They seldom come out of their shell

 Yes, it is National Hermit Day.  And why someone would think to create such a day goes on my list of more things I don't understand, like why anyone would voter for Trump.  Regardless, I was inspired enough to create some new artwork and post it on Zazzle, pitch it on X and on Instagram.  And I resisted trying to turn it into an attack on TeePublic. I will get back at them another day. 

It is also National Cat Day.

I Zazzled my Cats Playing Poker design and posted it on X as well. I should be giving Elon Muskrat a run for his money as one of the richest men in the world soon. All I have to do is sell about 4 or 5 billion t-shirts.

Dare to dream.

Show me Dizgraceland

 I asked Gemini and ChatGPT to generate an image that illustrates Dizgraceland. Here's what they gave me.

I asked Gemini why it chose this image. Here's its response:

I chose the cyberpunk image for "Dizgraceland" because it aligns with the concept of a futuristic, technologically advanced, and perhaps slightly dystopian city. The neon lights, flying cars, and overall futuristic aesthetic create a visually striking and imaginative representation of the term.

The other options, while valid interpretations, didn't quite capture the same level of futuristic and slightly chaotic energy that I associated with the term "Dizgraceland."

I asked ChatGPT why it chose this image and here's what it said:

I combined Disneyland and Graceland because "Dizgraceland" sounds like a playful blend of the two iconic places, merging the names and the cultural vibes they represent—one associated with fantasy and amusement parks (Disneyland) and the other with Elvis Presley and musical history (Graceland). It seemed like a natural interpretation of "Dizgraceland" as a whimsical, surreal fusion of these themes.

Okay that was interesting. Two AI programs and two very different takes on what they see as Dizgraceland. I would have thought they would search the web and come up with something but both images surprised me. I kind of like them both. Gemini's is dark. And ChaptGPT's is light and fun. I had never thought of Dizgraceland as a combination of Disneyland and Graceland. Both places are kind of obsessions of mine.

And dystopian? Okay, I kind of like that two.

I love AI.

A bitter taste

 

I still haven't been able to let go of my resentment of Teepublic for deleting my account. I know I should just let it go, but my entire life I've had this issue with injustice.  I realize life is not fair. And just because I think something isn't fair doesn't change it. But the hypocrisy of Teepublic and their constant litany of how important customer service just blows my mind. I tolerated being bombarded with constant marketing emails and texts even though I was creating designs and not interested in buying someone else's designs.  Even their emails about removing some of my designs because someone had complained about intellectual property violations implied that they understood it was difficult.  So I accepted the BS.

But the sudden and seemingly randomness of them telling me I had violated their terms and conditions and them deleting my account without an explanation was just too much. That was months of work. And they profited off from it. I barely made $200 in four or five months. It wasn't like I was in it for the money. 

I can't believe there aren't other artists who have had the same experience. Yet none of my posts on social media have garnered even a peep from anyone, even Teepublic. It just adds insult to injury that they don't feel it is necessary to explain . Bottomline, is they are a big business and they don't have to explain. Their are thousands of other artists dutifully posting designs and looking for validation.

I've been on the other side in my own job. I've had to be nice about complaints that have no validity and treat people with respect who don't return the favor. But I work for government. Before Trump you respected that you were paid by taxpayers and needed to treat them with some respect. Businesses don't seem to have that same code. 

So every now and then I'll post something to remind the world that even though life isn't fair we shouldn't have to blindly accept every insult.

Just spitting in the wind. 

The gibbering

 

As I slowly make my way through all of my designs, I am learning that when you create more than 1500 designs in a relatively short amount of time as I did with teepublic, you start forgetting what you've done. I am in the "b's" alphabetically loading things on Zazzle. This is "The Gibbering" which fell under the "Blah, Blah, blah" folder. 

Did I mention I don't like small talk? And I tend to think many people specialize in spouting gibberish. And gibberish, the word, is one of my favorites. It is right up there with lugubrious. Which makes me think I should create a t-shirt design for lugubrious.

