pixiesticks.org

Standby for a new direction.

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:56:00 +0000

If you are not automatically re-directed to the new blog page, please click here.

The changes are required due to Blogger not supporting FTP after March 2010. Because I didn't want my site to be under their jurisdiction like at Blogspot or using a custom domain that still contained items under their jurisdiction, I've made the switch to WordPress.

Testies. Testies 1, 2, 3?

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:22:00 +0000

Major major work going on right now at pixiesticks.org trying to get past the FTP issue. Please excuse our mess. (And bring Kleenex.)

IMPORTANT: Blogger to kill FTP Support in March.

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:39:00 +0000

While I'm not completely freaking out about it just yet, I certainly am NOT looking forward to implementing any solutions I may find in keeping this website going the way it has for almost 9 years.

My webmastering skills aren't that great, so I'm not sure exactly what I will do, but I know that I want to keep doing this.

Pixiesticks.org has survived being removed from the internets twice, so I'm sure we will survive this too. But Google sure isn't making it easy. (They're complaining about resources? They're fucking Google, how many more resources do they want?)

Music is the soul selector!

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:01:00 +0000

Alright, editing is underway! Yes, I finally said, fuck it, I have to dive back in. I have to see if what I wrote back in November as a sequel to my best selling novel "Later, Skater" is worth a damn.

And wow, I got through the first sex scene and was reminded very strongly why I love to write. What? Is that shallow? Heck no! Kalki and Skittles are very darling characters who are about to gain a whole new layer of dimensions as they journey forward in their sequel.

So what inspires me? You do, of course. You freaky ass homosexuals out there that I love so dearly. I don't think I say this enough... I'm proud of each and every one of you that not only don't let your sexual identity define you, but also don't let others let your sexual identity define your place either.

And then there is music.

On the left hand side, below the Tag-Board you'll find that GrooveShark widget again. This time, I've loaded it up with songs that I would put currently on the "Later Skater: On Tour" soundtrack if I could afford the rights to such a thing. Enjoy and know that I am back on top of this beast, ready to ride it until it's released.

Later Skater: Delay of Game?

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:01:00 +0000

So, here's the skinny, I haven't even started editing "Later, Skater: On Tour." Normally, I'd already be into the process preparing the novel for the April release, but I haven't even started. Part of this is because I wrote longer than I normally do, so I thought I'd take a little longer break.

But that should have ended like two weeks ago.

And then there is that whole, "I'll killed shotalicious" thing which kind of messed everyone up, including me. It was a choice I wanted to make, but I didn't really think of the consequences of the fact that by killing that site, I was effectively killing a lot of the audience for my novels. I have this worry that now, no one will buy the new book whenever it does come out.

Some of you have followed me back here, and I totally appreciate that. But I'll be honest, I really could use a kick in the ass to get me started on the editing process. So, if you got a cattle prod hiding somewhere, lemme have it.

Is that a lizard in your pants...

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:23:00 +0000

A German reptile collector has been jailed for 14 weeks and must pay a 5,000 New Zealand dollar ($3,540) fine for plundering New Zealand's wild gecko and skink populations, a judge has ruled.

Hans Kurt Kubus, 58, is to be deported to Germany as soon as he is released from prison, Judge Colin Doherty ordered Tuesday.

Kubus was caught by wildlife officials at Christchurch International Airport on South Island in December, about to board an overseas flight with 44 geckos and skinks in a hand-sewn package concealed in his underwear.

He admitted trading in exploited species without a permit and hunting absolutely protected wildlife without authority, pleading guilty to two charges under the Wildlife Act and five under the Trade in Endangered Species Act.

Department of Conservation prosecutor Mike Bodie told Christchurch District Court that Kubus could have faced potential maximum penalties of 500,000 dollars and six months in prison.

Bodie told Doherty that the department sought a deterrent sentence for "the most serious case of its kind detected in New Zealand for a decade or more."

The geckos may have been worth 2,000 euros ($2,800) each on the European market, he noted.

"Internationally, this type of trade is prevalent and is on the increase worldwide and can be lucrative," he said.

Customs records showed that Kubus had also been to New Zealand in 2001, 2004, 2008, and 2009. In 2008, he had been with a Swiss reptile dealer.

Doherty said Kubus had come to New Zealand and set about poaching the animals in a premeditated way which would have had an impact on particular colonies.

There was a potential for Kubus to end up with far more animals than he could have housed in his own collection and the rest would have been sold.

"I don't think you necessarily came here to steal to sell, but I am sure the fact that you might have had excess was figured into your thinking," said the judge, describing the offending as "pretty close to the worst case."

MomoReminder

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:43:00 +0000

This is a reminder that you need to pre-register this year to go to MomoCon over at Georgia Tech this March 20th and 21st. Registration is still free, though there are benefits to forking over some bucks.

