The Ink-Pot and the Palette

In an effort to stop making useless purchases, I've added a "Uselsss Purchase" tag to my Mint account. Mint can't (yet) accurately analyze online purchases via Amazon or Paypal, so it lumps them into the bland, meaningless category "Shopping". I then have to review my receipts and re-categorize these purchases into morally unassailable columns like "books" and "groceries" (well, okay, coffee beans), or more puritanically-dubious columns like "shoes and accessories" and "entertainment".

But whichever column my online impulse buys wind up in, some of them deserve the tag "Useless Purchases," and I review those from time to time, hoping to learn something which, at the age of 57, I really should have learned much sooner in life.

Here's what's currently tagged Useless Purchase, along with my reminder notes:

• Red leather jacket, custom made and non-returnable. Color not like shown in photograph, arrived poorly packaged and wrinkled, wrinkles haven't hung out in five months, keep hoping the color will work for me but it doesn't, too big for H, too expensive to give away
• Magenta belt
• Sherlock S1 and S2 DVD sets to take to the beach, but we didn't have time to watch them and I could get them on Netflix Streaming so here I am...
• New clothes for Dressing Your Truth. A bunch of t-shirts that turned out to be not quite right that I've since given away
• Black "Hale Pack" hoodie *eyeroll*
• On Fire (TW tie-in novel, too bad to read)
• Writing with Clarity and Style (for JFM's writing class). Ended up paying to give it away (mailed to student in Toronto)
• Grammatically Correct (for JFM's class) I KNEW I DIDN'T NEED THIS STUPID BOOK
• Dumbass "writing course" by Joshua Fields Millburn. The only takeaway was "Sit In The Chair." Not sure that was worth four hundred bucks

The moral of the story is...try not to make useless purchases, I guess.

Why I Contribute Cashy Money to the OTW, by DarkEmeralds

An Archive of Our Own, pure and simple.

The AO3 is what I've been waiting for my entire fannish life: a place where fans can post and store their fanworks, without fear of strikethroughs, account terminations, cease-and-desists, or closure based on content*. A multi-fandom treasure-trove of written works, the AO3 might soon be a place for vids, too!

I want the AO3 to grow and endure, so I give them money. Not a lot, but after supporting a big national charity for years through my employer's giving campaign, last year I took a few minutes and arranged to send that same regular, small amount to the OTW instead.

It was easy! It was painless! And every payday I get an email from my credit union saying that a latte-factor's worth of money has gone to an organization that supports, understands and loves something that makes my life a more joyful and creative place.

I've never been happier with a money contribution, never more certain that what I'm supporting with my scarce dollars is genuinely worth my support.

For me it's all about the Archive, but the OTW is active on several important fannish fronts, notably legal advocacy of fanworks, and scholarly work in the area of fanworks and fandom. Besides, they are just plain cool people, responsive to their members, excited and open about what they do.

I hope that fandom people who can spare a few bucks will consider giving them to the OTW. It will make you smile.

*Their terms of service are here. The key bit, for me, is this: "Unless it violates some other policy, we will not remove Content for offensiveness, no matter how awful, repugnant, or badly spelled we may personally find that content to be."