Now I've received word that things are even getting worse outside of passenger air travel.
The US has decided to limit severely any inbound packages to US addresses, thanks to TSA paranoia. I don't know about other countries, but I've just learned that Japan Post will be limiting, at least for the next month, all packages to the US to 1 pound, no more.
While EMS shipping is expected to be available for any weight around mid-December, EMS is extremely expensive and all customers can't pay such a high price.
Unless sellers take the time and painstakingly long process to register as a 'reliable shipper', they're basically limited to 1 pound.
So goodbye to any manga, doujinshi, books, furniture, even religious items like kamidana.
Naturally, as with the rest of their paranoia, they haven't listed any indication of when this will actually end, and the mid-December date is merely an estimate.
With the economy in the shambles that it is, limiting commerce is not the answer. And even though 'reliable shippers' can get things through -- after a process that is at least 30 days long, usually much longer -- this yet again unfairly limits commerce by creating a limited elite. Smaller businesses, or businesses who are unaware of these arbitrary changes, will be hit the hardest. This is going to have a severely negative effect on the economy.
Promoting insular monetary behaviour is unacceptable.
Note that the USPS have also neglected to mention, as of this writing, these limitations on their official website. Good going!
Write not only your representatives, but please also take the time to complain to the US Postal Service here. This seems to work best with IE. And contact your representatives here.
This is intolerable and ridiculous, and especially at this time of year is only an outrageous stunt to ruin buyers' holiday season.
It's already intolerable what they do to air travellers, but extending their influence to the postal service and the American public? Inexcusable.
They have crossed the line. Let's let them know it won't be allowed.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Lamia says 'I don't think so!'
Lamia says 'I don't think so, TSA!'
This is an image that I am releasing for free use by those who oppose the TSA's heavy-handed actions and are working to fight for our rights and our dignity as American citizens.
Lamia and the image itself, as well as its contents, remain copyright Hushicho. The image may not be altered in any way, and full credit must be given somewhere on the site where you have used the image. A link to my official site at http://hushicho.captainn.net/ is appreciated.
This is an image that I am releasing for free use by those who oppose the TSA's heavy-handed actions and are working to fight for our rights and our dignity as American citizens.
Lamia and the image itself, as well as its contents, remain copyright Hushicho. The image may not be altered in any way, and full credit must be given somewhere on the site where you have used the image. A link to my official site at http://hushicho.captainn.net/ is appreciated.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
That Won't Fly
I want to encourage all of my friends, all regular readers of my blog and comics, and all of the people who simply stopped by here by chance, to engage in what is termed civil disobedience. It is long past time for this to be stood up against. And I would like to direct you to the blog of one courageous man who had the integrity to do so.
http://johnnyedge.blogspot.com/2010/11/these-events-took-place-roughly-between.html
If you can travel by way of other means, don't fly.
If you have to fly, refuse backscatter x-ray machines and above all, refuse to be searched. The TSA have implemented searches where they direct their employees to touch your genitals. This is sexual abuse and is not to be tolerated by anyone.
When we are children, what do they tell us? Do you remember?
'If anyone tries to touch you in a way that makes you uncomfortable, tell them no and find a responsible adult.'
It's time to practise what we've told our society's children up to now.
Tell them no. If we don't start now, we'll never finish the fight to get our rights back that were squirted away after 2001's abysmal kick-off of fascist paranoia.
Refuse backscatter scans.
Refuse invasive, sexually abusive pat-downs.
Tell them you're perfectly willing to go through a metal detector like everyone else and have your baggage scanned like everyone else.
And tell them that if they touch you in any way that makes you uncomfortable, including your genitals and erogenous zones, you will have them arrested and bring suit against them in court for sexual abuse.
'It was on the website' does not constitute a legally binding contract.
'You should've known when you bought the ticket' does not constitute a legally binding contract.
'You walked into the airport' does not constitute a legally binding contract.
The only thing you are obligated to do if they will not accept your refusal is to leave the property. You have borne no threat to anyone, you possess no weapons or dangerous items, and you have done nothing criminal. It is their prerogative to allow access or deny access to any member of the public if it is private property. If they subsequently interfere with you leaving the property, they are completely at fault for first ejecting you from it and then disrupting an attempt in good faith to comply with their directive.
And don't think for a moment that this procedure is restricted to adults. No, quite the opposite; they have already stated they will perform this search on anyone and everyone they arbitrarily choose. If you were thinking about taking your daughter on that trip to Hawaii for Thanksgiving, think again since either they'll have a full and explicit nude portrait of her courtesy of backscatter, or they'll be molesting her.