If you're local and you're attending, shoot me an email or something. I'd love to get together and meet some of you loverlies.

When banning books is not enough, schools now ban dictionaries.

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:41:00 +0000

Dictionaries have been removed from classrooms in southern California schools after a parent complained about a child reading the definition for "oral sex".

Merriam Webster's 10th edition, which has been used for the past few years in fourth and fifth grade classrooms (for children aged nine to 10) in Menifee Union school district, has been pulled from shelves over fears that the "sexually graphic" entry is "just not age appropriate", according to the area's local paper.

The dictionary's online definition of the term is "oral stimulation of the genitals". "It's hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we'll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature," district spokeswoman Betti Cadmus told the paper.

While some parents have praised the move � "[it's] a prestigious dictionary that's used in the Riverside County spelling bee, but I also imagine there are words in there of concern," said Randy Freeman � others have raised concerns. "It is not such a bad thing for a kid to have the wherewithal to go and look up a word he may have even heard on the playground," father Jason Rogers told local press. "You have to draw the line somewhere. What are they going to do next, pull encyclopaedias because they list parts of the human anatomy like the penis and vagina?"

A panel is now reviewing whether the Menifee ban will be made permanent. The Merriam Webster dictionary joins an illustrious set of books that have been banned or challenged in the US, including Nobel prize winner Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, which last year was suspended from and then reinstated to the curriculum at a Michigan school after complaints from parents about its coverage of graphic sex and violence, and titles by Khaled Hosseini and Philip Pullman, included in the American Library Association's list of books that inspired most complaints last year.

Avatar continues world domination tour for 6th week.

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:14:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES � James Cameron's "Avatar" is on a course to sink "Titanic" at the box office.

No. 1 for the sixth-straight weekend with $36 million, the 20th Century Fox sci-fi spectacle lifted its domestic total to $552.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. "Avatar" raised its worldwide total to $1.841 billion. That's $2 million shy of first place behind Cameron's last movie, the 1997 shipwreck epic "Titanic," at $1.843 billion.

"It defies all superlatives," said Chris Aronson, head of distribution for Fox.

The studio said "Avatar" has hit $1.29 billion in international ticket sales, passing the $1.24 billion mark set by "Titanic." The saga set on the alien world of Pandora is also enroute to overtake "Titanic" in domestic sales. After 37 days in theaters, "Avatar" soared past "The Dark Knight" on Saturday to become the second highest grossing film.

"We're witnessing box office history," said Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst for Hollywood.com. "We're watching all of these big records fall, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. 'Avatar' is dominating at a time where it has no big summer blockbusters to compete with it. It's perfectly poised to keep breaking all these records."

"Avatar" is also positioned to win acclaim during awards season. While the computer-assisted performances didn't earn any honors at Saturday's Screen Actors Guild Awards, it captured the best drama and director trophies at last week's Golden Globes and is considered a likely best-picture front runner when Oscar nominations are announced Feb. 2.

Screen Gems' apocalyptic thriller "Legion," featuring Paul Bettany as an Armageddon-fighting fallen angel, debuted behind "Avatar" at No. 2 with $18.2 million. Fox's family fantasy comedy "Tooth Fairy," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a hockey player who spreads his wings as a magical deity, took flight in the No. 4 spot with $14.5 million.

Warner Bros. grabbed the No. 3 position with "The Book of Eli" at $17 million in its second week, despite three other films debuting in wide release this weekend. The post-apocalyptic action flick stars Denzel Washington as a traveling prophet who battles a villainous gang leader played by Gary Oldman while protecting the last known Bible.

The medical drama "Extraordinary Measures," the first film from new distributor CBS Films, opened with a disappointing $7 million in the No. 7 position. The film features Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser as a doctor and businessman who collaborate to develop a drug that will treat a rare genetic disorder affecting children.

"It did well in middle America," said Steven Friedlander, head of distribution for CBS Films. "This is not a shoot-'em-up or fantasy film. It's the true story of people doing courageous things, and it's building good word of mouth. This is the kind of movie that plays well to a family friendly crowd who doesn't need to see the movie the weekend it opens."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Avatar," $36 million.

2. "Legion," $18.2 million.

2. "The Book of Eli," $17 million.

3. "Tooth Fairy," $14.5 million.

5. "The Lovely Bones," $8.8 million.

6. "Sherlock Holmes," $7.1 million.

7. "Extraordinary Measures," $7 million.

8. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," $6.5 million.

9. "It's Complicated," $6.2 million.

10. "The Spy Next Door," $4.8 million.

Drive Thru Diet?

