journal Archive

Although every day is kinda No Pants Day around here, apparently May 2 is officially No Pants Day some places: http://www.nopantsday.com/

There are some people who have been trying to get me to do work without compensating me as agreed. Last night, I told two of them that I was done being taken advantage of by them.

Company #1: More than a year past due on paying hundreds of dollars. More than a year past due on returning $3,500 worth of prints belonging to me and Forrest. Actually told me that I needed to do twice as much writing and twice as much photography for them now and they also wanted me to do publicity for them.

Company #2: Really thought I could trust these guys, but they are past due and telling everyone else they work with that they are planning on effing me over, but ssh don’t tell Amelia.

Telling these two that enough is enough feels better than I thought it would. Frees up some of my time too.

Just got off the phone with the new Beverly Hills attorney I am retaining. Tra la la. May will be better than April.

–Amelia G

There are some people who have been trying to get me to do work without compensating me as agreed. Last night, I told two of them that I was done being taken advantage of by them.

Company #1: More than a year past due on paying hundreds of dollars. More than a year past due on returning $3,500 worth of prints belonging to me and Forrest. Actually told me that I needed to do twice as much writing and twice as much photography for them now and they also wanted me to do publicity for them.

Company #2: Really thought I could trust these guys, but they are past due and telling everyone else they work with that they are planning on effing me over, but ssh don’t tell Amelia.

Telling these two that enough is enough feels better than I thought it would. Frees up some of my time too.

Just got off the phone with the new Beverly Hills attorney I am retaining. Tra la la. May will be better than April.

–Amelia

So, my brother tells me that the reason people whining about how busy they are while inconveniencing other people makes me so aggro . . . well, he tells me that I really am too busy. He suggests that I slow the fuck down and smell the roses and stop driving myself so hard that almost everyone else seems lazy to me. He also pointed out strenuously that I need to stop worrying so much about helping other people and pay attention to when they are taking too much out of me. I gotta admit he has a point. Or two. But this means that something has to go. I need to make lists for the next few days I think and figure out what all I do with my time and then take a sincere look at surgically removing some of the cancer from my schedule. My bro is so right that I should take more time to just chill, drink coffee with friends, keep in touch with folks I like and care about, read a book, go to the gym, travel for pleasure, watch a music video without stressing about the three minutes I could have been working.

So what do I do?

Journalistic art photography

Journalistic writing

Fiction writing

Screenwriting

Magazine editing

Site editing

Event promotion

Erotic art photography

Commercial photography

Site promotion

Publishing consulting

Site updating

Design

Sheesh. I can’t decide whether I should try to break this all down into some sort of giant list of component parts. Some of these things would be easier if I just stopped doing them entirely. Some of them I probably just need to trim down a little. Food for thought. I’m sure thinking about it, but I haven’t figured out what to do yet.

–Amelia G

So, my brother tells me that the reason people whining about how busy they are while inconveniencing other people makes me so aggro . . . well, he tells me that I really am too busy. He suggests that I slow the fuck down and smell the roses and stop driving myself so hard that almost everyone else seems lazy to me. He also pointed out strenuously that I need to stop worrying so much about helping other people and pay attention to when they are taking too much out of me. I gotta admit he has a point. Or two. But this means that something has to go. I need to make lists for the next few days I think and figure out what all I do with my time and then take a sincere look at surgically removing some of the cancer from my schedule. My bro is so right that I should take more time to just chill, drink coffee with friends, keep in touch with folks I like and care about, read a book, go to the gym, travel for pleasure, watch a music video without stressing about the three minutes I could have been working.

So what do I do?

Journalistic art photography
Journalistic writing
Fiction writing
Screenwriting
Magazine editing
Site editing
Event promotion
Erotic art photography
Commercial photography
Site promotion
Publishing consulting
Site updating
Design

Sheesh. I can’t decide whether I should try to break this all down into some sort of giant list of component parts. Some of these things would be easier if I just stopped doing them entirely. Some of them I probably just need to trim down a little. Food for thought. I’m sure thinking about it, but I haven’t figured out what to do yet.

–Amelia G

One of my biggest pet peeves is people who go on and on about how they are just too busy to do whatever. It makes me see red. My head spins on my neck 666 times. I vomit pea soup. I wonder why I’m losing my stomach lining.

There are some of my compatriots in Los Angeles who really do not have any more time they could make. Not too many. But some.