It doesn't change things that they provide people with a person who is their same gender, to search them. It doesn't take away that it is abuse, or that they might be deriving pleasure from it. There are such things as homosexuality and bisexuality. And furthermore, any time anyone touches your genitalia or any commonly erogenous zone (such as the nipples) without your permission, it is sexual abuse because these are sexual areas, whether or not they derive sexual pleasure from it themselves.
Speaking as a person who has survived sexual abuse in his life, I have no desire to be so treated again. It's bad enough when it's someone you care about and whom you trust with your body (in my case, a now very much ex-boyfriend), it's just as bad, if not worse, when it's someone who does it by abusing their authority.
That's what this is about. It's not about security in the slightest. They have full profiles of every person flying with them and can find out whatever they want to know with a metal scan. This is about exerting power over people and about controlling them, allowing these TSA molesters to feel superior to the people who paid good money for the privilege of being treated like assumed criminals.
No, check that; criminals at least aren't sexually molested in public.
Please also take a look at this valuable and important links, of people who are interested in the same goals:
National Opt-Out Day - Flying for Thanksgiving? Opt out of the search!
We Won't Fly - Stand together in unity against sexual molestation by airports.
And for those of you who may feel more motivated when you see a very real person's issues with these searches, I'd like you to take a look at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ra3ov1mEZE&feature=player_embedded#!
If it doesn't make you think, then nothing I say or do here can.
Together, we can make a difference. It's time to put our collective foot down and say no, just like we tell children to do in kindergarten.
Let's set a better example than people have been.
http://johnnyedge.blogspot.com/2010/11/these-events-took-place-roughly-between.html
If you can travel by way of other means, don't fly.
If you have to fly, refuse backscatter x-ray machines and above all, refuse to be searched. The TSA have implemented searches where they direct their employees to touch your genitals. This is sexual abuse and is not to be tolerated by anyone.
When we are children, what do they tell us? Do you remember?
'If anyone tries to touch you in a way that makes you uncomfortable, tell them no and find a responsible adult.'
It's time to practise what we've told our society's children up to now.
Tell them no. If we don't start now, we'll never finish the fight to get our rights back that were squirted away after 2001's abysmal kick-off of fascist paranoia.
Refuse backscatter scans.
Refuse invasive, sexually abusive pat-downs.
Tell them you're perfectly willing to go through a metal detector like everyone else and have your baggage scanned like everyone else.
And tell them that if they touch you in any way that makes you uncomfortable, including your genitals and erogenous zones, you will have them arrested and bring suit against them in court for sexual abuse.
'It was on the website' does not constitute a legally binding contract.
'You should've known when you bought the ticket' does not constitute a legally binding contract.
'You walked into the airport' does not constitute a legally binding contract.
The only thing you are obligated to do if they will not accept your refusal is to leave the property. You have borne no threat to anyone, you possess no weapons or dangerous items, and you have done nothing criminal. It is their prerogative to allow access or deny access to any member of the public if it is private property. If they subsequently interfere with you leaving the property, they are completely at fault for first ejecting you from it and then disrupting an attempt in good faith to comply with their directive.
And don't think for a moment that this procedure is restricted to adults. No, quite the opposite; they have already stated they will perform this search on anyone and everyone they arbitrarily choose. If you were thinking about taking your daughter on that trip to Hawaii for Thanksgiving, think again since either they'll have a full and explicit nude portrait of her courtesy of backscatter, or they'll be molesting her.
It doesn't change things that they provide people with a person who is their same gender, to search them. It doesn't take away that it is abuse, or that they might be deriving pleasure from it. There are such things as homosexuality and bisexuality. And furthermore, any time anyone touches your genitalia or any commonly erogenous zone (such as the nipples) without your permission, it is sexual abuse because these are sexual areas, whether or not they derive sexual pleasure from it themselves.
Speaking as a person who has survived sexual abuse in his life, I have no desire to be so treated again. It's bad enough when it's someone you care about and whom you trust with your body (in my case, a now very much ex-boyfriend), it's just as bad, if not worse, when it's someone who does it by abusing their authority.
That's what this is about. It's not about security in the slightest. They have full profiles of every person flying with them and can find out whatever they want to know with a metal scan. This is about exerting power over people and about controlling them, allowing these TSA molesters to feel superior to the people who paid good money for the privilege of being treated like assumed criminals.
No, check that; criminals at least aren't sexually molested in public.
Please also take a look at this valuable and important links, of people who are interested in the same goals:
National Opt-Out Day - Flying for Thanksgiving? Opt out of the search!