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:18:00 +0000

If you are anything like me, you're all about some Taco Bell. Where else can you really pig out for less than 5 bucks? It's also a great option when Courtney (Elf) comes over because she's not so into eating the flesh of animals. Personally, I'd just rather her eat me, but that's beside the point.

Well, none of us really ever thought eating at Taco Bell was ever very healthy right?

Now they got this Drive Thru Diet, which they claim is NOT really a weight loss program. Um... DURR!! But what it really got me wondering, just how bad IS what I eat at Taco Bell.

Turns out, it really isn't the fat nor the calories that will kill me there. (Unlike McDonalds or whatever when I have big beef filled meals.) At Taco Bell, I typically have nachos and cheese and a volcano burrito.

What does that get me? SODIUM!

Together my meal has:

1130 Calories. Not too bad. I mean if you're going by that 2,500ish number per day.
63 grams of fat. Quite high. In fact, this one meal is over what I should have a day.
2520 grams of sodium. Oh boy is that a doozy of a number! The recommendation is 1500 per day and I'm well above that just with one meal.

So what *could* I eat at Taco Bell and swing under the recommendations?

The answer really is pretty much nothing. While the Frisco menu does have lower content in fat and calories. You're still going to get screwed in the sodium catagory.

But is sodium really that bad? I rather like having deer come up to me and giving me a little lick lick.

Here to explain sodium is Mike and the Bots. Afterward, go play around with the Taco Bell nutrition calculator and see just how unhealthy you're eating. (But goddamn does it taste so good.)

Wimpy Kids Unite!

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 03:18:00 +0000

Ebichu? NOOOOOOO!!!

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:17:00 +0000

As punishment for bad grades, a Georgia mother forced her 12-year-old son to kill his pet hamster with a hammer, police said.

The day after he was forced to kill his pet, the child told his teacher, Meriwether County Sheriff Steve Whitlock told the AJC Thursday evening.

The teacher reported the incident to DFCS authorities, who contacted police, Whitlock said. The pet's death allegedly took place at the family's Warm Springs home.

On Friday, 38-year-old Lynn Middlebrooks Geter was arrested, Whitlock said. Geter faces one charge each of animal cruelty, child cruelty and battery.

Geter remained in the Meriwether County jail Thursday evening, Whitlock said.

The War At Home.

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:21:00 +0000

For the last several months, my sister and her boyfriend (whom I dubbed KidRockBoyfriend) have been living here and making my life miserable. It comes and goes in waves really, but the general concept is that once again, there is no peace at home.

It reminds me strongly of when I lived with my own boyfriend Ashley and his plethera of people he rented rooms to. While it may not be that bad since there are only two people (and dogs) rather than 5 people (and dogs), it's still fucking bullshit.

I'm accused of stealing food items. I don't.
I'm bitched at for existing. So sorry I'm in their way. I was here first, and oh, they've already made me retreat to the smallest footprint possible here.

Worse, I get no reprieve from our actual authority figure, mom.

Is this my fucking punishment for being a failure in life and not doing well enough to live alone?

God, I hate this.

Pretty Boy Poll Results and New Question

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:43:00 +0000

For a while, it seemed all of North America was under Old Man Winter's chilly balls. Even the deep south was in the deep freeze. I believe it eventually got so cold Al Gore had to chisel the ice from around his Nobel Prize.

I asked you... "Is it cold enough for you?"

39% of you replied ::punches you in the face:: proving that you will indeed hit a guy with glasses.

20% of you suggested it was Colder than a witch's tit. Pagans!

6% of you said A tit butt nipply. You probably also say poo poo and pee pee too.

8% of you were reminded that Oh I better plug in the car, don'tcha know. *waves a big hello to the fine people of the Dakotas and Minnesota*

6% claimed It's juuuuuuuuust right. Sure, if you were a penguin!

12% said Actually, I'm a bit warm. It's not hot in here, it's you! How YOU doin'!

4% lamented Gonna be a scorcher today, dude. Far out man! That's totally gnarly.

4% said lol wut? Ah yes, always those so naively unaware of the world that surrounds them.

A new question will be posted shortly.

Advocate names Atlanta gayest city. lol.

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:47:00 +0000

Gayer than Bloomington, Ind., and Iowa City, Iowa?

Yes. According to The Advocate magazine, Atlanta rates as the nation's gayest city, followed by Burlington, Vt., Iowa City, Bloomington and Madison, Wis. Don't bother looking for San Francisco, New York or Los Angeles -- those alleged gay meccas don't even place in the Top 15 in the rankings compiled by the nation's oldest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender publication.

Though their research was admittedly unscientific, it's not without merit. Correspondent Mike Albo awarded points based on same-sex households per capita, statewide marriage equality, gay elected officials, gay dating and "hookup" profiles per single male population, gay bars per capita, cruising spots per capita, and gay films in Netflix favorites.

