General Update (and no billing for July)
Added 2022-06-09 14:12:25 +0000 UTC
Hey all!
Please accept my apologies for the recent radio silence from me. Let me get to the high-level updates right away, and then I'll get into the details.
- Work on renders for the next update continue
- I'm still aiming to have an update out by the end of June
- No matter when the next update comes out, I'm going to pause billing in July
Alright, so, what's been up?
⚠️⚠️Trigger warning: I'm going to be talking about some heavy stuff here.⚠️⚠️
As many of you know but for those who don't, I live in the United States and I'm also the father (with my husband) of a school-aged child. (Yes, even married parents have randy sex drives, but that's not where I'm going with this. Anyway...)
You may be aware there was a mass shooting at an elementary school in the United States late last month. Twenty fourth graders were murdered in their Texas classrooms, along with two teachers, while the police chief told his officers and a tactical unit to do nothing for more than an hour. This is ten years after 26 people were murdered in another school shooting (that time in Connecticut), most of those victims being kindergarteners. And many, many shootings in between and before (the first big one being Columbine more than twenty years ago). And our politicians have shown themselves to be less than useless.
Now, I'm not writing this to start a political rant. The thing is, as a father, I kept picturing my son in one of those classrooms, and pondering how absolutely nothing has changed... and nothing is going to change. (I know, a lot of people are saying "don't say nothing is going to change, don't give in to defeatism." Yeah, well, just watch the upcoming vote in the Senate then get back to me.) Anyway, it put me alternatively in a very dark and depressed place or 100% and completely focused on my son and showering him with as much love and attention and affirmation as I could while I had him near me, knowing that I could not protect him when he was away from me or at school.
And every time I think I'm getting past it, I read another news story about the utter failure of the police response (it only ended when a tactical unit went against orders to continue to hold back), testimony from a doctor about how horribly disfigured the murdered children were by the gunshot wounds, or our politicians blaming everything from mental illness (which they won't fund treatment for), video games (because they don't have those in Europe or Asia) and, yes, even doors (too many of them, apparently... I guess you don't have doors in Europe?). And every time I read one of those stories I wind up in another funk.
But... I have been working on BBN, it's just been slower going than usual. I also realize a lot of this is rather self-indulgent. I don't know any of the victims. We don't even live in (or near) Texas. And for that I feel a built guilty and owe you all an apology, but I also wanted to explain why I've been quiet lately (been focusing on my family) and where things are.
Now, that said, I am working on BBN and I'm aiming to have an update out to you by the end of June. If it's only a partial update (that is, not all the options for the final scene have been finished), I'll release it as a "dev update" that only you (Patrons) will ever see and it then when the final version comes out, that will actually be the Early Access build that will eventually go public.
And I'm also going to pause billing for July, no matter what. If you feel that's unnecessary, please consider donating whatever you would be sending me to an anti-violence nonprofit or NGO.
So, that's that. Now, back to the regular BBN programming!
Comments
Dear God that's horrifying it sounds like you don't really have any control over your government anymore, but thank you for the explanation... Also, we have the same 3D printing tech and criminal don't really uses them, if I recall they are mostly 1 shot, and in Australia the only groups that have guns are organised crime, but they tend to to carry them most of the time, as that is just opening a door for the police to investigate their business, which they do not want.
Voldara
2022-06-11 02:24:31 +0000 UTCI won’t do the topic justice by any means in the length of a comment, but the biggest issues are how fused our political system has become with the private business sector. Businesses have always been able to influence elections through elections, but the Tillman Act of 1907 limited contributions to political candidates. The first (Political Action Committee (PAC) was created in 1943 by a labor union when the U.S. Congress prohibited unions from giving direct contributions to political candidates. To get around that they created the PAC in order to create a loophole by donating to the PAC so the PAC could donate to the candidates. Originally PACs were used by activists to protect industries at risk of privitization, and other at-risk communities (like support voter registration in Black areas). Later, PACs became used by all demographics, and it became apparent that they were being abused so the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1972 tried to regulate PACs (and the Federal Election Commission [FEC] was created in 1974 to place legal limits on campaign contributions and expenditures). It stated that an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election, and registers with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). However, in 2010 our Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in a case called Citizens United that ruled “corporations” are “people” because the original definition of a “corporation” in Medieval times was “"a number of persons united in one body for a purpose." That allowed corporations to make donations to political causes directly. After that the “Super PAC” was born. Throughout this process we’ve also had people called “lobbyists”. Lobbying has its’ own convoluted evolution in U.S. politics, but they were essentially individual or advocacy/lobby groups lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials (including regulatory agencies), and usually through face-to-face conversations. After Citizens United corporations were able to enter into those conversations, and quid-pro-quo became integral and unavoidable. Finally, another huuuuuuuuuge thing people not to know is that there’s a group called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) was created to counter the Environmental Protection Agency, wage, and price controls, and it’s a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators (Entirely right wing/Republican) and private sector representatives who draft legislation and then provide it to their members. They literally only have to do things like fill in the blanks like “Insert State here” before submitting them to be voted on in the legislative body, and a lot of those politicians aren’t even reading them (and have admitted to it during the voting process). ALEC has produced model bills on a broad range of issues, such as reducing regulation and individual and corporate taxation, combating illegal immigration, loosening environmental regulations, tightening voter identification rules, weakening labor unions, supporting the prison-industrial complex, and opposing gun control (the NRA has been a member for decades). So, all of the above has slowly transformed over the years into a system in which gun-control legislation has become practically impossible to enact. The only way to lead to it would be if the majority of U.S. citizens coordinate to pressure legislators, but while most people support sensible gun control, I’d estimate about half of them who are also gun owners have fallen prey to the propaganda created by the gun industry that states “They want to take away your guns, and then you can’t protect yourself.” ———— Finally, on a personal note… I had my own thoughts the other day about how unavoidable guns have become now due to ghost guns (from 3D printing). Even if we DID ban guns criminals would have such easy access by now that the public would be at a disadvantage. I hate saying that because I’m anti-gun. I just feel like we’ve hit the point of no return here. I feel like the only things I can hope for is sensible gun-control reform.