I just had to deal with a problem where a designer I work with claimed that he would not have time to swap one picture for another in a layout any time this week. Even though this would be potentially extremely costly for the publisher. Even though the reason that anything needed to be changed at all is because this designer pushed the line on what was acceptable when he knew what the rules were. Without him having pushed things, this swap would not have been needed. Supposedly, however, this guy’s part time job was just so time-consuming. Only this production edit was really really really important and lot of people’s future situations were on the line. So Forrest came in to save the day and said he would do this other person’s work. Suddenly the designer decided he could actually do it after all. The guy was too busy if it was just really important to other people, but he was not too busy if it looked like he could be replaced.

The real irony here is that the publisher told me point blank that he would fire this lazy designer’s ass in a heartbeat if I wanted him to. This was when the designer first caused the problem And I was all like no, no, we’ll work it out so everyone is happy. And I haven’t slept for a week while I’ve been trying to keep up with my usual schedule while interfacing with various concerned parties. And we finally hammer out a solution where everyone is a little bummed but mostly happy. And the guy who caused the problem in the first place is too busy.

–Amelia G

I bought this gardenia sachet thing while I was in Beverly Hills doing an attorney meeting. I only go to Beverly Hills to meet with doctors, lawyers, and bankers and once in a while to eat. Usually just to meet with professionals. The area has really good shopping, though, so sometimes I buy dumb impulse stuff while there. The gardenia sachet thing is this pretty glittery little bag filled with rocks which smell really good and I think aggravate my allergies. I went to the Terri King fashion show last night. The fashion part was scheduled for very early in the evening, so I was in a hurry to leave the house. I was eating these precooked dill mustard shrimp they make at my local supermarket. And I left the plastic container with the shells on my desk.

Gardenias and rotten shrimp. All I need to do is engage in some watersports and spit some booze around the room and I will have my own private New Orleans.

–Amelia G

I’ve been keeping a blog lately, but thought I would do an LJ as well. I’m going to enter a couple of recent http://www.blogger.com/ entries here.

Here is a copy of my most recent Blue Blood Newsletter:

PayPal GothicSluts & BarelyEvil sale SWAG party reviews …

HERE’S YOUR BLUEBLOOD NEWSLETTER:

– SWAG Launch party reviewed in Cool Grrls

– SWAG Launch party reviewed in The Adult Alternative

– Mirror Mirror

– Gothic Sluts PayPal Sale

– Barely Evil PayPal Sale

– Scooter hearts SWAG

– Contact Reminder: Jps.Net E-Mails Discontinued, West Hollywood Snail

SWAG PARTY ON COOLGRRLS

http://www.coolgrrls.com/pages/kastle.html

http://www.SwagMag.com/

The SWAG party was so much fun that most of the crew here has not

recovered yet. Well-known scribe Kastle mentioned the festive event on

CoolGrrls.com. Here is what she had to say: “The Key Club was in full

force last week with two big events. First, new alternative culture

magazine SWAG kicked off with a party featuring live performances by

spooky kids Fear Cult and My Ruin and a body contortion performance

spectacle by Jade-blue Eclipse. Down in the VIP lounge, photos by

magazine founders Amelia G and Forrest Black (who also produce Blue

Blood magazine) were on display and name droppable guests included Glenn

Danzig and members of Marilyn Manson, Social Distortion and the

Murderdolls. You can check out SWAG mag online HERE.”

SWAG PARTY IN THE ADULT ALTERNATIVE

http://www.whatyouget.com/newsletter/adult.html

The Adult Alternative this month did an in-depth review of the SWAG

party. Some of what they had to say was, “In this month’s issue of The

Adult Alternative we celebrate Amelia G and Forrest Black, two talented

veterans of the print and online publishing industry, who are almost

single- (or double-) handedly responsible for the creation and growth of

an entirely new genre of adult entertainment: Gothic Erotica … Held

at the Key Club on the world-famous Sunset Strip, the party drew a

capacity crowd of beautiful freaks and curious spectators, out for a

smashing good time. Opening the event were the sexy starlets of Gothic

Sluts and Barely Evil, their pale and luscious bodies deliciously

writhing onstage beneath images of the vivacious Betty Page, whose

vintage stag films looped seductively on the gigantic screen overhead. A

pounding soundtrack of goth, metal, deathcore and techno was provided by

DJ Taime Downe of Faster Pussycat and DJ Lord Spanky of Spanking Machine

… As the room continued to fill, the next act to hit the Key Club

stage was the indescribable Jade-blue Eclipse, an astounding

contortionist and … After one more round of sexy strutting,

hip-swaying and hula-hooping from Gothic Sluts Aeon, Scar, Szandora and

Yolanda, it was time for …” It was time for you to check out the

complete review at http://www.whatyouget.com/newsletter/adult.html

MIRROR MIRROR

The premiere issue of Mirror Mirror includes David Sparks’ photography

of Yolanda wo-manning the Blue Blood booth at BondCon in her tasty

vintage style lingerie.