"I buy that," said Joe Pennington, 23, a barista at Outwrite Bookstore in Midtown. "Odds are 50 percent that if you're gay and lesbian, you'll eventually end up in Atlanta."

While Georgia has only a few gay elected officials and no laws endorsing same-sex marriage, social and cultural metrics vaulted Atlanta to the top of the Advocate's list.

"Atlanta is undoubtedly our gayest city -- with 29 gay bars here, there�s a reason it�s dubbed Hotlanta," Albo wrote. "Atlanta guys are hunky, the ladies are gracious, the gay sports leagues are seriously well organized, and its housewives (and their gay BFFs, complete with handbags and heels) are now camp icons. And who doesn�t love the sweet lilt of a Georgia accent on a knockout guy or gal?"

Pennington, who moved from Cincinnati six months ago, said the contrast between his adopted home and his birthplace is stark.

"I love Cincinnati, but for gay people, there's no comparison," he said.

Albo said the study reflects the mainstreaming of gay people into contemporary American life, noting that Iowa City, Austin, Texas; and Asheville, N.C., have more gays per capita than the major metropolises.

Death by Na'vi!

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:26:00 +0000

A 42-year-old Taiwanese man with a history of high blood pressure has died of a stroke likely triggered by over-excitement from watching the blockbuster Avatar in 3D, a doctor says.

The man, identified only by his surname Kuo, started to feel unwell during the screening earlier this month in the northern city of Hsinchu and was taken to hospital.

Mr Kuo, who suffered from hypertension, was unconscious when he arrived at the Nan Men General Hospital and a scan showed that his brain was haemorrhaging, emergency room doctor Peng Chin-chih said today.

"It's likely that the over-excitement from watching the movie triggered his symptoms,'' the doctor said.

Mr Kuo died 11 days later from the brain haemorrhage, and the China Times newspaper said it was the first death linked to watching James Cameron's science-fiction epic Avatar.

Film blogging sites have reported complaints of headaches, dizziness, nausea and blurry eyesight from viewers of Avatar and other movies rich in 3D imagery.

(Ed note: This is stellar. The more controversy and wacko crazy ass stories about this motion picture, the better! It'll propel it even higher into the stratosphere.

Hey remember those old time horror film posters that warned prospective audience members of the shocking dangers of seeing their movie? LOL.)

DJ Seme/Uke Returns.

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 07:47:00 +0000

Recorded January 16th, 2010

01. Into the Night -- Cyndi Lauper

02. Say it Right -- Nelly Furtado

03. Let it Rock -- Kevin Rudolf

04. Sweet Dream -- Beyonce

05. The Launch 09 -- DJ Jean

06. I Got A Feeling -- Black Eyed Peas

07. Million Dollar Bill -- Whitney Houston

08. Two Are Better Than One -- Boys Likes Girls

09. Love Game -- Lady Gaga

10. Sweetest Girl -- Wyclef Jean

11. Appreciate Me -- Amuka

12. I'm A Fire -- Donna Summer

13. The Bomb -- Bucketheads

14. Sexy Bitch -- David Guetta

15. Kristine W Megamix -- Kristine W

UPDATED...China to oust Avatar from screens.

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:37:00 +0000

China plans to pull Avatar from most cinemas, despite the long queues for tickets, to make way for a more patriotic film the censors deem more appropriate � a life of Confucius.

The move comes amid government anxiety that many Chinese are making a link between the plight of the film's Na�vi, who face being displaced form their homeland, and that of those in China who are subject to often brutal evictions by property developers.

Hong Kong�s Apple Daily said the state-run China Film Group had instructed cinemas nationwide to stop showing the ordinary version of Avatar from January 23 on orders from Beijing�s propaganda czars.

The newspaper said: �Reportedly, the authorities have two reasons for this check on Avatar: first, it has taken in too much money and has seized market share from domestic films, and second, it may lead audiences to think about forced removal, and may possibly incite violence.�

China�s favourite blogger, 20-something writer and race-car driver Han Han, was among those who quickly caught onto the resemblance of the plot to real life in China. He wrote: �For audiences in other countries, such brutal eviction is something outside their imagining. It could only take place on another planet or in China.�

Popular views of the film as an allegory for predatory property developers across China may not have gone down well with the Propaganda Department in Beijing.

Blogs are buzzing with the news of Avatar�s imminent disappearance.

The film opened on January 4 and soon drew lengthy queues despite one of the coldest winters in years.

Box office takings hit a record 56 million yuan (�5m) for a single day and IMAX cinemas are booked up for weeks.

The film had been due to play until February 28 � meaning it would be showing over the Chinese new year holiday that begins on February 14.

In the southern city of Wuxi, a Cineplex posted a notice on its website warning that Avatar would now finish on Saturday and viewers with tickets beyond that date would receive a refund.

