Paypal assured me it is now fully functional. They tell me no deposits have been made to the PennyBillionaires.net account which is for want of a word, unfortunate. My only credit card was suspended today, which was another highlight of this rich day. Paypal assured me, however, that it is now fully functional.
Today we were gifted with 192 penny(s) and 1 nickel. Our running total is now 207 penny(s). Once again the money came hand delivered which does nothing to advance our online mission. Nether-the-less the donation was of course received with gratitude. I feel a long way from penny-billionairedom, and I have to remind myself that it is 20 times closer today than it was yesterday. Our fortunes have increased overnight by a factor of 20 and I am still totally broke. Today it is difficult to remember my good fortune, my good health, my good friends. Today my spirit feels dinged up. I have to dig deep to resurrect the force, somewhere in here I believe.
I believe the good people of this world will see our mission, the mission of Hamilton, Weaver, and Pepper, to escape poverty 1 unwanted penny at a time for it's honest simplicity and harmlessness and they will help. I believe this help will come because everybody can appreciate a good luck success story. Everybody would like it to happen for someone, especially for someone that they have taken a personal interest in helping. I am grateful that you have taken the time to read this. I am grateful to have taken the time to write it. I have chosen a life of service thru the arts and all I desire is the opportunity to continue to serve, I only ask you to help by sending me your unwanted and discarded copper colored loose change. Thank you for your time.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Steeper Territory Ahead
My friend Beth just saved 39cents by handing me her penny(s). Huh? What a wonderful new concept, making a personal delivery of penny(s) rather than buying a stamp. Thanks Beth! These 9 penny(s) are the first real currency we, the Penny Billionaires.net, have received. Today I am proud to announce a 900% increase in our actual, as opposed to virtual, net worth. I have no idea what our virtual net worth is yet because although three donors have assured us they have unselfishly and generously made Paypal contributions, Paypal has not allowed us access to our account because they require yet more information. How much information can possibly satisfy them, they have full access to a bank account in long standing, social security number information, family history information, e-address information and vast amounts of other information. So as it stands, there are now 10 actual penny(s) in our penny collection, not counting penny(s) lost or stolen via the mail or penny(s) sent thru Paypal. Of this I am certain, in less than 1 month our business assets have increased 900% which sure is going to look great in the financial report. Can you imagine the pitch of that graph?
Friday, March 16, 2007
Don't do it for me, do it for them....
It's been a week. Hell week. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opens tomorrow and the set is finally finished. There is also an 8" ice encrusted carpet of snow to negotiate before one can arrive at the theater. Pennsylvania Youth Theatre is, as it's name suggests, largely comprised of school age youth. They will also have to negotiate the same snow trap I find myself recently liberated from (drive-time 2 hrs) before arriving for their opening performance, and because of a spate of inclement weather that unexpectedly corresponded a little too closely with their rehearsal schedule will find themselves woefully ill-prepared. On the bright side I predict the Audience will be thin. Thank God, apparently. The set however is fabulous.
Did I mention the flu? Yeah well yours truly weathered that this week too. The astute reader may have noticed the large gap in this blog, just as my theatrical director noticed the 2 day gap in my labors, the 2 days I spent in bed recovering from the flu. The same flu I got when my immune system became weakened while working 16 hr days as a consequence of the gruelling installation schedule, which as mentioned in a prior blog entry was an uncompensated "addendum" to my contract for the set design and construction. Hamilton and Weaver truly came through, like a semen stain on a little black dress, for me on this one. They are great guys and true friends. They deserve PennyBillionaires billions by the truckload, did I mention they performed this service, ehm...building and painting the set while I slept with flu, for well, mostly no money. They did it because they are just great people, they are my friends, and they did this thing not only for me but for the benefit of the entire community of PaYT, and for the greater community of parents and friends of the performers, stage hands, tech people and the audiences that will see this show, which incidentally, is sold out in advance for it's entire run. Thank you people of Bethlehem Pa, for your encouragement and support. I could go on with praise and thanks for my partners, or I could simply state "spare us a penny guv, go ahead make their day."
