The whole tooth and nothing but the tooth

 

Apparently the Tooth Fairy has more than one National Day Day because they are claiming that February 28th is also National Tooth Fairy Day. Am I missing something here?

Staying at my post

 

I was trying to stay the course and post every day this year like I almost did last year. But then I was on a business trip attending a conference and just setting up the computer was a hassle in between sessions, etc and I just said, "F" it. It's not like anyone was clamoring for my daily posts or reminders for what random National Day it is. 

Today is National Retro Day, BTW.

But I'm back and feeling the gnawing guilt of not being consistent. Meanwhile I haven't sold a single thing on Red Bubble. What's that all about? Maybe the world is too pre-occupied with the Rump administration and it's destruction of America.

Priorities.

Holy, holy, holy

Up to the "h's" in my design uploading. Lots of holier than thou designs. This one, for example. I suppose I shouldn't have described it on Red Bubble as implying religion is for the birds. But if you are going to offend someone, it might as well be the religious nuts.

I consider it a feather in my cap.
 

A tale of one dog with two tails

 I'm not sure a dog with two tails would actually be that happy.  According to Gemini, "Tail wagging is a complex form of canine communication. While happiness is a common reason, it's important to consider the context and other body language cues to fully understand what a dog is trying to convey." Gemini is unfortunately a politically correct AI entity and has difficulty stating anything with conviction. If Gemini was a dog with two tails it would express a great deal of confusion as to what emotion it was feeling and suggest that you do a search on Google for "dog with two tails" and "does having two tails increase happiness." It would then urge you to compare all the answers before drawing your own conclusion. Gemini urges you to search Google a lot which is ironic because Gemini is made by Google and should already know all the answers.

I don't think Gemini would wag one or two tails at that observation.

Thou art what thou art through art...

One of the nice things about having to sift through all of my 1500 designs is that I find things I forgot I even created.  Like this art guitar, for example. Or GuitArt. 

It would make a great t-shirt, don't you think?

 

Happy as Larry

 

I have to say that the Red Bubble people are much quicker and nicer about flagging my stuff for review. They dinged two designs yesterday (the Gulf of Reason and Moby-Brick). Both were approved today and I'm as Happy as Larry. Though I still don't understand the rats reference. Or why Larry was happy, though I understand he was an Australian Boxer. I also don't profess to understand why either designs were reviewed.  Red Bubble, like Teepublic, doesn't ever explain. They just tell you to read their list of website standards and regulations about what you can't post. 

I have been painfully careful about what I post. I ask ChatGPT about most things and while it won't come right out and give me advice, it does make it pretty clear when  it thinks something could be construed as a copyright violation. I also check trademarks on the US Trademark website (which I assume the Orange Menace and Musk Rat will get rid of by Executive Order soon.  

Ironically, though I have survived all of the challenges by Red Bubble's legal team, I still haven't sold one frigging t-shirt or even a sticker. 

But this isn't the first time in my life I've felt like Vincent Van Goph and under appreciated for my genius. 

The Gulf of Reason

 

It boggles the mind that the Orange Menace wastes time demanding we call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. It serves no purpose. But then again nothing in the vast wasteland that is the MAGA brain makes sense.  Of course, I posted this t-shirt design and Red Bubble is reviewing it.  

But you can't fix stupid.

Everything comes with strings

 

I posted this design on Red Bubble yesterday and it was pulled for a review. I haven't a clue why it was pulled.  Though apparently Sony has a trademark for a computer game software called Strings Attached. Seems as though everybody wants to plant a flag on everything. 

Though since I am just using this image for a t-shirt and other sundry merch, I don't think Sony can claim copyright infringement.

I'll wait to see what the Red Bubble lawyers say. They may say the design already has strings attached.

Free, free, free

 

I am alphabetically in the "F's" with uploading my designs on Red Bubble.  I feel so free.

More hearts for Valentine's Day

 

Just something to get your heart going for Valentine's Day!

You've got to have heart

 

This is another one of those images I thought I couldn't use for t-shirt designs because they would say it violated the copyright or trademark for Heartbreak Hotel. But I search for trademarks and there were none. And it is Heartbreak Motel, not Hotel and it doesn't imply anything about the song. So I posted it on Red Bubble. I just think it was too cool not to run with it.

Now this one probably wouldn't fly. But I think it is super cool, too. It's good enough for a king.

I thought I saw a pudding tat

 

It is National Plum Pudding Day (which makes no sense since it is also know as Christmas Pudding). But none of the National Day days make much sense.  And I know that this tattoo of a bowl of pudding isn't plum pudding. I couldn't lead with my "proof is in the pudding" design because I'd already used that headline and image back in November.

Pudding made me think of Tweety Bird and Sylvester the cat and Tweety always saying "I thought I saw a puddy tat." So you get an image of a pudding tat.

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

Things as they are

 

"Things as they are / Are changed upon the blue guitar."

-- Wallace Stevens

 The poem, published in 1937, explores the transformative power of art and imagination, using the blue guitar as a metaphor for artistic interpretation. It was inspired by Pablo Picasso’s 1903 painting The Old Guitarist.  It's an appropriate image for National Guitar Day, because it expresses how I feel about my guitars...well, just about any guitar.

Pity this is also National Shut-in Visitation Day. Even a blue guitar can't make that cheery.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

 

It was all Green Tags $1.99 day at Goodwill today. I have learned that you can find some pretty great deals on the $1.99 day. A couple of months ago I found a brand new John Wayne Cast Iron Grill pan that Goodwill had been selling for $29 with the color of the day on sale for $1.99. So I got it for $1.99 and sold it on eBay for $32. 