�We ask your understanding!� it urged. �To satisfy the viewing needs of the audience, the cinema will add midnight showings from the 21st and 22nd. Grab them quickly!�

That notice was swiftly removed from the Internet by the officials and the cinema said only 2D screens would stop showing the film.

China has about 1,700 cinemas and 4,500 screens, of which only 550 are 3D � ensuring holiday audiences will flock to see Confucius, featuring Hong Kong star Chow Yun-fat as the sage.

UPDATE!

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Wednesday denied that it was forcing the box office smash "Avatar" off local cinema screens, saying a move to take down the 2D version was a commercial decision and that the 3D version would still be shown.

Chinese media have speculated that James Cameron's sci-fi spectacular, which has grossed more than $1.6 billion worldwide, had been pulled to make way for domestic movies over the upcoming Chinese new year holiday, including a biopic on philosopher Confucius.

Many Chinese theatres will pull the 2D version of "Avatar" from Friday to make way for "Confucius," though the wildly popular 3D version will still be available.

"Avatar" has already earned more than 300 million yuan ($43.94 million) at the Chinese box office.

"Whether a movie closes or not, it's a market behavior decision," an official at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television told Reuters. "The government will not interfere."

The regulator's deputy chief, Zhang Hongsen, went further in comments quoted by Chinese media.

"The box office performance of the 2D version has not been great, whereas it's been really hard to get tickets for the 3D version," Zhang said. "So it's normal to take the 2D version off the screens. There'll be no change for the 3D version."

"Avatar" is already widely available on pirated DVDs in China.

Studio Twentieth Century Fox said they hoped audiences would still be able to see the film at the cinema.

"As of today, January 19, 'Avatar' is still playing in cinemas nationwide in China. Twentieth Century Fox hopes that cinema-goers in China will continue to have the opportunity to see this film, which has been enthusiastically embraced by audiences there and throughout the world," it said in a statement.

Zhang did admit that perhaps there was a connection with the new Confucius movie, staring Hong Kong's Chow Yun-fat and mainland Chinese actress Zhou Xun.

"Perhaps it's because that 'Confucius' is just coming out, but 'Confucius' has no 3D version, so there ought not to be any conflict," Zhang said.

"Confucius" has received only tepid reviews in the Chinese press.

There is an unwritten rule in China that at certain times of the year, such as the Spring Festival or National Day in October, Chinese movies have to be given precedence at the theater.

China allows only 20 foreign movies every year to be shown on the big screen, but widespread piracy means that even the most sensitive films can be bought for around $1 on the street, irrespective of any official ban.

Oh Johnny...

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:45:00 +0000

I'm with Coco.

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:17:00 +0000

Waiting...

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:44:00 +0000

In a recent email I wrote to a long lost friend. Actually, he's not long nor lost. Well, he may be long -- I never got to check and ew -- but he's certainly not lost. He moved to Maine, you see. Anyway, where was I? Oh shit, still the beginning? Well then, lemme start over.

I wonder if I'm like a circling airliner, just waiting for my runway. Ugh, metaphors? Come on, Jonathan, you're a talented writer but that talent comes from NOT doing stupid shit like using terrible metaphors. Start over again!

Fine, fine!

I am thirty-one years old. I live south of Atlanta, GA with my mother, my sister, and her boyfriend whom I dubbed Kid Rock Boyfriend. I don't know what the deal is, but I think I'm waiting for something.

I have a job that I like most days that I go. I think to myself, honestly, isn't that more than I can say for many people out there? Often, I'll make more than 15 dollars an hour, and yet just as often, I will mishandle the money so poorly, I'll barely make it from month-to-month with my simple but very real bills.

There are a few people I have keyed into my phone that I consider my friends. Sometimes I can't get a hold of them, and I don't ever see them as often as I want to. Some because they don't live here and exist only on the internets, some because they have busy lives and I don't think they're waiting for anything like I am.

I don't have a boyfriend. I don't even have prospects for boyfriends, though you may find me occasionally making out with someone when I got to the bar or nightclub. I'm not exactly sure why that is, but then again, I do live with my mom, my sister, and her Kid Rock Boyfriend. I think more importantly though, I have an aura about me that is warding people away most of the time.

I used to run a website for one of my interests. I closed it when I felt like it was taking up too much of my time without really being all that rewarding. The anime characters used to turn me on, but I stopped really seeing them in that way after a while. Unfortunately, because I closed the site down, I lost pretty much all of my online popularity.

It will absolutely make sales of my upcoming fourth novel decline. I kind of took that into consideration when I pulled the plug, but also kind of ignored it to my own chagrin. Part of me thought that it didn't really matter. I always said, if I sold one copy that's all that matters. I've also said that if only one person came to pixiesticks.org, it'd be worth it.

