ashbet | Recent Entries

https://www.gofundme.com/ebrhv724

This sweet boy is in foster care, with a forever home lined up -- but he needs a lot of dental work to be comfortable and happy. His medical care has totaled $2500 so far -- his fosterer is my friend

m_cobweb, so I can vouch for him getting everything he needs to have love and safety for the rest of his life.

Please help/signal-boost if you can?

Current Mood: hopeful
Current Music: Garbage, "Queer"

Originally posted by

naamah_darling at FIRST ROUND OF AUCTIONS!

Bear and I need to bring in some money for the move, so we're listing ponies, Buy It Now only, on Ebay. Come check it out, and boost the links on Tumblr if you have one. We'll be listing more as I get photos taken, but here's what we have for now:

You can see all my auctions here.

Talitha and Polaris, the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor ponies, are available here.

The snow ponies are still available; I've split the pair. Flurry is here and Snowdrift is here.

You can see all Bear's auctions here.

Bear's Frankie Stein Monster High/My Little Pony mashup is right here.

Click the links for Bear's Grumpy Bear and Bedtime Bear baby pony customs.

Again, reblogging is much appreciated, as is, obviously, buying. We are looking forward to moving in together finally but there's gonna be some expenses associated with that, and we could really use the help.

X-posted from Dreamwidth. Comment count:

Originally posted by

eveshka at Shameless self-promotion

Many of you may not be aware that I am making jewelry.
I'm selling it, too.
Yes, I have an Etsy, but right now I'm mostly doing direct sales through FaceBook or email or however you want to contact me. (Smoke rings are currently disabled due to weather constraints.)

What does my stuff look like, you ask?
Oh...
( Here's a few. THUMBNAIL PHOTO HEAVY )
And that's just off the top. But don't take my word for it. Head over to my FaceBook Page and see everything.
Like it, share it, buy it? ;)

Correcting any misapprehensions, because it has come to my attention that some incorrect info is going around.

Josh did not cheat on me.

He made relationship choices that hurt me. He *betrayed* me, broke my trust, lied to me, rules-lawyered and attempted to radically renegotiate our relationship agreements on the fly. He hurt me very badly.

But I have been very careful to use the word "betrayed" rather than "cheated," because they have two different meanings.

I have corrected people when they have said he cheated. I have explained that there were specific circumstances that caused the term "betrayed" to be the appropriate one.

But I will not allow a dishonest, unfair interpretation of my words or his actions to stand -- so, no, for the record, Josh did not cheat on me.

BTW, if you happen to know anyone who is looking for shared housing in the Plano/Frisco area, please pass their info on to me! I would be MUCH happier (and willing to give something of a discount) to rent to someone recommended by a friend, rather than a stranger.

The room is approximately 19x19, shared bath (with a college student who is away most of the time), shared entrance/common areas, big kitchen, utilities and FIOS included.

Rent and exact location available on request (it's north Plano, next to Deerfield, close to Frisco. Reasonable walking distance/short car ride to Headquarters Drive. Convenient to grocery, pharmacy, restaurants.)

No pets, other than snakes/rodents/fish/similar -- I have 2 cats.

House would be shared with two women, myself and my adult daughter, and we have an occasional housemate (my daughter's father) who stays with us over the winter holidays, in the guest bedroom.

Happy to talk about more details if anyone is interested -- I'd much rather rent to someone within our social circles than some random person with no recommendations (and it would be nice to have a Goth-friendly, queer-friendly housemate.)

Current Mood: optimistic

xvsharrax was kind enough to set this up -- things are going to be very uncertain and scary for a while, and I won't turn down any help offered.

I am beyond grateful for how supportive everyone has been. I genuinely have no words to express how touched I am.

Thank you <3

Direct link: https://www.gofundme.com/mghdkdtw

For anyone sharing/reading this who doesn't know me directly (I'll make it a public post) -- my daughter and I have a genetic disorder, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which is painful, degenerative, and disabling.

My partner of seven years left me today.

He was laid off in October, and we are unable to afford COBRA, so we're without insurance as of January 1.

We have high prescription expenses and normally need to see specialists regularly. I was in the middle of a cardiac workup to try to get some difficult heart symptoms under control, but I won't be able to see the cardiologist again until we have insurance, or I'm able to find a housemate to assist with expenses.

My daughter and I are both on Medicare, so we can't buy insurance through the ACA exchange. Private "Medicare Part D" insurance doesn't cover the majority of our drug costs.

We had been covered through my partner's employer-provided insurance, and if he is able to find work, he is going to try to cover us again, even though we are no longer together. In the meanwhile, we're going to have high medical expenses and no real way to pay for them.

