Abbey Annex III

As everyone is probably very aware, there is a game out there called Evony (formerly known as Civony).

If you don't know about it, you were born yesterday or never browse the internet. (Edit: Or you have Ad-Blocker.) Mostly because the Adverts for the game were everywhere and so blatantly sexual many people complained.

These ads were so pervasive, they were even mocked by Popcap games when they released Zombies Vs. Plants. Apparently Evony even saw fit to host a Queen of Evony contest. Despite the fact that in the game itself there are no queens, and also no boobs.

Well, some people have dug a little deeper into the game that is Evony. Some even daring to question if Evony is *gasp* a scam.

In fact, several blogs and sites are saying that the makers of Evony are not just a gaming company but also a gold farming outfit from China. There are even suggestions that the game is putting malware on people's computers.

Well, apparently Evony has decided to start fighting back against all this negative hype. By... using an Australian court and lawyer to sue the guy who apparently they think is most responsible!

And he is putting out the call to the internet to fight these shenanigans.

Posted in Unfunny because yes, it's hilarious in many ways, but the comment racism on many of these blogs isn't very funny at all and may be rage inducing. Also the very blatant sexism from the ads is also not funny. Ok, it is funny yet not funny at the same time if that makes any sense at all.

From the L.A. Times: Robert Pattinson's suicidal shirtless 'New Moon' scene was 'nerve-wracking'
The Dish Rag by Elizabeth Snead

Robert Pattinson describes how he felt when he stripped off his shirt and stepped into the light in "New Moon."

"It was the closest moment I have really felt the emotional attachment to the character," he said at Friday afternoon's "Moon" junket, adding that there were so many emotionally involved extras in the Italian town square that day who had flown there to have roles in that scene.

"Taking that one step into the light. ... That is the one moment since the first Comic-Con that I felt the whole weight of participation and responsibility as well. It was a good moment."

He confesses that it was also "very nerve-wracking. I felt probably the most in-character I have felt in the whole series."

The quote makes it seem like there are a bunch of Twi-hards as extras.

Also, there is a video of RPatz angsting about the scene.

The Independent: Schoolboy confronts Griffin at memorial

Another for the 'Hey, the *whole* world doesn't suck' files.

( For those who are link-allergic, article's under the cut! )

Reuters video on YouTube: Mass bikini parade in South Africa (embedding disabled).

Hundreds of bikini clad women descend on Johannesburg to participate in a bid to break the world record for the largest bikini parade and raise breast cancer awareness.

Stephenie Meyer to appear on Oprah November 13 to promote New Moon.

Not sure if this is on-topic necessarily, but I figured it probably deserved sharing.

So, during NaNo, I usually lurk on the NaNo forums and occasionally post. This is because I have a huge soft spot for people struggling through their 'bad fantasy novel' stage. Hell, I remember when I was that way.

In the Fantasy genre forums, there are like a million threads about vampires. Of course, right?

Well, one poster decided to fill a thread with a 10k+ word epic post that basically amounts to "my vampires are different".

The relevant segment of this post, though?

My most often used reoccurring vamp (the sparkling silver skinned drag queen, seen only in my banned M-Rated adult books, The Twighlight Manor Series; and these books were written in the 1970s through 1980's btw, nearly 30 years before Twilight's sparkling vampires, which has caused some of my fans to point to Twilight and scream plagiarism, seeing how she used so many things out of my books, including the title) is a salamander mermen and thus has row after row after row of sharp piranha like teeth.

Not sure if anything wanky will come from this out-of-the-blue accusation (mostly because I suspect nobody is going to read the entire post...hell, it's longer than my entire NaNo project is right now), and I'm half-convinced she's trolling, but.

I dunno, man.

(As an aside before I begin, marienbadmylove has been AWOL since November 1st. Either he picked up his someone else's ball and went home, or he's finally collapsed under the weight of his ego. Just thought you'd like to know.)