What else did I post on Zazzle today?

Ain't that the truth.

Zazzle them with bullshit

 

I've been binge posting t-shirt designs on my new storefront at Zazzle. I started with "A" on my portable drive that has all my designs on it and I'm working my way through it. But I am being very careful not to post designs that I think will poke the "terms and conditions" beast on Zazzle. And it pains me.

For example, I didn't post this:

Because we don't want to offend the Spam company or be mistaken for a Lin-Manuel Miranda musical.

It is difficult to know what is forbidden with Zazzle after the debacle over Albert Camoo. 

Because this one could bring Lewis Carroll back from the dead to sue me for copyright infringement.

I'm sure this design would bug him. It just pains me that I have to censor myself. 

Full of Boglona

 

It is National Bologna Day! To honor it, I posted this image on X and Instagram and tagged my good friends at Teepublic knowing they wouldn't respond. I do believe that is their business model. They don't respond to direct questions to their legal team and they won't respond on social media. So I'm not optimistic that they would at least ask me what my problem is.

My response would be that I simply want an explanation that didn't involve reviewing their terms and conditions and trying to guess which one or ones they think I violated. Ironically I could go on their site right now and find tons of designs that I believe blatantly violate other people's intellectual property rights. 

All I can surmise is that I pissed them off when I questioned why a design they removed was violating anything. This is the problem with corporate power. They don't have to prove anything. They just need to hide behind their incomprehensible rules.

Petty little minds

 

I couldn't help posting another dig at TeePublic on X. I suggested that before people buy or sell on TeePublic they consider that they randomly censor independent artists without explanation.  I realize they don't really care about me being disgruntled. But they do so pride themselves on customer service. And ironically I still get two or three emails from them a day trying to get me to buy things on TeePublic. 

Hell hasn't froze over yet. 

I'm not even sure what I hope to accomplish. Even if they offered to restore my account, I have lost all interest in being part of their grand scheme to cheat artists out of their work and profits. I doubt if they could even restore all of my designs anyway. 

Meanwhile I struggle with Zazzle. I could live with the fact that their web site sucks and is difficult to load products into. But when they pulled my Camoo images for the potential of them being violations of some copyright, I lost any trust of it being a permanent site for my work.

And I still haven't sold a single t-shirt.

Damn you TeePublic. 

Show me your nuts

 

It is National Nut Day. And again, I go to my archives because I don't feel like creating a whole new design for a day dedicated to nuts. It drives me nuts and makes me feel squirrely.

Then I feel mean.

I can certainly bet that this design wouldn't pass the Zazzle.com terms and conditions test so I'm not even going to try and post it. It makes me sad that I have to censor myself because of the small legal minds at these print on demand parasites. Ironically Teepublic had no problem with this one. 

Nuts to them.

I don't suppose this blog doesn't mean anything to you

 

I received an email today that all three of these design were removed:

"Dear Dizgraceland,

Thank you for your interest in Zazzle.com, and thank you for publishing products on Zazzle.

Unfortunately, it appears that your product, Absurdism: But that's meaningless to you, contains content that is in conflict with one or more of our content guidelines.

We will be removing this product from the Zazzle Marketplace shortly.

The details of the product being removed are listed below:

Product Title:	Absurdism: But that's meaningless to you
Product Type:	T-Shirt
Product ID:	256245728698675765
Result:	Not Approved
Policy Notes:	Your design contains an image or text that may be subject to copyright. This may be due to the actual design of the product, description or search tags that are associated to your product. Please feel free to submit a new design to our Marketplace from original elements
Image:	View the Image

We apologize for the inconvenience. A detailed description of the policies is located here.

You may redesign and republish your products following our content guidelines. Please be aware that continued violations of Zazzle's User Agreement and Acceptable Content Guidelines may result in termination of your account.