GOTHIC SLUTS PAYPAL SALE

http://www.GothicSluts.com/paypaljoin.html

There is a special Pay Pal sale going for GothicSluts.com and now is the

time to snap it up. You can receive a discount for multiple month

memberships and you can use PayPal funds to get them. This offer to pay

through Pay Pal will never ever be offered again and it may not be

possible to offer it for the whole month, but you can still get this

super deal now!

BARELY EVIL PAYPAL SALE

http://www.BarelyEvil.com/join_pp.html

There is a special Pay Pal sale going for BarelyEvil.com and now is the

time to snap it up. You can receive a discount for multiple month

memberships and you can use PayPal funds to get them. This offer to pay

through Pay Pal will never ever be offered again and it may not be

possible to offer it for the whole month, but you can still get this

super deal now!

SCOOTER HEARTS SWAG

http://www.geocities.com/scooter3legs/morescooter.html

http://www.geocities.com/scooter3legs/

Amazing dollmaker Ugly Shyla photographed her three-legged cat Scooter

lounging on his glittery blanket reading his mention in Swag Magazine.

CONTACT INFO REVISITED

You probably all know this by now, but, if you still have any of the

JPS.net e-mails in your address book, delete them as they have been

discontinued. Do not attempt to get in touch using Maryland, Virginia,

Georgia, or Beverly Hills contact info. All swag, contracts, review

materials, nice big comfy pillows, pictures of your cat, etc. should be

sent to:

Blue Blood

8033 Sunset Blvd #4500

West Hollywood, CA 90046

USA

Thanks!

–AMELIA G & FORREST BLACK

Amelia@BlueBlood.net & Forrest@BlueBlood.net

http://www.BlueBlood.net/

One of my biggest pet peeves is people who go on and on about how they are just too busy to do whatever. It makes me see red. My head spins on my neck 666 times. I vomit pea soup. I wonder why I’m losing my stomach lining.

There are some of my compatriots in Los Angeles who really do not have any more time they could make. Not too many. But some.

I just had to deal with a problem where a designer I work with claimed that he would not have time to swap one picture for another in a layout any time this week. Even though this would be potentially extremely costly for the publisher. Even though the reason that anything needed to be changed at all is because this designer pushed the line on what was acceptable when he knew what the rules were. Without him having pushed things, this swap would not have been needed. Supposedly, however, this guy’s part time job was just so time-consuming. Only this production edit was really really really important and lot of people’s future situations were on the line. So Forrest came in to save the day and said he would do this other person’s work. Suddenly the designer decided he could actually do it after all. The guy was too busy if it was just really important to other people, but he was not too busy if it looked like he could be replaced.

The real irony here is that the publisher told me point blank that he would fire this lazy designer’s ass in a heartbeat if I wanted him to. This was when the designer first caused the problem And I was all like no, no, we’ll work it out so everyone is happy. And I haven’t slept for a week while I’ve been trying to keep up with my usual schedule while interfacing with various concerned parties. And we finally hammer out a solution where everyone is a little bummed but mostly happy. And the guy who caused the problem in the first place is too busy.

–Amelia G

Ya know, I started taking pictures because I hated most of the photographers I dealt with doing Blue Blood in print. I swear I might even hate them more now that I shoot. I am sick to death of people who do not want a two way street. I try to be supportive and positive and publish other photographers and, more often than I like, I get competitive bullshit in response. Especially Pacific NW photogs. They are always emailing me and asking me about what I do and asking me to hook them up with the publications I shoot for and asking for my models’ phone numbers and wasting my time pretending they are asking questions because they want to contribute to http://www.GothicSluts.com/ or http://www.BarelyEvil.com/ when really they are just looking to use underhanded methods to compete with me. What amazing scumbags.

