Fundraiser and Support Brigade for Glory!

I know this is going to make me sound like a prude, but is it possible for me to logon to DeviantArt without seeing yet another naked woman? I have nothing against nudity; in fact, I appreciate the human form (not just the female form, mind you) very much. It’s vital to learning how to draw realism, and the human body is beautiful to boot. My problem is, I have a sneaking suspicion that the only reason there is always at least five half-to-totally naked “hot” chicks on the front page at any given time is that horny guys (and girls!) keep looking up these pictures.

Most of them are tasteful and many of them are artistic as well. At the same time, I’m just really tired of seeing naked chicks every damn time I log on, without fail. I don’t even bother actually browsing the most recent, popular pieces because I know half of them will be naked women. Besides being boring, seeing “attractive,” naked women every single day erodes my self-esteem a little. I’ll be fair and say I’m shallow; if a couple of “big girl” images got on the front page, maybe I wouldn’t be so upset. Hell, I’d be cool if a couple of naked *men* images were made popular.

I don’t think that will happen, however; the double-standard is palpable on DeviantArt. You have an image of a naked woman, spreading her legs with string tied around them? It’s art. You have the same image, but with a man? It’s porn. For every “artistic” nude on here with a barely-legal, female model and crappy lighting that gets a pass, a professional piece with a man or a woman who isn’t a size zero gets hit.

I guess in closing, I’ll say that I don’t expect things to change. As long as there is a market for images of attractive, naked women, there will be images of attractive, naked women. I just wish they wouldn’t take over so much of DeviantArt. DeviantArt has so much more to offer;yet another naked chick isn’t the pinnacle of art.

EDIT: Having taken the advice of many of you, I have put on the mature filter. Right this second, there are eleven mature images on the front page. That's about seven or eight too many in my book.

Fundraiser and Support Brigade for Glory!

I'd like to spruce up my journal, but I haven't a clue how to do any of that fancy CSS stuff. Is it hard? Are there any templates or tutorials I could use? I'm just so lost!

Fundraiser and Support Brigade for Glory!

Tomorrow--or in an hour--is my twenty-fourth birthday. Yeesh, I feel old. XD My mom and I are going to the local micro-brewery/bar, so that will be cool. Also, I think she bought me a music box because I saw the bookmark on our computer. The only things that really makes me sad are that I don't have a relationship with my father so I won't hear from him, and that this is the first year I won't get a card from my grandma.

Wow, I totally just depressed myself. Anyway, I'm going to MAKE it an awesome birthday!

Edit: I had a great day! I didn't sleep in because I woke up, but I could have. I screwed around on the computer for hours. We took a bunch of donations to Goodwill and then bought more crap at Goodwill and the dollar store. We went out to a late lunch at the local brewery which makes awesome fresh creme soda. I got a free desert and I chose the tirimisu. It was delicious. Afterwords, we went home and watched Disney movies until bedtime. We also had birthday cake; it was German chocolate. My mom got me a beautiful music box and a music card that plays the Tetris theme. She also got me shoe inserts to replace last years'. XD My siblings didn't call, but they're all flakes so I don't mind. I also got a TON of well wishes on DeviantArt and FaceBook. All in all it was an awesome birthday!

Thank you for helping to make it so wonderful!

Fundraiser and Support Brigade for Glory!

Ganked from my dear pally .

Mark an X in every box that describes you. Tally your totals and you will find your type!

Tamaki [Prince Type]:
[ ] You are French.
[X] You're a very romantic person.
[ ] You flirt a lot with girls/boys.
[X] Easily fooled by things that wouldn't fool most.
[X] You're overly eccentric in everything you do.
[X] You care about you family deeply even if they don't return the feelings.
[ ] Your birthday is April 8th.
[ ] You're slow when it comes to your own feelings.
Total: 4

Kyoya [Cool Type]:
[X] You wear glasses.
[ ] You are known for being "evil."
[ ] Your favorite foods are anything spicy.
[ ] You excel in everything you do.
[ ] You're a very calculating person.
[ ] Your birthday is November 22.
[X] You hate waking up in the morning.
[X] You never like to do anything unless it has a benefit.
Total: 3

Hunny [Loli/Shota Type]:
[X] You're the shortest out of your friends.
[X] You love cakes and sweets.
[X] You have a stuffed animal that has special meaning to you.
[ ] You are/have taken a martial arts class.
[X] You are close to your cousins.
[X] You look a lot younger than you are.
[ ] You're born on February 29th.
[ ] Your favorite subject is math.
Total: 5

Mori [Wild Type]:
[ ] You're the tallest out of your friends.
[ ] You only talk when you need to.
[X] You're protective of people you care for.
[ ] You favorite food is Japanese food.
[X] When bad things happen you tend to blame yourself a lot.
[ ] Your birthday is May 5th.
[X] You're not much of a leader but more of a follower.
[ ] Not many people know what you're thinking.
Total: 3

Hikaru [Devil Type]:
[X] You and your sibling have a strong bond.
[ ] You're a very cynical person.
[ ] You like to mess with your siblings a lot.
[ ] You're the oldest sibling.
[ ] Your birthday is June 9th.
[X] You like Italian food.
[X] You get jealous easily.
[X] You don't make friends easily.
Total: 4

Kaoru [Devil Type]:
[X] You like to play games.
[X] Favorite subject, English.
[X] You enjoy fashion/cosplay.
[ ] You're nicer than your siblings.
[ ] Your birthday is June 9th.
[X] You're very forgiving.
[X] You'd rather give someone something and go without to make that person happy.
[ ] You like playing tricks on people.
Total: 4/5

Haruhi [Natural Type]:
[X] You don't care about trivial things like appearance.
[ ] You're tight with money.
[ ] You get along with guys well.
[ ] You're blunt about everything.
[ ] You're an excellent cook.
[X] You have a hard time understanding love.
[ ] Your birthday is February 4th.
[X] People feel like they can open up and talk to you easily.
Total: 3

I'm mostly the Loli-Shota Type, but with a little Devil/Princess in there. Of course, that explains why my favorite characters are Honey and Tamaki!

Fundraiser and Support Brigade for Glory!

Since the unforeseen events of the last few weeks have depleted my bank account and will also be eating up my time--we've begun sorting my grandma's possessions and will do so for weeks--the contest end-date is moved to August 31, which is a Monday. The prizes will be the same, but I get my funds on the 15th. Also, by then I'll be settled in for the year class-wise, so I will have time to make the polls and such. I am sorry for any inconvenience, but at least there's a little more time to enter.