Sorry For My English

I think certain native English speakers, namely the dolts who use horrible text-messaging shorthand to express their vapid thoughts, ought to take a lesson from non-native English speakers and politely apologize at the beginning or end of every moronic post.

So instead of:

"lmfao this vid. if fucking helarious"

How about:

"lmfao this vid. if fucking helarious sorry for my english"

That way they at least admit they suck. A small courtesy if nothing else. Since it's apparently too much to ask to actually care about what you write, or to take the smallest amount of effort to pen a coherent thought, this concession would be a nice substitute. Normally you see someone from France, Japan, Germany or wherever end or begin their posts with a gracious "Sorry for my English" which is often overstated because usually their English is just fine. This is not the case with the average teenage blockhead from middle America who is FAR more deserving of such an apology\disclaimer.

"srry 4 my englsh, i am only 17 yrs old from iowa wit a decade of skooling in english but ur totalay a fag if U think taht is kewl u natzi looser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

(No offense to Iowa, I just picked a state.)

Living The Dream

I don't think it's truly healthy to actually have idols or role models that you look up to or want to emulate. But that feeling is still there. It would be wrong to want to pattern your own life off someone else, but sometimes you see a template that you wish you had so badly. Todd Schorr is such a person for me. It didn't take a whole lot of convincing evidence either, just a couple of videos and a blurb on a website.

Todd Schorr is living the artist's dream. This guy does what he wants, sells what he wants and makes a living doing it. What else can you ask for? He does commissioned paintings, but HE suggests to the patron what HE wants to do! That's so AWESOME! He said he will make one sketch of an idea for a painting, present it to the client and if they don't like it that's the end of it. THAT is true liberty, THAT is true power! Can you imagine such freedom? It's insane.

Just read this glorious FAQ from his site ww.toddschorr.com It makes me grin from ear to ear:

FAQ

1. Please do not ask if there is a print available that does not appear among the listings on the prints page. If it is not offered, it is not available. The availability of new prints and limited editions will be announced on the website as they become available.

2. I do not accept illustration work or commercial assignments. Existing images may be licensed for a fee depending on usage.

3. I do not accept “commissions.” The only commissions I work on are projects that I propose to interested select patrons.

4. All of the artworks that appear on my website are sold and reside in private and public collections. I do not have any artwork for sale. All inquiries regarding original artwork for sale must be directed to the galleries that handle my art. The availability of new work will be announced on the website as future gallery shows are scheduled.

Okay, so maybe there is a bit of middle man in there with galleries, but that still is miles removed from any top-down bureaucratic crap in the commercial art world. How fucking awesome is this guy's life? It's unbelievable!

You can easily get 50% of this equation without any problem. You can do exactly the art you want in your free time with no problem. But to actually have a market, to actually have enough people with enough money that they are willing to part with; enough to actually pay the bills of living, THAT is something which almost seems supernatural to me. That's like living in Lothlorien fer cryin' out loud.

Todd Schorr just fucking rules. More power to him and anyone like him.

If that's not enough he's got a cute wife and is a dead ringer for Gordon Freeman. (Todd, not his wife that is)