shai

I think 12 oz is doing better than ever, they have a good brand and have what appears to be solid financial backing...the real question is whether the forum will ever draw the kind of traffic that it used to and continue to be worth investing in. If you look at how social media has evolved, it's kind of hard to say...another thing to consider is that when Raven set up the forum, it was more or less a placeholder till the main site went live. I'm sure some of you remember this- -and I'm sure some of you remember that a couple weeks ended up turning into a couple of years, so it shouldn't be that surprising that deadlines tend to be somewhat flexible around here. Not to mention the fact that it's kind of hard to steer people into the club when the door is locked....and when they finally get inside, they realize there's no one hanging out and half of the bathrooms don't work. Another happy thought is that the software that the forum runs on is over six years old and is vulnerable to all kinds of exploits....in fact, if you Google "vBulletin 3.6.4" the first thing that comes up is exploits. Not only that, I wouldn't be surprised if we're still running off of the same backup that was rolled out after the server crash in 2009 which has to be patched/jury rigged every six months or so when something goes haywire. I don't think anyone knows what the plan is at this point with the forum. It would be great if things got sorted out and upgraded, but for whatever reason it seems like that plan is on hold....I asked Raven why he stopped keeping everyone informed about the situation, and he said that he was tired of telling everyone that the upgrade was going to happen ANY DAY NOW and not being able to make good on those commitments. It wasn't the answer I wanted to hear, but I can see where he's coming from.

It was on Demonoid from what I remember. I'll ask around on here and see if anyone's got them...it seems like someone would have those.

You don't believe me? Well, fuck me standing, there goes all my credibility. Maybe I should just go lay down in a pile of dicks and die now. When you said "Sell cocaine" it took me a minute to realize that it was great advice, but probably not in the way that you would think. Now I know that whenever you say something is a good idea, I should probably do the exact opposite. FWIW, the job was doing food delivery on a bike in SF and the reason I passed was because they didn't even pay minimum wage. They said that tips would average out my take, I told them I'd rather have minimum wage than gamble on the kindness of the extremely idle rich. Thus, the impasse.

Real deer. 12 oz deer.

True...there are far better and more fulfilling things to be found out there artistically. One thing I'd eventually like to do is start teaching kids how to draw...since schools are gutting electives, they can use all the support they can get. But, as they say, do you.

I wrote about my relationship with graff for a zine a few years ago. To me it seems pretty dated...I really had to think about what my motivation was then and I don't feel like I quite nailed it. If I had to guess now, it would be that counseling is expensive and the drugs don't work...I suppose I could be doing far worse things if I had the motivation and inclination, but I'm pretty lazy and not particularly mean. I don't care what other people are doing, IMO most graff sucks...not for lack of technique so much as a lack of soul or pain or some other ineffable quality that isn't there. It took me years to teach myself how to do one or two things adequately, now anyone who wants to can get on Youtube and copy someone else copying someone else...to me, that shows, and new jacks don't get it when I tell them "I'm done with the scene, enjoy it, I don't care and don't worry about what I'm doing because it's not important." Some of them take it personally but they aren't bringing anything to the table that I haven't already seen a dozen times. At the same time writing on walls is one of the easiest things you can do and I don't blame people for trying it out. But when they say they're part of "the graffiti movement" or self-identify as "a graffiti writer" I think that's corny as hell. It seems like people are afraid to be themselves nowadays, whereas I've been fighting my whole life to stay unique.

Go to the corner store. Look for the jeans with the embroidered back pockets....now make a suit out of that. Feel cool or ridiculous, depending. After Kim Jong Il died Illuminati flew to Pyongyang and bought up all of his old suits. I think it's a good look but it's kind of weird hanging out with him...there's all these people following him around calling him "Dear Leader" and he's not even Korean.

It doesn't say how much money was involved. Anything up to a grand I'll gladly take, but if someone walked up looking mighty stressed out and asked me if I'd seen some cash laying around I'd give it back to them since it might be their rent or child support. But if we're talking five digits or more...I don't know, that's getting into some shady territory. I mean, I wouldn't call the cops...I don't know what I'd do. Which is good because it probably won't ever happen.

There's a few places in the East Bay that can get you going...I don't know what the situation is out in SF but I think there's a couple permaculture spots out here that might be able to point you in the right direction. I burn hot and cold on WWOOFers. Some are really cool, some rub me the wrong way. I've worked in the community off and on for years via EB Food Not Bombs (lots of overlap there) but never did it myself...one of these days I'll hear about something that sounds right and pursue it, but it hasn't happened yet. I've been doing other stuff lately not FNB related but if I hear anything I'll get back to you. It's around the time of year when people start making plans to go work on various farms.