Konnect
2022-06-10 15:38:57 +0000 UTCMaybe when you have more time, as I really would like to know 😅
Voldara
2022-06-10 13:37:32 +0000 UTCIt is interesting, isn't it. We didn't have these big cable networks filtering our news, there were no super pacs funneling money to politicians, we had an assault weapons ban, didn't fetishize the 2nd Amendment quite the way we do now, and the Supreme Court had turned the First Amendment into a suicide pact.
Bound By Night
2022-06-10 12:09:13 +0000 UTCMy education is in sociology (undergrad) and law, so I think I could give you a decent assessment, but it could take a while. But I certainly don't feel attacked. I love my country but it is very flawed and going through a very turbulent time right now. I hope we manage to come through it soon. Thanks for the kind wishes. Hugs.
Bound By Night
2022-06-10 12:05:58 +0000 UTCThanks. I tried to distract myself but not always successfully, partly because I would then feel it was my duty as a responsible citizen to keep myself informed. But that sounds like good advice and I'll try it going forward. Thank you.
Bound By Night
2022-06-10 12:03:24 +0000 UTCHi, I don't mean for this to sound like an attack or anything on the US, but I really don't understand your culture/country at all, in Australia we had on mass shooting in 1996, and both sides of parliament agreed to ban everything other than single shot bolt action rifles for farmers, hunting and such. I can't understand why this is still happening in your country, I really do feel so sorry that you have to go though this, with what seems like (to me anyway) disturbing regularly. I hope you find a way past all of this and that you and your family are OK... I really don't know what else to say. 😅 So just stay safe and be careful I guess. Lots of love from across the Pacific.
Voldara
2022-06-10 06:21:59 +0000 UTCHey there! I just wanna send you and your family (and all others) hugs and support. I’m actually in school to be a therapist right now, and I just want to mention that PTSD can also be created by vicarious trauma (Being exposed to people who’ve experienced it first hand), and thinking about the initial traumatic events in detail can aggravate it. It sounds flippant, but it’s actually best to try to distract yourself when you come across traumatic events. It actually used to be recommended for people to recount the details in order to “process” the events (They called it Critical Incident Stress Debriefing), but that’s actually been proven to be harmful! Things that are helpful usually need a therapist, but some things you can do at home or with a partner. The main things would be compassion holds/body holds. You’d place hands in specific areas while closing your eyes and focusing on your breathing and body sensations (1 hand on heart, 1 on belly; 1 hand on forehead, 1 on back of neck; “self hug” with 1 on shoulder, 1 on rib, and the butterfly pose, which has many variations but is usually sitting on ground with soles of feet together and your hands holding your feet). Anyways, I know that was a lot, and I don’t know if it was helpful at all, but I figure that I should at least share things that I hope could help you and any other people reading this. I’m sorry that you’re feeling a little pessimistic about the state of the world at the moment, but I’m glad to hear that you’re able to see the bigger picture beyond the present and enjoy your time and love shared with your family!
Konnect
2022-06-10 05:29:16 +0000 UTCI know this is going to show my own age but at this point i do not care. I know i am still 'wet behind the ears' as some may still think of me. But if ever there was a time for a wish to be granted. I wish that we could all go back to the early 90s. So much of what we are dealing with now would be a figment in everyones mine. Yes we had our problems back then, But they were nothing compared to now. I live in Texas, though i cant say i go through the same as you do, Snowy. But i still think of the possibilities and the fear if i did have my son with me. I am just happy to know that we as parents do not have to go through these things alone.
Brenowyn Ravyn DarkPhoenix
2022-06-10 00:56:59 +0000 UTCI understand completely and I agree. It's not easy sending your child to school when all these things are happening. I would give my son the priority if I had one. This is regardless of the area, felt the same way, because how can innocent lives be rid of for someone's mental problem? I'm sending you a big hug as well and I hope you guys are all well.
Fernando Ruiz
2022-06-10 00:01:26 +0000 UTCI agree completely with KeWLio. Thanks and hugs!
Pilgrim
2022-06-09 19:17:40 +0000 UTCI don't think it matters if you are close to the area in Texas or not, it is heartbreaking for all of us just the same. Thanks for sharing Snow! Big hugs to you and your family and everyone affected by these tragedies whether near or far.
KeWLio
2022-06-09 16:19:02 +0000 UTC