Please signal-boost, and thank you to anyone who can share this or can donate. I am incredibly thankful for the emotional support that my friends have provided, and I hope that we can get through this tenuous and frightening time with a little bit of help.

Thank you, so very much.

ETA: Here are links to FB and Tumblr, if you'd like to share this elsewhere than LJ:

https://www.facebook.com/andi.pants.16/posts/10153720675695351

http://ashbet.tumblr.com/post/136620684614/direct-link-httpswwwgofundmecommghdkdtw-for

Current Mood: grateful

Originally posted by

nonnycat at [unfiltered] Disabled Family, Rent, Hungry Cats

C&P from FB because I wrote a post nearly as long as I would've here.

We're in a bad state right now. We had been getting $700/mo in rent assistance, and we abruptly found out that it was canceled. On Scott's income alone, we run $200 over budget, and that's only bills, and it doesn't count household necessities like shampoo, toilet paper, menstrual supplies... cat food and litter...
We are desperate. I don't know how to pay rent, and our housing is at risk, plus our other utilities.

( ... )

alumiere is a RL friend of mine, and she has really been struggling with an inhumane disability certification process.

If you can spare anything, please help or signal-boost!

***

Originally posted by

alumiere at a little help?

Hi, my name is Kim and I could really use your help. My kitty Pris and my friends have been taking wonderful care of me but I'm disabled and out of work (I have fibromyalgia, Hashimoto's thyroid, chronic fatigue syndrome, transient global amnesia, and a host of co-morbid fubar including losing my hair), and barely get by since my partner broke up with me last year. I need to catch up on bills, refill the one medicine that isn't covered by medi-cal (that costs $500 for about 6 months worth) and go to the dentist, and I can't afford that. Anything you could give would make a big difference - even if it's just sharing this post with friends and family.

I've been selling off my stuff (clothes, furniture, jewelry, computer stuff, etc) since the breakup to make ends sort of meet, but it's not enough to take care of everything and almost all the extra stuff plus a lot of things I would have kept if I didn't need to sell them are gone. I should note that I'm waiting on Social Security and have been struggling with their hoops for 4+ years now; they agree I'm disabled but at the moment seem to think I can work a full-time job anyway (I can't - there are loads of days where I am glad to make it out of bed to the kitchen to feed myself). My family have been a huge help too, and Pris' needs are covered thanks to some wonderful friends, but they've got other problems and can't keep that up indefinitely.

So I'm trying to raise $5000 which should get me caught up and take care of a few months of life except if the dentist needs to do some serious work on my teeth. I know that's a lot of money, but if 500 people gave $10 each (the price of a fancy coffee), I'd be good for a while. Even $1500 would cover my prescription and next month. And any extra would go toward keeping me safe, healthy and in the room I'm renting. We both (Pris and I) like it here a lot - it's inexpensive, the other people in the building are nice and willing to help when I need it, and the location is perfect for both of us.

Please give us a hand if you can? And I totally understand if you're struggling too - I've helped out people when I could in the past, so I get it. But sharing this is a big help, because the more people who see it the more likely I'll get enough to pay for the things I need. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and anything you can do to help.

Thank You,

Kim (and Pris)

hellsop and

geekers lost their home and car to a fast-moving fire last night. Their renter's insurance had lapsed.

They made it out safely, with just the clothes on their backs and what they could grab running out the door, but the fate of their two cats is unknown.

Hoping and praying for a miracle for the kitties -- in the meanwhile, there is a GoFundMe set up to help with their immediate expenses. Please donate if you can, and signal-boost if you can't -- it's looking like everything they owned is a total loss.

http://www.gofundme.com/6p9hx5d86ps

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to quote/share this post to spread the word.

My heart goes out to them -- this is such a nightmare :/

ETA: They found one of the cats. She didn't make it. *heartbroken*

Please reply to the original post if you know of any resources. These are my friends, and I very much hope that they can get some help.

Originally posted by

praxedes_osaka at Public Entry

rorekgwolfe is in the hospital for at least overnight with bi-lateral aspiration pneumonia. They've caught it early and they're treating it with antibiotics. However, he has been chronically underemployed in the past year and currently has no insurance. While the hospital is a not-for-profit hospital with charity and discount programs, it's unclear at this point what his hospital expenses are going to be.

If anyone knows any programs that help defer the costs of emergency hospital stays, or wants to help signal boost to help him out, it would be greatly appreciated.

If you're more comfortable pinging me directly, my email is osaka_chan7ATyahooDOTcom, and I'll help you in whatever way that I can.

He's my best friend and my roommate, and has been struggling to overcome some serious obstacles in his life. If anyone could help steer him toward some help, we'd both appreciate it.