Did I mention the flu? Yeah well yours truly weathered that this week too. The astute reader may have noticed the large gap in this blog, just as my theatrical director noticed the 2 day gap in my labors, the 2 days I spent in bed recovering from the flu. The same flu I got when my immune system became weakened while working 16 hr days as a consequence of the gruelling installation schedule, which as mentioned in a prior blog entry was an uncompensated "addendum" to my contract for the set design and construction. Hamilton and Weaver truly came through, like a semen stain on a little black dress, for me on this one. They are great guys and true friends. They deserve PennyBillionaires billions by the truckload, did I mention they performed this service, ehm...building and painting the set while I slept with flu, for well, mostly no money. They did it because they are just great people, they are my friends, and they did this thing not only for me but for the benefit of the entire community of PaYT, and for the greater community of parents and friends of the performers, stage hands, tech people and the audiences that will see this show, which incidentally, is sold out in advance for it's entire run. Thank you people of Bethlehem Pa, for your encouragement and support. I could go on with praise and thanks for my partners, or I could simply state "spare us a penny guv, go ahead make their day."
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Fisher Price.... my first blog
Welcome to my first official blog. I helped Pepper out today in an attempt to get his set done. I wish I could say it was exciting but that would be lying. I think that I'm really just avoiding the fact that I need to get a real job. Anything that can take my mind away from that inevitable situation is a welcome distraction.
I'm thinking of maybe getting a job in the food service industry. I have only ever filled in at a few places. Mostly dish washing and other glamorous positions. I know that whatever job I find I am going to hate in +/- 2 weeks, but I hate being broke more.
I donated yet another piece of art to a charity event on Tuesday. Once again I convinced myself that my generosity would pay off. Maybe somebody would want to buy something besides just bidding on a donation. What a sucker I am. No matter how many times I give, it never comes back. They just call up looking for donations for some other charity.
Do people actually think artists have money to burn? Its alright though, because I got the last laugh. My phone is shut off again so they couldn't beg me for art even if they wanted to.
I'm thinking of maybe getting a job in the food service industry. I have only ever filled in at a few places. Mostly dish washing and other glamorous positions. I know that whatever job I find I am going to hate in +/- 2 weeks, but I hate being broke more.
I donated yet another piece of art to a charity event on Tuesday. Once again I convinced myself that my generosity would pay off. Maybe somebody would want to buy something besides just bidding on a donation. What a sucker I am. No matter how many times I give, it never comes back. They just call up looking for donations for some other charity.
Do people actually think artists have money to burn? Its alright though, because I got the last laugh. My phone is shut off again so they couldn't beg me for art even if they wanted to.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Born Against
Damn it's late and I'm tired. Knackered. This disease I have of artmaking is sometimes overwhelming. There is one day left before the set for PYT is disassembled and shipped out. That is a serious undertaking. There are only 16 hrs available for installation, I am already burned out. You would think at a time like this a klaxon would scream in my head announcing the end of creativity and the beginning of get it done now. It never ever does. There is a moment when this happens to me. it is the moment when it needs to happen and never a moment before that. I love it here, it is trench warfare, it is where the juice happens, it is the flavor. Tomorrow there are a long list of props to be constructed, today I revised their design because they will be better if....so it'll be another big day. Funny really, when I'm in this thing, this countdown, I am at war with something, sometimes convention, sometimes aesthetic, or something else. This time it's simply the show. These last hours will make the show better and the gravy will flow. I hate being here and I love being here, it is a struggle, it is lonely, it is exhausting. It is a joy, it is surprising, it is rewarding. The paradox is that when I'm in it I can't wait to get out of it, but when it's over I always look forward to the next time, the next battle. It is a war to me, a war against mediocrity, against commonplace, against boring. I deserve this job of set design and construction, and of artist, because I am born to be it. I am first and foremost a maker.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Work Forward Slash Service
Today I am working on a theatrical set for Pennsylvania Youth Theatre's upcoming attraction "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". This service is one of the things I do to"make a living" which is an overstatement. I chose the word service with care because while enjoying this work immensely the compensation I receive barely keeps me in chicken thighs (which despite being the cheapest cut of chicken are in fact about the most tasty), does not heat my space, or pay for medical insurance, or enable me to build a bathroom, or kitchen, or plumbing of any sort, or clothe me...in fact this work forward slash service barely pays my rent. The set is to be installed overnight this Sunday thru Monday an inconvenience for which I will not be compensated in any traditionally conceived manner like overtime or doubletime. No, for this labor of pleasure it is necessary for me to PAY FOR ADDITIONAL HELP. Thankfully Weaver my Pennybillionaire associate is helping me and has also agreed to accept a pittance from me for his generosity. You better believe I have gratitude. It was at such a moment not too long ago that the inspiration for Pennybillionaires occurred. This idea is no joke to us, Hamilton, Weaver and I are industrious and employed artists who are happy to service society at large with our artwork and ideas because we passionately believe in the power of art to transform the lives of others. I am self-supporting, well if you can describe my income as supporting, and committed, and more or less permanently employed in my endeavours, yet because of the nature of my chosen profession am unable to get ahead, you know, to move up and out so to speak. I have always been and will always be a self supporting artist, my background is blue collar humble, yet I have been a professional artist for 26 years, a feat remarkable in itself. The point is people my brothers and I need help financially, please consider this while you peruse our website and I hope you enjoy the light hearted manner of our request to you for funding i.e. by sending us your penny(s) contributions.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Giant Killer?