Today I found an IBM Selectric II electric typewriter that Goodwill was trying to sell for $99. I bought it for...you guessed it...$1.99. And it works. Or at least it powers on. And why would I want a Selectric II electric typewriter? Because I only had to pay $1.99 for it. So if I can't resale it and have to take it back to Goodwill I'll only be out $1.99. 

Plus there was the nostalgia factor. I learned how to type on one of these when I was in high school. And when I was a Journalism major in college, that's what we typed stories on in the college newspaper offices. They were the precursors to word processors. They just had sheets of paper instead of screens. But they beat the hell out of writing something by hand. Oh sure, you made mistakes typing, but that was what white out was made for.

So what if it weighs a ton and there is no way in hell I'll be able to sell it on eBay because the shipping would be through the roof. There is always Facebook Marketplace. Who cares if there are ten or so of them already on there. Since I only paid $1.99, I don't have to get much for it to make profit. 

I am such a shrewd business person.

Super Bowl Sunday is great for pigskin

 

And it so happens that it is National Pork Rind Day. So enjoy your pigskin play and chew the fat with friends. You'll be happy as a dead pig in the sunshine! 

Souvenir Du

 

I saw this wood carving at the local Antique Mall today and it peaked my curiosity. At first I thought it was a souvenir of a place called "Du." So I asked ChatGPT and it explained to me that "Souvenir Du" is French for "Memory of" or "Souvenir from."  So I took a photo and shared it with ChatGPT and it suggested that this carving was very likely from Haiti because they speak French in Haiti (or a Creole version of French). 

So I bought the carving because it just seemed odd that someone would carve the words "Souvenir of" and not of where. I conjectured that the artist started carving the words and then realized they ran out of room for the "of where." 

When I got home I decided to ask Gemini about the carving. And low and behold, Gemini says the carving is from an African country called Djibouti in the Horn of Africa because it looks like something they would carve and they speak French in Djibouti. I suggested to Gemini that perhaps the carving was from Haiti and it poo-poo'ed me and gave me several strong reasons why it was more likely from Djibouti.

I love the battles of AI. But I'm leaning towards Djibouti because it seems more exotic than Haiti.

Don't let them gum up the work

 

Of course, today is Bubble Gum Day. And it is national Fettuccine Alfredo Day.

So it's linguine and not fettuccine. A noodle is a noodle.

Diz-dress for Diz-cess

 

I am very impressed with the options Red Bubble offers for products for my designs. Because once the world sees that they can wear a Dizgraceland dress, the world is my oyster. And speaking of oysters, don't you think pearls would look great with this dress?

And how about this?

Who would have thought that a Dizgraceland mini skirt was even an option? These should be flying off the virtual shelves anytime. 

So far I am glad I discovered Red Bubble and they haven't totally rejected me yet. Zazzle took a shit load of time to load products on and I basically sold nothing. 

Of course, I haven't sold anything on Red Bubble yet, but something tells me it is only a matter of time. I may just buy me one of those Dizgraceland mini skirts for myself and post a few photos on Blue Sky to start the feeding frenzy. The caption will read something like, "Buy my stuff or I will post more pics like this."

Laughing the loudest

 

I'm kind of enjoying posting my designs on Red Bubble.  It doesn't make you create each product one at a time. You load a design and then apply it to shirts, hats, clocks, mouse pads, aprons, bags and whatever. I've had several likes. But no sales.

Maybe I'm too conventual for people's tastes.

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble....

 I heard back from Red Bubble today about my design that was under review.

Great news! The review process has been completed and your work is available for purchase on the marketplace.

Some things to keep in mind:

• You will receive your full artist markup from your sales of these products.
• Your work may be reviewed again at any time.

Your work:

Butt Who... https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/168312800

If you’re wondering why your works are flagged for review, or have questions about the Fan Art Program review process, please have a look at the following help center articles:

• Fan Art FAQ's
• Why has my work been temporarily suspended?
• How can I avoid artwork reviews in the future?

Thanks again,

Redbubble

I read some of the FAQ's and the article about how I can avoid artwork reviews in the future and the essentially said they couldn't tell me because they weren't my lawyer.  They are much nicer than the AI lawyers at Teepublic who were pretty snotty about reviewing material. The odd thing about their review letter is that they showed the other "Butt Who..." work that wasn't flagged in the first email they sent me saying my work was under review.

Butt who nose.  

 

No ifs, ands or butts...

 

I was trying so hard to not violate Red Bubble's rules, regulations and community standards. I avoided anything that reeked of intellectual property, copyright or trademark infringements. I have kept the off color stuff to a minimum and avoided offending any community standards. Butt who nose what will trigger the whatever it is that triggers the algorithms that set off alarms about such stuff.  So I loaded this image of the Butt Who Nose.  And I got one of their, "you design is under review, but don't worry," emails. That's what Teepublic used to say and then then deleted my account. 

I've tried guessing what could be wrong with this design. Okay it says, "Butt." But seriously, is butt profanity. Then I wondered if it is because the nose looks like a nose from a Buddha statue and they think it is racist. But please, look at what is going on with the pretend president who is spewing racism with almost every executive order the Orange Menace proclaims. 

I also posted this:

And they didn't freeze it and send it into review.  So I don't know what to think. All I want to do is share my art and incredible wit with the world. 

Butt who nose.

I'm all in

I decided Zazzle isn't really dazzling me with sales of my designs, so I'm trying Red Bubble.  And yes, I know they are owned by the same company that owns Teepublic. But I'm being very careful with everything I load on Red Bubble. Because I don't want them to burst my bubble. They have a much easier interface than Zazzle and they have lots of different products. 

I hope I'll be seeing green with Red Bubble.