Cheers to

jola for drafting this:

Convergence voter Registration and re-Registration!

If you have ever attended a Convergence *or* if your account has lapsed due to switching email accounts, Please set yourself up: http://altgothic.com/voter/index.php

WARNING:

Once you set up your new password it will show you the password screen again, this is OK, there should be an "updated" text at the top so look for it. If you put in your password again after that you will get an error because your password will have already been set up. People also occasionally have issues with cutting/pasting into the fields because cutting can add a leader space in front of they text giving you an error. If you follow these directions you should be able to log in.

There are more robust directions at the bottom of the page here:

http://altgothic.com/voter/index.php

If you are having trouble after following the directions, please contact

hellsop at [email protected] -- if you receive an ERROR MESSAGE of any kind, make sure to copy the error text into the e-mail so that Peter can troubleshoot.

[Public, please repost!]

Current Mood: determined

Given that concerns about "opioid-induced hyperalgesia" are one of the drivers behing legislation and medical-policy decisions that affect pain patients, it's important to be aware that it *has never actually been proven to exist in humans*, and that rodent studies should not be extrapolated to a patient population without, you know, *actual research on human subjects.*

***

"Complexities of Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia Poorly Understood"

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD — Opioid-induced hyperalgesia is among the most pressing concerns in the national discussion of opioid addiction, underscored by the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) call for clinical trials to better understand the risks, but the issue is mired in more complexities and confusion than many may even realize, an expert says.

( More )

Current Mood: tired

Originally posted by

jola at kind of a meta-entry

you know, LJing about LJ. This is an odd place, what used to be Facebook before just about everybody migrated away to Facebook and Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest and all the rest. Yes here a few of us stay, journaling our lives (can that be a verb?) and sharing actual thoughts with ecah other that take longer than a few characters to write and more than a few seconds to read. We are readers and writers, even those of us that don't consider ourselves "Writers" with a capitol W. LJ is very much about writing.

One of the really fun things that i have enjoyed this year on LJ was LJ idol. I've occasionally read entries in the past, but this was the first year where i really followed the prompts and read many of the entries (not just those my friends wrote). One of the people that i followed has managed to make it to the very end of writing and voting bleodswean is through to the LJ Idol final. Congratulations to her, whatever happens.

Now i'm not a fan of popularity contests. So what i would encourage you to do if you have a little bit of time today is at least read the last few entries. And yes, if anything you read strikes your fancy, you should vote. this entry happens to be my favorite of Bleodswean's, Wolf Ticket

the poll

Lj Idol is one of the great things keeping LJ alive and vital and interesting. here's your chance to sample some of the magic and maybe participate.

Originally posted by

naamah_darling at My girlfriend got robbed; please help out.

So on Monday, The Actual Bear was held at gunpoint, tied up, and robbed. All her valuable stuff was taken out of her apartment, as well as $400 in cash. She's physically unharmed besides a bruise on her head where one of the people smacked her with the butt of the gun, but . . . well . . . it could have been worse, yes, absolutely, and I'm grateful beyond measure that it wasn't, but it was still an awful thing to have happen.

Disturbingly, the perpetrators might very well live in the same apartment complex that she does. Yes, that's messed up. My point being, she's seen these people's faces, one of them has a gun, and they also took her keys. The police are supposedly on this and her locks can be changed, but there's no telling how fast either of those things will happen and these assholes are still there in the meantime.

We need to get her out of that apartment complex and into a safer one, ASAP.

( More )

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1350078939/moonshot-the-indigenous-comics-collection

Produced by AH Comics Inc. (Titan: An Alternate History, Delta, Hobson's Gate, Jewish Comix Anthology) and edited by Hope Nicholson (Brok Windsor, Lost Heroes, Nelvana of the Northern Lights), MOONSHOT brings together dozens of creators from across North America to contribute comic book stories showcasing the rich heritage and identity of indigenous storytelling.

From traditional stories to exciting new visions of the future, this collection presents some of the finest comic book and graphic novel work in North America. MOONSHOT will be an incredible collection that will amaze, intrigue and entertain!

( More )

The cover for this beautiful collection was painted by Stephen Gladue, a Cree artist from Vancouver, Canada. The image is based on a traditional Cree dancer with crow motif embellishments. The crow in many communities is a pathfinder with the power to speak, bringing messages of wisdom and acts as a spiritual storyteller.

MOONSHOT will be printed as a 200 page, full colour, high quality volume showcasing a wide variety of stories and artistic styles, highlighting the complex identity of indigenous culture from across North America. Most of the original stories created exclusively for this volume are between 5-10 pages, including pinup art and prose passages.