A STARTLING FACT ABOUT "PAYPAL CONTIBUTIONS BUTTON"...it occurred to me that maybe if someone donated say a penny that it might not clear thru Paypal because they charge 30cents + 2.9% to 4.9% on each transaction, which would mean that either Paypal would not accept such a contribution on behalf of it's customer (as a matter of say courtesy), or the unthinkable would happen and Paypal would (for reasons of say self interest) acknowledge a contribution proffered to it's customer of say 1cent and then bill said customer for the service of handling this transaction, which if my math is correct would look something like this:-
Contributor Donation = 1c
Paypal Fee = 30c + 2.9% to 4.9% (and you know they would charge us the full 4.9%) = 31.5c
Net Profit to Recipient (the Paypal customer) 1c minus 31.5c = minus 30.5c
Or more likely because technically there is no 1/2c Paypal would "substitute" the rounded up version of minus 30.5c = minus 31c
Net Profit to Paypal = positive 31.5c or more likely a full 32c
To sum up: A Contributor donation of 1c would cost the "charity" or Paypal customer 31c while Paypal would profit 32c......if my math is correct this would be a STARTLING FACT!
On the donations set up page of the Paypal website there is a demonstration model, which I looked at, apparently it was a real website that included an "open donations" button so that the contributor could choose to donate any amount at all. The website was called "NationalReview.com" (whatever that is) and as a kind of practical query I donated 1c US to see if it would fly. The experience of seeing my donation accepted was one of shock and awe. In slack jawed disbelief I went immediately to my Paypal account to verify whether this transaction had occurred and to my amazement apparently it had...one penny US. As my head literally spun I then visited my bank account and sure enough the transaction had posted there too. Can you imagine? The repercussions of this little known fact are how do I say this, potentially bankrupting. If a million people donated say a single Paypal penny to someone like say "NationalReview.com" it would cost said recipient something like $310,000 in Paypal fees. Why Paypal would allow such a travesty to occur I cannot imagine, oh wait, yeah...they would profit something like $320,000. This could have earth shaking repercussions for an organisation that relies on contributions to fund say an unpopular yet dominant point of view. I would not want to be such an organisation and have this type of information about their Achilles heel passed around within a large network of some sort that contained a substantial base of say political opposition.
That's all I got, except, can't remember where they say this but... you heard it here first.
Contributor Donation = 1c
Paypal Fee = 30c + 2.9% to 4.9% (and you know they would charge us the full 4.9%) = 31.5c
Net Profit to Recipient (the Paypal customer) 1c minus 31.5c = minus 30.5c
Or more likely because technically there is no 1/2c Paypal would "substitute" the rounded up version of minus 30.5c = minus 31c
Net Profit to Paypal = positive 31.5c or more likely a full 32c
To sum up: A Contributor donation of 1c would cost the "charity" or Paypal customer 31c while Paypal would profit 32c......if my math is correct this would be a STARTLING FACT!
On the donations set up page of the Paypal website there is a demonstration model, which I looked at, apparently it was a real website that included an "open donations" button so that the contributor could choose to donate any amount at all. The website was called "NationalReview.com" (whatever that is) and as a kind of practical query I donated 1c US to see if it would fly. The experience of seeing my donation accepted was one of shock and awe. In slack jawed disbelief I went immediately to my Paypal account to verify whether this transaction had occurred and to my amazement apparently it had...one penny US. As my head literally spun I then visited my bank account and sure enough the transaction had posted there too. Can you imagine? The repercussions of this little known fact are how do I say this, potentially bankrupting. If a million people donated say a single Paypal penny to someone like say "NationalReview.com" it would cost said recipient something like $310,000 in Paypal fees. Why Paypal would allow such a travesty to occur I cannot imagine, oh wait, yeah...they would profit something like $320,000. This could have earth shaking repercussions for an organisation that relies on contributions to fund say an unpopular yet dominant point of view. I would not want to be such an organisation and have this type of information about their Achilles heel passed around within a large network of some sort that contained a substantial base of say political opposition.
That's all I got, except, can't remember where they say this but... you heard it here first.
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