Urge to leave DA rising....

Remember how, I think no more than a few weeks ago, one of my deviations got deleted from DA? I suspected that it was because I put my name to a petition saying that several users were getting abused by DA "staff members" who claimed we were pedophiles for wanting or appreciating illustrated art of fictional characters in sexual or other graphic situations. This is DA, where photographic pr0n or near-pr0n is just fine and dandy, but an image of Harry Potter getting it on with Ginny Weasley isn't allowed, even though by the end of canon, he is perfectly adult and therefore there's no issue with any minors (fictional or otherwise) being "harmed" by putting them in that (illustrated) scenario?

I don't know if that's really the case, but DA finally responded to the note I sent them asking about why it was deleted. The one update claimed that it was due to Art Theft/No Permission, even though I reiterated that I HAD permission from Diana Hold/Sailor Xv2 and gave credit back to both her DA account and website, but I'm not sure if there's anything I can say or do in response to this:

The logs indicate that the artwork was an edit of a doll created on a doll generator. Generated dolls may be submitted to your scraps only, however, since this is an edit it is infringing upon the generator's owner's copyright.

I could possibly upload it into my scraps, but I worked damn hard on that-- it's NOT a scrap! Plus, hundreds of other users, thousands of other deviations are just like this! Besides, what qualifies a piece using a "generated doll" base over a "real" deviation? Does it have to involve intense Photoshopping? I refuse NOT to give credit on the virtue that it might seem like my own work, because it's not, and I'm NOT a thief. But Diana gave users permission to use her generator to create our own senshi-- some of them just flat out, direct from the program, others severely edited before seeing the "light" of DA. So I have to ask: why this one deviation (and not more in my gallery) and why just me (from what I've heard)?

WTF mates, wtf?

lust&must

So I went shopping yesterday and today-- yesterday to pre-sale some lipstick and lipgloss before the big Clinique event TODAY, during which I got a new silver makeup bag, a cute green-srippy wristlet, some new lipstick, a compact with bronzer, eye shadow, and blush; a full-size High Impact mascara (though High Definition is my favorite, I will state here and now for the record: Clinique's mascara tops Chanel's ANY DAY OF THE WEEK), a clarifying "lotion" (aka toner), and a moisturizer lotion (that I gave to mom 'cause it's not for my skin type).

( Girly stuff )

I also pre-ordered (FINALLY!) Star Ocean: First Departure, aka the first ever Star Ocean game FINALLY translated and brought to Western shores-- huzzah! But I'll need to buy a PSP. Here's where you come in:
1. Are PSPs region-free?
2. Where's the best place to buy a PSP? (A new edition is coming out later this month, so I'd prefer a new one with the better screen than just a shiny, cool-color one from some random online store)
No commentary on why the PSP resembles a Beyblade shooter or something, okay? The re-released SO games aren't going to BE on any other system, and I'm an RPG/specific title fan anyway-- so it's for those dedicated titles that I will shell out my hard-earned cash. It's been my long-awaited present to myself, so no trying to convince me not to get it!

And more:
* Saw "Body of Lies" the other night with Steph and her friends, Katherine and... er, I forgot Katherine's sister's name (sorry!). The movie was okay, but I got awful heartburn maybe 3/4 of the way through. It's not the kind of movie where you can really walk out and expect to understand anything when you come back.

* Ran into Jimbo and Christal on the 38 last night on the way back from my spree; we went out for Japanese (THANKS, CHRISTAL!) and crepes (mmmm!) and I might have a winter job as a result-- hush-hush!

* Apparently the "complete" iTunes library I thought I've been using for months is not so complete. When I went to look for my holiday music, I was coming up blank. A search of music with Christmas as my keyword (for title, album, or genre, as those are usually the top ones to return results) came up with nothing-- until I located it oddly in my Laptop iTunes Music folder, but NOT on my external hard drive's folder. I was under the impression that while my external drive was connected, iTunes defaulted to the library whose files it contained. Now, the library itself is still located on the laptop (I think because that's a requirement of iTunes), but the music folders are what are on the external drive.

The way I wanted it to be was:
-external HD: contains ALLLLL music, all playlists, everything. The one in use whenever I'm at a desk and plugged in, and the one that new songs are added to. Also the one that my iPod is synched to.

-laptop: contains a select few playlists, none of the "biggies" like my OCRemix collection, holiday albums, etc. Just some of the good, addictive stuff. Used for when I'm on the go and don't have my iPod.

So now I'm all confused and trying to import everything in the hopes I'm somehow doing it right and not super-duper duplicating my whole library. I might need to go to the Apple Store again (I went yesterday and nearly went broke buying a new battery, a new case --which is SO stuck on the laptop it's amazing I popped it off this morning without breaking a nail-- and getting my ProCare account fixed) and have them help me with this mess. Of course, I'd have to bring my external HD to get it done... -_-; *sigh*

Then, the question is, does the iTunes library EVER open to a certain one by default? Or would I consistently have to hold down Option when clicking on the icon in order to choose the "right" library depending on my circumstances? Should I put the library file for the external ON the external? And is there a program that either automatically chooses the right library file, or one that pops up whenever I open iTunes, negating the need for me to remember to do a keystroke?

Also, since there's been absolute mayhem where connectivity at Mom's house is concerned, it's been very touch-and-go with all things Internet; first my Mac would connect to the 'Net sometimes, and then sometimes not. Today it's been pretty good so far, through a few restarts and shut-downs. But with one good thing come a few bad things: the iTunes mess mentioned above, along with a sudden lack of printing capability. I used to be able to print wirelessly to Gary's printer all the way in the sunroom (in fact, it worked just fine yesterday before we changed all the damn wireless settings), but now I can't.

Before I deleted the malfunctioning printer from my Printer & Fax pane, I noted the address started with mds:// NOT with lpd:// (Line Printer Daemon), ipp:// (Internet Printing Protocol), or anything else. I tried adding the printer manually by entering in the IP address using the HP AiO Fax and HP IP Printing, but nothing works. The printer also no longer shows up in the Defaults pane as "Bonjour" kind (I think that's where the mds:// address comes from), though it did before, however long ago that was. I don't think it's a matter of DISTANCE, since, like I said, I was able to print from here in the living room to there in the sunroom just fine yesterday. The printer's been updated with the new wireless settings too, so...

Well, it's not THAT important. It's just annoying, above all else, and I don't have much patience. That's something I need to work on-- finding patience without procrastinating.