I lie to myself, but never to others.

I think I'm waiting on something, but I don't know what it could be. It's not like I don't try and alter the above to make for a more rewarding experience on the planet. I'm about to start editing that upcoming novel. I have new hobbies I find a lot of interest in. I try to approach people and try to make their lives more interesting either as a friend or French Kissing partner. I want my home life situation to be as painless as possible since I still have to stay here, and the same goes for my work.

So... really... what is it?
I don't know.
Maybe part of it is just this. Putting down what is going on in my life into words and posting them onto pixiesticks. I only post personal posts when something I consider interesting is happening in my life.

But that wasn't always the case. I was younger... I wrote more about feelings, dreams, desires. Older now, I still have feelings, dreams, desires, but I have to say, it seems they are dull and not colored so brilliantly with idealism. I seem to save that for my novels, as someone critically said about "Freakshow" once.

I am waiting for something. But it's not a passive form of waiting. It's not like I am sitting here, watching the calender change. It's an active form of waiting, if there is such a thing. It's like I'm trying to hold my ground and maybe even occasionally darting a hand out to claw forward, all while waiting and trying and hoping that things will get better for me.

Side effects of using Avatar may include increased suicidal thoughts...

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:49:00 +0000

James Cameron's completely immersive spectacle "Avatar" may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.

On the fan forum site "Avatar Forums," a topic thread entitled "Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible," has received more than 1,000 posts from people experiencing depression and fans trying to help them cope. The topic became so popular last month that forum administrator Philippe Baghdassarian had to create a second thread so people could continue to post their confused feelings about the movie.

"I wasn't depressed myself. In fact the movie made me happy ," Baghdassarian said. "But I can understand why it made people depressed. The movie was so beautiful and it showed something we don't have here on Earth. I think people saw we could be living in a completely different world and that caused them to be depressed."

A post by a user called Elequin expresses an almost obsessive relationship with the film.

"That's all I have been doing as of late, searching the Internet for more info about 'Avatar.' I guess that helps. It's so hard I can't force myself to think that it's just a movie, and to get over it, that living like the Na'vi will never happen. I think I need a rebound movie," Elequin posted.

A user named Mike wrote on the fan Web site "Naviblue" that he contemplated suicide after seeing the movie.

"Ever since I went to see Avatar I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na'vi made me want to be one of them. I can't stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it," Mike posted. "I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in 'Avatar.' "

Other fans have expressed feelings of disgust with the human race and disengagement with reality.

Cameron's movie, which has pulled in more than $1.4 billion in worldwide box office sales and could be on track to be the highest grossing film of all time, is set in the future when the Earth's resources have been pillaged by the human race. A greedy corporation is trying to mine the rare mineral unobtainium from the planet Pandora, which is inhabited by a peace-loving race of 7-foot tall, blue-skinned natives called the Na'vi.

In their race to mine for Pandora's resources, the humans clash with the Na'vi, leading to casualties on both sides. The world of Pandora is reminiscent of a prehistoric fantasyland, filled with dinosaur-like creatures mixed with the kinds of fauna you may find in the deep reaches of the ocean. Compared with life on Earth, Pandora is a beautiful, glowing utopia.

Ivar Hill posts to the Avatar forum page under the name Eltu. He wrote about his post-Avatar depression after he first saw the film earlier this month.

"When I woke up this morning after watching Avatar for the first time yesterday, the world seemed ... gray. It was like my whole life, everything I've done and worked for, lost its meaning," Hill wrote on the forum. "It just seems so ... meaningless. I still don't really see any reason to keep ... doing things at all. I live in a dying world."

Reached via e-mail in Sweden where he is studying game design, Hill, 17, explained that his feelings of despair made him desperately want to escape reality.

"One can say my depression was twofold: I was depressed because I really wanted to live in Pandora, which seemed like such a perfect place, but I was also depressed and disgusted with the sight of our world, what we have done to Earth. I so much wanted to escape reality," Hill said.

Cameron's special effects masterpiece is very lifelike and the 3-D performance capture and CGI effects essentially allow the viewer to enter the alien world of Pandora for the movie's 2�-hour run-time, which only lends to the separation anxiety some individuals experience when they depart the movie theater.

"Virtual life is not real life and it never will be, but this is the pinnacle of what we can build in a virtual presentation so far," said Dr. Stephan Quentzel, psychiatrist and Medical Director for the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. "It has taken the best of our technology to create this virtual world and real life will never be as utopian as it seems onscreen. It makes real life seem more imperfect."

Fans of the movie may find actor Stephen Lang, who plays the villainous Col. Miles Quaritch in the film, an enemy of the Na'vi people and their sacred ground, an unlikely sympathizer, but Lang says he can understand the connection people are feeling with the movie.