We Won't Fly - Stand together in unity against sexual molestation by airports.
And for those of you who may feel more motivated when you see a very real person's issues with these searches, I'd like you to take a look at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ra3ov1mEZE&feature=player_embedded#!
If it doesn't make you think, then nothing I say or do here can.
Together, we can make a difference. It's time to put our collective foot down and say no, just like we tell children to do in kindergarten.
Let's set a better example than people have been.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Contact Your Representative, Say No To COICA
A particularly nasty bill is proposed and in the US Congress that would presume to allow them to censor the internet. But not just for the United States -- for the world at large. Sites that some governing body deems unsuitable will be wiped from the face of the internet, not just in the US but all over the world. Clearly, this is a completely insane idea.
Those of you in the US, please write your representatives.
You can find their contact forms here.
The markup is scheduled for 18 November. The act is properly called S. 3804, Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act.
Let them know that what they propose is not only the wrong way to go about this, it will inevitably cause all taxpayers millions in court costs when this is taken to court...perhaps even international tribunal. It's a huge mess, an immense presumption, and overall something that will do no good to anyone, least of all the copyright holders it purports to champion. As a copyright holder and holder of intellectual property, I find this proposal chilling and outright evil.
Other sites you can visit are DemandProgress.org's site here and the Electronic Frontier Foundation's here.
Please act before it's too late!
Those of you in the US, please write your representatives.
You can find their contact forms here.
The markup is scheduled for 18 November. The act is properly called S. 3804, Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act.
Let them know that what they propose is not only the wrong way to go about this, it will inevitably cause all taxpayers millions in court costs when this is taken to court...perhaps even international tribunal. It's a huge mess, an immense presumption, and overall something that will do no good to anyone, least of all the copyright holders it purports to champion. As a copyright holder and holder of intellectual property, I find this proposal chilling and outright evil.
Other sites you can visit are DemandProgress.org's site here and the Electronic Frontier Foundation's here.
Please act before it's too late!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Ka-Blam is Awesome
I just wanted to let all of my regular readers know: Ka-Blam is an awesome printer.
You can visit them at http://www.ka-blam.com/ and I hope you will.
I have used them for years, and I have never been disappointed with their quality and pricing. What's great is that they also handle sales for your comics through Indy Planet, which is the world's foremost independent comic shop.
You can visit Indy Planet at http://www.indyplanet.com/store/ for all kinds of fabulous comics.
They're not paying me to say this. I just always like to give credit where it's due, especially when I find a reputable and reliable business. Naturally, I want to encourage people to do business with them, because I think it's very important to support honest and dependable businesses!
So I hope you'll give them a try. They're always quick to reply, you can always depend on them, and personally I try to rely on them for all possible projects that I can.
You can visit them at http://www.ka-blam.com/ and I hope you will.
I have used them for years, and I have never been disappointed with their quality and pricing. What's great is that they also handle sales for your comics through Indy Planet, which is the world's foremost independent comic shop.
You can visit Indy Planet at http://www.indyplanet.com/store/ for all kinds of fabulous comics.
They're not paying me to say this. I just always like to give credit where it's due, especially when I find a reputable and reliable business. Naturally, I want to encourage people to do business with them, because I think it's very important to support honest and dependable businesses!
So I hope you'll give them a try. They're always quick to reply, you can always depend on them, and personally I try to rely on them for all possible projects that I can.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Help Me Sell!
To all of you kind and faithful readers, I have something for you today.
First of all, I have to say by way of introduction that I can't travel like I used to, for various reasons. So I depend on people who live elsewhere to help me market my works. No matter where you live, I likely can get things to you, and I'm very happy to do so.
To make this easier, I am providing you with a pdf file of the Cornucopia Studios Winter 2010-2011 Catalogue, which lists all of our products that we are currently offering for sale. It is a small file, so it can easily fit on a plain CD, or even a mini-disc. You can burn them and take them with you to a shop, and the shopkeeper can look over the catalogue and decide what to do. It's also easy to send the link to anyone who is interested. It will be available until the catalogue is no longer valid, so you don't have to worry about it being too ephemeral.
Since all of our works are gay-friendly and most of our works are at least for mature audiences (even if they don't all have explicit content), I would suggest that bookstores and novelty shops in gay-friendly parts of town (and even 'gay ghettos', concentrated areas of gay-friendly businesses and venues, which exist in many cities) be the first places to visit. Comic shops in general should be agreeable to most of our output, especially since it is available through ComicsMonkey too, which is an independent comic distribution service. For Roaring Twilight, our RPG sourcebook, you could try any gaming shop.
