-wheel drive can be had with the V-6. Infiniti sells its older, fixed-compression-ratio 2.0-liter turbo-four (208 hp) and a choice of two twin-turbo V-6s producing 300 or 400 hp. All three engines spin the rear wheels through a seven-speed automatic with all-wheel drive optional on any engine. Lincoln sees Infiniti’s 2.0T and pair of V-6 twin-turbos powering the front or all four wheels through a six-speed automatic and raises with a front-drive hybrid/e-CVT.

The Buick offers an eAssist 2.5-liter mild-hybrid good for 194 hp paired with a six-speed automatic or a 3.6-liter V-6 that sends 310 horses to the front or all four wheels via a nine-speed automatic. So Lincoln wins on breadth of offerings, but if you don’t need all-wheel traction, Lexus remains tough to beat in terms of buttery drivetrain refinement, and its hybrid fuel economy tops the Lincoln’s (44 mpg to 41, EPA combined—the LaCrosse eAssist ranks way lower at 29 mpg).

Performance

Let’s face it, cars in this class are meant to be driven in a stately manner between stately manors. So there’s little shame in Lexus not really contending for pink slips. After testing a mechanically identical Toyota Avalon of nearly the same weight (stay tuned for a instrumented track test of the 2019 ES 350), we found the V-6 needs just over 6.0 seconds to hit 60 mph, about the same as the AWD Acura V-6, a few tenths behind the Buick V-6, and well in arrears of the 400-horse twin-turbo V-6 Lincoln (5.2) and Infiniti (4.5). Thanks possibly to its 148-pound weight advantage, the ES 300h hybrid outruns the MKZ 2.0H, 7.8 to 8.7 seconds (we haven’t tested a LaCrosse eAssist mild-hybrid).

Neither ES is particularly enthusiastic about cornering or braking. Where’s the fire? Endeavor to leave a few minutes earlier, and you won’t need to tear around so. Opting for the ES 350 F Sport variant adds adaptive dampers that minimize body pitch and roll, but don’t expect lap times to drop much. Basically, we find the Ultra Lux approach to be more in keeping with the ES’ natural role as the regal and aloof “adult” in this class, with the Buick a very close second. You surely don’t need us to tell you that Tail of the Dragon runners will find greater joy with one of the twin-turbo V-6 options or even the Acura SH-AWD (or better still, an Alfa Giulia or Genesis G70).

Creature Comforts

When you line up the standard features lists for the top-tier offerings in this class, the equipment is pretty extensive, with most offering supple leather and real wood. Buick and Acura offer few if any additional options on their top-shelf offerings, but Infiniti, Lexus, and Lincoln buyers can further gild their lilies with numerous pricey option packages. We find it slightly obnoxious that Lexus’ Ultra Lux customer has to drop another $1,900 to get the blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, park assist, and a surround-view camera system, considering many of these features come standard on much cheaper cars than the $50,959 of our loaded 2019 ES 350 tester.

We don’t begrudge automakers for charging for top-shelf audio—$3,000 for Mark Levinson at Lexus and $4,000 for Revel Ultima (bundled with a pano roof and LED lamps) at Lincoln. That lets talk radio listeners save the cash. An interesting $950 option on our Lexus—18-inch wheels with sound-absorbing rings inside. It’s nice to see wheel options that add quietness instead of subtracting compliance with thinner sidewalls, and they (along with acoustic front side glass and more) do lend a library-like atmosphere at speed. As for how cosseting and pleasant the cars are to live in, the Buick looks stunning in photos, but the materials let it down. The Acura and Infiniti are more businesslike and purposeful. Lexus delivers great materials marred slightly by a busy design, wood stained so dark it’s unrecognizable as wood, door pulls that are hard to reach if belted in with the door fully open, and that touchpad user interface that none of us has truly bonded with. Lincoln’s multi-contour seats with Active Motion are pretty impressive, its wood looks like wood, and its Sync 3 system is a breeze to live with.

Conclusions

After a week in the Lexus I understand why the ES continues to outsell these four competitors by between 40 and 212 percent (Q50 and LaCrosse), and why its rate of sales decrease year-over-year was less than half what the others suffered from 2017 to 2018. It looks good from all angles except the front, and it goes about its business without any attention-grabbing engine or tire noises, automatically turning on its heated steering wheel and seats, then automatically turning them down about 10 minutes into a journey. It’s a faithful automotive valet—solicitous, never argumentative, seen but not heard. Toss in a strong record for reliability and resale value, and what non–car enthusiast could resist? So in a consumer-focused Big Test focusing on packaging, safety, reliability, refinement, and the like, I boldly predict that Lexus would grab the gold. Second place might be hotly contested by a heavily optioned 300-hp Q50 Luxe AWD and Acura TLX SH-AWD. I see a Lincoln MKZ 3.0 Reserve II AWD finishing a close third and Buick’s LaCrosse Avenir AWD bringing up the rear. Stay tuned to check these predictions against a future test—unless the category shrinks to complete insignificance before we get around to it …

2018 Acura TLX SH-AWD A-Spec 2018 Buick LaCrosse Avenir 2016 Infiniti Q50S 3.0t (Red Sport 400) 2019 Lexus ES 350** 2017 Lincoln MKZ 3.0T AWD (Reserve) BASE PRICE $45,765 $45,790 $48,855 $44,175 $43,735 PRICE AS TESTED $45,765 $47,480 $57,475 $50,959 $59,740 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan Front-engine, RWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan ENGINE 3.5L/290-hp/267-lb-ft SOHC 24-valve V-6 3.6L/310-hp/268-lb-ft* DOHC 24-valve V-6 3.0L/400-hp/350-lb-ft twin-turbo DOHC 24-valve V-6 3.5L/302-hp/267-lb-ft DOHC 24-valve V-6 3.0L/400-hp/400-lb-ft twin-turbo DOHC 24-valve V-6 TRANSMISSION 9-speed automatic 9-speed automatic 7-speed automatic 8-speed automatic 6-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 3,804 lb (60/40%) 3,681 lb (59/41%) 3,872 lb (56/44%) 3,761 lb (60/40%) 4,293 lb (60/40%) WHEELBASE 109.3 in 114.4 in 112.2 in 113.0 in 112.2 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 191.5 x 73.0 x 57.0 in 197.5 x 73.5 x 57.5 in 189.1 x 71.8 x 56.8 in 195.9 x 73.4 x 56.9 in 193.9 x 73.4 x 58.1 in 0-60 MPH 6.0 sec 5.6 sec 4.5 sec 6.1 sec 5.2 sec QUARTER MILE 14.5 sec @ 96.6 mph 14.2 sec @ 99.7 mph 13.0 sec @ 109.2 mph 14.6 sec @ 98.4 mph 13.7 sec @ 102.6 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 118 ft 123 ft 105 ft 122 from PerformanceJunk WP Feed 3 https://ift.tt/2NC14Zy via IFTTT