"Pandora is a pristine world and there is the synergy between all of the creatures of the planet and I think that strikes a deep cord within people that has a wishfulness and a wistfulness to it," Lang said. "James Cameron had the technical resources to go along with this incredibly fertile imagination of his and his dream is built out of the same things that other peoples' dreams are made of."

The bright side is that for Hill and others like him who became dissatisfied with their own lives and with our imperfect world after enjoying the fictional creation of James Cameron, becoming a part of a community of like-minded people on an online forum has helped them emerge from the darkness.

"After discussing on the forums for a while now, my depression is beginning to fade away. Having taken a part in many discussions concerning all this has really, really helped me," Hill said. "Before, I had lost the reason to keep on living -- but now it feels like these feelings are gradually being replaced with others."

Quentzel said creating relationships with others is one of the keys to human happiness and that even if those connections are occurring online they are better than nothing.

"Obviously there is community building in these forums," Quentzel said. "It may be technologically different from other community building, but it serves the same purpose."

Within the fan community, suggestions for battling feelings of depression after seeing the movie include things like playing "Avatar" video games or downloading the movie soundtrack in addition to encouraging members to relate to other people outside the virtual realm and to seek out positive and constructive activities.

(Ed note:
yo listen up here's a story
about a little guy that lives in a blue world
and all day and all night and everything he sees
is just blue like him inside and outside
blue his house with a blue little window
and a blue corvette
and everything is blue for him and hisself
and everybody around
cos he ain't got nobody to listen to

i'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

i have a blue house with a blue window.
blue is the colour of all that i wear.
blue are the streets and all the trees are blue.
i have a girlfriend and she is so blue.
blue are the people here that walk around,
blue like my corvette, it's standing outside.
blue are the words i say and what i think.
blue are the feelings that live inside me.

i'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

i have a blue house with a blue window.
blue is the colour of all that i wear.
blue are the streets and all the trees are blue.
i have a girlfriend and she is so blue.
blue are the people here that walk around,
blue like my corvette, it's standing outside.
blue are the words i say and what i think.
blue are the feelings that live inside me.

i'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

inside and outside blue his house
with the blue little window and blue corvette
and everything is blue for him and hisself
and everybody around cause he aint got
nobody to listen to

i'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

I'm blue (if I was green I would die)

Prolonged Bitter Cold Poses New Tragic Problem

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:48:00 +0000

Dacula, GA: Ryan Lewallen was supposed to meet Jacob Bullock and Marvens Mathurin, fellow eighth-graders at Osborne Middle School, in a Dacula subdivision Saturday afternoon. But he was running a little late.

Lewallen's father, David, can't help but wonder what would have happened had Ryan gotten there earlier. The day before, David Lewallen had lectured his son not to try walking on their iced-over swimming pool.

"Children being children, you don't know what could have happened," David Lewallen said Sunday. "I would like to think he would have stopped them altogether."

Bullock, 14, and Mathurin, 13, died after falling in an iced-over lake in the Daniel Park subdivision. Another friend, Mill Creek High freshman Alex Paul, was able to climb out of the water. He suffered hypothermia but was released from the hospital late Saturday night.

The boys were playing in the middle of the lake when the thin sheet of ice cracked, fire officials said.

David Lewallen said Mathurin fell in first, prompting Bullock and Paul to try to save him.

Rescue workers were dispatched at 2:29 p.m. Saturday. Paul was out of the water and trying to find the other two when crews arrived, Fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said.

The lake, surrounded by houses, sits beside a covered pavilion, basketball courts and a grassy area where neighbors say the boys likely accessed the lake. Rescue workers backed their trucks into the grass to try to rescue the boys.

Firefighters used a boat to move across the lake, through broken ice. Using 10-foot poles, they were able to locate the boys at the bottom of the lake, estimated at 8 to 10 feet deep.

"They were in there for almost an hour," Rutledge said.

On Friday, Ryan Lewallen and his 8-year-old sister were in the backyard talking about walking on their frozen swimming pool.

"That's children -- they're drawn to that," their father said. "Even my 15-year-old, he's like, �Dad, I can walk on that. Even if you fell through, you can just come right back up.' I was trying to explain to him, �Son, it's not that simple. When you're talking about freezing water, it doesn't happen that way.'"

Bullock and Mathurin were pronounced dead Saturday evening at Gwinnett Medical Center. Rescue workers had hoped their youth would help them survive the incident.

"This is a very tragic situation," Rutledge said. "Our thoughts and prayers are now with the family and friends."

The teens' deaths come after nearly 30 reports of children playing on frozen bodies of water in Gwinnett County, Rutledge said. Although frozen ponds and lakes might look safe to walk across, they're often not strong enough to support a person's weight.