So, there's a new troll on the NaNo block, specifically in the Saskatoon (and sometimes Melbourne) regional forum.

( The batshit began... well, it's hard to say exactly where it all began. )

( But it doesn't end there. It continues in the Saskatoon/Melbourne region war thread. )

( Of course there was a final hoorah. )

TL;DR: Bizarre troll is bizarre. Really, really bizarre.

Sadly (or not) this is AlanHolman's last contribution to NaNoWriMo, as he finally got banned for being a complete knobhead, amongst other things (such as repeated violations of the site rules and the code of conduct). He has threatened to come back under another name to carry on his posting. I respectfully suggest 'ArseHoleman'. It's an accurate description, after all.

Now available: Nightlight: A Parody, by the Harvard Lampoon.

About three things I was absolutely certain. First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe. Second, there was a vampire part of him–which I assumed was wildly out of his control–that wanted me dead. And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me.

And thus Belle Goose falls in love with the mysterious and sparkly Edwart Mullen in the Harvard Lampoon’s hilarious send-up of Twilight.

Pale and klutzy, Belle arrives in Switchblade, Oregon looking for adventure, or at least an undead classmate. She soon discovers Edwart, a super-hot computer nerd with zero interest in girls. After witnessing a number of strange events–Edwart leaves his tater tots untouched at lunch! Edwart saves her from a flying snowball!–Belle has a dramatic revelation: Edwart is a vampire. But how can she convince Edwart to bite her and transform her into his eternal bride, especially when he seems to find girls so repulsive?

Complete with romance, danger, insufficient parental guardianship, creepy stalker-like behavior, and a vampire prom, Nightlight is the uproarious tale of a vampire-obsessed girl, looking for love in all the wrong places.

Lime Crime Makeup is a line of eyeshadow and lipstick by fashion blogger Doe Deere (Xenia), mainly known for its strong and unusual pigments.

Recently Lime Crime's come under fire for allegedly repackaging pigments by other companies such as Beauty of the Earth and TKB Trading. As more and more blogs post their own comparisons, others pop up to speak about past customer service experiences, including a post from Lillian who claims that Xenia called her mother an "asshole" for buying a dress of hers that was hemmed with duct/gaffer tape.

There is apparently a long history of Xenia's shenanigans, sparked by comments on an article on Lime Crime in the Examiner. The comments haven't all been positive (a lot of them have been deleted), but most damning is a comment allegedly by Xenia calling her customers stupid for choosing her overpriced products.

This saga inspires Lipsticks and Lightsabers to start be part of the Mineral Makeup Mutiny (edit: this comment by peonypavilion explains more) which highlights and supports companies that make their own mineral makeup. Meanwhile, there's been some investigation into her lipsticks, with Xenia's post on making lipstick (as well as the later one on making eyeshadows) attracting strong skepticism.

Yesterday, Xenia posted a video speaking out against the "haters", which rubs Lilian the wrong way as she feels she's unfairly being considered a liar. Xenia's response to her was (to Lilian's surprise) civil and composed; however, the same can't be said of Doe Deere commentor Mary, who thinks Lilian's only got a grudge because she's fat and that Lilian's on a power trip. (edit: Lillian's video about her issues with Xenia.)

Edit:
Xenia's entry with her video is closed to comments! (The ones already posted are still there though.)
eyeshadowsluts' posts about Lime Crime, as mentioned by eleutheria.
Blasts from the past via meanestbastard: The duct tape dress (Xenia's comments have been deleted), Where has the raffle money gone?, "violation of copyright", the mystery raffle winner, her journal's gone friends-only, relisting things that didn't sell. Oh and also Internet & copyright law fail.

Edit 2:
An insider's look at LBG drama. (The post itself is drama-free but does give some background.)

Edit 3:
A lone objective voice about this whole shabang-a-bang.