I was a publisher long before I was a photographer. I’m sure this gives me a different perspective from most photographers. As a shooter, I do understand some of the things which make photographers difficult to deal with. Amateur snappers simply do not comprehend the order of magnitude of expense for pro photography. That said, I still really do not understand the whole competition thing. If you have your own vision, if you are an artist, if you shoot to express anything of any importance, then the issue should be your creations and getting them seen. It should not be trying to figure out if there are any ways in which you are superior to the next guy or can knock the next guy.

–Amelia G

I bought this gardenia sachet thing while I was in Beverly Hills doing an attorney meeting. I only go to Beverly Hills to meet with doctors, lawyers, and bankers and once in a while to eat. Usually just to meet with professionals. The area has really good shopping, though, so sometimes I buy dumb impulse stuff while there. The gardenia sachet thing is this pretty glittery little bag filled with rocks which smell really good and I think aggravate my allergies. I went to the Terri King fashion show last night. The fashion part was scheduled for very early in the evening, so I was in a hurry to leave the house. I was eating these precooked dill mustard shrimp they make at my local supermarket. And I left the plastic container with the shells on my desk.

Gardenias and rotten shrimp. All I need to do is engage in some watersports and spit some booze around the room and I will have my own private New Orleans.

–Amelia G

Why is it that the people I inspire the most often turn out to be the worst haters? This seems counterintuitive and ass-backwards, but it also seems to be the case.

Bleah, why am I still sick. I gain weight when I am sick and that sucks. I’ve always heard about people who get all otherworldly thin when ill, but my body just says gimme some extra fuel and I’ll take care of it. And I fall for it every time. I just did some sit-ups and stuff, but I need to start going to my trainer again. There was just no time with working on Swag and being so under the weather and everything.

I’m looking forward to the big party on March 28th.

Just started watching 24 on DVD and it is pretty engrossing.

There are a million things I should do right now, but I just feel very lump-like this evening. Wanted to go out to Ghoul Skool and Pretty Ugly, but nothing doing. Just watched the new South Park and listlessly surfed the net. The South Park episode mentioned how shows should be cancelled before they get too stale. Nuff said.

–Amelia G

So I’m still getting over being deathly ill. When the doctor looked into my mouth when I finally went, he actually jumped in horror at how inflamed my throat was. He gave me not only antibiotics but steroids, it was that bad. I have never had laryngitis for that long before. So I’m attempting to rejoin the land of the living and playing catch-up like crazy. Of course, a lot of other people who I am dependent on to make my deadlines have missed theirs without being sick and that is stressing me. I also just found out that my livejournal was reinstated for 24 hours while I was sick and then permanently deleted.

There is something really ironic about the people who fuck with me out of their insane envy. First of all, obviously it is sort of comical that they envy me when there are a bunch of things which are pretty darn annoying about being me. For example, I have to deal with people who pretend to be my friends so they can drop my name and then I have to deal with people who pretend to be “feuding” with me when I don’t even know they exist so they can drop my name and I have to deal with people who are my friends but who just wake up one morning too envious to be real friends. I can’t imagine how horrible this must be for people who are really famous on more than a subcultural level.

But the more ironic thing is that the people who fuck with me out of crazed envy usually drive me to be more successful. They do very real and very painful damage to my personal life, but this leaves me with more to give to my professional and artistic life. For those of you who know about my blog, you can read it here first that I am going to be working on a personal E/N site as soon as I finish working on the party I am working on for Swag.

I wanted to be able to just be a part of something in some of the online communities, but I don’t need to leave myself open to having my diary deleted, having all the cool supportive things people have said expunged, having my words robbed from me. I own my own server and my Daddy always told me that freedom of the press applies most strongly to he who owns a press. One of the wonderful and scary things about the internet is that we are all more free to express ourselves and get our views out to the world.

I am really upset that there are people who would agitate to get my diary deleted because they are hot for someone who feels mistakenly professionally competitive with me. I am really really upset that livejournal would allow themselves to be tools of this. I am upset that the livejournal people give lip service to punk rock ideals of community and caring, but they are unbelievably nasty and hostile. And I am just a little miffed that livejournal took pains to point out that they won’t be refunding the money they ripped off when I paid for their service because I thought I was supporting something cool.

But, in the end, stuff like this only makes me stronger and I’m looking forward to doing a new site.

–Amelia G