You'd be surprised at what people throw out. Among other things I've found money, drugs, art supplies, laptops...those are things I think most 12 ozers can get down with. I'm guessing I've found slightly more cash than I've lost in my life. Had a few $100 comeups, best ever was $160 in an old backpack at a thrift store. All kinds of smaller finds here and there. I used to be really bad at stuffing wads of cash in random pockets when I'd get change while drunk and dropping 10s and 20s...then a friend told me that since I wear my shoes loose to stuff my money there under my foot. Hasn't been an issue since. One of my friends found $16K in a lockbox back in the early 90s...he bought some property and found it on his land. Styled everyone out and restored his car with it. Some other friends were cleaning out a house they wanted to squat that turned out to be a trap...they found something like three grand in loose cash, dope and jewelry. But to answer the original question- I probably would have scooped up the cash and kept it moving but that's me. Maybe she's a Christer or subnormal...who knows what motivates people to do what they do. I wonder how she feels right about now.

I changed my mind when I realized it wasn't a very progressive way of looking at things.

If you're qualified and have decent references I don't think it's unreasonable to at least get a chance somewhere to show an employer what you can do. Unfortunately employers use the "It costs X amount to hire someone, whatever shall I do" and put that on the applicant when they should simply recognize it as the cost of doing business. Have you ever sold coke? Do you know what the clientele is like? Would you want that to be your first impression of a city and their first impression of you? I think I'll pass...I have a conscience and a reputation/rap sheet I'd like to keep relatively clean.

I think what was good about 12 oz then has gotten better...I'm glad there's a foundation to work off of but nostalgia is kind of corny, especially when you don't have a point of reference.

My friend was in the apartment the night Fred Hampton got killed. It's a pretty heavy story to hear from someone who experienced it first hand. I don't really care what the government does because I don't recognize it as being the authority that controls my life. When I obey the law it's not because some arbitrary third party said so and I fear the consequences, it's because it works within the framework of what I consider morally correct and logical...outside of that, I do what needs to be done with the understanding that I might have to take responsibility for my actions. When laws are convenient and unobtrusive people seem to love them, but when they start to apply to their actions they'll do just about anything but take responsibility...it's kind of like the old saying, "It stops being funny when it starts being you." Personally I don't really care about security. At best it's a con, at worst it's a nightmare. Despite all evidence to the contrary people still buy into the con..then when they realize there's no money left in their savings and the cops aren't their friends, they start doing weird shit like occupying parks and public spaces because they don't know what else to do.

It's absurd...The last time I made $8/hr is 1997. But that was full time at a small business and my rent was $150 a month. The minimum wage in SF is 10 and change now. I told the job this and they weren't interested.

As long as you don't leave your brain and your conscience at the door, I'm cool with that. Imagine being in the radical community and treating cops and vets like humans with real feelings. It's kind of an interesting litmus test for my peers...if they're really about changing the world and peace and love, who do you think you need to engage with that attitude first? Well, let's just say a lot of people around me have begged to differ right up to the point of calling me names...it's not my problem if they confuse decency with collaboration.

In any format? I feel like I saw a torrent of the whole series a couple years ago...if I stumble across it I'll let you know.

I know what you're talking about and that's not "small L libertarian" in the traditional sense. It's more of a fucked up amalgamation of objectivism, neo-conservatism and later libertarian ideology...since it's kind of late, I don't really want to go into it in super detail mode but when I tell people "I know what you think you mean but I really think you mean this" I feel like they deserve an explanation. I think cops think they're military, at least based on what I've heard them say at times (referring to citizens as "civilians," using the "I'm just following orders" rationale) so I feel like it begs the question as to what their role really is. If they ARE indeed military, then their role has changed considerably from what its original intent was. If not, they sure as hell need to drop the pretense and be more accountable to the communities they serve...and in the process they might find that people will hate them a little less. Some PDs behave as if their role is an occupying force...the rationale is usually "Well, people don't like us" but they seem very short sighted as to why that might be. There are communities that don't like letting first responders in of ANY kind because they view anything with a light bar and siren as bad news, or at least the harbinger of bad news. That sucks because the role of firemen and EMTs has nothing to do with law enforcement...but to some people the three are more or less inextricably associated. I've seen this happen in person, it's crazy shit...people will take a cab to the hospital and/or let their house burn down just so they won't have to talk to the Man.

Meh...but if people exchanged the numbers one for one...kind of like "Okay, you give me the first K on your list and I'll give you the first D on mine" things would have been way more interesting.

The only on the books job I can get right now requires me to dress nice, pays $8/hr and tops out at 20 hours a week. All that would do is cut my EBT in half, which already doesn't get me through the month...it certainly wouldn't house me or make my life appreciably easier. I'm not opposed to working a legit job but lately it seems like the goal of employers is to make me see them as the least logical choice.

Pretty much...I always hear about good shows after the fact. Angry Samoans played in SF on Friday, I missed that. I still haven't heard Aesop's new band or seen Jus' Folks yet. I missed the last Uzi Rash show...I'm not doing very good at punk lately.

I'm regressing into funkier stuff lately, but not the same stuff I used to listen to/play all the time. Just approaching things from a different angle helps. I got kind of burned out on indie rock....there's a couple bands I still like but for the most part I've moved on.