Be sure to be courteous, and also be sure to point out our web links at the start of the catalogue. If any of the vendors are interested in learning more, they can access most works completely for free, or they can write me for digital reader copies. Be sure to make sure soliciting isn't expressly forbidden. Usually all you have to do is ask to speak to the manager or the owner, and this works best at smaller, non-franchise stores.
Download the catalogue here.
I am also looking for reliable people who would like to sell the comics directly. You would be able to pocket the profits past cost. Great venues exist. If you might be interested, please contact me. If you're going to these venues anyway, selling a few books doesn't require a lot of effort. There are also many shows, conventions, group sales, and so forth that will sell books for you, if you provide them. Venues include:
- conventions, such as comic, game, anime, and so forth.
- trade shows.
- parties and underground gatherings, such as goth nights and raves.
- poetry slams and open mic nights.
- book discussion groups.
There are so many more. Just be sure it's welcome and then go for it! I'll be happy to help you in any way I can.
Working together, we can accomplish so much. I'd like to be able to show the world that through the goodness of people in honest co-operation, we managed to accomplish something amazing.
I look forward to hearing from you!
First of all, I have to say by way of introduction that I can't travel like I used to, for various reasons. So I depend on people who live elsewhere to help me market my works. No matter where you live, I likely can get things to you, and I'm very happy to do so.
To make this easier, I am providing you with a pdf file of the Cornucopia Studios Winter 2010-2011 Catalogue, which lists all of our products that we are currently offering for sale. It is a small file, so it can easily fit on a plain CD, or even a mini-disc. You can burn them and take them with you to a shop, and the shopkeeper can look over the catalogue and decide what to do. It's also easy to send the link to anyone who is interested. It will be available until the catalogue is no longer valid, so you don't have to worry about it being too ephemeral.
Since all of our works are gay-friendly and most of our works are at least for mature audiences (even if they don't all have explicit content), I would suggest that bookstores and novelty shops in gay-friendly parts of town (and even 'gay ghettos', concentrated areas of gay-friendly businesses and venues, which exist in many cities) be the first places to visit. Comic shops in general should be agreeable to most of our output, especially since it is available through ComicsMonkey too, which is an independent comic distribution service. For Roaring Twilight, our RPG sourcebook, you could try any gaming shop.
Be sure to be courteous, and also be sure to point out our web links at the start of the catalogue. If any of the vendors are interested in learning more, they can access most works completely for free, or they can write me for digital reader copies. Be sure to make sure soliciting isn't expressly forbidden. Usually all you have to do is ask to speak to the manager or the owner, and this works best at smaller, non-franchise stores.
Download the catalogue here.
I am also looking for reliable people who would like to sell the comics directly. You would be able to pocket the profits past cost. Great venues exist. If you might be interested, please contact me. If you're going to these venues anyway, selling a few books doesn't require a lot of effort. There are also many shows, conventions, group sales, and so forth that will sell books for you, if you provide them. Venues include:
- conventions, such as comic, game, anime, and so forth.
- trade shows.
- parties and underground gatherings, such as goth nights and raves.
- poetry slams and open mic nights.
- book discussion groups.
There are so many more. Just be sure it's welcome and then go for it! I'll be happy to help you in any way I can.
Working together, we can accomplish so much. I'd like to be able to show the world that through the goodness of people in honest co-operation, we managed to accomplish something amazing.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Comic Show 20 November!
To all of you faithful friends, fans, and readers in general, I will be appearing at a comic, anime, game, and toy show on 20 November 2010! It's a Saturday, and I'll be there with all my comics, posters, and of course my pencils, pens, and paper if you would like a sketch or something more formal too!
The show will be at the Days Inn at Merchant's Road. Here's the address, so you can put it into whatever directions website you like:
5335 Central Ave. Pike
Knoxville, TN 37912
The show will be from 10 AM to 4 PM or thereabouts. Of course I'll have Lamia there with me, both versions, so if you'd like to take a peek at the Director's Cut or just look and see what awaits you on the website, stop by and say hello! Show your support!
I hope to see you there!
The show will be at the Days Inn at Merchant's Road. Here's the address, so you can put it into whatever directions website you like:
5335 Central Ave. Pike
Knoxville, TN 37912
The show will be from 10 AM to 4 PM or thereabouts. Of course I'll have Lamia there with me, both versions, so if you'd like to take a peek at the Director's Cut or just look and see what awaits you on the website, stop by and say hello! Show your support!
I hope to see you there!
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