I'm somewhat surprised Xenia hasn't found this yet and threatened to take me down! does otf_wank do anon comments?

Edit 4:
I posted a non-wanky version of this on MetaFilter (mainly to highlight the video of Miss K/Aromaleigh making eyeshadow) and they call shenanigans:
( cut for length )

So this last Tuesday two states went to the polls to discuss gay rights: Maine voters were asked to uphold or reject the recently-signed law that would have made it the sixth state to recognize same-sex marriage (and the first to do so via legislation rather than judicial action), and Washington voters were asked to uphold or reject a recently-signed law that essentially gives same-gender domestic partnerships all the same rights as married couples without the 'marriage' word being attached to it.

Maine? They voted no. (The usual comment-fail rule applies, read at your own risk.)

Washington? The margin is fairly slim, but it looks like they voted YES.*

Maine might be a step back, but at least WA is proving to be a step forward. *busts out a bottle of beer in toast to the good folks of the PNW*

Both the articles are long so in the interests of keeping this post away from EPIC tl;dr territory I didn't c&p them -- if anyone would like me to, I will.


* Of course the religious right in WA is not accepting the fact that they just might have lost and is already planning another attempt to repeal the granted rights, but are we surprised? I'm not.

ETA: I did not realize when I wrote this how utterly insensitive it came out with regards to the bullshit that went down in Maine. As I can now access my internet again, I am apologizing because I sort of suck for making it sound like I was trivializing it. If anyone needs me, I'll be under my rock.

While most girls were driving flashy cars or showing off their new nose jobs, Stephenie didn't have a car until she was in her twenties.

Good lord, this is just the trailer and I can barely get through it. And can someone finally explain to me why motion comics exist and who they serve?

I can't lie; I guffawed a little when I first read the headline but the story is not actually funny at all. D:

B.C. Police Seek Serial Groin-Kicker After Series of Attacks

( Article text behind cut )

There is, of course, even more unfunny in the comments.

• emeraldsword: random fic editing query - What is the etiquette of rewriting/re-editing fic after posting? Is there any? Do you all feel deceived if you go back to an old favourite and find that the author has amended the text since the last time you read? Do you even notice? -
  
  (tags: writing editing archiving etiquette fanfic question)

• accioslash: Thirty Days of Spam...Day 2 - Fic and art clearly aren't treated the same by fandom when it comes to unauthorized re-posting. Seriously, how long do you think I could actually keep up a site with a re-post of a popular fan fic with the notation "I don't know who wrote this, but if it's yours, let me know and I'll credit you." But I see that with art all the time. -
  
  (tags: fanart icons)

• ladydreamer: Easy Out - I've heard producers and writers often talking about how flattering it is that fans can get so angry at them about what they've done on a television show or a movie, and how it's an ultimate compliment in a way, since what they want to do is move the audience, to make them feel intense emotions. Any emotion is good, right? -
  
  (tags: fandom fanfic tptb)

K2, a new legal dru-- herbal suppliment that apparently has qualities like marijuana, is announced in the local paper..

The comments are actually what you want to read this time, they range from amused and joking to totally outraged and everything between. Mostly over the fact that the article not only tells you the name of the store that is selling K2, but also gives you *the address*.

( Some choice comments are... )

Vorpal Blade is keeping it real, yo:

women should lose their own identity when they marry and become a part of the man and his family

When I got married I became my husband's spleen. I wanted to be his appendix, but I was afraid I'd get inflamed and have to be removed.

(was pointed to this by a member of my f-list on my LJ.)


So, a "study" says that 70% of Americans think a woman should take her husband's name after marriage, and of those 70%, half of them think it should be required by law. If that's not bad enough, their reasons are even more *headdesk*-inducing.

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2009/08/12/2009-08-12_70_percent_of_americans_.html

( Full text for the link-phobic )

(nb: since when did 815 people come to represent the entire country? How is a survey with 815 people surveyed reflective of "all Americans"?)