"We cannot stress [it] enough," Rutledge said. "We know it is tempting, but it is important that people stay off the ice."

Ooo eee, ooo ah ah ting tang Walla walla SMACK Uuuguhhhhnnnhhn

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:24:00 +0000

One man said he had clients who had captured children and taken their blood and body parts to his shrine, while another confessed to killing at least 70 people including his own son.

The latter has now given up the ritual and is campaigning to stamp it out, according to BBC News.

The African country's government claimed human sacrifice was on the increase.

According to officials trying to tackle it, the crime is directly linked to rising levels of development and prosperity - and an increasing belief that witchcraft can help people get rich quickly.

During its investigation, to be broadcast on Thursday on Radio 4 and Newsnight, the BBC team witnessed anti-sacrifice campaigners torching the shrine of a witch-doctor in northern Uganda, who agreed to give up the practice.

He said clients came to him in search of wealth.

"They go and capture other people's children. They bring the heart and the blood directly here to take to the spirits," he said.

"They bring them in small tins and they place these objects under the tree from which the voices of the spirits are coming."

The witch doctor, who said he was paid 500,000 Ugandan shillings (around �160) for a consultation, denied any direct involvement in murder or incitement to murder, saying his spirits spoke directly to clients.

Moses Binoga, the assistant police commissioner who is head of the Ugandan anti-human sacrifice and trafficking task force, said there were 26 murders thought to be part of ritual sacrifice last year compared with three cases in 2007.

"We also have about 120 children and adults reported missing whose fate we have not traced," he added. "From the experience of those whom we recovered, we cannot rule out that they may be victims of human sacrifice."

Juvvie Abuse

pixiesticks@gmail.com (PIXIE) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:34:00 +0000

More than 12% of youths in juvenile prisons are sexually abused while in custody there, according to a Justice Department study out Thursday, and the vast majority of cases involve female staff and boys under their supervision.

In the worst facilities surveyed � in Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina and Texas � more than 30% of youths reported they had been sexually victimized. The study, the first of its kind, shows a rate of sexual assault more than seven times higher than that indicated by a 2008 Justice Department report that collected sexual abuse claims to juvenile facility administrators. It is also higher than a similar study of adult prisons because of the "very high rate of staff sexual misconduct," said Allen Beck, who directed the survey for the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The survey of 9,198 youths ages 13 to 21 � all in custody by order of a juvenile court � included methods to eliminate interviews considered unreliable. The survey covered 195 facilities, at least one in each state. Approximately 26,550 juveniles � 91% of them boys � are held in more than 500 such facilities around the country.

The survey showed that 10.3% of youths reported the sexual contact was with staff, compared with 2.6% who reported sexual victimization by other youths. In nearly half the incidents with staff, youths reported having sexual contact as a result of force.

The study sets a wider definition of sexual contact than rape, Beck said. Nonetheless, "these are all things that in the outside world would be considered violent or, by definition in law, they are illegal," he said.

Sexual victimization of youths in custody "is one of those hidden closets of the system," said Bart Lubow, director of the juvenile justice and strategy group for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which advocates for children. The rates at the worst facilities are "so high they're stunning," he said. "I am, on the other hand, never surprised as people peel the layers of the youth corrections onion and expose more and more things that make you cry."

Linda McFarlane of Just Detention International, an advocacy group focused on eliminating sexual abuse in prison, called the highest rates of abuse "shocking beyond belief."

"The incredibly high rates of staff misconduct is shocking and disturbing," McFarlane said. "We just need to do a better job with training and recruitment and hiring and supervision."

The survey showed that gay youths reported higher levels of sexual abuse from other juveniles, and so did youths who had been abused before coming to the facility.

That makes the survey valuable for juvenile facilities other than the type covered in the survey, she said. "While we can't say we know what's happening in, say, the smaller group-home settings � we can look at the information in this report and use it to protect those (particularly vulnerable) kids."

In Maryland, where 36% of youths surveyed at Backbone Mountain Youth Center said they had been victimized, the state Department of Juvenile Services said in a statement Thursday there will be an independent investigation by the state human resources and health agencies.

At Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility in Indiana, which also had among the highest rates of abuse in the study, four female guards were suspended a month ago after a report of sexual abuse, said Edwin Buss, state corrections commissioner.

Indiana officials say their own surveys show a much lower rate of sexual victimization.

"We're not denying that this happens," said Amanda Copeland, executive director of research and technology for the state Corrections Department. "We would be foolish to say that it never happens. We're just questioning the extent to which it's being reported" by the Justice Department. But the survey "gives us something to work with. Whether we agree with the percentages or the ratings or not, we recognize that we have issues and we need to address them, and we're taking steps to do so."