The traditional stories presented in MOONSHOT are with the permission from the elders in their respective communities, making this a truly genuine, never-before-seen publication!

I've been going through boxes of my childhood stuff, and I came across a couple of ponies that might be of interest:

So Soft Pony "Sundance" (Year 7)

Big Brother Pony "Barnacle" (Year 6)

Happy Tails Pony "Woosie" (working tail-flip action, Year 6)

I'll photograph and identify the Breyers when I can, but the ponies are going to a friend's young son if they aren't claimed (I'm already giving him the Baby Pony Nursery and a small herd of baby ponies, so he won't miss out on a treat -- but I thought these three might be a little bit rarer, and of interest to collectors.)

Thanks for taking a look! :D

We've been REALLY enjoying it so far -- they are obviously genuinely devoted to the source material -- and aside from one poor writing choice (passing reference to "Gypsy magic", they've been excellent about presenting a diverse cast and world, with respect given to varied cultures and magic systems.

The first and second eps are the weakest (although still enjoyable), but it really hits its stride with the fourth and fifth.

There's major risk of cancellation due to low numbers of watchers, though, so I *highly* recommend checking it out and boosting those numbers -- tell your friends, too.

You can watch it for free on the NBC website in the US, and I know that Cav was able to stream the pilot in the UK, so it should be multi-national viewable.

(Public entry, re-shareable)

Edited to include a very good comment from praxedes_osaka:

People SERIOUSLY need to let NBC know how much they love this show!

http://www.nbc.com/contact/general

Let them know how awesome Constantine is, because they still go by the INCREDIBLY out-dated Nielsen Ratings!

Originally posted by

naamah_darling at The Graveyard of Empires goes live at Indiegogo!

We were going to wait until later in the month to launch, but we are so broke we have to do it now. Good news for you!

That thar's our fancy book trailer.

The Eden Kane series began with Sky Pirates of the Rio Grande, continued in Queen of the Sky Frontier, and will reach its awesome conclusion in The Graveyard of Empires.

In 1867 Eden Kane left her job at the Smithsonian and headed west, intending to find the fabled Dark Aetheric Transmitter and become an agent of the government. Instead, she became a leader to the Brethren of the Sky - the airship pirates who control the western frontier. The following year, she faced her greatest danger as the former Confederate General Hood plotted to become the overlord of the West and destroy Washington D.C.

Now, with three of his superior air-warships at her command, Eden has become a power to be reckoned with, and as the forces of a weakened government and scheming robber barons converge on the frontier, she must find what course she intends to steer, and hold to it. With her constant companions - the Experimentals Zenobia Santiago and Diamondback Sally , Eden must try and carve out the destiny of the Brethren in the West - the Graveyard of Empires.

That's the synopsis!

The Indiegogo page is here:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-graveyard-of-empires

When y'all check out, we urge everyone donating to use Paypal if they can, not credit cards. We still get the money from credit card payments, but it takes much longer to reach us, and Paypal funds are available pretty much immediately. We need it immediately. We're not even treading water here. We're going under and we need all the help we can get.

So please, donate. Spread the word. Help out. I'm trying to be as positive as I can, but the truth is that I'm scared as hell.

This is going to be an awesome book, though, and it will be SO satisfying to have the trilogy wrapped.

Sargon has done a great job with the series so far and I really look forward to seeing where he takes it.

Please lend a hand if you can. This is . . . pretty much all we have.

Thank you.

My friend

nonnycat is dealing with a temporary but acute financial crunch -- her partner was in unpaid training for 2 months, and while they get their first paycheck later in the month (which will cover rent on a forward-going basis), they're tight for this month's rent (operating at a deficit due to having to rent a residence hotel room while apartment-hunting, since no one would rent to someone in training who wasn't already receiving a salary.)

She needs to raise about $700. Her PayPal is [email protected] -- if you're comfortable signal-boosting, it would help a lot.

They've been very generous to others in need when they can afford it, so I'm hoping that they can raise some funds for this temporary crunch. I'm donating, but don't have anything like the full amount to spare.

Thanks, to anyone who can help (signal-boosting helps by getting more eyes on it, even if you can't donate yourself!)

Originally posted by

kambriel at Blackened Wings & Dreamlike Things

Last month I got an email about an opportunity/contest to "Design a show-stopping shawl for Stevie Nicks". I was immediately inspired & began work on it right away ~ here's the finished result!

kambriel-stevieshawl-small

Voting starts today! I'd love if you could go take a look, and vote if you feel moved to do so :) Many beautiful/sentimental/artistic pieces have been made or sketched for this, and I hope Stevie (& everyone!) has a wonderful time going through all of the pieces she's inspired.