If you have any questions or concerns about the review of your product, please email us at content_review@zazzle.com and we'll be happy to provide you with additional support."

It was nicer than Teepublic, but it still it suggests I can redesign and republish my designs be they will very likely terminate my account. 

Jesus. Since when is a cow named Albert Camoo whose only resemblance to Albert Camus is a that he is smoking a cigarette, a violation of anyone's intellectual property? The Intellectual Police at Teepublic didn't even have a problem with Albert Camoo. I didn't quote Camus. I didn't use his image. He doesn't own the concept of Absurdism. 

There seems to be No Exit from this dilemma.

But I suppose that doesn't mean anything to you.

I'm waffling

 

I suppose bemoaning not creating any new designs because of the losers at Teepublic inspired me today. Today is indeed National Chicken and Waffles Day. Though I don't imagine this chicken is aware of what chicken and waffles really refers to. Though it did make me wonder why a waffle is called a waffle and why waffling means being indecisive and has nothing to do with waffles that you eat.

The word "waffle" comes from the Dutch word "wafel," which originally referred to the type of batter-based food we know today. Its roots trace back to the Old Frankish word "wafla," meaning "honeycomb" or "cake," referring to the distinct grid pattern of the waffle. The design likely inspired the name, as the food resembles a woven or gridded structure, similar to a honeycomb. Over time, this name spread across Europe, eventually giving rise to the modern English term "waffle."

The word "waffling" has roots in both British and American English. It evolved from the 17th-century verb "waff," meaning to yelp or bark, which implied meaningless noise. Over time, the term came to describe someone speaking in a way that is rambling or indecisive. In modern usage, particularly in American English, "waffling" refers to being indecisive or flip-flopping on decisions, reflecting uncertainty or inconsistency. This development aligns with how the word "waffle" suggests wavering between choices.

The irony here is if someone is agonizing over what to order off from the breakfast menu and eventually decides on waffles. That kind of cracks me up.

But back to t-shirt designs, I did load a ton on https://www.zazzle.com/store/dizgraceland today. So I am feeling a bit better. I'll feel even better when I actual sell something. Conversely on the eBay side of things I am doing quite well. I think I sold eight things in the past two days and have been packing like a demon. 

No waffling there.

And not that anyone is counting (but me), but this is my 293 post this year. That is a new record for me in the number of posts per year. That is after 20 years of blogging. 

I feel a t-shirt design coming on.

Going whole hog

 

It's National Whole Hog Barbecue Day. And rather than going whole hog and creating a new design just for it, I'm recycling one of my "High on the Hog" designs. I just haven't been inspired to create new designs since teepublic.com screwed me over by deleting my account. It is driven home every time I go onto Zazzle.com and go through the tedious process of uploading the designs that I used to have on teepublic.com. 

I haven't sold a thing yet on zazzle.com.

I haven't been back on social media trying to goad teepublic's legal team into responding about why my account was deleted. Bottomline is they don't have to. It is not like anyone gives a rip but me that they screwed me over.  Honestly, I have to ask myself whether I would have stopped using teepublic.com if I'd read anything about some poor schmuck artist being screwed over by them. 

I just would like to see them go out of business. And I believe they will. But it won't be because I called them names on social media. It will be because something newer, cheaper and easier comes along on the Internet.

Why do I think this looks like me?

 

Okay, it is John Brown's portrait from the National Gallery in Washington D.C. and my hair isn't quite this wild and my beard isn't that fully and bushy, but part of me really relates to how he looks. Of course the consensus is that John Brown was as crazy as a bed bug, but at least he had passion about ending slavery. Unfortunately that passion ended at the end of a hangman's noose.

I had barely 45 minutes to dash through the National Gallery. I've always loved the place. It is full of amazing art and it is free.

I can't remember how many times I've been there, but there always seems to be something new.

I just wish I had more time on this trip to see things. But I basically flew in one day, had an all day meeting and then flew out the third day.

Oh well, there will be other trips.